PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL HAS RETURNED TO HAMILTON AND SO FAR IT’S BEEN NOTHIN’ BUT NET. WRITTEN BY MEREDITH MACLEOD 44 CELEBRATING OVER 40 YEARS anada masterfully produces ers out of the 10-man active roster must be development of players and coaches, along Ctwo things, says former Hamil- Canadian and at least two must be on the with community engagement and market- ton Tiger-Cat receiver Mike Morreale. court at all times. ing, while the CEBL gets recognition as an Hockey players and maple syrup, you That comes at a time when there is lots official Division 1 league of the national or- say? One out of two. Ditch the pancakes and of buzz about the 13 Canadians in the NBA ganization. substitute basketball players. (among them Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of “I really didn’t think working with Canada The game that was invented by Canadian the LA Clippers, who played high school bas- Basketball was going to be possible,” says James Naismith in 1891 is now the second- ketball in Hamilton) and the more than 130 Morreale, who played 12 seasons in the CFL most popular sport in the world, But it’s men playing in the NCAA. It’s expected that before retiring in 2007. “We’ve seen leagues taken Canadians a long time to embrace it five Canucks will be taken in the first round come and go that didn’t promote Canadian in a way that comes anywhere close to its of the next NBA draft. talent or develop talent. They didn’t align to southerly neighbours. Canada’s national team profile is also the principles of Canada Basketball.” Yet the land of ice and pucks is starting to growing. The men’s squad ranked No. 23 in Glen Grunwald, CEO of Canada Basket- turn heads on the hardwood. the world after the FIBA World Cup quali- ball says the CEBL promises to be high-qual- “We need to be more proud and showcase fiers at the end of February. The women’s ity basketball. the basketball talent that this country is pro- team was No. 5. “There is so much Canadian talent out ducing,” says Morreale, who has crossed “There is no other team sport where we there in international leagues, in the NCAA over from the gridiron to become CEO of come in so high,” says Morreale. and in Canadian universities,” says Grun- the new Canadian Elite Basketball League. There is plenty of room for future hoops wald, who has been GM of both the Raptors The CEBL, which tips off a 20-game sea- hopefulness, too. The Canadian under-18 and the New York Knicks and then headed son in May, intends to be just that showcase. boys team is tied for second in the world and up athletics at McMaster University before This is a league of six teams, including the girls are fourth. taking the top post at Canada Basketball. the Hamilton Honey Badgers, which will The talent pool is deeper and wider than “This gives those players a chance to keep play home games at the FirstOntario Centre. anyone thought it could be, says John Lash- playing basketball or to come home and play They will compete with, from west to east: way, a veteran NBA basketball executive in front of their family and friends.” the Fraser Valley Bandits (Abbotsford), the who is president of the Honey Badgers. Finally, playing by FIBA rules means Edmonton Stingers, the Saskatchewan Rat- There are more than 200 Canadian men play- shorter quarters and fewer timeouts than the tlers (Saskatoon), the Guelph Nighthawks ing professionally abroad, including some NBA, resulting in a crucial two-hour game and the Niagara River Lions (St. Catharines). very talented players making lots of money. window, says Ron Foxcroft. Outside of the Toronto Raptors, pro bas- Not every good basketball player can play in The Hamilton businessman and sports ketball has historically been a tough sell in the NBA, not even close, he says. mover and shaker was a key advisor to the Canada. And there is already the 10-team And the ranks of basketball fans are swell- league’s founder and lead investor Richard National Basketball League of Canada that ing fast, demonstrated by sellout, rabid Petko, who shifted his Niagara River Lions plays a winter schedule in Ontario and the crowds at Raptors games, rising TV ratings, to the CEBL from the NBLC. Atlantic. and the number of kids playing the game. “A 40-minute games means you get the But Morreale says there are some things “It’s almost impossible to explain how whole show in under two hours. Fans who that will set the CEBL apart. much the Canadian game has grown,” says know basketball want that and so does the First, all the teams will be owned by the Doug Smith, long-time Raptors beat