Season preview: New coach, new players but same goal for London Lightning

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The London Lightning start their quest for a second straight Basketball Super League title Saturday in Sudbury.

The Bolts, looking for a fourth consecutive crown dating back to their National Basketball League of Canada days, will be the favourites again in what is now an eight-team league with three American entries. The Montreal Toundra have taken a self-imposed timeout this season and that caused some schedule adjustments in the weeks leading up to tip-off.

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London will play 34 regular-season games — 20 of those at home — and raise its seventh championship banner Thursday, Nov. 28 against the Newfoundland Rogues at Canada Life Place.

“We do love winning,” Lightning GM Mark Frijia said, “and the best thing is putting on a good show for our fans and putting the best team on the floor. It’s so tough. There is a lot of parity. It’s who has the best team at the right time (down the stretch) and that’s what we strive for.”

NEW COACH: Former Newfoundland bench boss Jerry Williams takes over for Doug Plumb, the British Columbia native who led London to three straight championships.

The club and coach started talking after Plumb’s contract expired and the organization knew it would be heading in a different direction. Williams has been working the sidelines for a decade-and-a-half so he brings some veteran savvy to the role.

“He definitely knows what he’s doing,” Frijia said. “I’ve just known him for the past couple of years. We had conversations at league meetings and the draft and combines. He reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in bringing him in. We had some good conversations and I felt really good about it.”

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Plumb’s style wasn’t for everyone but it got the job done. Williams will be expected to build off of that success.

BACK AGAIN: The Bolts have brought back four players from last year’s winning squad — reigning playoff MVP Chris Jones, super scorer Billy White, entertaining Jachai Taylor and speedster Marcus Ottey.

Joel Kindred, the MVP of the NBLC while with the K-W Titans in 2021-22, will add excellence and experience to the mix. He previously played for Halifax and suited up all over Europe and the Middle East.

“We have a good mix of young and old on the roster,” Frijia said.

CLOSE TO HOME: Canadian guard Alex Campbell is living in the London area and previously played for the NBLC’s Island Storm. He also has extensive CEBL chops. The 31-year-old Brampton native won the 2019 CEBL title and was finals MVP with the Saskatchewan Rattlers five years ago.

He had history with Kyle Julius, who was one of London’s more successful coaches.

“We were able to make something work with Alex,” Frijia said.

PLAYOFF FORMAT: It should be exciting. After the regular season ends in March, six of the eight teams will be left standing.

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The top two get a bye to the semifinal round while the third seed faces the sixth seed and the fourth and fifth seeds face a one-game play-in contest.

After that, it’s best-of-five for the semifinal and finals with everything wrapped up in April.

BORDER WARS: The BSL added three American teams — Toledo (Glass City Wranglers), Pontiac, Jamestown — and doesn’t anticipate the problems that made some TBL squad visits to Canada untenable the past few years.

For a while, London was facing TBL outfits that had not yet held training camp and formal practices. It wasn’t uncommon for teams to arrive under-staffed, either.

“There won’t be teams coming up here with seven or eight guys,” Frijia said, “and before they start. They were bringing guys straight off the street and that wasn’t good. Last year, we didn’t go to the (United) States at all. This year, we will and it’s not new. All the trips are day trips for us so it’s not the end of the world.

“We learned some things in the first BSL season and are growing into Year 2.”

rpyette@postmedia.com
@RyanatLFPress

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