Victor Raso named River Lions’ bench boss and GM
Twenty-eight-year-old Victor Raso has been named the head coach and general manager of the Niagara River Lions of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
The son of former River Lions coach/GM Joe Raso is going to do a lot more than hit the basketball court running because he has already been in the position for more than a month.
“Today was the day we decided to announce it, but I have been full steam ahead for a while,” said the captain of the 2013 and 2014 national champion Carleton Ravens.
The rules for the CEBL are that seven of the 10 roster spots have to be filled by Canadian players and an 11th spot has been reserved for players who are returning to Canadian university (U Sports) action when the CEBL season ends.
Guidelines for the leagues upcoming draft in mid-March are still be worked out, but Raso and the other general managers are assuming that everyone, Canadians and imports, are free agents until the draft is held.
“A big part of the job is gauging interest from a lot of the Canadian professional basketball players who are playing overseas and trying to understand what their appetite is for this league, training over the summer, getting better and playing all year round,” Raso said. “I’m gauging the interest of guys interested in playing at the same time I have a handful of guys I am actively recruiting.”
Raso is focusing his attention equally on the imports and Canadians, who will make up his roster.
“With only three imports, there is a world of talent out there, especially Americans, and there is a ton of availability in the summer.”
He has already set his sights on a number of American players and is particularly interested in former River Lion point guard Jaylon Tate, who played four years of NCAA Division 1 ball at the University of Illinois.
“I would love for him to come back and be our point guard this year,” he said. “He was awesome to coach last year and he is a great talent.
“He dominated and was great right off the start.”
Obviously the most important part of the puzzle are the Canadian players, who make up the bulk of the roster.
“There’s definitely not as many Canadians playing overseas as Americans and you have to get seven of them,” Raso said.
That area will be a strength in his role as general manager.
“I got to coach against a lot of them last year in the NBL Canada, I played against a lot of them in university and I’ve kept track of a lot of the other ones and watched them play overseas.”
Raso will use his experiences last season in the National Basketball League of Canada to guide his personnel decisions.
“You have to identify what you think is going to be successful in this league,” he said. “I am going to compare it to the league the River Lions were in last year and, based on that, you will need a high level of talent and athleticism.”
He feels his coaching philosophy is tailored to the players he has on his roster.
“I like to adapt what we do offensively and defensively to our strengths and weaknesses.”
He is looking for a certain type of player.
“I like guys who are competitive, I like guys who care a lot and basketball is the most important thing for them,” he said. “The team I build will be guys of that character and people who care about developing their game, working on their game and who care about being good people.”
Obviously, Victor’s biggest coaching influences are his father and Carleton coach Dave Smart. Victor was an assistant under Smart when his playing career ended.
“Growing up as a son of a coach, you really become ingrained in that person’s philosophy,” he said. “Then I had a great opportunity to go to Carleton and be coached by Dave Smart and be ingrained in his culture.”
Raso appreciated the differences and similarities between the two bench bosses.
“They both wanted their players to play, but their approach to that, their terminology and strategies were completely different,” he said. “I had an opportunity to learn from both sides and the most important thing I learned along the way is that you have to be yourself.
“As soon as you get away from what makes you you, people won’t trust you or believe you.”
Raso is most looking forward to building relationships with his players.
“I plan on working with my guys every day on skill development and strength and conditioning, and practising at night,” he said. “I want to give professional athletes the opportunity to train and get better over the summer.”
The River Lions have been searching for a new coach and GM since the fall and it was Raso’s prior experience and relationship with the River Lions organization that stood out amongst the candidates. River Lions President Jeffrey Sotiriou is confident that Raso’s transition to head coach will be seamless.
“Victor has proven to be a hardworking and talented coach,” Sotiriou said. “When Victor joined the River Lions last season, we were immediately impressed with his professionalism, work ethic, and modern approach to the game.”
The league starts May 9 and the season ends in mid- to late-August. The River Lions are joined by Guelph, Hamilton, Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Fraser Valley as the original six teams in the CEBL. Teams will play a 20-game regular season schedule and season tickets are available at riverlions.ca/tickets.