Cadence MacLeod Is No Salmon — He’s a Tiger Shark | Nova Scotia’s Rising 2029 Guard

The Varsity MVP at Halifax Grammar School this year was a young Grade 10 point guard who has lately been making a name for himself on a larger scale.

After a great summer with the Mississauga Monarchs on the MADE Hoops AAU circuit, Cadence MacLeod is starring with Nova Scotia’s U17 Nationals team. One of the youngest players in the tournament, he leads his team in floor time, and if Cadence wasn’t nationally known before, he is now.

MacLeod descends from Nova Scotian royalty as the son of Augy Jones, the former St. FX coach and player who helped Nova Scotia win its first Canada Games gold medal in 1987. But Augy and Cadence are far from the most well-known Nova Scotians in this family, as Cadence’s grandparents were famous civil rights activists Rocky and Joan Jones.

Nova Scotia is producing some big basketball names lately, too. Kellen Tynes dominated at UMaine, Caleb Johnson just played in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament with LIU, Nate Darling played games with the Charlotte Hornets, and Lindell Wigginton had a few seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks before heading to China to play professionally.

The current generation of hopefuls includes Amari Upshaw, who played for Team Canada’s U17 World Cup team, and Cadence’s BNS teammate Elijah Mantley, a high-level prospect with Rothesay Netherwood High School of the NPA.

Is young MacLeod next up?

He certainly has the tools: shooting, playmaking, and a prodigious IQ for the game, matched with a 90% academic average. But his real superpower is elite-level ball defense. His footwork bag is something to watch. It’s all there: the cross-step, the turn-and-sprint, and a powerful push slide. As the zebras say, he’s always in “legal guarding position,” showing hands and defending with his chest. Oh, and at only 16 years of age, he’s already built like a cornerback.

Don’t forget the intangibles. One coach I spoke to described Cadence as a “super, super high IQ and character kid,” adding, “I can’t say enough good things about him.” Another just replied, “great kid.” In an area where reputation travels quickly, he plays the right way. For every splashed NBA three, there are plenty of high-fives and fist pumps when a teammate makes a play — early passes, good body language, all the things you love to see from a young point guard.

The Force is strong in this one. No doubt the Ontario preps are calling, but for now, Cadence will return for his Grade 11 season with Coach Mutabaruka at Halifax Grammar.

Yes, that makes him a big fish in a small pond, but listen, Cadence MacLeod is no salmon — he’s a tiger shark.