report- media and broadcasters.” CEBL under a corporate structure called er with the Toronto Star. “I live in Missis- If there is pessimism about the CEBL, Canadian Basketball Ventures. The teams sauga. I haven’t seen a road hockey game in Morreale isn’t deterred. will be managed locally by executives put 10 years but there’s a basketball net in every “I don’t think this has ever been done in place by the league that will also look driveway.” properly... We’re building it the way we want after national sponsorships, marketing and The word is out about Canadian basket- to build it and creating our own niche.” ticketing. ball, says Lashway. Petko tried to convince Morreale, who Second, it will play in the late spring and “That’s clear from talking with players was director of marketing with the CFL summer, unlike a traditional basketball and agents around the world. It’s impressing Players’ Association and then its president schedule. That means access to players play- people and they want to be part of it.” from 2012-14, to become commissioner of ing in the NBLC and international leagues. It The fourth defining factor for the CEBL the NBLC. means not having to go up against hockey or is its partnership with Canada Basketball. “It intrigued me, so I took a look. I found football in local markets for fans, and having The organization is a member of FIBA, the out quickly that it wasn’t for me. It wasn’t open access to arenas, which often sit empty governing body for international basket- operated in a way that I thought would be in the spring and summer. ball. Canada Basketball has never thrown successful.” Third, the CEBL will play with Canadian its weight behind a domestic pro league be- There was little in the way of league spon- content rules, just like the CFL. Seven play- fore. The two organizations will share in the sorship or marketing, says Morreale, and HAMILTON MAGAZINE SPRING 2019 45 Draft Day After months of research, tracking down and contacting players around the world, creating while there were some strong local teams, fun, action-packed experience for everyone a spreadsheet with hundreds of names, and there was no central leadership. from the hardcore basketball fan to families drawing up a target list, Hamilton Honey Badg- “I figured it would always be the same. Or looking for something to do on a sunny Sat- ers head coach and general manager Chantal it would fold.” urday afternoon. There will be live music Vallée says the team’s first draft went even bet- But from there Petko and Morreale start- and activities at every game. ter than she hoped. ed hashing out a playbook for a new league, “It’s typically a passive experience to go to “These are players at the highest levels of guided by Morreale’s vision of a strong, a sports event. We don’t want that.” basketball in Canada.” centralized ownership model. The goal is He and his team have also put a lot of And in a crowded Art Gallery of Hamilton to expand to 12 teams over the next three to thought into reaching Hamiltonians who event space in late March, the Hamilton team four years through licensed franchises using are immigrants from countries where bas- unveiled its first draft pick: MiKyle McIntosh, 24, league funding. ketball is king. a 6-foot-7 forward with Raptors 905, the NBA “MLS and the WNBA started this way and “We want everyone to feel welcome and team’s official minor league affiliate. The Picker- we took those approaches. The strength of feel like they belong, and they are part of ing, Ont. native played with Illinois State and the each team is in the strength of the brand and something bigger.” University of Oregon. the league.” But he understands the wait-and-see at- The draft reveal introduced 13 picks for each Lashway, who is also executive vice-pres- titude among skeptical Hamiltonians. After of the six teams in the league, which will open ident of strategy and communications for all, the city was once home to the Skyhawks, its season in mid-May and play with Canadian the CEBL, was the perfect fit for the start-up a pro team that lasted just a season and a half content requirements under FIBA rules. league, says Morreale. Lashway headed up in the early 1990s. Twelve of the 13 players chosen by the marketing and communications when the But that was a different time and Hamil- Honey Badgers are Canadian and the lone Toronto Raptors launched, before serving ton was a different place, says Foxcroft, the American plays for the Raptors 905 in the NBA’s as senior vice-president of communications first Canadian to referee in the NCAA, a leg- G League development system.