NBLC Rooks: Moncton Magic Edition
The players making their professional debut in the NBL Canada.
Gentrey Thomas
6’4 Guard from East Preston, Nova Scotia
Basketball seems to be in the blood in Gentrey Thomas's family - his cousin, Dillon Brooks, currently plays for the Memphis Grizzlies.
At a young age, Thomas played for Auburn Drive and the Orangeville Athlete Institute, as well as playing in three CIA Bounce tournaments. In 2013, he joined the Snow College Badgers in Utah, averaging 9.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in his first year. He improved on that as a sophomore, with 14.4 points on 46.9% field shooting with an additional 6.1 rebounds.
He went from there to the NCAA team UC Riverside Highlanders in California. In his first year for the Highlanders he led them to the Big West tournament and was fourth-best in shooting, rebounding and steals.
Finally turning professional in 2018, Thomas joined the Moncton Magic, where his strong offensive numbers made him one of the most important additions to the team in the season.
Freddie McSwain, Jr.
6'6 Forward from Hinesville, Georgia
McSwain came to basketball late, first playing competitively as a junior at Liberty County - but he went on to average 16.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in two seasons.
He then joined Kansas NJCAA team the Neosho County Panthers, whom he guided to their first-ever appearance in a national tournament. After 14.0 points on 54% field shooting and 8.4 rebounds in two seasons, plus conference team honours, he was recruited to the Indiana Hoosiers.
As a Hoosier, he proved to be a reliable field shooter, despite seeing limited minutes, and in his senior year he recorded the second-most offensive rebounds on the team.
Graduating in 2018, he was selected 54th overall in the NBA G League Draft by the Westchester Knicks, and was later traded to the Canton Charge on draft night. Instead, he would go on to make his professional debut in the NBL Canada with the Magic.
Eddie Asamoah
6'7 Forward from Calgary, Alberta
After graduating from the Southwest Academy in Denver, Colorado, Asamoah played four years with the Bridgeport Purple Knights in the NCAA Division 2. He became a regular starter for the team in junior year (where he had a career-best 9.1 points and 6.1 rebounds) and as a senior, finishing with averages of 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 113 appearances for Bridgeport.
It would be some time after when Asamoah would get his first chance at the professional ranks, when he was eventually selected seventh overall by the Magic in the 2018 NBLC Entry Draft.
