Game Preview - June 20: BlackJacks Return to Scarborough with New Look Roster
The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) are back on the road tonight to take on the Scarborough Shooting Stars at 7:30 p.m.
The BlackJacks enter this game with a record of 2-6, just half of a game ahead of the 2-7 Brampton Honey Badgers for the worst record in the Eastern Conference. The Shooting Stars, sit third in the East with a record of 5-4.
Scarborough is coming off of a 28-point win against the No. 2 team in the East, the Montreal Alliance while Ottawa is carrying a four-game losing streak, culminating with their last game: a one point loss to the No. 1 team in the East, the Niagara River Lions.
That loss was an especially tough pill to swallow for the BlackJacks, as they’ve found themselves on the wrong side of the coin against the River Lions a few too many times recently.
In last year’s playoffs, the River Lions took the BlackJacks down in the Eastern Conference semifinals by just three points. In Ottawa’s first game this season, Niagara pulled off a 17-point comeback in target time to snag a two-point win. Combine those two losses with the most recent one, and the River Lions have really been the thorn in the BlackJacks’ side recently.
“We’re devastated,” said BlackJacks Head Coach David DeAveiro when asked about the loss, “that was a game that we had right in our grasp, and we let it get away.”
Ottawa had a six-point leading during the fourth quarter of that game, but once again allowed Niagara to fight back.
DeAveiro has been vocal all season about the team’s need to improve in late-game situations, but emphasized it even more than usual coming off of this specific loss:
“We have to find a way to get over this ‘hump’, where we’re in a situation to be really successful and we let it slip away. We’ll keep addressing that through tape, and we’ll get better.”
A huge key to keeping those fourth-quarter leads for Ottawa is to prevent turnovers. They sit third in the CEBL in turnovers per game, with 16.3. Those turnovers not only take away a chance for the BlackJacks to score, but give easy opportunities to their opponents to score on the other end–something that can change the momentum of games.
“We’re basically beating ourselves,” said DeAveiro, “that’s what we’ve been saying, is, ‘Make teams beat us. Let’s not beat ourselves.”
The Shooting Stars will be a great test for whether or not the BlackJacks have improved their ball control, as they’re one of the premiere teams in the league when it comes to live-ball defense. They sit third in the CEBL in steals per-game (9.1) and first in the league in blocks per-game (5.7).
If Ottawa can prevent Scarborough from scoring off of turnovers, especially against such a strong defensive team, it will be proof enough that they’re a team to be afraid of in this league.
The BlackJacks are only getting scarier, too. Against Niagara, new signee Zane Waterman played his first game with the team. Now against Scarborough, they’ll introduce two more players who have yet to touch the court this year–returning guard Keevan Veinot and first-time CEBL player Javonte Smart.
Waterman showed out in his first game: he finished with 16 points in just 18 minutes off of the bench against the River Lions, to go along with eight rebounds.
His grit and effort has been praised repeatedly by his teammates, who have only played with him for a week’s time.
“I think he’s still capable of more once our guys get to know him a little better,” said DeAveiro.
Waterman and Veinot played together on the 2022 Hamilton Honey Badgers, winning the CEBL championship–they have a strong friendship, and are excited to have reunited on the BlackJacks.
“That’s the beauty of basketball,” said Veinot when asked about reuniting with Waterman, “you make lifelong friendships. I’m looking forward to playing with him again.”
Veinot’s chemistry with Waterman will no doubt be impactful for the BlackJacks, but his individual play is nothing to scoff at either.
Veinot started in 13 of his 17 contests with the team last season, averaging 12.2 points per-game to go along with 5.0 assists–good for third on the team.
With the release of guard Matt Coleman III, Veinot can slot right in as the team’s starting point guard and use his playmaking ability to help the BlackJacks win some games.
The way Veinot described his play is exactly how a team would want a point guard to describe themselves: “I’ll shoot the ball, I’ll share it, looking to get guys the ball in their spots and trying to make a more effective offense.”
Javonte Smart is also a point guard, but acts more as a scorer. The former Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers guard loves to shoot the ball.
He averaged 20.3 points per-game for the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League in the 2022-23 season, shooting the three at a 40% rate. In December of 2023, he scored 40 points on 10 made threes in one game.
The microwave that is Smart will add yet another boost to Ottawa’s offense–one that will hopefully improve their ability to stay solid late in games, and prevent turnovers.
While the BlackJacks have added new players, the Shooting Stars have swapped out one of their stars for another. Guard Donovan Williams is currently away from the team, participating in potential NBA team workouts. In his place, they’ve signed guard Terquavion Smith, who March Madness fans may recognize from his time on North Carolina State Wolfpack teams from 2021 through 2023.
Smith scored 26 points in his first game with the Shooting Stars on June 18 and he’ll act as quite an effective replacement for Williams, who before his departure was leading the CEBL in points per-game with 25.5.
It will be a battle tonight to see which team’s offense operates the best: the Shooting Stars with Smith freshly at the helm or the BlackJacks with Waterman, Veinot, and Smart all playing in one of their first two games.
If the BlackJacks can limit turnovers against the Shooting Stars’ strong defense, they’ll likely take the win thanks to their new offensive firepower.
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