Homegrown hoops talent

The Canadian Elite Basketball League finals are sure to be star-studded. And that includes a dynamic group of homegrown talent.

Mason Kraus and Simon Hildebrandt of the Winnipeg Sea Bears, and Matthew Moncrieffe and Tegra Izay of the Brampton Honey Badgers have each played a part in helping their respective teams reach the championship series, and now they will duel on the league’s biggest stage.

Get to know the Canadians who are vying for the CEBL crown.

MASON KRAUS

• Hometown: Winnipeg
• Age: 24
• Position: Guard
• Height: 6-3
• University/College: Manitoba
• Statistics (avg.): 25 games, 3.4 points, 1.1 assists, 32 per cent efficiency on three-point shots

What’s the most Canadian thing about you?

“I don’t think it’s actually a Canadian thing, but everyone says ‘Eh’ is a Canadian thing, and I unironically use it a lot.”

What Canadian athlete did you look up to growing up?

“I really like (Denver Nuggets guard) Jamal Murray because he’s similar height to me. He gets to his spot; he’s like a combo guard, so I just looked up to him when growing up.”

What’s your favourite Canadian food?

“Honestly, just pancakes and maple syrup. That’s just a nice little breakfast combo.”

Cats or dogs?

“Dogs. I have my own dog, so I love dogs.”

What’s the most memorable moment of your basketball career?

“I’d say my most memorable was with (TRC Rise Prep program in Ontario), when it was me, Trent (Johnson) from Montreal and Jonam (Kazadi) from (U of M) Bisons; we went, and we played Central Tech, and it was just a crazy game. Trent and I were making plays, Jonam had a big rebound, and I think we ended up winning by like one or two points. And just that one game, just playing with the guys, that was just a great moment for me.”

What’s your favourite Canadian sports memory?

“I’m not a big hockey guy, but my grandparents are (fans), and when Canada won the Olympics with Sidney Crosby (in 2010)… just watching that when I was like 12 years old with my family, that was just the craziest thing I ever saw. With the hockey gear on and everything, that was awesome.”

How old were you when you dunked for the first time?

“When I was 14 at Saint Boniface. It was a lower rim, so I don’t know if it counts.”

If you weren’t a basketball player, what do you think you’d be doing?

“I think I’d be an Olympic soccer player. It’s either basketball or soccer.”

What’s one thing you can’t go on a road trip without (not including your phone)?

“They gave us lacrosse balls that we use to roll out our feet and stuff like that. That’d be my thing I take everywhere I go. I just roll out my feet, my calves, and that’s just essential.”

What’s your guilty pleasure?

“I love juice. Just juice. So like sweet teas and all that, I could take that down like nothing, and that’s my guilty pleasure. Just drinks.”

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SIMON HILDEBRANDT

• Hometown: Winnipeg
• Age: 23
• Position: Forward
• Height: 6-9
• University/College: Manitoba/ High Point / Washington State
• Statistics (avg.): 25 games, 8.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 36 per cent efficiency on three-point shots

What’s the most Canadian thing about you?

“Being in the U.S (for college), everybody told me I had a really strong Canadian accent. A lot of times, I wouldn’t realize it, but I always said ‘Eh’ after everything. I guess in Canada you don’t realize, but when you’re surrounded by a bunch of Americans, they’re quick to point it out.”

What Canadian athlete did you look up to growing up?

“I watched a lot of football growing up. Probably more football than basketball, but Steve Nash is a big one, just being who he was. Even like RJ Barrett, a little bit closer to my age, I watched him play a lot of Team Canada. Those are probably two big ones.”

What’s your favourite Canadian food?

“Poutine’s an easy one. It’s pretty Canadian. You just can’t go wrong. So many different ways you can make it great.”

Cats or dogs?

“See, I would say when I was younger, I was definitely more of a cat person. As I’m getting older, I would say it’s evening out.”

What’s the most memorable moment of your basketball career?

“Probably playing in March Madness with High Point University, my first year playing (NCAA) Division 1. That’s just something that as a kid, I always dreamed of doing, and I had the chance to literally make my childhood dream come true.”

What’s your favourite Canadian sports memory?

“I mean, I love the World Cup. Four years ago when Canada first made it, that was a lot of fun watching, just cheering on. There’s been some big hockey wins that have been fun to watch. Even when obviously it didn’t end very well for the basketball team in Paris, just watching that high-level basketball with all these NBA guys — maybe not a specific moment there, but just watching Canada rise as a basketball country.”

How old were you when you dunked for the first time?

“I remember I played up on the provincial team. I think it was the summer after my Grade 8 year. I couldn’t dunk all summer. I took like two weeks off after that, and then after those two weeks off, it was like the easiest thing in the world. Just give my body a little bit of a break, and it was easy… It’s embarrassing. I was probably 6-5 or something; I could barely dunk. The athleticism weirdly came later.”

