SkyHawks introduce first players, including six Canadians
Posted Aug 21, 2013 04:31:04 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA- Ottawa’s National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) club introduced the first ten members of their team at a Wednesday news conference.
At Sunday’s league draft they went off the list and picked up a player who wasn’t even registered to be drafted.
“I actually went there to go support a friend and it turned out there was a jersey there waiting for me,” said Alex “Superman” Johnson. “Originally, I just wanted to play one game just to get up and down.”
SkyHawks Owner Gus Takkale says during that one game they liked him and even the league’s president let him play for the eyes of the NBL’s brass.
“Alex was there to support a friend and wasn’t registered in the draft. They asked him to suit up, they knew who he was and asked him to suit up,” said Takkale. “As he was playing a lady came in from the registration and said ‘I’m sorry sir you have to leave you’re not registered.’ At that point Andre Levingston came down and said ‘no, no, no he doesn’t leave.’ So he kept on playing and every single coach, every single GM had their eyes on him.”
Johnson played for North Carolina State and CSU Bakersfield where he shot 165 career three-pointers. He also made history becoming the first Canadian selected first pick overall in the NBL.
For the team’s second pick they got even closer to home, selecting 6 foot 6 forward Manock Lual of Ottawa. Eric Kibi was also drafted by the club and also grew up in Ottawa.
“Growing up we never really thought about playing basketball here,” Kibi said. “Everybody kind of thinks about going to the States so to me it’s kind of a dream come true to get to play basketball here.”
Three other Canadians from Ontario have come to terms with the club. Jamie Vanderbeken of Belleville, will be the first Canadian to play in the NBL who has also played in the NBA Development League. Tristan Blackwood and Jerome Brown, both from Toronto, have also been selected.
“The Ottawa SkyHawks are proud supporters of Canadian basketball,” Takkale said in a released statement. “We know Ottawa is an ideal market with a strong basketball community. Accordingly, we are committed to bringing a championship-calibre team to the nation’s capital and doing so with a strong Canadian presence.”
Fred Sturdivant, Mike Rose and NBA D-League players Tirrell Baines and Ryan Anderson round out the first ten team members.
The club’s first game is Saturday, November 2nd against the Windsor Express at 7 p.m. at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Season’s tickets are on sale now and their full schedule has also been released.
