Ottawa BlackJacks Looking Strong As They Head Into First Game

The Ottawa BlackJacks of the CEBL (Canadian Elite Basketball League) have officially finished up their training camp as of May 16. 

After team media day on May 9, they held five training camp practices over a period of seven days. Included during those remaining two days was a rest day, and a pre-season school day game against the Capital Region All-Stars, a group of collegiate players from the Ottawa area.

Those five practices have set the tone for what looks to be a successful season, as the team now prepares for their first game of the season on Sunday, May 18, at 3:00 p.m. against the defending CEBL champion, Niagara River Lions. 

General Manager James Derouin was excited about the energy during the first few days of training camp. He’s intentionally put together a roster of players who can easily develop strong chemistry.

“I’m big on ‘good dudes’,” says Derouin, “I like guys who can laugh and enjoy themselves. That’s the culture that we’ve built here. It’s all intentional.”

A lot of those “good dudes” are returnees from previous seasons. The team’s all-time scoring leader, Deng Adel, has returned for his fourth season. The high-energy Isaih Moore has also returned for his second season with the BlackJacks, coming off of twenty games of experience for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League.

“Not a lot of new faces, because we mostly kept our core together,” said Moore when asked about this year’s roster. 

Moore and Adel are two of nine returning BlackJacks this season, a number that nearly eclipses the ten-person active roster that the team will be cut down to come the start of the regular season. Other notable returning names at training camp included forwards Meshack Lufile and Miryne Thomas.

A lot of returnees weren’t able to make it back from their respective seasons overseas in time for training camp–there are question marks of the return times for last year’s standout guards Tevin Brown and Keevan Veinot.

Whether they make it to training camp or not, having a lot of returning players is key to Derouin’s idea of team comradery. “It’s really sort of a college atmosphere. They all live together, and they hang out all the time”. 

With such a tight-knit group of players joining forces with previous playing experience, the BlackJacks are poised to make a strong impression this season. In CEBL’s official preseason power rankings, Ottawa was ranked third by league media.

The team wasn’t given that high of a ranking purely based on their returning players, though. Training camp also introduced some new additions that are set to make a massive impact this season.

Guard Rudi Williams joins the team this year after finishing third in the Hungarian NBIA (Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A) in points per game with 21.1. The Hamilton native played two games for the Edmonton Stingers in 2023, but is excited for a full season of play in the fantastic team environment that Derouin has created.

“I’ve only been [in Ottawa] for a week now, but I feel like I’ve been doing a good job meshing myself with the group, and the chemistry is where it needs to be.” said Williams after the team’s matchup against the Capital Region All-Stars.

In that game, Williams led the team with eight assists to go along with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. He boasts five years of experience at the collegiate level, including a season where he averaged 12.8 points per game off the bench for the well-known Division I program at Brigham Young University in 2022-23.

That experience, scoring and playmaking ability will all help Williams as he projects to start at point guard for the BlackJacks this summer.

Another exciting new addition to the roster is Shakur Daniel, a 6-6 guard from Ajax, Ontario. Daniel joins the team fresh off of a season in the NBA G-League with the San Diego Clippers, where he averaged 19.1 minutes per game in 27 outings.

“I’m really excited,” says Daniel about the season ahead, “It’s the first time I’ve played back home in Canada since I left high school…playing for the Capital, it’s amazing.”

Daniel’s biggest strength lies on the defensive end of the floor. In the 2019-20 season, he won his conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award playing for Ranger Junior College. That defensive intensity will no doubt leak into his BlackJacks teammates.

Improving on the defensive end has been a huge priority for newly promoted Head Coach David DeAveiro this year. Last season, the BlackJacks were second-worst in the CEBL in points allowed per game. The focus on improving that rank was emphasized constantly at training camp, and instilled in each and every player.

“The guys are willing to buy in,” says Assistant Coach Jafeth Maseruka. “The guys understand that’s going to be the focus of this team.” 

The additions of Daniel alongside Williams, who averaged 1.9 steals per game in Hungary last season, are sure to provide real defensive impact and help change the team’s defensive culture.

“We wanna hang our hats on defense”, says Moore. “Even though [offense] is our strong suit, we want defense to be our strong suit too.” 

Moore led the University of Southern Mississippi in blocks per game with 1.1 in the 2021-22 season. His ability to protect the rim, in addition to the pressure Williams and Daniel can provide at the point of attack, will be crucial to Ottawa’s ability to get stops.

Those defensive stops matter when it comes to winning championships–last year’s champions, the Niagara River Lions, were third in the league in points allowed per game. That same River Lions team took down the BlackJacks in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.

With an emphasis on defensive improvement, the team will look to mimic their rivals and become one of the best defensive teams in the CEBL. The energy coming from the players, old and new, in training camp should provide fans with the expectations of accomplishing that goal.