If you weren’t a basketball player, what do you think you’d be doing?

“When I was young, I always wanted to wear a suit, and I wanted to be in business, something like that. I was in the Asper School of Business for a few years. So probably something along those lines.”

What’s one thing you can’t go on a road trip without (not including your phone)?

“I bring my lacrosse ball every road trip, roll out my feet all the time. I bring my laptop every trip; I watch a ton of movies. That’s my big (thing): sit in my bed, watch a movie, lay low and just get ready.”

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MATTHEW MONCRIEFFE

• Hometown: Brampton, Ont.
• Age: 25
• Position: Forward
• Height: 6-8
• College: Seattle / Georgia / Oklahoma State University
• Statistics (avg.): 24 games, 10.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists

What’s the most Canadian thing about you?

“Probably the way I talk to my friends, like my accent. Or the fact that I love poutine.”

What Canadian athlete did you look up to growing up?

“I would say I looked up to Andrew Wiggins and Tyler Ennis (the basketball player from Brampton, not the hockey player from Edmonton), just because they were very close to the region I grew up in. My coach’s son was Tyler, so I just looked up to him a lot. And Andrew was just close; he played for the same AAU (youth club in the U.S.) team I grew up playing for, so those two were just really inspirational in seeing how they could go to a big school and make a big impact and get drafted in the (NBA) lottery and stuff like that.”

What’s your favourite Canadian food?

“Yeah, it’s poutine. But overall, Canada is just multicultural, so it’s like everything, honestly.”

Cats or dogs?

“Dogs, for sure.”

What’s the most memorable moment of your basketball career?

“Being a part of March Madness my freshman year (with Oklahoma State). Going to the Round of 32, played a lot of good players — pretty cool. And then maybe my high school senior year, winning a championship, going undefeated.”

What’s your favourite Canadian sports memory?

“Probably when I was a little kid, when I think it was Sidney Crosby who scored the (Golden) Goal in the Olympics in 2010.”

How old were you when you dunked for the first time?

“I first found out I could dunk in the seventh grade. I believe I was 13 at the time. Got it on video and everything.”

If you weren’t a basketball player, what do you think you’d be doing?

“If I wasn’t a basketball player, it would be most likely something to do with broadcasting and journalism. Something to do with writing stories or telling stories. Some sort of journalism.”

What’s your guilty pleasure?

“Probably eating some sweets, eating some cheesecake or something like that.”

What’s one thing you can’t go on a road trip without (not including your phone)?

“My headphones. I’m big (into) music, or I like reading a lot, and I just like listening to what I’m reading, too.”

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TEGRA IZAY

• Hometown: Montreal
• Age: 24
• Position: Forward
• Height: 7-0
• College: Southern Mississippi / Harcum College / La Salle University
• Statistics (avg.): 15 games, 2.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 60 per cent field goal efficiency

What’s the most Canadian thing about you?

“That I like poutine. That’s probably my favourite native dish.”

What Canadian athlete did you look up to growing up?

“Andrew Wiggins. He’s why I wear No. 22, just because when I saw when he got drafted No. 1 overall pick by Cleveland, it kind of gave me motivation that he’s from Canada and did it, so I could do it too. It’s not impossible.”

What’s your favourite Canadian food?

“Poutine, and ketchup chips are a close second.”

Cats or dogs?

“Dogs.”

What’s the most memorable moment of your basketball career?

“I’d probably say my whole AAU experience. I played three summers with Team (Kevin) Durant, and each summer we kind of had the same guys back, so we all just went to a different high school and just connected in the summertime. Just playing guys from all over the place, it was definitely fun.”

What’s your favourite Canadian sports memory?

“I used to watch a lot of hockey when I was younger. Just growing up in Montreal, I kept my eye on the (Canadiens). One guy that I watched a lot was P.K. Subban. Just watching the Canadiens games, some days I would stay up late if they were on the West Coast just to watch them. I would be falling asleep on the couch; it would be almost 11:30 (p.m.), 12 a.m., but I wanted to watch my team.”

How old were you when you dunked for the first time?

“It was seventh grade, so I was about 13 years old. I think I was about 6-4 to 6-5.”

If you weren’t a basketball player, what do you think you’d be doing?

“People tell me my voice has a good bass to it and I could probably be a good voice actor. That’s something I’ve never looked into, but it just came to my mind, and I don’t know, I think I could be good at it. Besides basketball, I would also get into real estate. That’s probably what I would do.”

What’s one thing you can’t go on a road trip without (not including your phone)?

“Headphones. I always bring two pairs of headphones with me: I have my wired headphones, and I have my Beats. I’m just a guy who loves music; it makes the road trip more enjoyable, just kind of drifting away in your thoughts. That’s a non-negotiable for me.”

What’s your guilty pleasure?

“I have a very sweet tooth. So, a lot of candy is involved with my diet. We’re kind of working on that, but I’m a very sweet person.”

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