Ottawa BlackJacks President’s Letter: Volume 1, Issue 2, October 16th, 2024

Welcome to the second edition of the President’s Letter and the Ottawa BlackJacks of the CEBL, Canada’s largest professional men’s basketball league! This President’s Letter is aimed at keeping our supporters in touch with noteworthy events and news that we follow closely each and every day. Feel free to share any comments you may have positive or constructive otherwise. So without further ado, let’s dive into the second edition of the OBJ President’s Letter.

BRODIE LEAGUE GROWS IN OTTAWA:
Among the more creative men’s leagues in the city is the Brodie League, run by uOttawa alumnus Aaron Rados.  Aaron played varsity basketball for the Gee-Gees before finishing his career with the York Yeoman as they were known at the time (now Lions).  The Brodie League was founded in Burlington, ON with the tagline “Welcome to the 12 Week NBA Experience”.  Aaron has done a wonderful job growing the profile of this unique league and the BlackJacks are planning to augment that experience – stay tuned and we wish continued success to Aaron and the Brodie League.

ALWAYS GREAT TO SEE MIKE HAVEY:

Great to catch up recently with former Windsor Lancer Head Coach and later Athletic Director Mike Havey.  Mike has been a good friend since the early 90’s when we regularly ran into each other on the recruiting trail and our love for the game has kept us in touch.  Mike was born in Arnprior, played Varsity basketball at uOttawa and then went on to his first Head Coaching gig at Medicine Hat College, where he was recently inducted into the school’s Hall-of-Fame.  He later coached the Lancers for 13 years and then became Athletic Director.  Mike recently retired and his life has come full circle as he has moved back to Arnprior where he helps with the Renfrew County high school sports scene, lending his experience to ensure that schedules and other issues are well organized.  Mike is also a regular at U SPORTS games – we saw each other at the recent McGill/uOttawa affair and is an ardent supporter of the BlackJacks which we sincerely appreciate.  Here is an article written by David Grossman, long-time high school and university sports reporter at the Toronto Star on Mike: https://golancers.ca/news/2022/4/22/general-winning-is-achievable-in-many-ways.aspx 

RAYPRESENTS:

I reconnected with Ray Leroy, husband of Marlo Xavier who worked with me at RBC Dominion Securities.  Ray and Marlo have three wonderful children who have grown up fast !  Ray has also ventured into the media world with a creative discussion series called RayPresents https://www.youtube.com/@raypresents1804  Among the great discussions to check out is Episode 46:  “From Ottawa to the Olympics – Marial Shayok’s Rise to International Basketball Fame”.  Ray continues to keep in great shape playing pick-up and doing his thing as a great family man. 

CISV (Children’s International Student Village):

 is a unique, globally-focused organization that has produced countless leaders resulting from the various programs organized around “Student Villages”.  A typical village takes place in any of 20+ countries in the world on all continents and includes 12-15 delegations from different countries, typically made up of two boys and two girls with one adult chaperone.  Two of my children benefited from the distinct CISV experiences at the age of 11, spending three weeks in Costa Rica and India respectively with fellow Canadian children, meeting others from Europe, South American, Africa, the Far East and the United States.  CISV is a life-changing experience for many.  Recently, we spoke with two members of CISV-Ottawa, Melina Craig and Nancy Maguire.  The organization suffered through two consecutive years of not having Villages due to the global pandemic.  The leaders are rebuilding the organization and I encourage anyone with children and young adults 10+ years old to explore this group and the life-changing experiences available.  We plan to have more on the developing relationship between CISV and the Ottawa BlackJacks in the coming weeks.

FAMILY ON 3 BASKETBALL CLUB:

We had an excellent meeting recently with Rahden Almaden and Leflor Suello from “Family on 3” basketball.  Both have lived in Canada for many years, immigrating from the Philippines.  Rahden, I am told is a very good player in his own right,  shared his love for the game as a fan of Rick Barry and the Golden State Warriors even mimicking Barry’s underhand free throw style (consistently over 90%). He learned that Barry’s teammate 6’10” George Johnson also used that technique. Leflor shared her admiration for Kevin Durant. Both Rahden and Leflor are humble community-oriented individuals helping to grow the game here in our city. Their program is seeking volunteer coaches so please contact me if there is an interest in helping their club which is growing rapidly.  We plan to work with their group and others in the Filipino community, a culture that shares with us a passionate love for the game of basketball.

