Around the Perimeter: Lightning, local hoops and more!

Lightning coach-less, at least for now; Ayim on Brittney Griner and risks of international play; Lightning’s Burns (and Western’s Shiddo) with new pro jobs. Columnist Jason Winders has the latest hoops news & notes …

Jordan Jensen-Whyte, a London Lightning champ last spring, won bronze for Canada in 3x3 basketball at the Commonwealth Games in August. (Photo: FIBA / Canada Basketball).

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STARTING FIVE

1. Detained half a world away. For more than 200 days, WNBA star Brittney Griner has been stuck in a cell half a world away at the centre of a political cat-and-mouse game between two countries.

On Feb. 17, Griner was returning home after wrapping her season with UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian Premier League when she was arrested at the Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges. On Aug. 4, a Russian court sentenced her to nine years in a Russian work camp. She remains there to this day.

“It is such a surreal situation. How could you even think about something like that happening? How do you anticipate something like that? It was such a shock,” said Miranda Ayim, a former pro and Olympian from London. “This whole incident reminds me how blessed we are in Canada. How stable we are, how transparent, how we can move about freely. It makes me cognizant of that.”

Now retired, the Chatham-born and London-raised hoopster played professionally for three years in Turkey, before making her French LFB debut with Toulouse in 2013. In 2015, she joined the Basket Landes of the EuroLeague.

No stranger to international play – and its possible pitfalls – the Griner saga has resonated with Ayim.

“Whenever you travel abroad, you are always aware things are different in other countries and you need to take precautions,” she said. “You try to be aware of this, aware of that, aware of anything that might come up. There is always uncertainty when you go into a new context and you don’t know how things operate. I am sure my friends and family were worried when I went and played in Turkey, an unfamiliar place that many people only know from the news. I enjoyed my time there, but it’s a different place now. It’s amazing how quickly things can shift in just a few years.”

Griner is a star in the sport, a known quantity in the basketball community for years. Ayim played against her numerous times.

“Not one of my favourite players to play against,” she said with a laugh. “She is so great. Big. Skilled. And a mean hook of the elbow that has connected with various parts of my body. I always enjoyed the challenge of playing against a really great player – and she was a challenge. She’s also quite funny with all the talk you don’t hear unless you’re on the court.”

Despite the high-profile detainment, and frightening nature of this incident, international players are continuing to play in the league. At least 32 American players, for instance, have signed to play in Russia’s top league, according to USA TODAY. (Side note: I know, I totally didn’t realize that was still a functional newspaper either.)

For many players, however, especially women, international play is not an option – it’s a matter of financial survival.

“This might have a chilling effect on people going to play in Russia, of course. But I am uncertain how far that will extend into other countries because people still need to make a living at the end of the day,” Ayim said. “We still don’t have a female league in Canada as an option. Even in the WNBA, there are limits on what you can make there – that’s why people still go overseas. Russia is one of the places that pays well. It will be interesting to see people’s motivation in that context. There will probably be a cooling period for awhile, and people may shift to somewhere else for awhile, but I am interested in seeing the fallout of this.”

So much of the conversation around Griner’s detainment and the lack of action to free her has centred on her race, sexuality, and gender. The incident has stripped raw inequities in the game among its best players.

“I have had conversations with former teammates and colleagues – it’s a bit sad, but I just cannot imagine a male professional basketball star, an NBA star, being caught up in this for this long. Things would have mobilized. Things would have moved,” Ayim said. 

“Politics. Foreign policy. I can imagine it is a very tangled web. But if it was Lebron James, it would be the top story every night. It’s about visibility. I am always hesitant to place blame, but I feel like it is a different standard here. I cannot imagine what her loved ones are thinking right now.”

2. Sidelines still empty in London. The reigning NBL Canada champion London Lightning have not announced who will lead the team next season in its, what are we calling this one, pursuit of the #JoyOfSix? But one of its chief rivals has moved to lock in a familiar face.

Sudbury Head Coach and General Manager Logan Stutz will be at the helm of The Five for the next three years, after inking a new deal that starts with the 2022-23 season, team officials announced last week.

Last season, under Head Coach Elliott Etherington, The Five (12-12) finished second in the NBLC regular season behind the runaway Lightning. The team was bumped from the playoffs by the KW Titans – a performance, admittedly, not helped by the late-season loss of all-star centre Zena Edosomwan to the Ottawa Blackjacks of the CEBL.

