They say adversity builds character.
Too much adversity, however, simply builds frustration.
With about three weeks to go in the NBLC (National Basketball League of Canada) season, the Sudbury Five appeared poised to make a solid run in post-season play.
Coach Elliott Etherington and company had enjoyed more than their fair share of success against the K-W Titans, the team they were likely to face in semi-final action. Furthermore, the Five had demonstrated the ability to go toe to toe, on occasion, with the London Lightning, the team which had topped the league standings from the very start of the season.
But with a couple of weeks to go, big man Zena Edosomwan left the team to sign with the Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. On the team’s final road trip, Evan Harris, the interior presence who typically spelled Edosomwan, suffered a facial injury that would cost him the first round playoff series.
In game three of said showdown with the Titans, former league MVP Braylon Rayson suffered a torn Achilles tendon. One could hardly blame Etherington’s crew if they entered game four believing that a run in 2022 was simply not meant to be.
Sure, the Sudbury campaign ended with a 111-98 loss in Kitchener-Waterloo Saturday evening, giving the Titans a best of five series win in four games. But in no way conceivable could this be attributed to a group that was unwilling or unable to tackle adversity head on. Truth be told, the volume of adversity was simply overwhelming.
“Honestly, our guys battled until the very end,” said Etherington. “We were under-manned, undersized. To get fifty plus rebounds, to force them into so many turnovers, to do everything that we could – all I can say is that each and every guy that stepped on the court tonight left everything on the floor.”
Tyrrel Tate (32 pts), Joel Kindred (30) and Jesse Jones (20) paced a Titans attack that would register quarter-end leads of 24-18, 49-40 and 79-68, as the home side outscored the Five in each and every 12-minute period.
Sudbury countered with a more shared offense than the previous night, when Jeremy Harris exploded with a 40-point outing, receiving double digit efforts from Harris (26), Kirk Williams Jr (21), Jaylen Bland (20), Dexter Williams Jr (17) and Jason Calliste (12).
Given the hand they were dealt, the local basketball squad responded about as well as one could have hoped. “There is a philosophical question with basketball coaches,” said Etherington. “Can you call it a lack of execution if you run the play the way that you want to, you get the ball in the right spot and you get the shot that you want - but you miss?”
“For three games, we executed and put the ball in the bucket and unfortunately, tonight, we just couldn’t make the same shots that were making.”
When the final buzzer sounded, the season ended in somewhat the same way that it started, with nothing coming easy for the Sudbury Five.
“It just felt like every week, there was a new challenge to overcome,” said Etherington. “We had Covid, then we had injuries, then we had a main new piece and then we lose a main new piece, and all the while, there’s other stuff going on behind the scenes as well.”
“For the season, the guys battled. As a coach, I felt like every single night, I had their backs and they had mine. That’s all I can ask for.”
Not surprisingly, as the year comes to a close, Etherington took the opportunity to highlight each and every player on his roster:
Jaylen Bland – “he showed that he’s not just a scorer; he rebounds at an elite level, he defends at an elite level, he can move the ball and run an offense”
Jeremy Harris – “is a new guy coming in, winning an award and putting the league on notice about what he can do”
Dexter Williams Jr – “Dexter had five or six different roles throughout the year, just based on our roster; he showed there’s so many things that he can do – and he’s got the heart of a champion”
“Late in the season, guys like Cedric (Kasongo) really stepped up at key moments. Marcel (White) went from being a starter to not playing a lot of minutes to really stepping up tonight. JC (Jason Calliste) was so consistent all year. He battled through a lot of injuries and still played a lot of games.”
“Kirk (Williams Jr) comes in at the end of the season when we needed a push and gave us so much leadership and energy. Georges (Serresse), very much like Marcel, got some opportunities some times and then went stretches of not playing, but he never gave up. He was so good in that second game.”
“Braylon came in and my heart goes out to him on suffering that injury. Same with Evan Harris, back home – he did so much for us and it’s too bad what happened, happened.”
“Tyrell (Gumbs-Frater), as a rookie, was in a tough situation – but he showed glimpses throughout the season of promise. I look forward to see how he develops.”
While the sting of defeat may linger for a week or two, Etherington might not wait quite that long before contemplating just how to finish the task that started with so much promise this year.
“I’ve been living in this league for seven years now,” he said. “I may go a couple of days, but I will be thinking right away about what we do next – there’s no doubt about that.”
