PROFESSIONAL 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 The game that was invented by Canadian the LA Clippers, who played high school bas- Basketball was going to be possible,” says 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 .” 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 . 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 , 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 (Abbotsford), the who is president of the Honey Badgers. Finally, playing by FIBA rules means Stingers, the Saskatchewan Rat- There are more than 200 Canadian men play- shorter quarters and fewer timeouts than the tlers (Saskatoon), the Nighthawks ing professionally abroad, including some NBA, resulting in a crucial two-hour game and the (St. Catharines). very talented players making lots of money. window, says Ron Foxcroft. Outside of the , 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 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.” .” 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 , the NBA “MLS and the WNBA started this way and “We want everyone to feel welcome and team’s official 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. and community development for 10 years at end in local sports, and one of the founders Two picks for each squad came from the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. of the Skyhawks. ranks of current Canadian university players. He now operates a business consulting Hiring Morreale and Lashway were “bril- The CEBL has an agreement with , the firm in Burlington — the Ticats are a client liant” choices and the league has made all governing body of university sport in Canada, — and when approached by Morreale, Lash- the right moves since then, says Foxcroft. to allow its players to play in the league, without way had a careful look at the CEBL business He points to Honey Badgers head coach and pay, while maintaining their eligibility to play plan. general manager Chantal Vallée, Guelph’s with their school teams. “These leagues come and go. I didn’t want Terry Upshaw, and Victor Raso of the River In subsequent rounds, the Honey Badgers to attach my brand to something fly by night. Lions as proof of both Canada’s coaching tal- drafted: Erik Nissen, 23, of Quispamsis, NB, Some leagues bring together a bunch of ent and the promise of the CEBL. who plays forward in a Spanish league; Duane guys with more testosterone than brains or “I think the quality of every aspect of this Notice, 24, of Woodbridge, Ont., a guard with resources and what they build can’t be sus- league — players, coaches, front office staff, Raptors 905; Junior Cadougan, 28, a Toronto tained.” and referees — is top notch. I think the fact native who plays with the St. John’s Edge, of the The CEBL believes it’s spending the right the league has Canadian content is really im- National Basketball League of Canada; forward amount of money to attract the talent that portant, too, just like it is in the CFL.” Murphy Burnatowski, 28, of Kitchener, who also will play exciting basketball. Each team Smith at the Star thinks all the ingredients plays with the St. John’s Edge; Raptors 905 for- will operate under a salary cap of $7,000 per are there for success. The basketball will be ward Derek Cooke Jr., 27, of Washington, D.C.; game for a 10-man roster, meaning players good, the league is starting small and with a Justin Edwards, 26, of Scarborough will earn a minimum of $400 to a maximum limited summer schedule, and teams are lo- who last played in Israel; guard Ryan Ejim, 25, of $1,500 a game, says Lashway. He says that cated in right-sized cities. He says fans won’t of Brampton, who plays in Spain; forward Sha- is more than both the NBLC and the NBA be coming for star power, but will be looking quille Keith, 25, of Toronto, who plays with the farm system G League. closely fought, up-tempo contests. St. John’s Edge; guard Joe Rocca, 26, a Sarnia The CEBL front office also understands And Lashway, he says, “knows where the native who plays in Slovakia; and it has to grow the brand, offer true value to game was and where it can go. The start-up Tramar Sutherland, 30, of Toronto, who plays fans, invest in the game-day experience and process at the Raptors he went through can with the NBLC’s Kitchener-Waterloo Titans. be patient when it comes to cashflow, says only help get this off the ground.” Hamilton’s two U Sports choices were Con- Lashway. Lashway, 58, says those early years of the nor Gilmore of McMaster University and Thom- For the Honey Badgers, season ticket Raptors — empty seats and disinterested as Kennedy of the University of Windsor prices start at $160 and top out at $765 for sponsors and sportscasts that virtually ig- Following the draft, each team began nego- courtside seats beside the benches. Those nored that night’s basketball game — pre- tiations with free agents playing professionally in are already sold out, along with courtsides pare him to be patient, hopeful and hungry. Canada and around the world, along with play- on the other side. Single-game tickets are But bringing the NBA to Toronto in 1995 ers leaving the NCAA and U Sports.Each team going for $22 to $65 and there are five- and required educating the city and the nation will have a 12-player roster when the 20-game 10-game voucher packages, too. about the league and about basketball. He’s regular season begins. Besides affordability, Lashway promises a confident that interest in hoops is off the

