NBLC Rooks: Saint John Riptide Edition
The players making their professional debut in the NBL Canada.
Frank Bartley IV
6’3 Guard from Baton Rouge LA
With the Christian Life Academy in Baton Rouge, Bartley was named district MVP as he helped his team to win the 2012 state title in his senior year. The season also saw him finish with averages of 14.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Bartley then appeared in every game for the Brigham Young Cougars for two seasons, before he transferred to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, where his form improved dramatically. Averaging 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in his first year, he was named to the Sun Belt conference third team and Newcomer of the Year.
He built on these numbers in his final NCAA season, averaging 17.7 points and 3.6 rebounds, and was named to the Sun Belt first team.
Randy Phillips
6’8 Centre from Jackson, Mississippi
A well-rated player at the end of his time in high school with the Rainer Bulldogs, Phillips went on to play for the NCAA Division 2 side East Central Tigers in Ada, Oklahoma. He averaged 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and was the winner of the school’s Anthony Johnson Award for work ethic.
After that, he made the move to Division 1 with the Radford Highlanders in Virginia. Playing in every game in his junior year, he finished second on team for rebounding with 4.9 total boards per game.
In senior year he averaged 6.8 points per game on 54% field shooting, as well as 5.6 rebounds. He also played in two games of the 2018 NCAA Division 1 championship, before the team lost in the first round to eventual champions Villanova.
Darnell Landon
6'2 Guard from Woodbridge, Ontario
A graduate of Woodbridge College High School, Landon played two years for the Lake Region State Royals in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, finishing with 6.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game on 47% field shooting and 43% from beyond the arc.
He then went on to play one season for the Mayville State Comets, where he averaged 10.5 points per game while making 53% of all field goal attempts.
Basketball then took a back seat for a while, but after playing for M.A.D.E. in the 2018 On Point Summer Pro-Am tournament in Toronto, Landon was spurred on to enter the 2018 NBL Canada draft combine, and was later drafted by the Riptide fifth overall.
