BB: Six Canada West athletes selected in CEBL draft

CALGARY - Six Canada West athletes may soon make the leap to professional basketball after seeing their names on the CEBL draft list.

On Tuesday evening, the 10 CEBL franchises drafted 20 student-athletes from across Canada, giving them their first taste of pro ball. They now have the opportunity to play alongside veteran professionals from the NBA, NBA G League, Canadian National team, and top international leagues.

Anthony Tsegakele led the picks from Canada West, drafted fourth overall by the Saskatchewan Rattlers. After being picked sixth overall in last year’s draft by the Fraser Valley Bandits, Tsegakele went on to win the Brandon University Men’s Basketball Most Valuable Player award and was named to the Canada West All-Star Third Team in the 2021-22 season. He finished the season ranked second nationally in rebounding with an average of 11.9 per game.

Nervens Demosthene from the University of Saskatchewan was the fifth pick of the draft. The Ottawa BlackJacks selected the fourth-year guard, who was picked first overall by the Rattlers in the 2021 CEBL U SPORTS Draft.

Patrick Vandervelden of Mount Royal University rounded out the first round selections after being chosen by the Edmonton Stingers.

Sukhman Sandhu (University of British Columbia), Ben Hillis (University of Regina), and Mason Bourcier (Trinity Western University) were all selected in the second round of the draft by Fraser Valley, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland respectively. Sandu led the conference in three-point shooting at 50 per cent; Hillis was a first-team Canada West all-star; and Bourcier broke the CW career triple-double record in a single season.

2022 CEBL U SPORTS Draft

Pick / Name / School / CEBL Team (CW athlete in bold)

1 / David Muenkat / St. Francis Xavier University / Scarborough

2 / Alain Louis / Carleton University / Montreal

3 / Cole Long / Memorial University / Newfoundland

4 / Anthony Tsegakele / Brandon University / Saskatchewan

5 / Nervens Demosthene / University of Saskatchewan / Ottawa

6 / Elijah Miller / University of PEI / Guelph

7 / Thomas Kennedy / University of Windsor / Fraser Valley

8 / Keevan Veinot / Dalhousie University / Hamilton

9 / Lloyd Pandi / Carleton University / Niagara

10 / Patrick Vandervelden / Mount Royal University / Edmonton

11 / Somto Dimanochie / York University / Edmonton

12 / Isaiah Bujdoso / Brock University / Niagara

13 / Michael Okafor / Lakehead University / Hamilton

14 / Sukhman Sandhu / University of British Columbia / Fraser Valley

15 / Ibrahima Doumbouya / University of New Brunswick / Guelph

16 / Guillaume Pepin / University of Ottawa / Ottawa

17 / Ben Hillis / University of Regina / Saskatchewan

18 / Mason Bourcier / Trinity Western University / Newfoundland

19 / Marc-André Fortin / Université Laval / Montreal

20 / Aaron Rhooms / Ryerson University / Scarborough

The CEBL, which tips off its fourth season May 25, is Canada’s largest professional sports league with 10 teams located in six provinces from coast to coast. 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 per cent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players and coaches 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 runs from May through August.

-30-