NBLC Rooks: Cape Breton Highlanders Edition
Get to know Get to know the players who are making their professional basketball debut in the NBL Canada.
Jabari Craig
6’10 Centre from Scarborough, Ontario
Craig showed talent from an early age, averaging 8.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 blocks for game for Tucker High School in 2014, as well as playing for the Northern Kings in the AAU and for Team Canada at the 2013 Nike Global Challenge tournament.
He moved on to the Hutchinson Blue Dragons, averaging 10.9 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. He then spent a season with the Pearl River Wildcats, where he averaged shooting 63% from the field and 14.4 points per game.
Craig then joined the ECU Pirates, where he was the team's fourth-best shot blocker in junior year, and the starting centre in senior year. He finished his two seasons with the Pirates averaging 3.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Craig was selected by the Long Island Nets with the 22nd overall pick in the 2018 NBA G League draft, but will instead be making his professional debut in the NBL Canada with the Highlanders.
Tanner Giddings
6’10 Forward from Windsor, California
Giddings graduated from Windsor High School as the team's all-time highest scorer (1307 points) and MVP of the Sonoma County league. He then played two seasons for the Fresno State Bulldogs, winning the team's Most Improved Player award in his freshman year.
Having seen only rotation minutes with Fresno, Giddings then transferred to the Chico State Wildcats, where he saw a big increase in playing time and started in all but one game. In both seasons with Chico State he was named to the All-California Collegiate Athletic Association second team, and ended his Wildcat tenure averaging 8.7 points, 4.6 rebounds per game and shooting 51% from the field.
