Globetrotting career empowers BC-bred Marek Klassen to lead new-look Bandits
By Contributing CEBL Writer: Emily Wilson • July 8, 2020
Klassen and co. tip-off against the Edmonton Stingers on July 26 at the CEBL Summer Series.
After playing in six different countries throughout his 10-year career, 28-year-old Canadian point guard Marek Klassen has learned to thrive in unfamiliar environments.
Now, he’s re-signed with a team for the first time in his career and aims to use his experiences to lead the new-look Fraser Valley Bandits as their only returning player for the 2020 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season.
Born in Abbotsford, B.C., basketball has taken Klassen all around the globe. After punctuating his high school career at Yale Secondary School with a provincial championship in 2010 and a nod as the Triple A tournament’s most valuable player, Klassen moved stateside to play at Point Loma Nazarene University (a small National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics program) in San Diego, Calif. At Point Loma, Klassen starred as a multi-sport athlete and excelled at both basketball and track and field.
Ultimately, basketball prevailed and Klassen looked to Europe to embark on his pro career. By 2015, he started building his professional resume and has played in leagues in Romania, England, Turkey and Ukraine.
Each season he adjusted to new atmospheres, teammates, coaches, languages and playing styles.
“Basketball is obviously a universal language. There's a lot of different ways you can play the game and there's a lot of different ways you can adapt,” Klassen said. “I like the challenge of going to a new country, playing with a different ball and trying to beat a team that has a totally different strategy than my team.”
The inaugural season of the CEBL presented another new and challenging environment for Klassen, who first signed with the Bandits in 2019 prior to re-signing this past March for the 2020 campaign. For the first time in a decade, he brought his game back to Canada to not only a new team but also a new league.
“There were so many questions coming into it all,” Klassen said. “It brought something new and fresh and exciting to the (Fraser) Valley – the fact that pro basketball is back and there’s just a lot of potential.”
In the first season, the Bandits finished last in the league, missing out on the CEBL’s playoff format, known as Championship Weekend. Individually, Klassen had a different story.
He finished as the league’s top passer, averaging 7.2 assists per game. He also set a record for the most assists in one game with 15 and earned a nod as a CEBL second team all-star
The Bandits have since refreshed their roster and coaching staff – keeping Klassen as the sole returnee. In addition to a new team, the 2020 season poses some unforeseen challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. As an alternative to a regular season of play, the Bandits will travel to St. Catharines, Ont., to compete at the CEBL Summer Series, a two-week tournament that will feature no fans in venue at the Meridian Centre.
So, while Klassen is coming back to a team he knows, he once again finds himself needing to adapt to a new environment. He hopes that his experiences in Europe will help him learn on the fly with a new cast of teammates and coaches.
“I’ve played for so many different teams and so many different coaches. I've really had to adapt quickly,” Klassen said. “I'm going to learn my personnel and I'm going to hopefully just make everyone better around me and try and make the game easier for everybody else.”
Throughout his travels across Europe, there has always been a constant for Klassen: Setting a positive precedent for Abbotsford’s basketball community. The opportunity to influence the next generation of young basketball players and student-athletes was a deciding factor for Klassen when it came time to re-sign.
“I just felt like I wasn't moving – I was going to come back here and try to make a positive impact again,” Klassen said of his decision to suit up for the Bandits again in 2020.
Off the court, he aspires to teach young athletes about basketball and the power of sport through various community programs including his Abby Made basketball camp and player consultation service, CourtVision.
In addition to his game, his leadership qualities were another reason new Bandits head coach and general manager Kyle Julius decided to sign him back to the team, noting Klassen as the “ultimate role model for young athletes in the Fraser Valley” in a news release.
CourtVision partner Bret Macdonald shared the same views about Klassen.
“He's someone who puts the team first. It sounds cliché, but it's not with him. Marek puts the person before the player always and he's willing to ask questions – he’s willing to do the ‘quote-unquote’ grunt work. There's no task too big or too small for him,” Macdonald said.
“I think for a young aspiring kid to watch the Bandits and then also maybe be part of something like CourtVision while also watching Marek makes it something that’s realistic for kids to dream big.”
No matter where or who he plays with, Klassen’s goal stays the same and this season is no different. Win.
“It’s a totally different team, a totally different vibe and I think that we got the pieces (that) could take us all the way to the top,” he said.
“The Bandits are here to win this thing.”
Summer Series action begins on July 25, with the Bandits playing their first game on July 26 against the Edmonton Stingers. All games will be available on CBC Sports’ live-stream, with the Bandits’ matchup against the Hamilton Honey Badgers on Saturday, Aug. 1 set to be available on CBC TV as a national broadcast.
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