2024 CEBL Power Rankings: Week 4
In a week full of movement and turmoil, how have the rankings shaken up?
1. Vancouver Bandits: 7-1 (2-0 Last Week)
The Bandits spent last week doing what they’ve done all season – winning. There’s no longer a question about it, this is the best starting lineup the CEBL has ever seen. If that wasn’t enough to convince you that Vancouver will have a spotless record to close out the season, add in the fact that they’ve recently brought in Devonte Bandoo – one of the best scorers the league has seen who is not only a starter on 9 other CEBL teams, but one of their catalysts. He, along with the incoming Josip Vrankic, will round out the bench and make the Bandits an unstoppable juggernaut.
2. Edmonton Stingers: 6-2 (2-0)
The Stingers continued their surprising 2024 campaign, bouncing back from a tough week to sweep a pair of games against the Winnipeg Sea Bears and Calgary Surge. With perhaps the deepest team in the league, head coach Jordan Baker has proven that he has the chops to hang at this level. Every question that was asked of him and his team heading into the season has been answered emphatically, and they’ve earned the right to be viewed as championship contenders.
3. Saskatchewan Rattlers: 5-3 (1-1)
The Rattlers week went about as expected, running over the Brampton Honey Badgers and keeping things close against the red-hot Bandits before letting things slip away in target time. Bryson Williams has looked good filling in for the departed Grant Basile and Jalen Harris has continued has MVP run. As good as things have gone for the team, the bench hasn’t been able to contribute at the same rate they were at the beginning of the season. If the team hopes to jump into the upper echelon of a tough western conference, they’ll need everyone on the team to step up.
4. Scarborough Shooting Stars: 4-3 (1-1)
The Shooting Stars got a bit of respite last week when Kalif Young and Donovan Williams both joined the lineup. The help will keep coming, as Cat Barber has wrapped up his season in Portugal and will suit up for the Stars this week. There may be some ups and downs while the team figures out how to utilize everyone to their best ability, but all signs point to Scarborough once again being viewed as championship favourites by the time the playoffs roll around.
5. Niagara River Lions: 4-3 (1-1)
Things didn’t go to plan this week for the River Lions, splitting a pair of games against two of the weaker squads in the league, falling short against the struggling Ottawa BlackJacks. But all is not lost for Niagara. The team’s goal was to simply keep their heads above water while they awaited the arrival of Khalil Ahmad. They did that and more, sitting tied atop the eastern conference standings. A run to the BNXT championship kept Ahmad away from the team for longer than anticipated, but with their superstar now ready to take over the reigns of the team, expect them to make a run up the rankings.
6. Calgary Surge: 3-5 (1-1)
The Surge may have gotten off to a terrible start to the season, but it looks like they’re finally beginning to find their footing. A large share of the credit for their slow start belongs to their schedule, which saw them play the top 3 teams in the west and the top team in the east over their first 7 games. With a bit a respite coming up in their schedule and some key additions in Jordy Tshimanga and Trhae Mitchell – along with the pending return of Stef Smith – all signs point to seeing a Calgary Surge team much more reminiscent of last year’s squad that made a run to the finals.
7. Montreal Alliance: 3-5 (2-1)
While the Alliance may be guaranteed a spot in Championship Weekend as hosts, there was a fear that they could be the first team to knock a deserving seed out of the postseason. They helped ease some tension with a strong week, picking up key victories over the BlackJacks and Shooting Stars. Their trio of imports have been strong, and the team has gotten key performances from role players when needed. It may not be anything fancy, but that formula is enough to pick up wins in this league and can be regularly counted upon.
8. Winnipeg Sea Bears: 3-5 (0-2)
Things were supposed to turn the corner for the Sea Bears, with Justin Wright-Foreman forming a power duo with reigning MVP Teddy Allen. Less than a week later, Winnipeg’s losing streak was stretched to 4 and Allen was handed his walking papers.
The wheels had completely fallen off for a Sea Bears team that many were already dubbing a disappointment. Many fans and observers called their performance against the Stingers “embarrassing” as the team was noticeably arguing amongst themselves and with fans.
The team is obviously of the belief that Allen was at the core of the problem and will now hand the keys directly to JWF. Time will tell if the move will pay off.
9. Ottawa BlackJacks: 2-5 (1-2)
Whatever momentum the BlackJacks gained from their first win of the season quickly evaporated as they were run out of the building by both the Montreal Alliance (the very team they claimed a victory against) and the Scarborough Shooting Stars. The arrival of Zena Edosomwan helped them pick up what essentially became a must-win victory over the Niagara River Lions, though they’re now in a peculiar position with 4 American imports on the roster and another international player expected to arrive in the coming days in Deng Adel. They’ll have to figure out their lineup quickly, as matches against the Edmonton Stingers and Vancouver Bandits could once again see them outside of playoff position.
10. Brampton Honey Badgers: 2-7 (0-2)
The Honey Badgers were once again unable to turn their fortunes around, extending their losing streak to seven consecutive games. Shamiel Stevenson has played his way into Canadian Player of the Year consideration, but their imports L.J Thorpe and Javonte Cooke haven’t lived up to expectations and asking Zane Waterman to maintain the 20 point-per-game pace that he started the season on is unrealistic. Those four are the only players on the roster to average at least 5 points a contest. With that little production and no help expected to be on the way, it’s hard to envision how the team will pull out of this tailspin.