Please, Sir, I want some more basketball

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Please, Sir, I want some more basketball

Energy boss charged up for new season

By John MacKinnon, The Edmonton Journal March 27, 2009

Paul Sir has to do some creative lineup juggling to begin the IBL season.

You can’t always get what you want, the song goes, but Edmonton Energy GM-head coach Paul Sir is finding that getting what you need can be a juggling act, too.

Sir, the main mover behind relaunching the city’s International Basketball League franchise from the smouldering ruins of the one-and-done Chill, announced the return of a near-handful of players on Thursday, including 2008 team most valuable player J.R. Patrick.

The graduate of Santa Clara University and Eastglen High School will be rejoined on the ’09 Energy by former U of A Golden Bears captain Alex Steele, as well as Andrew Parker and Antwon Mills.

So, there will be continuity from last year’s team, which was an artistic success and box-office smash that regularly played to a packed Grant MacEwan College gym last season.

"This excellent group is part of what we need to build this team to the level we require," Sir said. "The Energy will have height, size and athleticism."

They’ll also have a solid, experienced cadre of coaches, including assistants Darrell Cleave of Louis St. Laurent High School, Todd Warnick of the Concordia Thunder women’s team, and Peter Sambu, former head men’s coach of the SAIT Trojans and Lakeland Rustlers of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference.

What they won’t necessarily have, not for the whole season at any rate, is the marquee appeal of Jermaine Bucknor, the former Ross Sheppard High star, and Henry Bekkering, the University of Calgary mainstay and a YouTube dunk-o-rama maestro of considerable renown.

Henry and his brother, Ross Bekkering, powered the Dinos to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championship tournament, won by the Carleton Ravens of Ottawa, and is on the radar screen of Canada’s team for the FISU Games in Belgrade, Serbia, from July 1-12.

"We’ve got our fingers crossed," Sir said of Bekkering’s availability. "In any case, we’ve got a number of (commitments) we have yet to (announce)."

Bucknor and Bekkering, Albertans both and crowd-pleasers, to boot, are a perfect fit for the Energy. In Buck-nor’s case, the former University of Richmond star plays for Le Portel, a team in the Pro-B League in France.

"I have to take somewhat of a strategic approach in that the team that we put on the floor for the first games may not be the team we end up with for the latter part of the season," said Sir, whose Energy opens its season in Los Angeles on May 2. "Jermaine’s team, for instance, still has nine games left, nine weekends left to play.

"And then they start playoffs."

In theory, the 10-month French Pro-B season could dovetail with the two-month, 20-game IBL campaign (May-June, plus playoffs).

In reality, the fit is not so neat, particularly if Le Portel goes deep into the playoffs.

"Even if they win a couple of rounds, he may not be available to make the minimum of games for us."

Last season, Bucknor joined the Chill at the end of May and made an immediate impact, so better late than not at all in his case.

It’s part of the reality of minor pro basketball.

Sir has to bring in some players who will agree to short-term contracts, athletes who know going in that the likes of Bucknor and Bekkering will take their roster spots when they become available.

Who knows, a player or two could be identified at a one-day, open tryout camp the Energy will hold on April 11 at Louis St. Laurent High School. The Energy’s full training camp opens three days later.

"We’ll still be very competitive," said Sir, whose team opens at home with a brace of games May 8-9 against the Vancouver Titans. "These are good players, but our best team may not be on the court from Day 1.

"I would prefer if we just had Henry and Jermaine and everybody lined up to walk out on the court for the first game, but that’s not going to happen.

"So, we’re going to do what we have to do."

The U.S.-based teams in the IBL, have a bit of a recruiting advantage, Sir said, in that many of their players compete either in South America or in teams in the Pacific Rim, whose seasons are shorter.

Simple geography, too, makes it an easier fit for players looking to make some extra money playing in Los Angeles, for example, or other West Coast teams.

Sir also has filled out his coaching staff, naming Louis St. Laurent coach Darrell Cleave, ex-SAIT and Lakeland College head man Peter Sambu, and Todd Warnick, head coach of the varsity women’s team at Concordia University College to assist him this season.

Having a strong staff is key, Sir said, to being able to provide a meaningful experience to international pro players.

"I want this to be a personal development opportunity for these (athletes) thay they will carry forward with them," Sir said. "Hopefully, when they go back to playing (for their pro teams) or when they move into other careers, they will take skill that will benefit them on and off the court."

jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com