Take Notice: Duane Notice's journey to the pros was nothing but easy

Four years after an Achilles tear, Bandits' sharpshooter is thriving

Duane Notice watches for the ball against the Calgary Surge. Photo by Nathan Wishloff/Instagram

The last two basketball seasons for Duane Notice were full of firsts. In 2023, he was named the Vancouver Bandits’ Defensive Player of the Year, and the following summer he led them to the Canadian Elite Basketball League Final as team captain.

But it wasn’t always this easy. Just three years ago, Notice was watching from the couch, recovering from a torn Achilles.

Notice’s journey to the pros wasn’t a straight path. He’s battled through countless physical and mental obstacles, using basketball as a teaching and coping mechanism.

Growing up in a Jamaican household as a first-generation Canadian, it was instilled in a young Notice’s mind: nothing comes without sacrifice.

From as early as he can remember, Notice knew he wanted to become a professional basketball player.

“I always knew it was my dream, and I’ve never been the type of person to have a plan B or plan C,” said Notice.

Like many young Canadians, Notice’s first basketball memory was playing on a plastic hoop as a kid, trying to mimic the same dunks Vince Carter and Michael Jordan did.

For most, their dreams end there. Only three per cent of high school basketball players go on to play college basketball, and only one per cent of college players turn pro.

But as Notice grew older, this distant dream of becoming a professional slowly turned into a reality. Notice wasn’t a regular kid with hoop dreams. He had the physical tools, but more importantly, he also had the drive to improve.

“I realized at a young age, when I was sacrificing hanging out with friends or not [going to] prom, if I'm [going to] sacrifice as much then it has to be for something,” said Notice.

As a teenager Notice, now 30, was on three Canadian national teams that won bronze medals at the under-16, under-17 and under-18 FIBA Americas Championships, playing alongside future NBA players Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett.

At the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic International Game, he became the first Canadian to win the Most Valuable Player award.

Notice’s coaches thought he was destined for greatness too.

“He was a strong athlete, but his work ethic and desire to get better stood out more than anything,” said Kyle Julius, Notice’s high school mentor and current Bandits coach.

“There’s no one who can say anything bad about [him].”

But for Notice, basketball was always more than just a sport. As a kid, it gave him a place to fit in.

“I gravitated [towards basketball] because I saw how I could use it as a metaphor for my life. I see basketball as a thing of beauty, but also a teaching mechanism because a lot of things are transferable to what we go through in life,” said Notice.

“I pursued it to escape the real world [because] I felt most comfortable on the court.”

After excelling in Canadian high school, Notice spent the next four years at the University of South Carolina, racking up countless accolades. Notice averaged 10.2 points, 2.6 assists and shot 37 per cent from three in 138 games at South Carolina. He was named the 2016 SEC Sixth Man of the Year and helped lead them to the Final Four in 2017 as a starter.

Following his collegiate career, Notice’s dream came true when signed his first professional contract with Stal Ostrow in Poland for the 2017-18 season.

However, at the prime of his life, in the blink of an eye, everything he had worked for came crashing down, with the future of his playing career in jeopardy.

In the summer of 2020, while playing with the Brampton Honey Badgers, Notice suffered an Achilles tear, one of the worst injuries for an athlete.

“I remember crying because I thought my career was over.”

Notice couldn’t help but feel envy towards his peers.

“All the love that I got from all my friends and family was amazing, but then it was hard because I would see all my friends that I played with thriving overseas, which was great, but then it was like, ‘damn, I should be playing right now.’”

Notice’s determination never wavered, and he was able to use lessons about resilience he learned through basketball. He wasn’t going to let this be the end of his career, especially at 25.

The injury gave Notice a rare opportunity, the chance to look inwards.

“[The injury] taught me a lot about myself outside of basketball because I had to be able to adjust and adapt to life without the game for two years. What interests did I have outside of basketball?”

Notice credits the injury for helping him find himself as a person. Notice always loved cinema, but he used his downtime during his recovery to dive deeper into his passions and spend time with family, two things he felt he neglected while focusing on basketball.

Following a successful two-year recovery, Notice returned to action healthy in the fall of 2022, signing with the Sudbury Five of the Basketball Super League.

For the next two seasons, Notice moved to the west coast and signed with the Vancouver Bandits in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. He was named team captain in 2023 and led them to the finals for the second time in Bandits history, marking the first championship appearance of Notice’s career.

Every bucket and every win are a constant reminder of the work Notice has put in, and the fulfilment of the promise he made to his younger self.