Game Day Preview: May 9th

We made it.

It has been over a year since the River Lions stepped on the hard court, and what a year it has been. The Canadian Elite Basketball League has made national and international headlines ahead of tip-off and we couldn’t be more excited to be part of this historical season as one of the original six teams.

Now, onto the basketball side of things.

Sunday night saw the end of the week-long training camp, where the River Lions officially cut their roster down to 10 men.

The seven Canadians on the final roster are guard Trae Bell-Haynes (Toronto, ON), guard Alex Johnson (Toronto, ON), guard Tyler Brown (Hamilton, ON), forward Yohanny Dalembert (dual citizen of Haiti and Canada), guard Nemanja Mitrovic (Toronto, ON), forward Fil Vujadinovic (Burlington, ON) and forward Guillaume Boucard (Montreal, QC).

The three other players that round out the roster are guard Dorian Pinson (Greenville, NC), Samuel Muldrow (Florence, SC) and guard Ryan Anderson (Seattle, WA).

As far as the on-court product, Head Coach & GM Victor Raso is already impressed.

“I was most pleasantly surprised with our basketball IQ of the general group and how much they like each other,” Raso said. “It’s an interesting situation where you recruit like-minded individuals, but you never really know how they’re going to gel together until they actually do. I’ve been very pleased with how much… they are willing to work for each other.”

In the historical first game of a brand-new league, it is difficult to project how any of the teams match up with each other. What we do know on our side of the ball is how exciting the River Lions’ brand of basketball will be.

The River Lions entered training camp with a common goal in mind, not wasting any time to get into things.

“The biggest thing with training camp is building our base. Once we get a good grasp of that, then we can build and gel as a team,” Raso said about starting the first CEBL season.

The River Lions boast tough guards with great vision and an ability to get to any spot on the court that go well with their active, athletic forwards.

“I’m really excited about this group and their potential. This weekend is a big weekend, but we have to keep it in perspective. We will get better as the season goes on and be able to scout better as the season goes on,” Raso said about the team’s ceiling. “But we know what our goal is, and our goal is to win a championship in August.”

Some players to watch include guard Trae Bell-Haynes, who spent some time with the Wisconsin Herd of the G-League (the Milwaukee Bucks’ affiliate), guard Ryan Anderson who set the NBLC record for threes in a game, and forward Guillaume Boucard who Raso considers one of the most improved players he’s coached.

However, with a roster of 10 players, all will play an important role.

Tonight the Saskatchewan Rattlers, will host the River Lions in the first game in CEBL history at the Sasktel Centre in Saskatoon.

The Rattlers possess great size, with only one player under 6’2”. They are led by head coach Greg Jockims, who coached the University of Saskatchewan Huskies’ men’s team from 1998-2011.

Saskatchewan boasts electric scoring and strength in guards Justus Alleyn and Alex Campbell. Both guards play a physical brand of basketball, using their strength and explosiveness to get into the lane and rise above defenders for a shot.

The Rattlers’ length is headlined by Jelane Pryce (6’8”), Marlon Johnson (6’10”), and former Raptors 905 player Negus Webster-Chan (6’7”).