By Chelsea Norris
Two members of the Tigers men’s basketball team headed west last week to join their Canadian Elite Basketball League teams to prepare for action. Alex Carson travelled to Edmonton to join up with Tigers alum, Sascha Kappos, on the Edmonton Stingers roster, while Keevan Veinot went to Ontario to join his Hamilton Honey Badgers teammates.
This is the second year the Tigers had two CEBL draftees, with Kappos and Xavier Ochu both being drafted by the eventual champion Stingers team last year. This season Veinot was chosen fifth overall by the Honey Badgers followed by Carson as the sixth pick.
Preparation for the 2021 CEBL season required Carson and Veinot to get creative, as Nova Scotia went into a strict lock down due to COVID-19 shortly after the Tigers wrote their exams in April.
“It hasn’t been ideal because I haven’t been able to get into a weight room or on to an indoor basketball court for the past two months due to the lockdown,” says Carson, “I’ve found outdoor courts to work on my game and have been doing at-home workouts and more recently, outdoor workouts with our strength and conditioning coach, Brett Armstrong. I’ve also been watching some of Edmonton’s games from last year to see how they play and how I will fit into the mix.”
Both athletes will have a short time to get their feel for the ball back and to get to know their new teammates as their seasons starts on June 26 when Hamilton travels to Edmonton to play the Stingers.
“I’m really excited,” says Veinot. “It is going to be interesting to play against Alex as we’ve been teammates for the past four years. It might be like our high school days when we used to match up.”
“It’s pretty cool to see how far we have come since high school and will both be playing our first professional games against one another,” adds Carson.
The reigning AUS MVP has set some serious goals for the 2021 CEBL season.
“I want to be a sponge and learn as much as I can from all the coaches and players that I’ll practice with every day,” says Veinot. “I also look to add value to the team and make the most of the time I get on the floor by running sets and giving others the ball in scoring positions and develop my leadership skills.”
Being selected as CEBL draft picks and playing in a professional environment for two months will not only benefit these two athletes individually, but they also hope to bring what they learn back to the Tigers, as the team looks to improve on their 2019 U SPORTS silver medal.
“Even after the first few days of training camp I find myself with a smile on my face because of how steep the learning curve is. The pace of play is pretty quick and the level of skill here is really high,” says Veinot. “I’ll strive to bring back everything I learn this summer to the Tigers in the fall.”
The Stingers host Hamilton June 26 for their season and home opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 5pm AT and can be watched online on CEBL+ and on television on CBC Sports.