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Guelph Nighthawks go local with first pick of draft

Guelph product and former Carleton University star Connor Wood is the team's first pick in the entry draft
20160226 CONNOR WOODS3
Connor Wood. Valeri Wutti, Carleton University photo

NEWS RELEASE
GUELPH NIGHTHAWKS
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Hamilton, ON – At a live event conducted at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and broadcast on CEBL.tv the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) revealed the selections from its inaugural 2019 Entry Draft.  The Guelph Nighthawks held the third pick in the first round where Head Coach and GM Tarry Upshaw proudly selected with the club’s first pick Connor Wood, a hometown player from Guelph, 5x CIS Champion with Carleton University, former CIS Player of the Year and current starting guard for Uni Basket Paderborn of the German ProA Basketball Bundesliga. 

Two picks prior to the selection of Connor Wood the Fraser Valley Bandits made history by selecting Joel Friesen from the University of Alberta as the first player to be drafted into the CEBL.

The inaugural CEBL Entry Draft included the selection of thirteen players by each team, including two players directly from USport programs. With a CEBL mandate that all rosters are comprised of 70 percent Canadian players the Nighthawks focused on selecting Canadian talent, deciding to wait until Free Agency opens on March 24th to sign its international players. 

Other highlights of the Nighthawks draft included the selection of three brothers from Burlington Ontario, Chadrack, Meshack and Abednego Lufile. However, draft night was not all about local talent.  The club was able to select former University of Texas standout Myck Kabongo, University of Michigan alum Jevohn Shepherd and Arkansas Razorback Marvell Waithe.

“We are a big team, filled with top-end Canadian talent that will put up a tough fight night in and night out,” said Coach Tarry Upshaw. “We’ll be strong on the glass and tough in the paint, but also have players like Myck that can push the pace, and Connor who can step outside and drain shots from behind the arc.”

“Tarry’s staff have put in some incredible work over the last two months to scout and prepare for the CEBL draft,” said Cameron Kusch, president of the Guelph Nighthawks.

“Tarry was brought in partly because of his ties to the Canadian basketball landscape. I had high hopes for the level of talent that he’d be able to secure in Guelph, and he’s blown those expectations out of the water.  The Nighthawks will be a fun, exciting and competitive team right from the outset of our inaugural season on May 9th.”

The Guelph Nighthawks thirteen selections from the 2019 Entry Draft were as follows:

Rd.

Player

Height

Weight

Position

College

1

Connor Wood 

6’4” 

198 lbs.

Guard

Carleton

2

Jevohn Shepherd

6’5”

215 lbs.

G/F

Michigan

3

Marvin Binney

6’3”

195 lbs.

Guard

St. Mary’s (TX)

4

Emanual Shepherd

6’8”

200 lbs.

Forward

Southern

5

Chris Johnson

6’5”

205 lbs.

G/F

St. Bonaventure

6

Abednego Lufile

6’7”

240 lbs.

Forward

Arkansas Tech

7

Meshack Lufile

6’8”

240 lbs.

Forward

Cape Breton

8

Marvell Waithe

6’9”

215 lbs.

Forward

Arkansas

9

Myck Kabongo

6’2”

180 lbs.

Guard

Texas

10

Jamal Reynolds

6’4”

175 lbs.

Guard

Canisius

11

Chadrack Lufile

6’9”

265 lbs.

Forward

Wichita State

12

*Malcolm Glanville

6’3”

 

Guard

Guelph

13

*Myles Charvis

6’0”

 

Guard

Ryerson

* Denotes USport Developmental Player

The Guelph Nighthawks 2019 training camp opens April 26th at the University of Guelph.  The club will play their inaugural game in Abbotsford against the Fraser Valley Bandits on May 9th, and their home opener on Saturday, May 11th at the Sleeman Centre against the Saskatchewan Rattlers. 

For more information on the Guelph Nighthawks and available ticket packages please visit www.thenighthawks.ca/ticketsor call (548) 988-HAWK.

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