Colour Raimbault impressed with Allen

Teddy Allen is holding up his end of the bargain.

The standout guard, who agreed to reunite with the Winnipeg Sea Bears nearly two years after an ugly split, appears to be taking full advantage of a clean slate with the way he’s carried himself on and off the court since arriving.

Allen did his best to lead by example as the Sea Bears opened their three-day training camp inside the Paul Albrechtsen MultiPlex on Thursday. It was the first time he took the court with the team since he was the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s reigning Most Valuable Player.

After practice, Allen didn’t want to talk about what lay ahead for him and the team. He was steadfast about the group building together now, with the limited time they have before the regular season begins on May 9 in Edmonton.

“Those moments will come when they come,” he said. “Don’t really think about it right now, just trying to try to make the most of each day, most of each practice. Get better, get back in game shape before the season starts.”

That was the first reflection of a player who says he’s grown personally and professionally since the last time he played for Winnipeg. His braids have been replaced by a clean, low haircut. He’s also been baptized in his faith, which he says has offered him more perspective and allowed him to feel anchored.

“I’m older, more mature, I guess, you could say. Learned a lot about the game, played with a lot of great players; played at even higher levels,” he said. “So just excited to bring that experience back to the core and see how I can affect the team and organization at a level like this.”

Allen arrived in Winnipeg last week — much earlier than any player needed to report — to get a jump on the new season and settle in for a strong training camp as the Sea Bears officially usher in a new era of the franchise, led by head coach and general manager Mike Raimbault.

Colour Raimbault impressed by what he’s seen from the 27-year-old, who will be leaned upon to produce offensively.

“To be honest, that was really good for him, and we got to spend a bunch of time doing some individual work and talking about some things that we want to do,” Raimbault said. “I thought he was great today in terms of setting the tone and being a little bit of a leader in situations. Being able to be on the same page, having spent a few extra days was really nice.”

Allen’s presence was felt by his teammates on the floor, too. Those who have played with him already knew what to expect in his game, and those who haven’t understand how pivotal he will be to the team’s success this summer.

“Obviously, a really talented player — has done a lot of really good things in this league. He did a good job of leading today, kind of talking through to newer guys and stuff,” said Kyler Filewich, who returns for a second season as one of five homegrown players on the roster. “Impressed the first day, and feel like he’s due for a big year for us.”

After finding some sustained success in their inaugural season, the Sea Bears have backed their way into the playoffs with losing records in each of the last two years, and the franchise has yet to record a playoff win. They are hoping Raimbault is the answer to that.

Thursday was a clean slate for everyone, including Raimbault, who wore his shorts and whistle for the first time as the head coach of a professional team. The next week will be about establishing the habits and the identity he wants to see, and it helps that he’s already worked with several players at some point in the last three years as an assistant coach with the team.

After months of recruiting and strategizing on paper, the bench boss said it was nice to finally put his coaching cap on and see his chess pieces come to life.

“It’s a lot more fun on the court, I can tell you that. Today we really wanted to do a lot of defensive stuff and really give the guys some space to showcase some of their abilities so that we aren’t making too many quick decisions about where the best spots on the floor and the situations that we can put them in is, and we really wanted them to play with different people — switch the teams up a little bit,” he said.

“They also have to build their chemistry among one another, and that’s an important thing that takes some time and takes reps, and takes commitment from their side, too.”

The Sea Bears were without several players on the first day, including Simon Hildebrandt — who is away to write an exam — Xavier Moon, Emmanuel Akot, Isiah Osborne and Nathan Bilamu — who all have yet to finish their winter season — and Kevin Cross Jr., who is expected at Friday’s session.

Time will tell when Raimbault has his full assortment of weapons to deploy.

“Assertive. He knows what he wants to get done,” Allen said of Raimbault. “Just trying to focus on what he wants us to do and learn from him as best we can, and try to implement the things he wants.”

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