The 2023 CEBL season has come and gone, and it was a blast. Congratulations to the Scarborough Shooting Stars for winning this years championship. After being so close in 2022, they get their redemption this season and get the job done. While it wasn’t completely with the roster I had envisioned they may win it with, it was still a talented squad that beat who I would say was the best team in the league. Speaking of the best team, so close, yet so far for the Calgary Surge. After a good start in the championship game, they just could not get the ball rolling again to keep up with the Shooting Stars. With that out of the way, I wanted to do a follow up to my beginning of the season article I did previewing all the teams and see how I did in predicting how I thought each team in the CEBL would do. Without further a do, let’s begin with this years champions.

Scarborough Shooting Stars

This squad was really hard to predict all year. It was up and down form from game to game, and it never really seemed like the Shooting Stars got much rhythm. They even lost Jalen Harris to Summer League duties very early on in the season, then Kassius Robertson and Thomas Kennedy to Canadian Mens National Team commitments (at different levels). In the end, it did not matter, mainly because of Cat Barber. Barber lead his team through and through when the rest of his higher quality teammates went on their own journeys. Even though it was a hard carry job from Barber, he did get some help from teammates in key moments. While this was not the roster I envisioned could possibly win the title, they still got it done anyways.

Calgary Surge

This was the best team in the CEBL all year. The Surge were such a fun team to watch, and they played well almost every night. Unfortunately they had their worst game of the season in the championship. Sean Miller-Moore lead this squad full of very good Canadian talent. Like their other provincial counterparts, the Surge played by committee most games, and played a very good defensive game. Simi Shittu was also an important contributor for this team, and I think it really hurt Calgary not having him in the playoff run. I would expect this team to compete once again next season if they can find a way to keep all their talent.

Niagara River Lions

If I were to have put money on the CEBL championship weekend, I would have put it on the River Lions or Surge. This team I really think had the best defence, a really good scorer in Khalil Ahmad, and a good supporting cast. But they got outdone by the Shooting Stars and were eliminated. Ahmad did not play well in that game, they also did not have big man E.J. Onu who is a force defensively. A disappointing end to a decent season for Niagara who I was not sure where they would sit before they brought back Ahmad. I hope they can keep their depth for next year, because I am calling it now, the Eastern Conference might be wide open in 2024.

Vancouver Bandits

For most of the season, this Bandits team was the worst team in the CEBL. As hosts of championship weekend, they got an automatic bid to the semi-finals. I am not a big fan of this rule, but it is how the league works. This Vancouver roster should have played better than they did. Nick Ward and Giorgi Bezhanishvili should have pulled a lot of weight. They did release Shane Gibson soon after he returned, which was not going to help. But safe from those two, no one else really stepped up. I really would have liked the Bandits to play Diego Maffia more, who’s performances were quite good when he did get run.

Ottawa Blackjacks

What an interesting year for the Blackjacks. They fumbled the opportunity to secure the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, then got outplayed by the eventual champions, the Shooting Stars. While I would not say that they were one of the better teams in the league, they did go on a huge winning streak in the middle of it. Another team that played by committee with, Kadre Gray (Canadian Player of the Year), Michael Flowers, and Deng Adel all leading this squad, the Blackjacks just could not get it done. I never thought that this Ottawa team was as good as the standings would suggest, but I thought they had a good shot of winning once they got rolling in 2023. We will see if this squad look the same come next season, I have a feeling it might look a little different next year.

Edmonton Stingers

The team that the Winnipeg Sea Bears could not figure out. Besides that, just like the Shooting Stars, this Stingers team was very inconsistent all summer. Once again, a team that played by committee, (very true to that) they did not have a true star. Brody Clarke, Nick Hornsby, mainly lead this team, but their offence was abysmal at times. The Stingers defence was probably one of the best in the league, along with the Niagara River Lions, and Calgary Surge. That 2-3 zone defence that coach Jordan Baker loves is almost unbeatable at times. But their biggest weakness was just not being able to sustain their good play. Some nights they looked amazing, others they looked like the worst team in the league. If they are able to keep this core together, and potentially add a star scorer, coach Baker might have a championship squad in 2024.

Brampton Honey Badgers

What a disappointing year for the Honey Badgers. They just barely made it into the playoffs, but only because the Montreal Alliance could not win games. Besides Christian Vital, Brampton did not really have a secondary scorer. Koby McEwan looked good in a starting role, but I am not sure his production was as good as they had hoped it would be. It just felt like they were a step behind all the rest of the teams in the Eastern Conference, other than Montreal. We really did see that if Vital was not playing to his normal level of play, this team did not have the depth scoring needed to compete for the top of the CEBL.

Winnipeg Sea Bears

I know I made a separate article for the Sea Bears at the beginning of the year, but I thought I would rope them in here as I have talked about them all summer. All things considered, this was probably the best outcome Winnipeg fans could have asked for in the inaugural season for the team. They competed for the top spot in the Western Conference all season, and got a home playoff game. They ended up winning four awards, MVP, Coach of the Year, 6th Man of the Year, and U Sports Player of the Year. What an amazing start for this franchise, and I hope they can build on this next summer, regardless of how the roster looks. I do have a good feeling that Teddy Allen might be back next summer.

Montreal Alliance

I want to say that I was expecting more from the Alliance this season, but this roster is not very good. Ahmed Hill played really well, and when Blake Francis was healthy this team was considered to be a playoff contender. But as soon as Francis went down, all energy that locker room seemed to have disappeared. Nathan Cayo and Treveon Graham played well, but it was never enough. It also felt like this team was unlucky at times this season, and that might have been another reason they were done in. One major positive that Montreal can take from this season is the progress we saw from Alain Louis. He looked so good attacking the rim, dishing to teammates, and his speed is unmatched. I know the Alliance will do whatever they can to keep the young Quebecois in his home province, but I would love to see him come over to Winnipeg.

Saskatchewan Rattlers

The final of 10 teams are the Rattlers. They had an MVP nominee in Justin Wright-Foreman, and a pretty decent roster around him. But then players started to leave for Summer League opportunities, or other chances to play overseas. Then they fired their head coach, and it just started to spiral for the Rattlers. Malik Benlevi missed time this year, and they really did not have good secondary scoring next to Wright-Foreman. I would assume Wright-Foreman won’t be back next summer, which could have the Rattlers continuing to spiral this offseason. I am very intrigued to see how they will try and bounce back next season.

Final Thoughts For 2023

Covering the CEBL in a freelance fashion was a ton of fun this summer, and for the Sea Bears to compete like they did was fantastic. There were close games, drama, competition, and just overall awesome basketball from all teams. The level of play this league has continues to get better the longer it is established. It amazes me what sort of players these teams can convince to come to Canada for their summers and play here. I am hoping to see another leap next year, especially with TSN onboard broadcasting games. That is going to open up so much for the CEBL, and it is going to make it even more recognizable. I cannot wait for 2024 and I will be sure to post updates on how certain players are getting on, and any other notable Sea Bears news throughout the offseason. I want to remind everyone that this site will not be dormant for very long. I will be releasing full in-depth individual player performance articles for the 2023 season on all players. I also have some special things coming up that have to do with high school athletes (specifically basketball players) in the province of Manitoba and Western Canada, so be on the lookout for that. Until then, it has been a pleasure and can’t wait to do this again next summer! Go Sea Bears.