CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – The long wait is finally over for the Island Storm.
The squad begins its National Basketball League of Canada training camp today with practice from 5-7 p.m. at Bluefield High School. It comes after a long off-season after the Storm (20-24) was bounced by the Halifax Hurricanes in Game 4 of the best-of-five first-round series in April.
“We’re really excited,” said Tim Kendrick, who is entering his second year as the squad’s head coach. “We really feel like we have a good group of young men coming in. We expect a real competitive camp.”
Tuesday was a hectic day as many of the 18 players were flying into Charlottetown to get ready for the upcoming camp. There are eight players competing to be one of the five Canadians on the 12-man roster.
The team has a handful of returning players like Carl Hall, Tyler Scott and Brad States, but all spots are up for grabs as the Storm looks to take the next step in its progression.
Kendrick said the team identified during the off-season it needed to be more athletic, bigger and have improved shooting this season.
“We feel right now that we’ve really done those things,” the bench boss said. “All of them are pretty talented players and all of them can shoot it.”
He sees common traits in his players. It includes being able to handle the ball, make good decisions, play together and being versatile enough to guard multiple positions.
“We feel like we've improved as a group, but now we have to see them on the court,” Kendrick said.
This year’s training camp roster includes point guard Kareem Canty, who was a top scoring point guard at Auburn in 2015-16.
“He’s very explosive and athletic,” Kendrick said. “He could be a prolific scorer in the league.”
Players don’t have long to prove their worth as the team has to be down to its 12-player roster by Nov. 12.
It has an intrasquad game set for Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. at Bluefield followed by exhibition games in Kensington and Westisle. The team opens the regular season at home on Nov. 16 against the Cape Breton Highlanders.
Joining Kendrick and assistant coach Lonnie States this year will be assistant Patrick Havard. The trio worked together with the UPEI Panthes.
