By Justine Jones
The Guelph Nighthawks travel east to the nation’s capital to tip off their 2021 CEBL season against the Ottawa BlackJacks on June 28 at 7p.m. ET at the Arena at TD Place.
This marks a re-match of last year’s quarterfinal game in the CEBL Summer Series, where the expansion BlackJacks emerged victorious with a 83-75 win.
There have been many changes to both franchises since that game, including Ottawa parting ways with Carleton coaching legend Dave Smart and Guelph adding former NBA draft pick Justin Jackson to their roster.
With both teams making changes and adding key pieces this offseason, developing chemistry quickly will be key in tonight’s matchup.
Welcome home
After finishing fifth with a 3-3 round robin record in the CEBL Summer Series, the Nighthawks have added size to their front court this offseason in acquiring Canadian, Justin Jackson.
Jackson, a former second-round pick of the Denver Nuggets, spent the last two seasons in the NBA G-League with the Lakeland Magic and was a member of their 2021 championship winning roster. The Scarborough, Ont., native returns home to Canada to play basketball for the first time since leaving for the University of Maryland in 2016.
Some unfortunate injuries, including a season-ending Achilles injury in 2018, have kept Jackson sidelined. However, Nighthawks head coach Charles Kissi is excited with Jackson’s raw athletic potential and his hunger to get back on the court. At six-foot-seven, the Canadian’s length could prove to be advantageous for Guelph on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Guelph have also added more G-League experience in acquiring guards Ahmed Hill and Isaiah Reese, who spent time with the Greensboro Swarm and Santa Cruz Warriors, respectively.
A trend with this Nighthawks roster is their defensive prowess. With guards like the aforementioned Reese and Hill, along with returning Canadian and two-time U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Anderson, this group will be difficult to score against. Look for Guelph to be aggressive on defence and apply on-ball pressure, especially knowing they have added rim protection and size this offseason.
Gray a bright spot in opening night loss
The BlackJacks will look to rebound from a 103-78 opening night loss to the Niagara River Lions. With new management coming to Ottawa in former Canadian National Team members, Jevohn Shepherd and Andy Rautins, along with several new players, building chemistry will be imperative moving forward.
Team cohesiveness may not be achieved overnight, but Ottawa will look to take care of unforced errors in game two as 23 turnovers led to 28 Niagara points on opening night. The game remained close through the first two quarters, but a five-minute scoreless stretch to open the second half left the BlackJacks with a large deficit to overcome.
While it may take some time for Ottawa’s new players to gel together, a bright spot in the loss was former U SPORTS Player of the Year, Kadre Gray. The six-foot-one guard came off the bench and led all BlackJacks with 25 points on 55 per cent shooting. In addition to his scoring, Gray was also able to cut into the lane and facilitate for his teammates and led all players with four assists. Centre Nick Ward notched a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) and CEBL veteran Junior Cadougan added 11 points.
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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