EOBA NEWS:

 I was nice enough to be invited on a call recently and introduced to EOBA executives - thanks to the incomparable Leo Doyle !  As we have discussed, working closely with all clubs in the area is a strategic priority with the BlackJacks and thus far I have been able to speak with Ratko Kovacina President of Ottawa Next Level (ONL), J.C. Frechette with Nepean Blue Devils and Chris Grubb of Ottawa Shooting Stars.  ONL is hosting three sizable and important tournaments in early December - we plan to attend and will have more details as they become available.  J.C. is a St. Matthew’s Tigers star from the mid-90’s under Head Coach Jim Kent and Assistant James Byrne.  Tigers were a perennial Top 10 Ontario team back when there was very little club and no prep basketball.  Among the top players from that era of St. Matt’s teams under Coach Kent were Brayden White, Jamie Trofimchuk and Marc DeGrandpre among others. Josh “Figs” Figueredo from our team and I are also planning to meet with the GCBA team in the coming weeks.  We will continue to reach out to other clubs over the coming weeks and explore how we can work together.

WORLD WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026:  The Nation’s Capital will be the home of this championship in late summer 2026 and President Wendy Gittens is already working to ensure that Ottawa does our usual wonderful job supporting this event.  Wheelchair basketball continues to gain in popularity - the BlackJacks support this great event and Wendy’s efforts.

POST-SECONDARY UPDATES:  James Derouin's Ottawa Gee-Gees ran into a hot-shooting Bishop's side this past Thursday night in Lennoxville as the Gaiters went 11-24 from three and shot 64% overall in a 106-80 pre-season win.  uOttawa's 5’11” fifth-year transfer guard Ankit Choudhary went off for an OUA career-high 39 points including 9-17 from three but it wasn't enough as the Gee-Gees lost their first game of the season.  Choudhary is the ex-Ottawa CTA Prep star who spent two seasons with Toronto Metropolitan, coached by BlackJacks Assistant David DeAveiro before transferring to a Florida Junior College for last season.  He is now back in Ottawa and seemingly a key member of the Gee-Gees this season.  The Gaiters appear to be one of the top teams in the country led by 6'8" Charles Robert, who apparently was targeted by multiple NCAA Division 1 teams this summer but decided to remain in Canada.  Gaiters also feature 6'4" Ottawa native Rowan Halpenny and are coached by 6'9" Matt McLean, who was an All-Conference center in the RSEQ with Bishop's after high school in Ottawa where he also played in the Ottawa Guardsmen program.  The Gee-Gees rebounded on Friday night to win at Laval 74-63 and next travel to Vancouver to participate in UBC's Thunderbird Classic with Fraser Valley, Lethbridge and the host T-Birds led by long-time Head Coach Kevin Hansen, who coached Derouin many years ago at Langara College...  Taffe Charles' Carleton Ravens were idle this weekend however will host the House-Laughton Invitational this coming weekend with York, Concordia and UNB.  The Varsity Reds are 3-0 including a win over UPEI; the Panthers just knocked off perennial Top 5 team St. FX 75-71 at the Coach K Invitational right in Antigonish so expect some high-end U SPORTS competition at the Raven’s Nest this coming weekend.  uOttawa women remain a perfect 5-0 in the pre-season after comfortable wins at home this past weekend vs. McGill and UNB (by 50).  Dani Sinclair's Carleton Ravens have now won three consecutive games including a 10-point win over UNB this past Thursday night in a neutral site game at uOttawa.  The women Ravens travel to Queen's this coming weekend to participate in the Tindall Invitational against UQAM and Manitoba before getting ready to start their OUA regular season.  Trevor Costello's Algonquin Wolves were in Montreal this past weekend at the Joel Tyrell Classic at Dawson College, defeating Outaouais 91-84 behind 24 points from 6'4" Teslock Luk, the former CTA Prep star who transferred back home from Ontario Tech.  Later on Saturday, the Wolves knocked off Vanier College and then John Abbott to go a perfect 3-0 at the event which does not declare a winner.  Just as importantly, Trevor is rebuffing Makur's claim - see President's Newsletter Edition 1 - those 60 points is the Algonquin Men's league record for points in a game.  Trevor asserts that in fact *he* holds that record with 78 followed closely by legendary McGill Hall-of-Famer Paul Brousseau at 77.  This debate may never end.  The Wolves and cross-town rival La Cite college square off to open the OCAA season next Saturday at 3 PM at La Cite.  Jaime McLean’s women Wolves had three difficult pre-season games in Montreal this past weekend, losing Friday night to Champlain Lennoxville 65-54 but followed up with a big win over St. Jean sur Richelieu (4th place at last season’s Nationals) 64-46 before dropping a 67-56 match on Sunday against national Bronze medalists Champlain St. Lambert.  The Lady Wolves travel to New York State this coming weekend for action against SUNY Corning JUCO and Elmira College (NCAA Division III).  As always, your comments and suggestions - positive or otherwise - are always welcomed !