Allen named MVP as four Sea Bears win CEBL awards

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This article was published 09/08/2023 (802 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Sea Bears have been eliminated from the Canadian Elite Basketball League playoffs but they walked away with four prestigious individual awards announced Wednesday night.

Star guard Teddy Allen capped a spectacular season by earning MVP honours, edging finalist Justin Wright-Foreman, a guard with the Saskatchewan Rattlers, in voting by the league’s head coaches, general managers, assistant coaches, select league broadcasters and internal media personnel.

The 25-year-old Allen averaged 27.6 points per game, trailing only Wright-Foreman’s 29.2.

Among his many highlights, Allen equalled a league record with 42 points in a game against the Scarborough Shooting Stars while also establishing a CEBL single-game record of nine threes at home against the Brampton Honey Badgers.

Allen also finished the season in the top five of the following categories: three-pointers made: 72 (first); average defensive rebounds: 6.5 (tied for fourth); total rebounds: 167 (fifth); free throw percentage: 80.5 (fifth); average minutes: 36.1 minutes per game (first); and total minutes: 757:00 (first);

Meanwhile, Winnipeg guard Jelani Watson-Gayle (sixth man of the year Award), forward Simon Hildebrandt (U Sports player of the year award) and Sea Bears bench boss Mike Taylor (coach of the year) also topped league voting.

“We could not be more proud of this team,” Sea Bears president Jason Smith said in a release. “To bring four major awards back to Winnipeg in our inaugural season is truly special. These accolades are a testament to the work put in by each player, on and off the court, and to the leadership established by our head coach and general manager, Mike Taylor.”

Watson-Gayle, a 24-year-old guard from England, hit five of the team’s 12 game-winning shots, averaged 12.5 points per outing and had a sensational 49 per cent success rate on three-pointers during regular season, which was the league’s best.

He bettered finalist Eddie Ekiyor, a centre with the Niagara River Lions, in voting for the award.

Elsewhere, the 20-year-old Hildebrandt played valuable minutes in his rookie season. After his rookie year with the University of Manitoba Bisons, scored 13 points in his CEBL debut and scored 19 points while hitting five of eight three-point attempts in a July 8 triumph over the Edmonton Stingers.

David Walker of Scarborough Shooting Stars, a guard from Toronto Metropolitan University, was the other finalist in the U Sports category.

Taylor, who guided his expansion team to a 12-8 regular-season record and a playoff appearance, rapidly moulded the Sea Bears into a contender.

“Coach Taylor came into a new organization and established a winning mentality instantly,” said Smith. “His emphasis on togetherness and loyalty shone through every facet of Sea Bears basketball and helped to guide our organization in its formative days. His ability to prepare, manage and execute laid the foundation for this team and the successes we saw this first season, and we thank him for all of his hard work and dedication.”

In other league honours, Niagara guard Khalil Ahmad was named defensive player of the year (beating teammate E.J. Onuand) and clutch player of the year while Ottawa BlackJacks guard Kadre Gray beat out forward Simu Shittu of the Calgary Surge for Canadian player of the year.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14