Taylor keeps possession of Sea Bears’ GM, coach titles

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This article was published 29/11/2023 (706 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mike Taylor and the Winnipeg Sea Bears caused a major stir with a playoff berth and record-breaking attendance during their inaugural season in 2023.

Now, that partnership has a degree of permanence.

On Wednesday, the Canadian Elite Basketball League franchise announced it had signed the 51-year-old general manager and head coach to a two-year contract extension.

“The contract I’m signing is a sign of commitment,” said Taylor at downtown news conference. “I love Winnipeg. I love the Sea Bears… we’re here to pursue those championship goals. We did a really good job in the first year, but that first year is over. We want to continue to establish our organization, continue to grow and build, on and off the court. We want to continue to build on that connection with the city and eventually the dream goal of pursuing that CEBL championship.”

Taylor guided the team to a 12-8 record, which was tied for top spot in the Western Division, before Winnipeg lost 87-81 to the Edmonton Stingers in the conference play-in round.

Taylor and Kyle Julius of the Vancouver Bandits are the only head coaches in the CEBL currently working on year-long multi-year deals.

“From our very first phone call with Mike, it was apparent that not only was he a top-level professional coach with experience from around the world, he was also an amazing human being who fosters exactly the type of inclusive, respectful and collaborative environment that we’re striving to build with the Winnipeg Sea Bears,” said club president Jason Smith.

Taylor was instrumental in building a roster that included three CEBL award winners: MVP Teddy Allen, U Sports player-of-the-year Simon Hildebrandt, and Jelani Watson-Gayle, who was named the league’s sixth man of the year.

“I’ve been called the basketball lifer and I’ve been in a lot of different countries, a lot of different places, but what I look forward to in places is someplace that you fit with people, you work well with people. I can really say that I feel great about the fit here in Winnipeg. With (owner David Asper’s) vision, working together with (Smith) and everyone in the Sea Bears organization… I think that’s one of the main reasons why everything came together so quickly.”

CEBL teams are not yet permitted to sign players for the 2024 season, which will run from mid-May to the end of August. But Taylor is already immersed in the process of evaluating potential additions.

“We’re trying to find unique players that want to use it as an opportunity to grow and develop their game,” said Taylor. “We want to use it as an opportunity to help them improve and develop their careers and get to the next level. So, it’s not like we can say we’re gonna have seven guys from last year’s team back. It’s a work in progress. We’re gonna try to have as much continuity as we possibly can, but at the end of the day, you know, it’s building the right team for the right situation.”

Hildebrandt, a star at the University of Manitoba, is likely to return, while the high-scoring Allen, currently playing in the top Belgian league, might also be back.

“A guy like Teddy who was so impactful for us — when he’s available — I think that’s a guy that you’d love to have back,” said Taylor. “I think it’s just about being flexible, about staying in contact with people, tracking the players, and then trying to make the best decisions we can for our team right before training camp.”

Taylor expects the recruiting process to be more seamless, with Winnipeg more established as a basketball city.

The Sea Bears set league records for average attendance (5,964 per game) and the largest single-game crowd (10,580). That success in a major venue has been a catalyst for the Calgary Surge to move its 2024 home opener from the WinSport Event Centre to the 19,289-seat Scotiabank Saddledome.

“That Calgary is going to start in the Saddledome is an indication that this league has actually grown — it’s a fantastic thing,” said Asper. “We’re focused on coming out of last season and understanding what we did well, what we didn’t do well and what we could do better. We do believe that we have a tremendous value proposition for fans. We have an exciting game. We have high-level athletes. It’s fun, it’s intense, it’s fast and it’s affordable.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca