The Hamilton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) selected MiKyle McIntosh with their first pick, fifth overall, in the inaugural league draft, announced Saturday at the CEBL’s Draft Reveal Party in Hamilton, ON. McIntosh was one of 13 players chosen by Honey Badgers General Manager and Head Coach Chantal Vallée. The draft was held Saturday, March 16, with selections revealed at a league-wide invite-only event at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and streamed nationally on CEBL.tv on March 23.

McIntosh, a 24-year-old from Pickering, Ontario, is averaging 10.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 23.7 minutes in 24 games this season with Raptors 905 of the NBA G League. The 6-foot-7 forward posted a career high 30 points versus Maine on February 19. McIntosh began this season with
Anyang KGC in South Korea’s KBL, where he averaged 17.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. His NBA G League rights were acquired by Toronto from Wisconsin in a trade on December 20, 2018.

McIntosh played his final year of collegiate basketball at the University of Oregon as a graduate transfer following three seasons at Illinois State where he earned his degree in Recreation Management. McIntosh was an All-Missouri Valley Conference Second Team All-Star as a junior in
2016-17. He was invited to NBA pre-draft workouts by the Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers.

Joining McIntosh on the Honey Badgers first draft list are Raptors 905 teammates Duane Notice and Derek Cooke Jr. Notice, a 6-foot-2 guard from Woodbridge, Ontario, is averaging 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 29.8 minutes in 45 games. He has scored a career-high 25
points on three occasions in the NBA G League this season. Cooke Jr., a 6-foot-9 forward from Washington, DC, ranks seventh in the league with an average of 10.0 rebounds in 23 games with Toronto and 20 games with Northern Arizona.

“The Honey Badgers basketball staff has been working incredibly hard for months to identify players with strong character, who are high performers, have the passion to want to get better, and can be the foundation of a culture of success in our franchise’s first season,” said Vallée. “We’ve selected players who will represent Hamilton well and be contributing members of the community. I believe this is a team people will want to get behind and watch play in the 2019 season.”

The Honey Badgers selected 6-foot-9 forward Erik Nissen out of Acadia with their second round pick. Nissen is having a strong rookie pro season with Bodegas RV of the Spain LEB Silver League, averaging 8.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in 26 games. Veteran guard Junior Cadougan of Toronto, who has 153 career games as a professional, was tabbed by Hamilton in the fourth round. Cadougan is averaging 13.2 points and 4.4 assists with St. John’s of NBL Canada this season.

Rounds 5-11 of the CEBL Entry Draft were announced by each team in a group rather than by round. In alphabetical order, Hamilton selected Murphy Burnatowski, Derek Cooke Jr., Justin Edwards, Ryan Ejim, Shaquille Keith, Joe Rocca, and Tramar Sutherland.

The Honey Badgers draft resulted in the selection of 13 players with more than 37 total years of professional basketball experience. The last teams the Honey Badgers players competed for provides a look at the strength of the Hamilton roster:
• NBA G League – 3
• International Professional Leagues – 4 (Spain 2, Korea, Slovakia)
• NBL Canada – 4
• U Sports / OUA – 2

Through a unique partnership between the CEBL and U Sports designed to support the development of basketball at amateur levels, the Honey Badgers selected collegiate players Connor Gilmore and Thomas Kennedy in the inaugural U Sports Draft, held immediately following the CEBL Entry Draft. Gilmore, a 6-foot-7 forward from Toronto, is a four-year star for the local McMaster Marauders. He averaged 16.6 points and 8.8 rebounds in 24 games during the 2018-19 season and was an OUA First-Team All Star in 2017. Kennedy, a 6-foot-9 forward, just finished his freshman season with the Windsor Lancers. Named to the OUA All-Rookie Team, Kennedy averaged 11.5 points and 8.4 rebounds, playing in all 24 games for the Lancers.

Hamilton’s first-ever game is scheduled for Sunday, May 12 when Edmonton visits the Honey Badgers at the 4,534-seat FirstOntario Centre.

The CEBL, the official professional league partner of Canada Basketball, opens its inaugural season May 9 with franchises in Hamilton, Fraser Valley (Abbotsford), Edmonton, Guelph, Saskatchewan (Saskatoon), and Niagara (St. Catharines). CEBL teams will play a 20-game regular
season from May 9 to August 15, culminating with a league championship playoff at a site to be announced.

Honey Badgers season tickets, group seating, and voucher packs are available now through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling (905) 522-BALL. Individual game tickets will go on sale on a date to be announced in the near future.

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Media Contact:
Maria Suriani, Manager, Operations & Community Engagement
(647) 924-2274

2019 HAMILTON HONEY BADGERS BASKETBALL CLUB
(As of March 23, 2019)

Name         Pos.  Ht.   Wt.    College      Pro Exp. Last Team
Murphy Burnatowski   F   6-5   229   Colgate ’14      5   St. John’s (NBLC)
Junior Cadougan     G   6-2   205   Marquette ’13    6   St. John’s (NBLC)
Derek Cooke Jr.      F   6-9   220   Wyoming ’15     4   Raptors 905 (NBA-G)
Justin Edwards      G   6-4   200   Kansas St. ’16    3   Anyang KGC (Korea)
Ryan Ejim        F   6-7   205   Carleton ’17      3   Gijon Basket (Spain)
Connor Gilmore     F   6-7    220   McMaster U        McMaster (OUA)
Shaquille Keith      F   6-5    200   Cape Breton ’13    4   St. John’s (NBLC)
Thomas Kennedy     F   6-9    220   Windsor U         Windsor (OUA)
MiKyle McIntosh     F   6-7    233   Oregon ’18       1   Raptors 905 (NBA-G)
Erik Nissen       F   6-9    216   Acadia ’18       1   Bodegas RV (Spain)
Duane Notice      G   6-2    218   South Carolina ’17   2   Raptors 905 (NBA-G)
Joe Rocca        G   6-4   191   Carleton ’17     3   Spisska Nova Ves (Slovakia)
Tramar Sutherland    G   6-3   200   Ark. Little Rock ’12   5   KW Titans (NBLC)