It may be the second season for the St. John’s Edge, but in so many ways, this has the look of a brand-new team.
A new head coach. A whole bunch of new players. Heck, even the Edge’s uniforms are in for a slight change as they will feature small jersey numbers on the front.
The National Basketball of Canada’s Edge began training camp Monday at the Provincial Training Centre with 10 of the players listed on the team’s 15-man training camp roster. Seven of those who were in attendance are newcomers to the team, as are the five who weren’t present.
In charge of the re-shuffled Edge is Doug Plumb, who had been an assistant to Jeff Dunlap in the team’s inaugural season, but it hardly would be correct to say Plumb has inherited Dunlap’s squad. Only three players — star guard and 2017-18 NBL Canada MVP Carl English, Jarryn Skeete and Desmond Lee — are back from the team that advanced to the divisional finals in its first season.
Of the seven new players working out Monday, three had been in the NBL Canada last season. They are guards Junior Cadougan (London Lightning), Maurice Jones (Windsor Express) and Guillaume Boucard (Niagara River Lions). The others included a trio of signed rookies from NCAA Division One programs — guard Kevin Zabo (Ken State), forward Nick Banyard (Central Florida) and forward Bryce Washington (Louisiana-Lafayette) — and guard J.T. Miller (Missouri State), attending training camp on an invitation.
Guard Todd Brown, a Wright State product who played the last seven years in Europe, arrived in town later Monday, while forward Jared Nickens (Maryland), the team’s latest signing, is due today.
Also expected later in the week are former NBL Canada MVP Gabe Freeman; training-camp invitee Ted Kapita, a native of Congo who played at North Carolina State and former Dallas Mavericks draft pick, centre Satnam Singh.
At 6-6 and 6-9, respectively, Freeman and Kapita will bring some size to a training-camp group that features nine players listed as guards. But the player everyone wants to see is the 7-2, 295-pound Singh, one of the largest basketball players in the world.
However, Singh, who is from India, is apparently having trouble obtaining a visa to come to Canada, even going so far as to appeal for help to Sushma Swaraj, the Indian Minister for External Affairs.
The Edge say they are working to expedite Singh’s arrival and are hoping he will be here before the weekend, when the team heads to Grand Falls-Windsor for a portion of its training camp.
The team will be in central Newfoundland Nov. 3-9 and then will return to St. John’s to prepare for its first game, Nov. 18, when it will face the two-time defending champion Lightning in London. The Edge’s first home game is Nov. 23, when they will take on the Moncton Magic at Mile One Centre.
Court notes
Nickens had recently attended the training camp of the Houston Rockets' G-League affiliate, the Rio-Grande Valley Vipers. And you can expect the Edge and other NBL Canada teams will be paying attention Wednesday when G-League teams make their final roster cuts … NBL Canada teams must carry five players on their 12-man active rosters, and that’s how many the Edge have as of today, with English, Skeete, Cadougan, Boucard and Zabo … Edge season-ticket holders can pick up their tickets 6-8 p.m. Friday at the Holy Heart of Mary gym. The event will also feature a meet-and-greet with the team …
Twitter: @telybrendan
