Halifax Hurricanes: NBLC Team Previews
Always efficient and dependable, the Halifax Hurricanes are a team never to be written off. No matter the obstacles in their way, they always manage to impress and get themselves the results they need.
This was evident last season, where they finished second in the Atlantic Division and reached the second round of the playoffs, coming up short of reaching the Finals by the unstoppable force that was the Moncton Magic. It was a characteristically strong showing, one they hope to repeat and improve on this 2019-20 season.
Days before the season start the announcement was made that head coach Mike Leslie, after three seasons on the bench, will be moving up to the front office as the new general manager. Assistant Ryan Marchand, who has also been an assistant coach for the Iowa Wolves, will be serving as head coach for the first time in his career.
As for the roster, this season the Hurricanes have retained their leader, Cliff Clinkscales, as well as guard Joel Kindred, who averaged 13.6 points and 4.7 total rebounds in his league debut last season. Their familiarity with the franchise and numbers last time out will no doubt see them serve as anchors for this season's team.
In addition they will be welcoming back a trio of familiar names to the franchise: Antoine Mason, winner of the 2017 Sixth Man of the Year award who played last season in Puerto Rico; Ta'Quan Zimmerman, who averaged 11.2 points per game in his last season in Halifax and has since played in Cape Breton and Mongolia; and CJ Washington, who has played two seasons in Halifax with team career averages of 15.3 points and 7.4 rebounds.
Also being welcomed to the Scotiabank Centre are players with NBL Canada experience, but are yet to play for Halifax.
Marvell Waithe has played for Niagara, Moncton and most recently London; Chris Johnson, making the Hurricanes his third NBLC team after the River Lions, the Storm and the Highlanders; and Kyle Arsenault, who showed promise last season with the Island Storm and will now look to apply it in Nova Scotia.
Two of the most interesting new signings for Halifax are guard Syota Tsuyama and centre Ashaun Dixon-Tatum. Japanese native Tsuyama comes to the Hurricanes having played three seasons of top-flight basketball in his homeland, while 7'0" Dixon-Tatum brings with him five seasons' worth of NBA G League experience.
The final roster spots will be filled by forward Robert Crawford, who has played previously in Mexico, Germany and the UK; guard Devin Sibley, formerly a four-year veteran of the Furman Paladins in the NCAA Division 1; and Eastern Washington Eagles alum Tremayne Johnson, who was last seen playing for Timisoara in Romania.
This season it seems, rather than taking a chance on fresh talent, the Hurricanes are opting for experience and familiarity with the NBLC. In doing so the players they have recruited make for a squad to be taken seriously, as they can easily put up big numbers this season.
Halifax is a franchise always looking to improve themselves and it looks like they have everything in place to do so again this season, but only time will tell if the promise pays off. They open against the Island Storm on December 28th.
