Island Storm: NBLC Team Previews
Of all the team rosters for the 2019-20 NBL Canada season, the Island Storm's looks the most radically different from the one of the previous season.
After snapping a run of six seasons with a playoff appearance last year, Tim Kendrick and the Storm management have put together a roster of players new to the league, seemingly with the aim of not allowing any opponents having as little or no knowledge of the players they will be facing this time around.
It is not all change in Charlottetown, though. While team will be without last year's superstar Guillaume Boucard, who has moved on to Mulhouse in France, they have retained two players who were able to light it up just as much last time out.
Robbie Robinson quickly established himself as an elite player in his first season pro last time out, while Alex Campbell quickly flourished from a rotation player to one of the Storm's biggest threats on offence. He also comes into this season with his first career silverware, having won the CEBL championship with Saskatchewan over the summer.
new both to the NBL Canada but new also to the professional ranks. They welcome six NCAA veterans: Joe Boyd, Andy Cleaves, Lewis Diankulu, Abrian Edwards, Antwon Lillard and Keith Shamburger, as well as former Nipissing Laker Marcus Lewis and Jalian Haslam from NJCAA side, Gordon State Highlanders.
In addition to this fresh talent, the Storm have also recruited a number of players who have played in the pros in a variety of places.
New big man Jamal Hunter has seen time playing in Portugal and Slovakia; Johnathan Lloyd has played in Germany and the Nevada Desert Dogs in The Basketball League; Keenan Palmore has also applied his trade in the USA as well as Poland; while forwards Kenny Ejim and Funsho Dimenji will both bring experience from their time spent playing professionally in Spain.
Most interestingly of all is Nathaniel Wright, who has previously been a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, while Darnell Landon is the only new import with prior NBLC experience, having served with the Saint John Riptide last time out, averaging 2.7 points in 31 games.
This roster, a mixture of young and old, familiar and unfamiliar, with wildly different levels of experience, will be one of the most interesting to see how they play out in the regular season. A complete departure for the team could be the start of the success story they have been looking to create, or it could be a gamble that didn't pay off.
Time will tell which, but it would pay off for the team to find their form and establish themselves early on in the regular season, as they face heavy competition from the start, most of all from the defending champions Moncton Magic on the first day.
