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Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Home court not so sweet for Sea Bears
Home court hasn't been an advantage for the Winnipeg Sea Bears lately. The past two seasons saw Winnipeg's professional hoops squad go 15-5 inside Canada Life Centre, but this summer, they find themselves on a three-game slide on their own floor. Their latest defeat, which dropped them to 1-4, came on Saturday night in an 88-73 loss against the visiting Ottawa BlackJacks (2-2). The Sea Bears have now lost four straight games, all by double digits, since prevailing 92-89 over the Edmonton Stingers in the season opener. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Sea Bears guard Alex Campbell (centre) said Tuesday the team is still optimistic about their season despite dropping their last four contests. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Sea Bears guard Alex Campbell (centre) said Tuesday the team is still optimistic about their season despite dropping their last four contests. 'I think we've got a younger group and it's taken a lot to realize how special this fanbase is and I don't think we've come out and played with the sense of urgency that I feel like we could, and I don't know why that is,' said veteran Canadian guard Alex Campbell after Tuesday's practice. 'We're still optimistic… It's about gelling and building this thing back up. We have one ultimate goal at the end of the summer, obviously, and we want to build up towards that.' Campbell and head coach Mike Taylor insist the team isn't on cruise control since they're hosting the CEBL's Championship Weekend (Aug. 22-24). They are guaranteed to play in the league's Western Conference championship game no matter how they finish the regular season. The last three hosts — Montreal Alliance (6-14 in 2024), Vancouver Bandits (8-12 in 2023), and Ottawa (8-12 in 2022) — all went into the final four weekend with losing records and none of them made it to championship Sunday. 'I think we've seen the last few years that (hosting) has not been easy for teams to handle. We're trying to avoid, we'll say, the trap of a challenging season and a difficult time to win games,' said Taylor. 'We've gotten off to a slow start, so I think the most important thing for us is to take ownership and understand where we are and understand where we want to be and work to get there.' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Sea Bears head coach Mike Taylor said hosting the CEBL Championship Weekend can lead to complacency during the regular season. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Sea Bears head coach Mike Taylor said hosting the CEBL Championship Weekend can lead to complacency during the regular season. 'I do have to say, there can be some complacency and that urgency you normally have when you're playing, it's something that we have to address… (But) we're working hard and going in the right direction.' Inefficient shooting has plagued the Sea Bears. They're dead last in both field goal (36.7) and three-point percentage (25.7). 'I feel like we're getting the right looks, it's just more self confidence because teams are kind of labelling us as non-shooters, so I think that's getting into a lot of players' heads,' said American power forward Jaylin Williams, who had 16 points and five rebounds against Ottawa. 'It's just about boosting confidence and believing in those shots is the main way to improving things. A lot of guys can shoot, I mean, I see it with these guys in practice every day, they all can shoot, it's just about putting it together in games.' The good news is help is on the way as star Canadian centre Simi Shittu is expected to join the team on the road this weekend when they take on the Brampton Honey Badgers (0-5) Friday and then the Scarborough Shooting Stars (3-0) Saturday. The six-foot-10 Shittu, who is arriving late as he was finishing up the Greek Basketball League season with his club Promitheas Patras, is an accomplished name in the summer circuit as he was named to the All-CEBL First Team and All-Canadian Team in 2023 when he was a member of the Calgary Surge. Supplied / CEBL Winnipeg Sea Bears' Simi Shittu is expected to join the team on the road Friday against the Brampton Honey Badgers. Shittu spent the 2023 season with the Calgary Surge. Supplied / CEBL Winnipeg Sea Bears' Simi Shittu is expected to join the team on the road Friday against the Brampton Honey Badgers. Shittu spent the 2023 season with the Calgary Surge. Shittu isn't expected to play this week since he'll need some time to get comfortable with his Winnipeg teammates. 