Determined Bilamu making his mark
In fact, the 25-year-old rookie out of Lakehead University was told he might end up being nothing more than a practice roster body.
'During training camp, I think the one thing that Nate really brought was competitiveness, and you know, defensive urgency,' said Sea Bears assistant head coach and assistant general manager Ryan Thomson, who's also the head coach at Lakehead.
BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Sea Bears forward Nathan Bilamu drives towards the hoop Friday during second-quarter action.
'As a rookie trying to make a mark in a league like this, it's not going to be by scoring or shooting, so, you got to be willing to do some of the less glamorous things and I think that's what he's done and what's endeared him to the fans and to the staff.'
Despite having a rock-solid university career that he capped off by averaging 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists as a senior, Bilamu spent the past few summers on the sidelines as he was never selected in a CEBL U Sports Draft.
'Every summer it would definitely motivate me,' said Bilamu, who hails from Hamilton, Ont.
'Seeing some of my (Lakehead) peers as well, Tyler Sagl played here in Winnipeg (2023), Michael Okafor played here in Winnipeg (2023), and I played with those guys. I knew that if they could do it, then I could do it as well. It was just a matter of time.'
Bilamu cracked the opening-night roster but didn't see the floor until the fifth game of the year for a brief 1:30 shift. He gradually worked his way into becoming one of the team's best contributors off the bench and now finds himself as a starting forward since Winnipegger Emmanuel Akot left the club to play for South Sudan at the FIBA AfroBasket tournament in Angola.
The Sea Bears have appealed Akot's callup as they weren't given enough notice (FIBA requires national teams to give clubs at least 30 days), but there's still no resolution despite the fact AfroBasket starts on Aug. 12 and runs through the CEBL championship weekend (Aug. 22-24) that's scheduled in Winnipeg.
Bilamu went from playing less than 15 minutes per game to now averaging 30-plus as a starter.
In Wednesday night's 86-81 win over Niagara at home, Bilamu showed he can handle the promotion as he was all over the court with 10 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Bilamu also had 10 points in Friday's 92-60 beatdown over the Brampton Honey-Badgers at home to go with four boards, three assists, and a steal.
'I'll say maybe there's some luck that goes into it, just with the opportunities and what took place during the season with Winnipeg with guys leaving and transfers and all that type of stuff. But also, I'm a firm believer in my work and I'm confident that with work, when your opportunity presents itself, you'll be ready,' said Bilamu.
'And to be honest, whatever the result or outcome, I always played for just the love of the game and just getting better. I truly love just staying in the gym and putting in hours and seeing myself improve. And I think with that mindset, stuff like this just happens naturally.'
Bilamu is just getting started as a pro as it was announced Friday that he's inked a deal in Portugal's top division with Esgueira Basket for the upcoming fall/winter season.
'He's practising hard all the time. Every drill, everything we're doing, he's all in, all out,' said Sea Bears head coach and general manager Mike Taylor.
'There's two guys every morning when you come into this gym at 9 a.m. that are in here: Gavin Ashworth, who's going to play at Lakehead and is a practice player for us, and Nate. These two guys, every single day, they're working, and it's not a surprise that success comes.'
'This is a great developmental story.'
Even with only four starts under his belt, Bilamu has quickly become a fan favourite in the Manitoba capital for his ability to do all the small things that don't always show up on the stat sheet.
'I'm from Hamilton, and we're kind of similar to Winnipeg as far as being a gritty city and have to work for everything,' said Bilamu. 'If that's how I get on the court, then I'm gonna do it by any means.'
Thursdays
Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.
The Sea Bears played their 12th and final home regular season game on Friday gave the 7,207 fans in attendance lots to cheer about with a 92-60 victory over the last-place Brampton Honey Badgers.
With the win, Winnipeg (11-12) has won three in a row on their home floor and ends the summer with a 6-6 record inside the Canada Life Centre. They'll close out the regular season Sunday in Edmonton before gearing up to host the Western Conference final on Aug.22.
Star guard Jalen Harris and centre Simi Shittu sat out Friday. Point guards Terry Roberts (21) and Will Richardson (20) led the Sea Bears in scoring. Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 22 for the Honey Badgers.
Brampton, who were extremely shorthanded as a third of their roster has left to join teams overseas, fell to 5-18.
taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca
Taylor AllenReporter
Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.
Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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