Titans coach beats bushes for talent
Johnson working hard to put together roster for new season
WATERLOO — The team has been idle since wrapping up its National Basketball League of Canada season with a victory on the final evening of March.
Kitchener-Waterloo Titans head coach Cavell Johnson has been hard at work ever since.
The Maryland native, who took over from the fired Serge Langis in late February, has remained in Waterloo Region for most of the summer, promoting the team at community events, working on his golf game when time permits, and diligently assembling a roster for the Titans’ third season of play. The latter task has taken the player-turned-coach to scouting combines in Nevada, Florida and Ohio, and resulted in the team selecting forward Aaron Jackson with the second overall pick of last week’s entry draft and adding guard Matthew Hart with the 13th selection.
“Guys coming in have to be defensive-minded dogs ... be great teammates and have an IQ and acumen for the game,” said the 33-year-old Johnson of the roster he’s assembling.
“And, if the IQ is not there, they must have a very strong desire to learn and develop.”
Both draft picks fit the bill, said Johnson.
Jackson, a six-foot-six forward from Akron, Ohio, comes to the Titans from the East Carolina Pirates, finishing his NCAA Division 1 career at the American Athletic Conference school after spending three years with the Akron Zips of the Mid-American Conference.
Johnson describes him as a “great energy kid” on both ends of the floor who impressed at the combines with defensive intensity and attention to detail.
Hart, a six-foot-one guard from Orchard Park, N.Y., started his college career with the Hamilton Continentals at the NCAA Division 3 level and transferred to the Division 1 George Washington Colonials of the Atlantic 10 Conference for his two final years of eligibility.
“He showed a lot of grit, a lot of toughness, and a showed a good IQ for the game,” said Johnson.
Jackson and Hart are both signed and will compete for positions when the Titans gather for training camp in mid-to-late October. The Titans, who finished with a league-worst 8-32 record last season, previously announced they had re-secured the services of Derek Hall, Ed Horton, Tramar Sutherland and Flenard Whitfield for next season, with additional signings to be announced in the coming days.
The Titans placed seven players from last season — Justin Hurtt, Anthony Myles, Greg Morrow, Darren Duncan, Ahmad Starks, Horton and Hall — on its protected list, but Johnson declined to say whether any of them had been signed.
“They’re not necessarily guys I’m going to announce as being re-signed,” he said. “We’re still figuring out a few things, weighing some options.”
As for that previously mentioned golf game, Johnson has been making the rounds of area courses and is pleased to say progress has been made.
“I’m leaving my driver in my bag and I’m playing so much better,” he said with a laugh.
The NBL schedule, said Johnson, is expected to be released later this week with the schedule expected to commence in mid-November.
He expects to have 16 to 18 players at training camp, competing for 12 roster spots.