'In the past, we had the star mentality where we built things around Teddy (Allen), we built things around Justin (Wright-Foreman). We made an effort to have more of a team approach this summer, and the early results are not as productive as we have been, but we have Simi coming in,' said Taylor. 'Simi is important because we've never had an athletic rim protector that he can provide. He's also a player that can settle guys down. When other teams go on a run, we can throw the ball into the post to him and play through him. He can play multiple spots on the floor, and is a big, physical body that will help with the physical presence of our team.' The Sea Bears will return to downtown Winnipeg on June 11 to square off against Montreal. Former Sea Bears guard Mason Bourcier officially signed with the Edmonton Stingers on Tuesday. Bourcier requested his release from Winnipeg last week as the 25-year-old from Kelowna, B.C., was frustrated with his role on the team. He played over 20 minutes per game with the Sea Bears in 2024, but saw his playing time slashed in half through the first three games this summer. 'We wish him all the best, we wish his family all the best, but (his tenure here) had run its course,' Taylor told the Free Press. 'At this point, our team is really together, and the roles are set. Hopefully we can replace him with a more productive player, a better player.' 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. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Global News
Winnipeg Sea Bears open training camp with fresh new roster
Another summer of Winnipeg Sea Bears basketball is near as the club opened training camp with just a little over a week to prepare for their season opener. The Sea Bears had a lot of new faces on the floor at the Sport For Life Centre to start their third season in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. Of the 16 players on the Sea Bears training camp roster, only three are returning from last year in guards Alex Campbell, Emmanuel Akot and Mason Bourcier. In their first two seasons, the Sea Bears were led by MVP type candidates in Teddy Allen and Justin Wright-Foreman, but Sea Bears general manager and head coach Mike Taylor took a different approach to build this year's roster as they look for more team chemistry instead of individual achievements. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'The first two summers we had the star mentality with the team,' said Taylor. 'We were really built around Teddy. And Teddy was a fantastic talent, and did a lot of good things for us. And then when we replaced Teddy — we brought in Justin. And Justin, you talk about two guys, MVP candidates in the league, two guys leading the league in scoring. Story continues below advertisement 'But I think if we want to have that ultimate team basketball success, the best teams that I've been a part of, the championship teams that I've been apart of, the World Cup team that I've been apart of, are all about team basketball. So we've tried to change the roster in a way that we've got guys that are, let's say, team oriented.' Taylor said he got a good first impression from their first practice on Thursday. The Sea Bears already have a berth at the CEBL Championship Weekend as this year's hosts with a free trip to the final four, but Campbell, whose former teams have hosted in years past, believes you can't coast your way into the semifinals to have success at the end. 'I think it's just coming out of the gate playing championship basketball,' said Campbell. 'It's kind of a setup. Guys get into this comfortable state and then just kinda glide through the summer. And then try to ramp up closer to the championship game. 'But I think it's just about attacking every game knowing that we're building for something great at the end and keeping that consistency throughout the summer.' The Sea Bears will play their season opener next Friday against the Edmonton Stingers at the Canada Life Centre starting at 7:30 p.m. All the home games can be heard live on 680 CJOB this season.
