Ottawa BlackJacks Add Three New Players to its Roster

The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Friday the signing of Canadians Jadon Cohee and Mamadou Gueye, in addition to American import Antonio Williams.

A six-foot-four guard from Langley, British Columbia, Jadon Cohee averaged 15.2 points and 4.1 assists during his first year as a pro in 2020-21 with Mgzavrebi of the Georgia-Superleague. He scored a season-high 23 points four times and recorded season highs of five triples and nine assists December 26 against Olimpi.

Cohee played for two different teams in the NCAA before coming back home and representing the University of British Columbia, where he averaged 18.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 25 games as a senior. During the 2017-18 campaign, as a member of the Southern Utah University, Cohee finished the season third on the team in scoring average (12.6), led the team in assists with 98 and led the team in free-throws made (105).

A six-foot-seven forward from Quebec City, Mamadou Gueye is averaging 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 23.2 minutes in 108 professional games in Japan, Germany and Canada, including 25 games in the CEBL. Prior to joining the BlackJacks, Gueye played five games this season for the Guelph Nighthawks, totalling six points and 10 rebounds. He spent the 2020-21 campaign with Gifu of the Japan B-3 League, where he averaged 20.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in 38 games. He scored 30 or more points seven times, recorded 13 double-doubles and scored a career-high 42 points May 16 against Saitama. During the inaugural campaign of the CEBL, his 11.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game made him a key member of the Edmonton Stingers.

A University of Alberta alumni, Mamadou Gueye ranked third of all-time in points (1516) and rebounds (657) during his five years (2014-2018) playing for the Golden Bears and was named three times to the Canada West Second Team All-Star. He won the silver medal with Canada at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and represented the country at the 2015 World University Games, where he averaged 5.8 points in eight games.

Antonio Williams, known as Antonio “Booman” Williams, is a physical six-foot guard from Chicago, Illinois. This past year, he played his first professional season with Kalev of the Estonia-KML, where he averaged 17.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists in seven games.

Collegiately, Williams averaged 13.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 31.2 minutes in 62 games for Kent State University. As a senior in 2019-20, he dished a season-high seven assists three times and scored a season-best 34 points, shooting 14-for-20 from the floor and six-for-10 from the charity stripe February 21 against Buffalo. During the 2018-2019 campaign, he led the team in steals (58) averaging 1.8 steals per game, ranked second on the team in assists (87) and field-goal percentage (.479) and played the second-most minutes on the team (1,050).

Earlier this week, guard Johnny Berhanemeskel was inactivated due to contractual obligations with his European club. The Ottawa native averaged 15.7 points and 3.0 assists in three games for the BlackJacks. Additionally, Ottawa released forward Eric Kibi, who played one game for the BlackJacks this season in and the 2020 Summer Series in Niagara Region.

The BlackJacks (3-6) will travel to St. Catharines, Ontario tomorrow to take on the Niagara River Lions (5-3) at 7:00pm ET. The BlackJacks will then return home to TD Place on July 26, where they will play host to the Saskatchewan Rattlers.

The team is permitted to admit up to 1,000 fans for its final two home games. Tickets are now on sale at www.theblackjacks.ca/tickets.

All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.

Quotes:

 “Mamadou, Jadon and Antonio will bring the hunger and spark this team needs to have success during the second half of the CEBL season. We have big games ahead of us, and we need players who will push each other to get better every day and execute on game day. They are great additions to the BlackJacks family, and they will complete our team nicely.”

- Jevohn Shepherd, General Manager, Ottawa BlackJacks Basketball Club

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About the Ottawa BlackJacks

The first expansion franchise of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the Ottawa BlackJacks will showcase the best of basketball and entertainment in the nation’s capital. In its inaugural campaign, the BlackJacks earned a semifinal appearance at the 2020 CEBL Summer Series. The Ottawa front office brings NBA, NBA G League, NCAA and major international pro league experience to the franchise. Led by general manager Jevohn Shepherd, assistant general manager Andy Rautins and head coach Charles Dubé-Brais, Ottawa play its home games out of the world-class Arena at TD Place in Lansdowne Park. For more information visit www.theblackjacks.ca.

About Canadian Elite Basketball League

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube

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Contact:

Marika Guérin

Manager, Communications and Community

Ottawa BlackJacks Professional Basketball Club

[email protected]