Pyken Easthope

Bigger Than Basketball: The Steady Fire of Pyken Easthope

Southern Alberta raised him on community and competition. The gym gave him purpose. The “Mamba Mentality” taught him how to turn that purpose into fuel.

In Southern Alberta, basketball isn’t just a sport — it’s a rhythm. Pyken Easthope grew up inside that rhythm, surrounded by gyms, rivalries, and teammates who felt more like brothers. His story started simply enough: some friends convinced him to sign up. “That’s where it started,” he says. “They talked me into it — and I fell in love with it.”

That spark never left. The hours got longer, the stakes got higher, but the joy stayed the same. The memory that still hits hardest comes from high school: back-to-back Zone Finals wins. “The energy was unreal,” Pyken says. “It felt like every extra hour in the gym was meant for that moment.”

That’s how he’s wired — to connect every rep to a reason. His biggest motivation isn’t the spotlight; it’s the love of the game itself. “I just want to use basketball to keep pushing myself — to open doors, to further my education,” he says.

Ask who shaped him, and you’ll get the answer you’d expect from someone who studies the craft. “Kobe Bryant, for his mentality,” Pyken says. “The ‘Mamba Mentality’ — that preparation and obsession with improvement — that’s everything.” But he’ll also point to his high-school coach, the kind who dropped quotes like breadcrumbs. The one that stuck?

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

It’s become the quiet mantra behind how he trains, how he competes, and how he handles everything that comes with the game.

Now, when Pyken steps on the court in an STMU Lightning jersey, it’s about more than points or stats. “It means family,” he says. “It’s about representing everyone who supports us — classmates, alumni, people from the town who come out on game nights.”

He plays for all of them — for that small-town pride, for the people in the stands, for the teammates beside him. “It’s bigger than basketball,” he says. “Every time I step on the court, I’m playing for something larger than myself.”

And that’s the thing about Pyken Easthope — he’s not chasing fame, he’s building belonging. Every practice, every game, every moment is another reminder of why he started: the friends who got him into it, the community that keeps him in it, and the work that’s quietly shaping him into something greater.