The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Tuesday that Canadian guard Kadre Gray has re-signed with the Club for the remainder of the 2022 CEBL season.
A former U SPORTS most valuable player and Canadian national team guard, Kadre Gray has averaged 8.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 53 games playing professionally in the CEBL and in Spain. Gray is moving to Ottawa after starting the 2022 CEBL season with the Fraser Valley Bandits, averaging 8.9 points in 11 games. He scored a season-high 17 points during two consecutive games, including May 25 against Ottawa and May 27 against Hamilton.
Gray’s impressive post-secondary resumé translated to the professional game immediately as he emerged as a key offensive weapon for the BlackJacks during his first professional season in 2021. He ranked second on the team in points per game with 14.0 and lead the team in assists per game with 4.4. Gray’s most impactful game with the BlackJacks came during the CEBL quarter-final against Hamilton, where he set the CEBL playoff scoring record with 32 points, to go along with nine rebounds and three assists, in addition to scoring the Elam Ending winning free throw on August 4, 2021.
After a successful start to his professional career with Ottawa, Gray took his talents overseas, playing 28 games with CB Coruna of the LEB Oro in Spain.
Gray spent four years with Laurentian University, where he recorded averages of 25.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 33.6 minutes in 81 games. He captured ten major university sport awards, including the 2017-18 U SPORTS Athlete of the Year award, the 2018-19 and 2017-18 U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Player of the Year honours, the 2019-20 U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian award, the 2017-18 OUA Athlete of the Year award, three consecutive OUA Player of the Year selections and top rookie honours nationally and provincially in his debut campaign.
The sixth overall pick by the Hamilton Honey Badgers in the 2020 CEBL U SPORTS Draft, Gray represented Canada on various occasions, including at the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers on February 17, 2021, where he scored 11 points, shooting nine-for-nine from the charity stripe in less than 11 minutes of action in a 95-93 victory over the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Coming back from two games on the road, the BlackJacks will return home on July 6 for their first matchup of the year against the Saskatchewan Rattlers, followed by a game against the Fraser Valley Bandits on Friday, July 8. Tickets are available at theblackjacks.ca/tickets
Tournament Packs for the 2022 CEBL Championship Weekend hosted in the nation’s capital are now on sale and include the two semifinals, the championship game, access to the festival in Lansdowne Park and the concert series featuring major headliners. Game tickets for the semifinals and the championship game are also available to the general public. For more information, visit https://www.cebl.ca/championshipweekend or contact the Ottawa BlackJacks Membership Services team directly at 613-690-0519 or by email at [email protected].
Quotes:
"We are happy to have Kadre back with us. He is a very special talent who can really change a game with his ability to score and create for others. I am looking forward to working together again!"
- Jevohn Shepherd, General Manager and Vice-President, Basketball Operations
Ottawa BlackJacks Basketball Club
“Praise be to the Most High for this opportunity where it all started for me in my professional career. I am excited to battle with the rest of the BlackJacks squad on the road to victory for Ottawa! No man can stop what God has in store. Let’s go BlackJacks!”
- Kadre Gray, Guard, Ottawa BlackJacks Basketball Club