A day after trading fan favourite guard Maurice Jones, the St. John’s Edge was busy with another couple of moves Saturday, releasing Ted Kapita and bringing in Toronto native Olu Ashaolu.
Since the start of the 2018-19 National Basketball League of Canada season, the Edge have seen 20 different players don a St. John’s jersey.
In the 6-6 Ashaolu, the Edge are getting a player who played three years at Louisiana Tech University, then transferred to the University of Oregon for his senior season.
After turning pro, Ashaolu played in Spain, Japan and, most recently, the Philippines.
He has nine years of experience with the Canadian national team program, primarily with the junior national team.
Kapita’s stay in St. John’s lasted two games, against the Halifax Hurricanes last Tuesday and Thursday where there former North Carolina State player saw little playing time.
On Friday, St. John’s acquired the rights to Russell Byrd from the P.E.I. Island Storm for Jones.
Byrd, who played for the Edge last season, is averaging 18 points per game this season, along with 7.2 rebounds.
Jones had been a starter for the Edge this season, and among the team leader in minutes played, although that changed in Tuesday’s 104-70 loss to Halifax at Mile One Centre, when he played only 19 minutes and scored three points.
The 5-7 Jones is averaging 15.4 points this season but was made expendable with the emergence of 6-1 Junior Cadougan, who’s been playing heavy minutes of late and putting up numbers for the Edge.
The Edge, 13-8 and first in the Central Division, are in Sydney, N.S. for a game against the Cape Breton Highlanders tonight, the first of a five-game road swing. In fact, nine of the 11 Edge games this month will be played away from Mile One Centre.
