London Lightning: New for 2022
The new NBL Canada season will see a host of new players who will be hitting the Canadian boards for the first time. Here are the fresh faces for the London Lightning in 2022:
Jermaine Haley
6'7 Guard from Burnaby, British Columbia
A two-time provincial all-star with South Burnaby High, Haley made his NCAA debut in 2016 for the New Mexico Aggies. He won the WAC championship and made the NCAA tournament, losing in the first round to the Baylor Bears. The next season he averaged 10.2 points per game for the Odessa Wranglers, later named to the WJCAC first team and co-defensive player of the year.
He returned to the NCAA in 2018 with the West Virginia Mountaineers, leading the team in steals and averaging 16.5 points in the last ten games, which included a career-high 28 points vs Iowa State in March 2019. In his senior year he became the team's starting point guard, ending his tenure with 7.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Haley made his pro debut for Crailshein in Germany before being selected by the Grand Rapids Gold in the NBA G League, where he played seven games. In between he made his debut for the Canadian national team in a 95-90 win over the Virgin Islands. His signing with the London Lightning coincides with him getting his second call for Canada ahead of the 2023 World Cup qualifiers.
Cody John
6'3 Guard from Mississauga, Ontario
Throughout his time with Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, John played 103 games and scored in double digits in all but eight of them. A two-time state champion and MVP, he joined the Weber State Wildcats in 2015. Freshman year he won the Big Sky championship with the team and earned a place on the NCAA tournament, but eventually lost in the first round to Xavier.
John became a starter as a sophomore and was the leader in assists as a junior, as well as one of the team and conference's top scorers. He recorded a career-high 29 points against the Portland State Vikings on January 20th 2020. From there he played two seasons with the Hamilton Honey Badgers and was also the starting shooting guard for Ylli in Kosovo, where he averaged 16.9 points in fourteen games, prior to signing with London.
Scott Plaisance, Jr.
6'9 Forward from New Orleans
Plaisance follows in the family business: his mother, Mary DoBee, was a former UNO player and coach of the Nicholls Colonials, while his sister Theresa was a starter for the LSU Tigers and selected in the 2014 WNBA draft, since playing for three teams.
Scott himself had a perfect district record with Metairie Park Country Day, where he was named to the first team All-Louisiana his last two seasons, both times winning state titles. From there he joined the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns before transferring to the UNO Privateers. Becoming the starter as a senior, he averaged 9.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in 2018-19, where he recorded double-doubles in both match-ups with Nicholls on the season.
Plaisance first played professionally in Spain for Zornotza, with scoring averages of 6.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in fifteen games before bettering that the following season in Portugal for Sanjoanense, putting up 15 points per game.
Marlon Taylor
6'5 Guard from Mount Vernon, New York
A section champion with Mount Vernon High, Taylor played his prep year at Forest Trail in North Carolina before joining the Panola Ponies, averaging 17.0 points and 9.5 boards as a sophomore and leading the team to their first NJCAA tournament second round appearance since 1979.
In 2018 he joined the LSU Tigers, making twenty-four starts in his first season and though restricted in his senior year due to injury, he put up a career-high 30 points in his final game against the Georgia Bulldogs.
Turning professional in 2020, Taylor joined the Washington Wizards training camp but was cut from the final team, later playing for the Erie Bayhawks in the G League and Leones de Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
London have packed plenty of firepower and into their now talented and experienced 2022 roster. Check back here regularly to see how their new recruits fare in their first basketball season in Canada.
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