46 CELEBRATING OVER 40 YEARS charts compared to where it once all those years ago. “I think right out of the gates it’s going to be very successful,” says downtown Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr, a big fan of basket- ball. “The team is backed by great basketball pedigree and they are doing things right.” Farr, a long-time radio personality and former Ticat stadium announcer before entering politics, is so squarely behind the Honey Badgers that he will be the in-house announcer in the arena. “It was just like when [Ticats owner] Bob Young was introduced to the city, people wanted to be part of what he was doing. I think it’s the same thing now with John and Mike.” Lashway and Morreale talk incredulously about how it’s all gone so far — that things have rolled out as they’d hoped and when they needed something to fall into place, it did. They are far from smug about that. They know what they are doing isn’t a slam dunk. Some before them have failed and others simply gave up. Chantal Vallée is the first woman to be coach and In 2004, the Ontario Professional Basket- general manager of a men’s ball Association began play with a seven- professional sports team. Makin’ Hoops History Even Chantal Vallée didn’t dream this was Vallée took a struggling women’s basket- Windsor while taking on this new post. possible. ball team at the University of Windsor ­— large- “I wish I could say it was a dream of mine. The first coach and general manager of the ly viewed as the worst team in the country I’m just excited to be a basketball coach.” Hamilton Honey Badgers in the new Can- – and built it into a national powerhouse. Though she’s never before coached men, adian Elite Basketball League was “floored” When she arrived in 2005, the team had just Vallée says this process of creating a Honey by the response when her appointment was four winning seasons and not a single playoff Badgers team from the ground up feels a lot announced in November. win in 44 years. like what she went through in Windsor in She is the first woman to hold both posts In three years, she turned things around. those early days. with a men’s professional sports team and Her Lancers squad have made 11 straight “It’s an adventure to build something from the news spread like wildfire through the trips to the OUA final four, earned nine con- scratch. I had forgotten how much I loved it.” sports world and social media. secutive OUA medals, and captured a historic John Lashway, Honey Badgers president, “I’m excited about this opportunity and five straight national titles from 2011-2015. says Vallée won the job solely on her record trying something new,” she says. “When I She’s amassed a 351-93 record in 14 years – as a coach, and the values and leadership saw the response, I was floored, no ques- good for a .791 winning percentage. she brings to the game. But still, he’s proud tion. Not one person said anything negative.” She was twice named CIS women’s his six-year-old granddaughter is going to The support was universal from players, basketball coach of the year and was a four- see a woman leading a men’s pro team. agents, coaches and GMs, over the months time OUA coach of the year. League CEO Mike Morreale says Lashway she spent preparing for the league draft. Vallée doesn’t want to dwell on her never once mentioned Vallée’s gender when “I’ve talked to many of the players and gender, but acknowledges its significance. pitching her as a candidate. She immediately they’ve been complimentary. They’ve said, “What’s most ironic is that I never thought impressed Morreale, a former CFL receiver. ‘Oh coach, I know who you are. Congratu- of being in this position. I didn’t think it was “She’s intense and she works hard. She lations.’ I’ve had nothing but respect from something I was ever going to do. This op- does all the work behind the scenes to be them.” portunity was presented to me,” said the the best she can be. I really do expect she will For good reason. Montreal native, who will continue her role in end up in the NBA if that’s what she wants.”

HAMILTON MAGAZINE SPRING 2019 47 Ex-Ticat Mike Morreale is now at the helm of the nascent Canadian Elite Basketball League.

48 CELEBRATING OVER 40 YEARS John Lashway brings an impressive NBA pedigree to the Hamilton Honey Badgers, including time with the Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers.

team league that folded midway through its “We didn’t ask for anything in any city confidently into a pack of jackals. first season. In the last several years, former we’re playing in,” says Morreale, ticking off That fits the underdog, persevering, grit- Raptor coach Butch Carter pitched a vision items on his fingers. “No floors, no nets, no tiness of Hamilton, says Lashway. It also fit for the Canadian Basketball League, but it shot clocks. We didn’t ask for discounts or perfectly with his intended colour scheme. barely got off the ground. handouts. We are working within the con- There was no way he was going to veer from This time around, aside from the backing fines of the venue in every market. We’ve got the black and gold that defines the city. of Canada Basketball, the CEBL has spon- to prove our value.” Lashway was born in Montana and grew up sorships from Spalding, U Sports and New The 17,300 seats in the downtown arena in Oregon. When he took that Raptors job, he Era Cap Co Inc. The five-year deal with New will be scaled back to 4,534 seats with cur- figured he would stay a couple of years. But Era, which exclusively provides hats to the tains, so that fans will sit in a horseshoe he fell in love with Canada, getting his citizen- NFL and Major League , is the first around the court that will be shifted to one ship in 2004 and settling in Burlington. time the company has signed with a basket- end of the floor. Morreale is Hamilton through and ball league. It’s also got a ticket deal with “The beauty of basketball is how close through, though he does live in Grimsby. He Ticketmaster. you can get to the players and the action,” knows the city is prone to collective angst “Sometimes we forget to reflect on how says Morreale. “You can sit with your feet on over opportunities lost or past promises not far we’ve come before we’ve even had a tip- the court. There is no other sport like it.” kept. off,” says Morreale, who at 47, still looks fit At the end of the court where there are no “The people here are the first to yell at you enough to slap on the pads and hit the field. seats behind the basket, Lashway will set up but also the first to pat you on the back, too. There are hopes for a national broadcast a student pit. He expects drums and dancing Once you win them over, they are diehard deal at some point, but in the meantime, the and yelling, much like the chaos under the and loyal.” CEBL has built its own livestream channel net at NCAA games. And it’s a great time to be in sports in Ham- and each game will have play-by-announc- The honey badger was Lashway’s daugh- ilton, says Morreale. ers. There will be no charge to watch, unlike ter’s idea. Her dad wasn’t familiar with the The Tiger-Cats continue to be a bedrock the National League or other na- viral honey badger meme and video of a few institution, the Grey Cup is coming in 2020, tional basketball leagues. years ago but when he checked it out, he was the are strong, and the “Fans haven’t seen us bounce a ball yet. hooked. new Forge FC professional soccer club We just want them to see our games,” says The black and bronze mammal is the starts play in April. Morreale. size of a beagle but is considered among “Adding a new just The cavernous FirstOntario Centre may the fiercest and most fearless animals in speaks to the renaissance of Hamilton. It not be an ideal home but the Honey Badgers the world. It’s thick-skinned and ingenious, needs the amenities of a big city. We know will work with what they’ve got. survives the venom of a cobra and wanders Hamilton can support four teams.”

HAMILTON MAGAZINE SPRING 2019 49