Winnipeg Free Press
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sea Bears look to make big splash
Mason Bourcier believes he's changed for the better since the last time he took to the court for the Winnipeg Sea Bears. The 25-year-old doesn't feel like a seasoned veteran, but he enters his sixth season in the Canadian Elite Basketball League on the heels of a winter whirlwind that has matured him personally and professionally. Most notably, Bourcier got married and, in March, his wife Makenna gave birth to their first child, a baby boy named Phoenix. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS The Winnipeg Sea Bears training camp tipped off Thursday at the Sport for Life Centre. 'It's been the best process ever,' said Bourcier, who helped plan their marriage and prepared to welcome his son while playing in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League. 'Yeah, it's stressful, but it was enough work and stress to kind of give me a change in my perspective on life that I kind of desperately needed. I'm tired of thinking about myself and caring about myself, I'm ready to move on and worry about something more important than myself.' A smile hasn't left his face since he met his kid for the first time. 'It's everything at this point, you know? I mean, we talked a little bit just how basketball was up here,' he gestured with his hand above his head, 'and having a kid, it kind of changes the whole dynamic of what I find meaning in, and the importance of basketball and whatnot.' Bourcier is one of three players from the Sea Bears' 2024 squad to return this season (Alex Campbell and homegrown product Emmanuel Akot are the other two), and the decision wasn't particularly difficult for him. The Kelowna, B.C. product forever has close ties to the Manitoba capital, calling it the place where he gave his wife a fairy-tale story. 'It's kind of ingrained value,' said Bourcier, who proposed to his wife prior at a Sea Bears home game last July. 'Doing that in Winnipeg, I grew so much from those little events, and then those big things I went through, and… when I see the growth as a human being, that's something only you can kind of reflect on. So, yeah, that was a big part of it.' The Sea Bears are hopeful they have changed for the better, too. Their first test will come at home against the Edmonton Stingers on May 16. Nine new faces are expected to make up a large part of the 12-man roster on a team that is looking to take a title-contending leap in its third campaign. That quest began on Monday as the Sea Bears held their opening day of training camp at the Sport For Life Centre. Winnipeg has a prime opportunity at glory during the CEBL Championship Weekend in August. As host, the club is guaranteed a spot in the Western Conference Final. Players are doing their best not to think about the automatic berth, though. When Championship Weekend was mentioned during a team meeting earlier this week, they squashed any thoughts of getting complacent throughout the 24-game regular season. 'I think it's just coming out (of) the gate playing championship basketball,' said Campbell, who has reached the final four twice in his career. 'It's kind of a setup — guys get into this comfortable state and then just kind of glide through the summer and then try to ramp up closer to the championship game. But I think it's just about attacking every game, knowing that you're building for something great at the end and keeping that consistency throughout the summer.' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Alex Campbell (centre) runs a drill with his teammates during the Winnipeg Sea Bears first day of training camp at the Sport for Life Centre on Thursday. The moves made by head coach Mike Taylor this off-season have reflected that, including a philosophical shift in how he constructed the roster. 'The first two summers, we had the star mentality with the team,' said Taylor. The Sea Bears were built around Teddy Allen in 2023 and, after he was released early on last summer, Justin Wright-Foreman. That strategy yielded high-scoring solo performances for the two star guards but not enough team success. 'I think if we want to have that ultimate team basketball success, the best teams that I've been a part of, the championship teams that I've been a part of, the World Cup teams that I've been a part of, have been all about team basketball,' Taylor added. 'So we've tried to change the roster in a way that we've got guys that are, let's say, team oriented, team structured, and can rely on each other and want to play together.' Part of that entailed building from the inside out. Taylor made a big splash in landing Canadian-raised centre Simi Shittu, who was named to the All-CEBL first team in 2023, and continued stacking talent with centre Solomon Young and power forward Jaylin Williams and rounding out the frontcourt with the acquisition of hometown product Kyler Filewich. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'I feel like the balance comes with the size and physicality in the post,' Taylor said. 'We've got some guys that can score down there. We've got some really good wings. In particular, we've got a point guard (Terry Roberts) that all the reports are people love to play with them. So we're really, really optimistic about it, and I hope that it plays out in a really brand of basketball that the Sea Bears fans love to watch.' Taylor's philosophy has already resonated with players, including Campbell, a trusted leader on the team who returns for his second season in Winnipeg. 'I'm confident. I like the vibes, good energy in the gym. Everyone's selfless and moving the ball, so I'm having fun with it for sure,' said Campbell, who, along with Bourcier and Roberts, should have a crucial role in the backcourt. 'This year, it looks like by committee, built it by committee — ball moving, ball snapping around, you don't know who's gonna hurt you on what night. And I think we got a group of guys that's gonna buy into that philosophy, and I think it'll be good.' Joshua Frey-SamReporter Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh. Every piece of reporting Josh 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. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
