For Immediate Release March 23 - 2019

Hamilton, ON – At a live event conducted at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and broadcast on CEBL.tv the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) revealed the selections from its inaugural 2019 Entry Draft.  The Guelph Nighthawks held the third pick in the first round where Head Coach & GM Tarry Upshaw proudly selected with the club’s first pick Connor Wood, a hometown player from Guelph, 5x CIS Champion with Carleton University, former CIS Player of the Year and current starting Guard for Uni Basket Paderborn of the German ProA Basketball Bundesliga.

Two picks prior to the selection of Connor Wood the Fraser Valley Bandits made history by selecting Joel Friesen from the University of Alberta as the first player to be drafted into the CEBL.

The inaugural CEBL Entry Draft included the selection of thirteen players by each team, including two players directly from USport programs. With a CEBL mandate that all rosters are comprised of 70 percent Canadian players the Nighthawks focused on selecting Canadian talent, deciding to wait until Free Agency opens on March 24thto sign its international players.

Other highlights of the Nighthawks draft included the selection of three brothers from Burlington Ontario, Chadrack, Meshack and Abednego Lufile. However, draft night was not all about local talent.  The club was able to select former University of Texas standout Myck Kabongo, University of Michigan alum Jevohn Shepherd and Arkansas Razorback Marvell Waithe.

“We are a big team, filled with top-end Canadian talent that will put up a tough fight night in and night out,” said Coach Tarry Upshaw. “We’ll be strong on the glass and tough in the paint, but also have players like Myck that can push the pace, and Connor who can step outside and drain shots from behind the arc.” 

“Tarry’s staff have put in some incredible work over the last two months to scout and prepare for the CEBL draft,” said Cameron Kusch, President of the Guelph Nighthawks.  “Tarry was brought in partly because of his ties to the Canadian basketball landscape. I had high hopes for the level of talent that he’d be able to secure in Guelph, and he’s blown those expectations out of the water.  The Nighthawks will be a fun, exciting and competitive team right from the outset of our inaugural season on May 9th.”

The Guelph Nighthawks thirteen selections from the 2019 Entry Draft were as follows:

 

* Denotes USport Developmental Player 

The Guelph Nighthawks 2019 training camp opens April 26th at the University of Guelph.  The club will play their inaugural game in Abbotsford against the Fraser Valley Bandits on May 9th, and their home opener on Saturday, May 11th at the Sleeman Centre against the Saskatchewan Rattlers.

For more information on the Guelph Nighthawks and available ticket packages please visit www.thenighthawks.ca/tickets or call (548) 988-HAWK

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