Welcome back to part eight 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 eighth edition of this series, we will be taking a look at probably the weakest team in the CEBL, the Saskatchewan Rattlers. While a couple of their acquisitions were head turning, the rest of their roster is quite underwhelming compared to the rest of the league. But they may still surprise some people, just like they did late last year.
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
Cody John (C)
Emmanuel Bandoumel (C)
Elijah Harkless (A)
Jalen Harris (C)
Alexander Dewar (U)
Isaac Simon (U)
Forwards
Anthony Tsegakele (C)
Maurice Calloo (C)
Adong Makuoi (C)
Bryson Williams(A)
Somto Dimanochie (I)
Julian Roche (C)
Grant Basile (A)
Fareed Shittu (C)
Struggle Bus
It seems to have been a struggle the last couple season for the Rattlers on the team building front. New head coach Larry Abney has down his best to try and bring in a couple players from his Ontario Clippers squad, but I’m not sure it’s going to be enough. Saskatchewan was in a similar situation last summer after bringing in Justin Wright-Foreman because they had struggled out the gate. While having brought in Jalen Harris from Scarborough to begin this season, the roster power may still just not be enough to compete in a tough and competitive Western Conference.
Player To Watch: Jalen Harris
Harris is one of the best players in the CEBL and he finds himself in a situation that another former NBA draft pick was in 2023. JWF and Harris have both been put in a situation to try and succeed with a less than optimal roster around them, and try to get their club to the playoffs. Unlike JWF though, Harris will have a full season to do so, instead of joining mid-season. Harris is an athletic guard that can score the ball at a high rate from all three levels, rebound well for his size and defend good enough. He might be the lone bright spot for the Rattlers this summer, but it will be fun to see him go to work.
Basement Dwelling
It’s so hard to tell this early in the summer, but this might be the weakest roster in the entire league. It’s going to be tough for the Rattlers to make any noise in such a competitive conference and with the jump in talent across the CEBL. Saskatchewan will most definitely be fighting for that final playoff spot for most of the season, while trying to get out of last place. While I don’t think they’re going to get rolled every single night, that record after 20 games might not be pretty.
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