Sask. Rattlers begin new season with new faces

The Saskatchewan Rattlers will be hoping the addition of new players and coaches will help them return to the CEBL Championship Weekend this season.

This season, there are only five members of the Rattlers’ roster returning from 2023 – Julian Roche, Adong Makuoi, Anthony Tsegakele, Isaac Simon and Alexander Dewar.

Last season, the team finished with an 8-12 record and tied for last place with the Vancouver Bandits in the western conference standings.

Over the last week, the Rattlers have been on the practice court trying to develop some chemistry as they prepare for their home opener against the Winnipeg Sea Bears Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at SaskTel Centre.

Head coach Larry Abney is confident the work they put into training camp over the last week will help them down the road.

“Training camp was exciting,” he said. “The guys got a lot of information and everybody went hard. I’m happy we got through it healthy and now we get to see the results of what we put in.

Abney will be coaching in the CEBL for the first time in his career this season.

He was hired in February after spending several seasons as a player development coach with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2017-2022.

During his time with the Clippers, he worked with big-name coaches like Doc Rivers and Tyronn Lue, along with NBA all-stars like Kawhi Leonard and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Abney wants his team to play an exciting brand of basketball.

“We’re going to be up and down. If you see me on the sideline calling too many plays, then we’re doing something wrong,” he said. “We want to get the ball off the glass and push it – (get) space so our guys who can push it can drive and our guys who can shoot can shoot. Defensively, we’re going to be in our opponents’ faces – we’re going to be disruptive – we’re going to hit first and it’s going to be an exciting brand of basketball for our fans.”

Simon is from Regina and is one of the few returning players, entering his second season with the Rattlers. Simon suggested the mood around training camp feels a little different compared to last year.

“I think there’s a new energy,” Simon said. “It’s a new year, new coach, new guys and everyone is really positive and really optimistic about the season. We’ve been really getting after it at practice and we’re feeling really confident about the year.”

Simon said he learned a lot about what it takes to be a professional last year.

“That’s something I’ve tried to acclimate into my own routines and just seeing how they work on a day to day basis is something I’ve learned and tried to apply to myself,” he explained.

He added he loves to pick the brains of the veterans.

“I ask a lot of questions,” he said. “Last year, Justin Wright-Foreman – I was his sidekick and tried to follow him around. This year having guys like Jalen Harris and Larry as the head coach I’m just trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can and just be a sponge.”

Simon added the message Abney has sent to them is that he wants them to compete.

Abney reiterated that and also hopes his players will leave Saskatchewan at the end of the season as better basketball players than they came.

“Their development is important to me. Them getting better individually would make us better collectively as a team. I want these guys to go onto 10 month seasons where they can get paid six figure deals – that’s the win for me. A championship would be great, but to see individually these guys go on and have great careers and build off the foundation that we tried to lay for them is a real win.”