Wiebe, a 6-foot-6 guard/forward from Central Canada Prep and Westwood Collegiate, has become the first commitment to Mike Raimbault's Winnipeg Wesmen men's basketball program for the Class of 2024.
Wiebe said he considered opportunities outside the province for his post-secondary decision, but the recent results of the Wesmen told him it made more sense to stay home.
"It's something that I've wanted to do since I was a little kid," Wiebe said. "I've always just wanted to play as high of a level as I can get to. Just in the last few years, the fact that U of W has become that good team that people want to get to and people want to play for, having that opportunity to join such a good team and it's in my home city is something I couldn't really turn down.
"If you're going to play in Canada, especially, and you have an opportunity to play for a team like U of W, who's already one of the top teams in Canada, it doesn't make much sense to move away."
Wiebe, who played on the Manitoba U17 provincial team last summer and was recognized as one of the top players in the province as a senior this past season, comes to the Wesmen by way of UW alumni Nick Lother, who coached Wiebe at both Central Canada Prep and with Evolve Basketball.
Wiebe was named a graduating all-star, an all-Manitoba high school selection and was one of the top players in the Winnipeg Free Press's annual coaches poll.
At last year's Canada Basketball nationals, Wiebe averaged 14.7 points across six games and shot 40 per cent from three.
The Wesmen lose no players to graduation from the 2023-24 squad that made the national tournament for the second straight year.
Raimbault believes Wiebe can come in and offer another rise-and-fire threat from the perimeter.
"We are excited to add Elijah to the group. He has a good mix of size, skill and potential," Raimbault said. "His ability to shoot the deep ball is something that he can continue to develop his game around as he adjusts to the next level."
Wiebe said his experience at Central Canada over two seasons helped prepare him for the jump to the next level.
"Being able to get those high-quality practices and games against high-level competition all year definitely was a big part of putting me in the position that I'm in in terms of where my skills have been able to get to," he said.
"I don't think that I'd be in this position without having played for that team, especially having two years with it. It helped me develop and get way more experience."
Lother believes Wiebe has an opportunity to be productive right away.
"Coach Raimbault and his staff are getting another highly recruited student-athlete who will be a massive asset to their program immediately and into the future," Lother said.
"Elijah is intelligent, highly skilled and an elite level shooter. His combination of length and shooting ability is rare and we know it will cause opposing teams in the country much difficulty to plan for in the coming years."
Source: https://wesmen.ca/news/2024/4/30/mbb-wesmen-add-springy-shooter-elijah-wiebe-for-24-25.aspx