Welcome back to part five of my ten part series previewing every single team for the 2024 CEBL season. This is a daily series where I will choose to preview one of the 10 teams in the league, which will lead up to my complete overview and predictions piece! These articles will go over who is on each of the rosters, followed by some main headlines to lookout for, and ending off with a little sneak peak at my prediction for that teams finish.
In the fifth edition of this series, we are going to take a look at the 2024 Championship Weekend hosts, who have the potential to struggle mightily, the Montréal Alliance. While bringing back two of their most important contributors in Ahmed Hill and Alain Louis, the rest of the league has leveled up and Montréal’s overall roster is lagging behind. Let’s take a look at the 2024 Alliance.
Legend
-Sorted by “Guards” and “Forwards”
-Canadians will be identified by “(C)”
-American imports will be identified by “(A)”
-If applicable, International imports will be identified by “(I)”
-U Sports draftees will be identified by “(U)”
-If applicable, Development players will be identified by “(D)”
Guards
Alain Louis (C)
Ahmed Hill (A)
Jahenns Manigat (C)
Jordan Bowden (A)
Bahaide Haidara (U)
Renoldo Robinson (U)
Forwards
Elijah Ifejeh (C)
Maxime Boursiquot (C)
Chris Smith (A)
Jaden Edwards (A)
Shaquille Doorson (I)
Ismael Diouf (U)
Rough Road Ahead
While I personally think that the 2024 Alliance roster is better than 2023’s, this is still going to be a tough season for Montreal. Bringing back Hill and Louis should keep some stability in the backcourt, but there are so many other question marks for this roster after those two. Losing Nathan Cato to the River Lions this year also hurts. They are either going to need a third player to step up, or make an addition once the season has begun. I will note that guard play did have the Alliance off to a hot start in 2023, and an injury was what slowed them down. Despite that I still don’t think it’s completely sustainable for 20 games.
Player To Watch: Alain Louis
Louis is one of my favourite players in the CEBL and I’m glad he’s returned for 2024. In the final stretch last season he really turned it on and showed why he is one of the better Canadians this league has to offer. His speed and size allow him to get to the rim really well. Louis has also worked on his jumper, which is becoming more reliable. One of my favourite parts of his game is his playmaking ability. He finds teammates well and is pinpoint with those passes. With his development finally turning a corner, this could be the season for him to really step into a bigger role next to Hill.
A Dark Basement Awaits
While this Alliance roster could be seen as an upgrade on the one from 2023, it is still weaker than the rest of the teams in the CEBL. While the entire league has leveled up in talent, it’s been hard on Montréal to keep up. They don’t have the inexperience that the Honey Badgers have on their roster, but expect these two to fight it out at the bottom. The only saving grace for this team is they are hosting Championship Weekend and get an automatic bye to the semi-final. With the current information we have about this team, I have a good feeling their playoff appearance won’t last too long.
Kommentare