VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds men's basketball program is pleased to welcome two standout recruits to their roster for the upcoming season - an experienced American scorer and an up-and-coming local product. Former NCAA Division I sharpshooter Zack Moore joins the T-Birds in his fourth year of eligibility as he pursues his masters degree, while recent Vancouver College graduate Toni Maric enters his first year of post-secondary ball.

Although Canada West basketball may be unfamiliar territory to Moore, he is already familiar with two of his T-Bird teammates in Jadon Cohee and Manroop Clair as the trio played together with the NCAA D-I Seattle University Redhawks. 

Moore led the Redhawks with 74 three-pointers in 2016-2017 and recorded the second most threes in a single game in program history with eight triples in a career-high 33-point performance against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Moore shot 38% from beyond the arc and 42% from the field while averaging 10.4 points per game in his sophomore season with Seattle University.

The 6'5 Bellevue, Washington native then transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara and appeared in 11 games for the Gauchos in 2018-2019 before deciding to take his talents north of the border. 

"Anytime you get an experienced, veteran player into your program it's going to add a lot," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "We're very grateful he decided to come up and play at UBC as an international student. His masters program has kept him busy, but he's already shown signs of what's to come once he gets into a regular routine."

Hanson knows Moore has the potential to come up big on both sides of the ball.

"He certainly has the ability to be a difference maker in games," said Hanson. "He's someone that can really spread the floor, he's tough defensively, and with his size he can defend a lot of positions. He's got a high basketball IQ and his teammates already enjoy having him around since he's such a hardworking guy." 

UBC will also bolster their program with the addition of 6'7 power forward Tony Maric out of BC Boys AAAA high school ball. Maric was an integral part of Vancouver College's offence and will provide depth in the post with an ability to finish in the paint.

"Toni is just an awesome personality," said Hanson. "He actually committed to a prep school earlier in the summer and we convinced him that UBC was going to be a good option. He has the ability to finish with his back to the basket and defensively he's already ahead of most kids coming out of high school. At seventeen years old, he's a really young player but has a frame that can put on a lot of muscle. He's going to be part of the future of our program for sure."

With exhibition action in the rearview mirror, the T-Birds are getting set to open their regular season schedule on the road in Regina on Friday, November 1 at 7:00 p.m. PT against the Cougars. 

UBC's home opening series tips off on November 8 at 8:00 p.m. PT as the defending Canada West champion Calgary Dinos visit War Memorial Gym in a rematch of the 2018-2019 conference final.