Matthew Winick
The Ottawa BlackJacks (1-1) and Hamilton Honey Badgers (1-1) will face off at the Arena at TD Place in the nation’s capital for Thursday’s Canada Day clash at 2:00 PM ET.
With a triumphant win and frustrating loss on their resume, the two franchises will look to vault themselves up the CEBL standings at 2-1. While three games are no true indicator of a team’s capability, the condensed 14-game regular season in 2021 makes every game critical.
Crafty Canadians
Kadre Gray (26.0 ppg) and Lindell Wigginton (25.0 ppg) rank first and second in scoring amongst Canadian players this season. With each player leading their teams offensively, the pressure will be on both Wigginton and Gray to produce.
Both dynamic guards are newcomers to the CEBL this season, but that isn’t noticeable from their play. Wigginton, a former G-League player with the Iowa Wolves, was a splashy free agent signing for Hamilton. Meanwhile, Gray is playing in his first professional season ever, after a historic career at Laurentian University.
While their paths have been wildly different, both players are directly responsible for their teams’ early success. Adding in the fact that Wigginton and Gray also rank in the top five league-wide in assists per game, look for the winner of this matchup to have a major leg up in Thursday’s tilt.
X-Factors
Another key duel set for Thursday is Hamilton’s leading returning scorer JV Mukama against former NBA draft pick Kris Joseph of the BlackJacks. Although both long wings possess high-level talent, each player has had some struggles to begin the 2021 season.
Mukama came off a torrid finish to the 2020 CEBL Summer Series but hasn’t quite produced to the same level just yet. The Ryerson University alum is averaging just 4.5 points per game on 2-12 shooting overall.
Known as a good 3-point shooter, Mukama is slightly off the mark from deep this season, and 11 of his 12 shot attempts have come from beyond the arc. On the bright side, his defense and rebounding have been on point thus far, as he’s averaging 8.5 boards per game.
Joseph has also struggled to shoot two games in, making just three of his 12 shots and averaging six points per game. The 32-year-old former Syracuse star plays a vital role on the BlackJacks as a veteran presence, and his lengthy basketball career indicates that he will soon turn up his production.
While neither team should be overly concerned about their talented forwards, both serve as excellent x-factors for their squads. Should either Mukama or Joseph break out of their shooting slumps on Thursday, it could go a long way towards a victory.
Coaching colleagues
Both Hamilton head coach Ryan Schmidt and Ottawa bench boss Charles Dubé-Brais understand the importance of Thursday’s game, but they also understand each other quite well.
Schmidt and Dubé-Brais both served as assistant coaches for the Raptors 905 and worked together from 2018-2020. Although the experience of coaching in the G-League undoubtedly gives these two young coaches a major experience boost in most scenarios, coaching against each other is sure to lead to an entirely different challenge.
It’s safe to say that beyond winning the game, one of Schmidt or Dubé-Brais is looking forward to gaining bragging rights over the other.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+ , cbcsports.ca , the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube
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