As Royce White waded through the yellow and black ticker tape falling from the ceiling at Budweiser Gardens last June, his eyes were wide open, and he was taking in absolutely everything he was seeing.
It was like the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) MVP didn’t want to blink for fear he might miss a second of the celebration that marked the end of a year-long goal for the London Lightning.
“It was hard,” White said in the moment. “There was natural tension because we were so close (to something) that we had set out at the start of the season, but we accomplished it and that always means something special.”
At the time, it was hard for Lightning fans to think that they weren’t seeing White in a London uniform for the final time.
He was a former Minnesota Mr. Basketball winner, a 16th overall NBA pick and he had just turned 26.
Surely, he wouldn’t be back.
But he is. So is finals MVP, Ryan Anderson. So is Garrett Williamson and Mo Bolden, who joined the Lightning for their title run last spring. DeAndre Thomas has returned to London after time with the Windsor Express and all of them have made it clear that they want to go after a title again.
But not everything old is new again.
Not long after the Lightning clinched the 2017 title, the first Canadian coach to win an NBL of Canada championship announced that he was leaving.
Kyle Julius decided to move on and ended up moving to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and the Saigon Heat. Their season gets going on Dec. 9.
Keith Vassell has taken over the reins of the Lightning and the task of trying to help his new team repeat.
“I’m very excited,” says Vassell, who is from Scarborough and got a good taste of his new league last year as the interim coach of the Niagara River Lions. He also got to know the city of London by playing Fanshawe as head coach of Niagara College.
Vassell is encouraged by what he feels the Lightning lineup can do.
“We have a diverse team that can do a lot of things. We’re going to run some stuff that is similar in some ways (to last season) and we have been spending time developing habits on the things that are different. They played a pretty up-tempo game with some really good shooters. We will be using Royce White inside. Deandre Thomas is also a fantastic low-post player. We also have a lot of guys who are really shooting the ball well.”
Along with the returning players and Thomas, Vassell believes some new additions will bring a great deal to the floor.
“There is Martin Dixon-Green, who is a guard. He’s been living in London. He’s originally from Toronto and is very athletic and strong and shoots the ball well. He will do things that will be very impressive. It is his first year so he will go through his ups and downs but he will have a fantastic year.”
Yohanny Dalembert comes from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Vassell compares him to a Tristan Thompson-type player who is active on the boards and has a high motor.
Bryan Akinkugbe completed his NCAA career two seasons ago at North Carolina A&T and according to Vassell, is, “very physical in nature and a good low-post player.”
Vassell admits that he is not as animated along the sidelines as some past Lightning coaches but says he definitely gets his point across when he needs to.
“I try and bring what is needed. There are going to be games where you hear me being vocal. I try to observe and lead and direct the team in terms of how they should be playing and areas we can improve on from the sidelines.”
London will start on the road in Niagara on Saturday so they will not get a chance to raise their championship banner until Sunday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. when they meet Halifax, the team they beat in the finals at Budweiser Gardens.
That afternoon will mark their official return home and give the Lightning a look at what they are after again in 2017-18.
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