Lightning nab two players at draft combine

The London Lightning drafted a pair of players with potential at the annual BSL Draft Combine, selecting Canadian Kingslee D’Silva with the 6th pick, and Alontay Gould with pick 13. Learn more …

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The London Lightning landed a pair of semi-familiar faces in the BSL Draft, selecting forward Kingslee D’Silva (No. 6) and guard Alontay Gould (No. 13) at the event. Among 18 players selected, D’Silva and Gould will be invited to Lightning training camp later this month to compete for a spot on head coach Jerry Williams’ roster.

D’Silva, a 6-foot-5 forward, is a recognizable talent for Williams, who selected the Mississauga native with the Newfoundland Rogues’ first pick (No. 4) in the inaugural BSL Draft. D’Silva, however, did not make the squad’s final cut out of training camp.

“It was a numbers thing for Kingslee. Last year, I was going with the big man thing, so there were several guys who fell ahead of him at 6-10, 6-9. But Kingslee is a real talent, a super athletic guy who makes impact plays at the rim. He finishes really, really well,” Williams said.

The coach described D’Silva as “a hungry guy,” constantly working on his game and body, with the physical skills and presence to play a Williams-style game. “He goes up and down and doesn’t wear out. He plays really solid defense. That seven-foot wingspan gets a lot of steals. I’m excited for him.”

D’Silva starred at the University of Guelph and George Brown College. In 2019-20, D’Silva led George Brown to its first OCAA championship in 44 years. In the title game, he tallied a game-high 20 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and a steal against Humber College, being named Champion MVP of the three-day tournament.

The 29-year-old has been playing professionally in Portugal for the last two seasons.

Lightning GM Mark Frijia said he expects D’Silva to enter camp later this month ready to challenge for a roster spot. “We were actually looking for a big body to come in to compete with our starters. We saw him make a lot of explosive plays out there. We expect him to push and make the team.”

Williams agreed. “A lot of people don’t get second chances; I am happy he’s still out there pushing to play.”

Gould, a 6-foot-1 guard from Bryant & Stratton College (Ohio), is another familiar face for London, as the Toledo native dropped 20 points, alongside 10 rebounds and three assists, as a member of the Glass City Wranglers in a 127-95 loss to the Lightning March 10 at The Bud.

In Gould, Williams and Frijia see a lot of on-court similarities to Lightning veteran guard Chris Jones.

“That’s a good thing. Chris will push him, show him the ropes, show him what it’s like to play in our league,” Williams said. “That’s valuable when you have a veteran guy, a champion, a guy who understands the game, how to get things done. It’s good to have that kind of veteran leadership around when younger guys like Alontay come in. A lot of teams don’t have that. A lot of teams expect guys to come in and be ‘the man’ right away. For us, Chris can be a teacher, as well.”

Frijia agreed about Gould’s potential. “He was a player who stood out every game, whether it was shooting or distributing to other players on the floor,” he said. “He was just a solid point guard.”

The 26-year-old averaged 12.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game in the TBL last season.

Despite the excitement of the moment, drafted players still have an uphill battle to make rosters. Last season, only two of the 12 drafted players found their way to an opening day roster.

One of those was former Lightning shooting guard Rashad Smith, now a member of the Rogues, who was the third overall pick in the draft. He saw mixed results last year (while being a bit underused), ending the season averaging 6.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in just 13 minutes a game in 30 contests (he managed to earn a spot on the BSL’s All-Rookie Team). Among other 2024 draftees, only Montreal’s Brandon Beloti (No. 11) saw the court last season.

Despite the odds, though, Williams said his roster is still open to talents like D’Silva and Gould.

“It’s open season; I’m not going to turn my nose up at anyone,” Williams said. “If a guy comes in and earns a spot, he’ll get it from me.”

Here’s the complete full 2024 BSL Draft:

Round 1

1 | Windsor Express – Jarius Shumpert
2 | KW Titans – Jayden Dewaa
3 | Montreal Toundra – Kaleb Hunter
4 | Jamestown Jackals – Zavier Turner
5 | Pontiac Pharaohs – Tim Steward Jr.
6 | London Lightning – Kingslee D’Silva
7 | Glass City Wranglers – Cameron Wilbon
8 | Windsor Express (acquired via trade from Sudbury Five) – Antonio Davis
9 | Montreal Toundra (acquired via trade from Newfoundland Rogues) – Max Joseph

Round 2

10 | KW Titans (acquired via trade from Newfoundland Rogues) – Victor Lewis
11 | Sudbury Five ­– Othel Watson
12 | Glass City Wranglers – Travez Nyx
13 | London Lightning – Alontay Gould
14 | Pontiac Pharaohs – Kevin Fletcher
15 | Jamestown Jackals – Lybrant Robinson
16 | Jamestown Jackals – Myles Warren
17 | KW Titans – Dequon Cascart
18 | Windsor Express – Dylan O’Hearn