2018/19: A Great Season for NBL Canada Rookies
Throughout this NBL Canada season, we've been highlighting the players making their professional debut in the league with our ongoing NBLC Rooks thread.
In an exceptional NBLC season, there have been exceptional performances from the players new to the professional ranks, which will hopefully go a long way in showing the league as a great proving ground for new talent to cut their teeth and open the gates for plenty more spectacular showings in the league's future.
No team has added more fresh talent to their ranks than the Saint John Riptide - and they have arguably seen the most success from their rookie class. In just his first season as a professional, Riptide guard Frank Bartley finished the season second overall in points scored, among other impressive stats that saw him named Rookie of the Year.
Bartley isn't the only Riptide rookie who has made waves in 2018-19 - after leading the team with 19 points in their season opener, Randy Phillips went on to become a big role player for the team, while Bryce Washington averaged an impressive 12.2 points and 11.3 rebounds in sixteen games.
A big factor for the Moncton Magic's success this season was their ability to both work as a unit but make the most of each player's individual skills - including those of two of their newcomers.
Gentrey Thomas immediately earned a larger role on the team after 21 points in his debut, and went on to lead Moncton's scoring on three more occasions. Freddie McSwain, meanwhile, had an equally impressive debut season, finishing as one of the team’s top rebounders while also averaged 10.4 points per game.
Their Atlantic Division rivals, the Halifax Hurricanes, saw similar success from their rookie additions. Jordan Washington led the entire league in points-per-forty minutes (29.7), in addition to being a top shooter and rebounder for both the team and the NBLC, while Malcolm Duvivier finished the season among the league's best three-point shooters.
Elsewhere, former Chico State Wildcat Tanner Giddings had a great first pro season on the Cape Breton Highlanders' front court. He finished in the league’s top ten for blocks and as one of the best offensive rebounders, in a season where he put up fifteen double-digit performances.
Queens College Knights alum Tyree White finished as a top ten league rebounder who also put up 12.6 points per game for the Island Storm, who also saw promising numbers from Terrell Carter, who started every game in the second half of the season.
In the Central Division, Justin Strings went from the Sacramento Hornets to a leading rebounder for the KW Titans and a leading shot blocker in the NBLC, while Dexter Williams earned a significant role in an already crowded playing field with the Sudbury Five.
This season has been all the better for the work of this year's rookie class, and hopefully it will be the first of many successful seasons both in the NBL Canada and in each of these players' careers.
