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Rattlers keying in on speed at men’s basketball spring camp

Apr 22, 2018 | 4:17 PM

 

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The 2018-19 roster for the Medicine Hat College Rattlers men’s basketball team became clearer on Saturday.

The Rattlers held their annual spring ID camp at the ‘Snake Pit’ over the weekend, bringing in close to 45 athletes ranging in experience from local high school athletes to college players.

Rattlers staff are hoping to build of a strong 2017-18 campaign, where they finished in second place in the ACAC South and a berth at provincials.

One new player in the mix will be David Simon, who will join the Rattlers after red-shirting his freshman year at Medicine Hat College.

Hailing from Regina, Simon is the lone walk-on for next year’s roster after joining the Rattlers for a pair of practices in the winter.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted,” said Simon. “It’s something that I’ve been waiting for, this is like a second chance. So, this means a lot to me.”

The weekend camp had an international flavour as well, with two Brazilians taking part in drills along with players from across Canada.

Head coach Rich Humphrey is hoping the incoming crop of rookies will make an immediate impact when the 2018-19 season tips off.

“Right now we’re sitting at four rookies, they’re going to be exciting to watch,” said Humphrey. “A couple kids from Brazil have now signed with us, one in particular Arthur [Rosa] is a special kind of athlete. It will be fun to watch from the stands for sure.”

For Rosa the last few weeks have been a whirlwind, visiting Canada for the first time two weeks ago to pursue his dreams of playing basketball at the collegiate level.

Playing for a prep school in San Antonio, Texas last year, Rosa said he was blown away by the level of competition above the border.

“I haven’t [anything] like Canada basketball before because in Brazil, the level is really different,” said Rosa. “The energy of the people, the support, and everything was really, really nice. I didn’t expect this.”

Before the first cuts downs on Friday, the Rattlers also had a number of Grade 11 and 12 students from local high schools out to put themselves on the radar.

The Rattlers will have a number of key players returning to the team next year, including leading scorers Jon Sappleton and Aaron Cameron.

Humphrey said he was looking for players this weekend that would lead to a faster transition game.

“We’ve been a half-court execution type team,” he said. “I think this group is more athletically inclined, have a lot more speed. We lack a little bit of size, but we make up for it in athleticism.”

The Rattlers will begin pre-season action in early September with the goal of qualifying once again for ACAC provincials.