The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE next stop on JR Cadot's pro basketball career gives him an opportunity to play in North America for the first time since his collegiate days at TCU.

The Windsor Express selected Cadot with the 13th overall pick in the National Basketball League of Canada Draft.

It was the seventh draft in league history and took place at the conclusion of the two-day NBL Canada Combine hosted in Windsor, Ontario.

The 6'5" veteran wing impressed at combine which featured 142 players based in the continental United States, the Bahamas, Brazil and Sweden.

"We're looking for the best available player who stands out of the 140-plus on the floor," said Windsor Express head coach Bill Jones prior to the draft. "It's hard to hone in on one or two players, those diamonds in the rough, who are ready to compete in the league."

The selected players received invites to the franchise's training camps which take place in November.

If Cadot earns a roster spot with the Express it will be the second Bahamian connection that franchise has made in as many months.

In September, the team signed Robert Nortmann for the up-coming 2017-18 season. It will be his third NBL franchise after he previously spent the past two seasons with the Island Storm and another with the Halifax Rainmen.

The former Dalhousie graduate also played professionally in Australia with the Maitland Mustangs, as a development player with the Harlem Globetrotters and spent time in training camp with the Raptors 905 of NBA G-League.

The NBL was founded in 2011, when three teams formerly of the Premeir Basketball League joined with four new franchises to form the NBL's "Original Seven". The league now boasts nine teams. The league's season begins in November and ends in April of the following year.

Cadot was most recently on the roster of Zornotza Saskibaloi Taleda in Spain where he averaged 11.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 31 contests.

Prior to that, he played for the UMF Skallagnimur Borgans in the Icelander League where he averaged 24.1 points, 16.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.9 block shots in 35 minutes per game.

He began his pro career with BKU Supa Nitra in Slovakia where he averaged 16.5 point and 6.7 rebounds in 28 games.

He concluded his NCAA career with the TCU Horned Frogs, averaging 10 points and 6.5 rebounds in 65 games played, good enough for second place on the TCU All-Time list. He was also named to the All-conference team for the Mountain West during his senior season.

Prior to TCU, he spent two years at the junior college level with Sheridan College. Cadot posted impressive numbers at the junior college which garnered the attention of many D I schools across the country. In his freshman season, he averaged 15 points and 6.6 rebounds per game but surpassed all expectations in his sophomore campaign. As a sophomore, Cadot averaged 17 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Internationally for the Bahamas, Cadot has appeared on senior national teams for the CBC Championships in 2006 and 2011 and the Centrobasket Championships in 2012 and 2016.

His career averages at the national team level are 5.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.