Ottawa BlackJacks Announce the Completion of its Basketball Operations Staff

The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Thursday the completion of its basketball operations staff for the 2023 CEBL season. Joining General Manager and Vice- President of Basketball Operations Jevohn Shepherd and Head Coach James Derouin are: Assistant Coaches David DeAveiro, Damian Buckley, and Jamil Abiad; Strength and Conditioning Coach Joanna Geck; Equipment Manager Hennessy Roppovalente; Athletic Therapist Adrian Huynh; and Team Doctor Jessica Curran.

David DeAveiro has been the head coach of the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) men's basketball team since 2020 and has also enjoyed an extensive coaching history with Canada Basketball, including the men's senior, development and junior teams. He came to TMU after serving as head coach of the McGill University men's basketball team for 10 seasons. Prior to joining McGill, DeAveiro coached the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men’s basketball team for nine seasons. The Toronto native led McGill to five Quebec conference (RSEQ) titles and five appearances at the U SPORTS Final 8 in his final eight years with the program. With the Gee-Gees, DeAveiro was the team's all-time leader in coaching wins, posting an impressive 210-127 record overall, including a 132-66 mark in league play. He guided Ottawa to three appearances at the U SPORTS Final 8.

Damian Buckley serves as an assistant coach for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men’s basketball team under BlackJacks and Gee-Gees Head Coach James Derouin. The team won the 2022-23 Wilson Cup and earned the bronze medal at the 2023 U SPORTS Championship. Buckley founded UPHILL Athletics, a company providing skill development to youth athletes in Montreal. Prior to coaching, Buckley had a successful career on the court with the Concordia Stingers (2005-2009). He earned the Concordia Male Athlete of the Year award and was honored as a first team all-Canadian in 2009. Buckley also had a brief stint playing for the Canadian National Development Team.

Returning with the Ottawa BlackJacks for a third season, Jamil Abiad moved to Reykjavík, in Iceland, for the 2022-23 winter season, where he coached the U18 and U21 Valur men’s basketball teams, reaching the league’s semifinals twice. Abiad also served as the lead assistant coach for Valur men’s professional team, winning the regular season title and the Icelandic Cup. Following a two-year professional basketball career in Lebanon and five collegiate seasons with the Bishop University Gaitors, Abiad dedicated his time to growing the game of basketball in the nation’s capital, where he created various initiatives to provide more resources and visibility to local basketball talents. He is the founder and head coach of Team Believe U17 & U19 competitive boys basketball teams located in Ottawa. He also founded NL Fitness, a basketball training company offering private and group trainings for athletes from ages six through to the pro level.

Joanna Geck is a sport biomechanist and strength and conditioning coach at Sport Science Rehab & Performance. She is also the high-performance coach for the University of Ottawa women’s soccer team. Joanna holds a B.Sc. in Human Kinetics Kinesiology from Trinity Western University (TWU) and a M.Sc. in Human Kinetics Biomechanics from the University of Ottawa. She has been working with amateur and professional athletes, ranging from various team and individual sports, including basketball, volleyball, ultimate, soccer, MMA, wrestling, jiujitsu, and Muay Thai. Collegiately, Geck competed at the U SPORTS level as a TWU Spartan, winning the 2013 women’s soccer national championship and the 2014 Canada West title.

Hennessy Roppovalente is joining the BlackJacks as the Equipment Manager. Born and raised in Ottawa, Roppovalente is currently studying Finance and Business Analytics at the University of Ottawa. In 2023, he began serving as Basketball Analytics Assistant for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men’s basketball team, the 2022-23 OUA Champions, under Head Coach James Derouin.

Adrian Huynh currently serves as an athletic therapist at the Ottawa Sports Medicine Clinic. He works with Canada Soccer and other professional soccer teams, such as Atlético Ottawa, Montréal Impact and the Ottawa Fury FC. Between 2016-2019, Huynh gained hands on experience with the Raptors 905, Canada basketball men and women’s teams and Ontario Basketball as a student athletic therapist. Huynh completed his undergraduate degree in Integrated Science at Carleton University in 2013 and his Bachelor of Applied Health Sciences in Athletic Therapy at Sheridan College in Brampton, where he won the Dr. Tim Fried Leadership Award in 2017. That same year, he also obtained a Diploma in Pedorthics from Western University.

A Chief Doctor for Team Canada for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, Dr. Jessica Curran has been a team physician with the Canadian women’s national basketball program since 2011 and the Canadian men’s national volleyball team since 2022. She is currently the team physician for the Carleton Ravens men’s football and basketball teams and has worked with various other varsity teams, including men’s and women’s soccer and women’s basketball. Serving major multi-sport Games, Dr. Curran was a member of the medical team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio, 2015 and 2019 Pan American Games, 2015 Winter Universiade, and 2013 Summer Universiade. She was also serving as the Chief Medical Officer for the 2017 Summer Universiade. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at Queen’s University and medical school at Dalhousie University. She completed her Family Medicine residency and Sport Medicine Fellowship at the University of Ottawa.

The BlackJacks will be hosting 2023 Media Day on Monday, May 15, 2023, ahead of the team’s training camp starting on May 16. Members of the media are encouraged to confirm their attendance to [email protected].

Ottawa BlackJacks fans may purchase single game tickets for the 2023 BlackJacks regular season here. The BlackJacks also have various ticket packages, including season seat memberships, flepacks and group tickets. Formore information, please contact the Ottawa BlackJacks Membership Services team directly at 613-690-0519 or by email at [email protected].

Quotes:

"Our goal is to surround our players with the support they need to achieve team goals as well as their individual aspirations. We’ve had a great presence in the community, which we continue to expand on while building a winning organization on and off the hardwood.”

- Jevohn Shepherd, General Manager and Vice-President of Basketball Operations, Ottawa BlackJacksBasketball Club