Moncton Magic: NBLC Team Previews
After bringing home the first championship to Moncton last season, expectations will be on the Magic this time out to live up to their historic performance. Fortunately, there are plenty of indicators that this team have what they need to help lift all that weight from their shoulders as the season begins.
They will once again be under the guidance of coach Joe Salerno, who returns alongside three of the team's top performers of last season, Billy White (Who averaged 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last time out), Corey Allmond (15.9 points per game in 2018-19) and Marcus Lewis (11.2 points per game).
Also suiting up for the Magic once again will be Wayne McCullough, after a transformative season which saw him turn from a rotation player to a key part of the team's game plan, as well as Jason Calliste, making 2019-20 his fourth straight season in the NBL Canada and third straight in Moncton.
With one of the best defensive records on the team last year, Denzell Taylor will be looking to do it all again alongside the rest of his team, including new additions such as league favourite Brad States and Jeremiah Mordi, who makes the move to Moncton after two seasons with the Riptide. He comes into this season with NBLC career averages of 10.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
2017 Rookie of the Year Maurice Jones will also be making his debut for the Magic, his fourth NBLC team in as many seasons, after finishing last season averaging 21.9 points in 15 games for the Sudbury Five.
Already impressing in pre-season appearances for the team has been new 7'0" centre Ronald Delph. Formerly of the Florida Atlantic Owls and pro time in Estonia and Lithuania, he finished in double digits at the end of every game, including a game-high 24 points against the St. John’s Edge.
The remaining members of this year's squad are also newcomers to the league, Midwestern State Mustangs guard Brandon Nell and US Virgin Islands national team forward Jamal Samuels.
Looking at their roster for 2019-20, the Magic seem to be operating on the premise that if it isn't broken, don't fix it. They have worked to retain as many members of the team that brought home the championship last season, while filling the gaps with dependable, tested players who can produce for them.
With so many components still in place, this team looks as strong as the one that won the championship back in May. We will all see if they can put that theory into practice once they begin their 2019-20 campaign on the opening day of the regular season.
