Apples and watermelons

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Edmonton Energy head coach Paul Sir liked what he saw from his basketball team in their opening weekend. Now he’d like the rest of the city to witness it as well.

"We’re very excited to get in front of our home crowd again and we’ve very excited to play against another Canadian team," Sir said. "Vancouver has a lot more games under their belt so far than we do, and they’re hungry.

"They have talent. They have some kids that can really shoot, they have some really good big men and we’re going to have to play really well to win these games this weekend. The guys can’t take anything for granted."

HOMEGROWN

The Energy have talent as well. A good portion of it is homegrown.

Last year they entered the league uncertain of what to expect, knowing little about the quality of play and their competition.

As it turned out, they were very competitive and with league rules designed to generate offence, it provided a very entertaining product.

It was just unfortunate owner Troy Barns skipped town following the season leaving behind a grocery list of unpaid bills. But with a new ownership group, new management structure and new look, the Energy have put all that behind them.

"It’s apples and watermelons in terms of comfort level," Sir said. "The off-court silliness that was taking place last year is non-existent this year.

"We have a solid organization, good people working with us to try and put this franchise together and run it professionally. We just have to go out and play ball. We’re not thinking about other aspects of life that we were thinking about last year."

Last weekend the Energy opened their International Basketball League season by splitting a pair of games, on the road against the Los Angeles Lightning. Edmonton lost the first game 108-102, then came back the following night to win 128-115.

"The addition of the new players have made a great impact in the chemistry and the style of our team," said Sir. "I think we’re better at moving the ball this year. I think we’re a smarter team this year. Our basketball IQ is higher. I think the guys are picking up quicker on what we’re trying to do and I think we’ve gelled very quickly given how very little time we’ve had together.

"There was a noticeable difference between our first game that we lost and our second game that we won. There was a tremendous improvement in one night and what I attribute that to was the basketball IQ that the guys have. They understood what adjustments had to be made and went out and executed those adjustments the next night in L.A."

Heading into this season, the Energy are still heavy with local talent. J.R. Patrick, Alex Steele, Andrew Parker and Steve Sir are back this year.

The club is also hoping to bring back Jermaine Bucknor once his season in Europe comes to an end.

"I think we can compete with anybody in this league with our local players," Sir said.

"It is a testament to the quality of athlete and the type of basketball player Edmonton has produced over the years. I think kids from Edmonton can compete with anyone."

CANADIAN

Mixed in the roster are a number of other Canadian hoopsters along with a few American players.

"I’m very excited about the year," said forward Antwon Mills, a Texas native who played with the Chill last season. "We’ve come back really focused, we have a lot of good returning players. We’ve come back here to try and get a championship. We came up short last year, which left a sour taste in our mouth. We’re here ready to play, we’re ready to get down to business and win some games."

DEREK.VANDIEST@SUNMEDIA.CA