Doug Plumb, the reigning NBL Canada Coach of the Year, has yet to be contacted by the team for the 2023 season – but you have to think the call is coming soon, right?

3. Go East, young man. Former Lightning Mr. Everything Terry Thomas recently wrapped his season with the Newfoundland Growlers of the CEBL. However, there was no championship run this time for the reigning NBL Canada Canadian Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, and Finals MVP. The Growlers finished the season 6-14, next to last in the 10-team league. Thomas finished the season averaging 15.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.

Nevertheless, it was cool to see Thomas in action – even in a strange uniform. That said, he is no stranger to the league. Thomas previously played for a pair of CEBL teams, most recently as a member of the Guelph Nighthawks in 2021, where he put up 7.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in seven contests. In the inaugural 2019 CEBL season, he averaged 11.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in seven games for the Saskatchewan Rattlers.

Terry Thomas, who racked up NBLC awards in 2022, including winning Finals MVP, played for the Newfoundland Growlers of the CEBL following the Lightning season. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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4. Lighting strikes around the globe. Former Lightning players are taking their talents beyond the Forest City.

Guard Jordan Burns signed with Twarde Pierniki Toruń in the Polish Basketball League for the 2022-23 season. “I chose the Twarde Pierniki club because I feel that in Toruń I will be able to further develop my sports career and will have the opportunity to make a big contribution to the team’s results,” Burns said (in English translated into Polish and then translated by me back into English). “My goals for this season are, as always, to fight for medals, and above all to lead the team in every way possible – on and off the court. I know that some good basketball players have made it through the Polish league and have had very successful careers, and I plan to be another of them.” The Twardy Gingerbread tip off on Sept. 24.

Team Canada, led by forward Jordan Jensen-Whyte, captured bronze in a dramatic 13-12 win over Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in August. This was 3x3’s first appearance at the Commonwealth Games.

Brief Bolt guard Josiah Mastandrea joined the Simon Fraser University men’s hoops coaching staff for the 2022-23 season while he completes his degree.

5. Mustang on the loose. Western Mustangs all-time scoring leader Omar Shiddo has signed with the Svendborg Rabbits of Basketligaen (Denmark’s top professional league). Exciting to see this young man shine on a world stage. Shiddo is maybe one of the most underappreciated talents to play in the Forest City in years, partially because of the pandemic-ravaged university hoops season, partly because … ugh, can we get that program a better hoops environment than Alumni Hall?

“I don’t know where to start. Those who know me know how hard and long I’ve worked for this,” Shiddo wrote on Instagram. “Success takes a village, and Allah has blessed me with a special one, Alhamdulilah. I am nothing without my wonderful parents and my siblings. I wouldn’t be nowhere near the same player without my coaches and trainers either. Thank you to @svendborgrabbitsofficial for taking a chance on a kid out of a Canadian University. Can’t wait to get my pro career started! TTBG (time to be great).”

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HOOPS NOTES

More options for hoops are tipping off in the city. Summit Sports just closed registration on its first offering of competitive, refereed men’s basketball. Running a 14-week schedule (Sept. 18-Dec. 22), the 5-on-5 league plays its games from 7-11 p.m. Thursdays at The Playground, 1305 Commissioners Road E. Visit playwithsummit.ca for details on future season registration. … Montreal and Newfoundland will be the sites of the first TBL teams in Canada, the league announced last week. The Newfoundland Rogues and the still unnamed Montreal team will start play in the 2023 season. The Rogues played their inaugural season in the ABA. In June, the NBL Canada announced it will expand its partnership with the TBL. The two leagues will continue cross-border, regional rivalries during the regular season, along with a joint All-Star Weekend (enhanced with prize money). That mid-season classic may potentially lead to an NBL Canada-TBL Cup that would pit the champions of both leagues against each other. The two leagues may also run joint player combines. … Looks like we’re one step closer. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently announced a preseason WNBA exhibition game in Canada next season. Toronto has been targeted by the league as a possible expansion site. … Finally, this … 0 points. 0 assists. 1 steal.

BEYOND MY BYLINE

Never ashamed to say it, but John Carpenter is my favourite film director of all time. (Not sure what that says about me.) Be sure to check out this killer (see what I did there) profile on the master director in the New Yorker.