STACKHOUSE’S RANDOM RATTLER THOUGHTS
RATTLERS BROADCAST – There wasn’t much viewing competition on Sunday afternoon, so I took in the Saskatchewan Rattlers-Niagara River Lions game in its entirety and I came away with one major improvement suggestion: hire a professional production company to do the broadcasts. Of course I’m partial to Bamboo Shoots because I’ve worked with them before but they truly do a great job. When I did play by play for the SJHL Canalta Cup finals in 2019, I felt like I was the weak link to a group that, truly, had a feel of TSN as far as professionalism goes. If the CEBL wants to take the next step and truly be the CFL of basketball, then I feel they need to spend a little more and let a production company take over the bells and whistles of video media as opposed to relying on in-house options. I’d say the same for the Saskatchewan Rush but I’ll leave that for another day.
THE GAME – The Rattlers lost the game 72-71 on a final three-point shot by Kassius Robertson. Prior to this game I was not familiar with how the CEBL determines outcomes, which is referred to as the Elam Ending. How it works is that the first whistle with under four minutes remaining produces a target score, which is nine points more than what the winning team has at the time. On Sunday, the Rattlers were up 63-59, which meant Niagara needed 14 in order to win. I have to say I quite like this for a couple of reasons. First of all, it eliminates endless foul infractions in the final minute. Secondly, it allows for a game winning basket to end every game. It promotes offense and excitement.
RATTLERS FLAWS – Unfortunately, an Elam Ending isn’t conducive to the Rattlers winning a lot of games because they appear to be a little short on offense. Devonte Bandoo did his part, scoring 23 points and 9 rebounds. Travis Daniels also came close to a double double, scoring 12 and adding 9 off the glass. Aside from these two, there doesn’t look to be a lot to work with on a consistent basis. Mambi Diawara scored 19 and D’Andre Bernard added 8 boards but they are going to need a second scoring threat other than Bandoo if they want to get in the win column, which they haven’t hit yet (0-and-4).
XAVIER MOON – My plan is to attend the first indoor sports event in Saskatchewan that is allowed to have normal capacity fans on Monday, July 12th when the Rattlers host the defending champion Edmonton Stingers. The Stingers boast the most prolific player in the league in Xavier Moon, who’s averaging over 30 points a game. In his last encounter, Moon dropped 21 in the first quarter alone. He’s a three year vet in the CEBL and really is the face of the league as far as star promotion is concerned. The Rattlers won the league title in 2019 but only have one player from that team on the 2021 roster (Negus Webster-Chan).
PLAYER PROFILE – If you read my 10 Thoughts column the other day, I briefly mentioned Bandoo and Daniels and their backgrounds. Diawara, who was second in scoring to Bandoo on Sunday, is from Quebec and played three years for the Calgary Dinos. He helped them win a national title in 2018, hitting the game winning basket in the championship game against Ryerson. He was a first team Canada West All-Star in 2019 and over the course of his three years with the program, he averaged 17.4-points per game.
BLAST FROM THE PAST – I wish there was a pro basketball league in Canada 25 years ago. Some of my favorite memories from working full-time in the media are from Canadian men’s university basketball. There can be no doubt the likes of Keith Vassell, Shawn Gray, Euan Roberts, Earnest Bell, Demetrius Floyd, Ogo Okwumabua, Kevin Gilroy, and Chris Warnecke could have suited up in a league much like the CEBL.
STINGERS COVID RESTRICTIONS – Alberta dropped it’s Covid restrictions on July 1 and the Stingers welcomed 877 fans for their game on July 2 against Niagara. There are no restrictions in BC either, but Fraser Valley played host to Ottawa on Saturday and there didn’t appear to be anyone in attendance judging from the photos I’ve seen from the game. The Rattlers game on Sunday did have a smattering of people in the seats, my guess is that 150 were allowed in. Here’s hoping for several thousand next week.
CEBL SEASON/PLAYOFFS – Each team will play 14 games and the regular season wraps up on August 10th, just after the CFL begins. For me, it’s perfect to follow along for the next month and I’m looking forward to my first in-person experience in a week. Playoffs begin August 14th with 3rd vs 6th and 4th vs 5th in a one-game quarterfinal. The two winners advance to Edmonton where the host Stingers and the league’s top seed will be waiting for semi-final games on August 20th. The Championship game is played August 22nd at 2 o’clock.
(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter at @Stack1975)
