St. John's Edge Makes Two Picks in NBL Canada Draft





On Sunday the 26th of August 2018, St. John’s Edge selected Aaron Edison and Chris Early in Canada’s National Basketball League draft. If they will be on the team,however, remains to be seen.

St. John’s Edge made two picks in Sunday’s National Basketball League of Canada draft. Anyone who is familiar with the team’s short history knows to wait to see if Aaron Edison and Chris Early will be playing for the team.

Early is a 6-7 forward who had a brief stint in the NLBC with the Saint John Riptide a few years back. He was selected with the ninth overall pick on Sunday in Windsor, Ontario. Edison is a southern Californian 6-2 guard who played at Santa Monica College. He was the second-round choice for St. John’s Edge.

The picks followed the NBL Canada draft combine that saw more than a 100 players displaying their skills and talents in front of the officials and coaches of the league’s 10 teams.

Most of the players selected in the previous NBLC drafts have not yet made any significant impact on the league. The Edge,for example, being an expansion team, had the first overall pick during the 2017 draft.

Unfortunately, the player they took in that selection – Aaron Williams product of Chicago-Loyola – didn’t play for St. John’s. Their second pick last year was Zach Gordon, the forward-center who enjoyed a few games with St. John’s at the start of the season while Grandy Glaze was away on national duty. However, he was released soon after Glaze returned.

Early’ selection caused some confusion as the league’s Twitter account initially said the KW Titans selected him. While the Titans had the right to pick – thanks to a trade that sent Russell from KW to St. John’s halfway through last season – they decided to opt out of taking picks this year thanks to conditions that were attached to the trade.

29-year-old Chris Early played at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. He started in 29 out of their 31 games as a junior in 2011 to 2012. The West Virginian native was unfortunately dismissed from the team halfway through his senior season for putting up disparaging remarks on Twitter about UTC’s head coach John Shulman. Even after all that, Shulman still ensured that Early kept his athletic scholarship so he could finish his degree.

Since that time, Early has been a player in a number of professional leagues such as Peru’s top circuit. He also appeared briefly in the NBL Canada where he suited up in five games with the Riptide in 2016/2017.

In other St. John’s news, the team was able to secure the Byrd deal while also acquiring the first round pick of the Island Storm in a trade that sent forward Jarion Henry the other way. However, that particular draft choice – which turned out to be Sunday’s fifth overall pick –had been dealt with earlier in August in a trade-off that saw St. John’s Edge acquiring Gabe Freeman, former NBL Canada MVP from Saint John Riptide. Although Freeman is yet to sign with St. John’s, the latest rumor is that he is continuing contract talks with the team. 


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