NBL Canada Draft Combine set for this weekend

Photo Credit: OnPoint Basketball

Every year, we just look for guys that kind of have their last shot ... We look for that diamond in the rough that we haven’t seen yet or don’t have yet.

The National Basketball League of Canada is ready to hold its sixth annual draft combine.

The NBL Canada Draft Combine, which will be held at the Athlete Institute in Mono, Ont. from Nov. 19-20, is all set to hold its biggest offseason event. At least 160 players from across North America will be competing to be selected as one of the league’s 20 draft choices Sunday night.

“They (the owners and coaches) look forward to this time of the year to get together and get ready for season six,” said NBL Canada commissioner David Magley in an email interview.

The combine gives many teams to find “diamonds in the rough”, according to Orangeville A’s Basketball Operations Manager Jacki Tipping. Magley also noted it’s the players who do not have much experience in professional basketball who get noticed the most.

“Every year, we just look for guys that kind of have their last shot, considering it is late November and we’re starting to really gear up for the season,” said Tipping, whose team is based out of the Mono, Ont. facility. “We look for that diamond in the rough that we haven’t seen yet or don’t have yet.”

The combine gives the players their first chance to show how they can do in front of team executives. Tipping noted that not everyone can show their talent within two hours. Depending on how they do, teams like the A’s may bring them to training camp to see how they play with a larger sample size.

“There’s no guarantees for anybody or for any day, but it is a great opportunity to showcase a number of guys,” said Tipping. “Every organization is there to see them, so it’s an opportunity for guys to really get in front of the people they really need to see.”

One of the main players to watch this weekend will be forward Fred Sturdivant. The 25-year-old had played for the Ottawa Skyhawks in the 2013-14 season and the Windsor Express for three games in 2014-15. Magley said he wants to return to the NBLC through the combine.

This year’s festivities include multiple games between players throughout the day to show their talent. The league will also be hosting a referee’s seminar at the combine.

The Orangeville event is the league’s last and largest combine.

“It's all a lot of work this one (compared to other combines),” said Magley. NBL Canada’s previous combine in Atlanta had a record 120 participants earlier this month. “I have much more help.”

Tipping thinks it is best for organizations like hers to enter the event with an open mind. She explained there are a lot of players who are better than people realize who are getting their first opportunities to be seen.

“Some of these guys don’t have agents and maybe don’t have the same resources to reach out to different organizations a day who get a number of emails a day I can’t even count,” said Tipping.

“There’s a lot of guys out there that are better than you think that you don’t know about and would never know about (without) this opportunity for them … I think as an organization you have to go in with open eyes and take in everybody for who they are.”

Registration for the combine starts at 8 a.m. EST both days. The festivities will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, go to www.nblcanada.com/14758/2016-nbl-canada-draft-combine.

2016-17 NBL Canada Entry Draft Order (as of Nov. 18, 2016):

FIRST ROUND

1. Moncton (from Kitchener-Waterloo via trade)

2. Cape Breton

3. Orangeville

4. Island

5. Moncton

6. Niagara

7. Windsor

8. Windsor (from Saint John via trade)

9. Halifax (from London via trade)

10. Halifax

SECOND ROUND

1. Kitchener-Waterloo

2. Windsor (from Cape Breton via trade)

3. Orangeville

4. Island

5. Kitchener-Waterloo (From Moncton via trade)

6. Niagara

7. Cape Breton (from Windsor via trade)

8. Windsor (from Saint John via trade)

9. London

10. Halifax