When the Hamilton Honey Badgers open training camp for the 2021 Canadian Elite Basketball League season Thursday in Hamilton, finding scoring won’t be an issue. The high octane Hamilton offense added more fuel Monday with the signing of Lindell Wigginton, a 6-foot-1 guard from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia who has been an offensive force the past two seasons in the NBA G League.
The 23-year-old Wigginton averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 34.9 minutes, and shot .549 from the field in 17 games with the Iowa Wolves during the 2020-21 NBA G League season. He averaged 15.1 points, 3.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 26.6 minutes and shot .486 from the floor in 43 games with the Minnesota Timberwolves G League affiliate during the 2019-20 season. He completed that rookie year with Nes-Ziona of the Israeli Premier League, one of the best leagues in the world, where he averaged 8.6 points and shot .550 from the field.
“I’ve known Lindell and his family since he was in grade school and it has been a joy to watch him develop into a young prospect,” said Honey Badgers General Manager Jermaine Anderson. “He is a proven scorer with NBA G League, FIBA and national team experience. Due to the shortened G League season, this summer is a perfect opportunity for Lindell to get in-game reps, while continuing to develop as a player. His sights are still set on making an NBA roster, and we’re going to do everything in our power as an organization to help him achieve his ultimate goal. Lindell has a pre-existing relationship with Coach Ryan Schmidt, and I’m confident that it will be a mutually beneficial experience for Lindell and our organizations”.
Wigginton graduated from the prestigious Oak Hill Academy basketball program in Viriginia in 2017, being named state’s player of the year by USA Today. Rated a four-star recruit by ESPN, Wigginton committed to Iowa State and averaged 16.7 points, 2.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds his freshman year. As a sophomore he was selected to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team and named the All-Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year after recording 13.5 points, 2.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 25 games.
Wigginton turned pro in 2019 and appeared in four games with the Toronto Raptors at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 2.8 points per game. He then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves and was assigned to the G League team in Iowa for the 2019-20 season.
The Honey Badgers open training camp Thursday at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton. Their season tips off June 26 on the road against the Edmonton Stingers in a game that will be televised nationally on CBC beginning at 4 p.m Eastern time. Stops at Saskatoon on June 28 and Ottawa on Canada Day precede their home-opener versus the Guelph Nighthawks at FirstOntario Centre on July 3. That home-opener will also be televised on CBC starting at 2 p.m. Eastern time.
Hamilton is coming off a 4-4 record and third place finish in the 2020 CEBL Summer Series , which marked the first professional sports in Canada to return to play after Covid-19 halted sports in March of 2020. More than 1.2 million viewers across Canada watched games live on CBC, and games were carried to more than 130 million viewers around the world.
More information about the Honey Badgers can be found at www.honeybadgers.ca , on Instagram at @honeybadgers.cebl, on Twitter at @HM_HoneyBadgers, and on Facebook.
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