Stingers GM-coach quits, citing workload
It was a case of too much, too soon for the Edmonton Stingers’ Barnaby Craddock.
The inaugural head coach and general manager of the fledgling Canadian Elite Basketball League club stepped down Wednesday, citing strains the added workload placed on his ongoing duties coaching the University of Alberta Golden Bears basketball program and raising a young family.
“Despite my best intentions and efforts, the workload of the Stingers head coach and general manager role is not something I can adequately complete while also fulfilling my duties to my family and University of Alberta Golden Bear Athletics,” Craddock stated in a news release.
Stingers assistant coach Jermaine Small will assume both positions, while Craddock will be on hand Saturday to play a support role in Abbotsford, B.C., against a Fraser Valley Bandits squad still seeking its first win.
“The CEBL has brought a high level of professional basketball to Edmonton and Canada, and it has been a privilege to play a part in ushering the Stingers into Edmonton,” said Craddock, whose 4-4 record with the Stingers has them 2 ½ games back in the standings.
Following three seasons as an assistant coach at Ryerson University, Small spent five years as lead assistant at Queen’s University. He coached the Canadian Select Team that competed in China, and the last three summers was a head coach in the Crown League in Toronto. Small played collegiately at Houghton College in New York.
“I would like to thank Barnaby for an outstanding job in establishing a foundation for a culture of success with the Stingers,” team president-COO Lee Genier said. “We’re disappointed to lose him, but we do appreciate the significant demands that come with simultaneously running basketball operations for us and the University of Alberta, where he leads one of the top U Sports programs in the country.
“We are grateful we have someone of Jermaine Small’s ability to take over.”