Catching up With BlackJacks Guard Yasiin Joseph

We caught up with Ottawa BlackJacks Guard Yasiin Joseph, who is currently playing professionally for Landstede Hammers in The Netherlands.

ooking back on the CEBL Summer Series, how did you enjoy the experience? What did you learn and how did it prepare you for this season?

Looking back at the last CEBL season, all I see is learning experiences. Being able to play with high level pros and learn what they do on a daily basis was very fun and eye opening.

It’s been four months since the end of the Summer Series and you are playing pro basketball overseas for the first time of your career. How was the transition and how’s your season going so far? Are you happy with your performances?

The transition was very smooth. I’m really glad that I played in the CEBL Summer series because it prepared me for my season overseas. I feel like I’m a more mature basketball player, and I have more knowledge. It made it an easier transition to professional life overseas. 

Before the season had announced that they were going to pause the season due to COVID-19 protocols, we played only 2 games going 1-1. 

Only playing two games we realized as a team that we have a lot of room for improvement. Because we cannot play, we decided to come together and work intensely on what we need to work on individually and as a team.

Is your league and season affected by the pandemic?

Yes, our league has been on pause since early October because of Covid protocols. Cases have been going up immensely, making the league committee decide we should pause the season and apply strict rules until December 8th, where they will decide whether the season is happening or not. Since the pause we've been training in two separate groups twice a day until the final announcement on December 8th.

Walk us through a day in the life of Yasiin Joseph.

A day in my life is pretty simple. I wake up every day at 8:00am. I wash my face, brush my teeth and head to training for 9:30am. I finish around 12:00pm, get home around 12:15pm. I cook something to eat, take a nap, and get ready for our second training at 4:00pm. I finish around 6:00pm, come back home, cook, socialize, then sleep around 12:00pm.

What do you do for fun during your free time, when you don’t have a practice or a game?

During my free time, I try to communicate with my people back home in Canada. I have also been watching a lot of Youtube and Netflix, which is getting out of hand.

What’s the biggest difference between playing in Canada and in The Netherlands?

The biggest difference between Canada and Netherlands is the athleticism. Canada has more athletes than they do in the Netherlands that’s for sure.

What do you miss the most about Ottawa?

I miss my friends and family the most.