The Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) are one of three new expansion teams to join the growing league this season. They are so new that they do not have a complete roster yet. One player that they have introduced is not someone that most fans would have expected: Jermaine Lamarr Cole. Better known as J. Cole, this Grammy award-winning hip-hop star will now lace up his high tops and hit the hardwood for the Shooting Stars in this CEBL season that fans can watch at CBC Sports Live broadcasts and CBC Gem.
Pro basketball isn’t new for the star rapper. Cole suited up for the Rwanda Patriots in Africa’s new league, the Basketball Africa League (BAL), but unfortunately his time in the BAL was cut short as he announced his departure from the Patriots after only three games due to family obligations. Cole has also been spotted training with viral NBA trainer Chris Brickley, practicing shooting and other skills of his game.
“We worked for six to seven months just working on his shot,” said Brickley. “He would go to the studio during the day and come work out with me all night.” This work ethic demonstrated that Cole wasn’t just playing basketball for fun or as a publicity stunt, but to show he is a true hooper.
“There’s a desire on [Cole’s] end to play basketball; the opportunity is there, he had attempted it last year, and I think he feels more comfortable under this situation, and obviously surrounded by people that he trusts,” Mike Morreale, the commissioner of the CEBL, said. Cole has been praised by the commissioner of the league and his trainer but has already earned the respect of his new teammates in only a short period of time during training camp.
“J. Cole, he’s really putting in the work,” said his teammate Olu Famutimi. “Whatever we’re doing, he’s doing probably even more. Comes in early, stays late, and his drive right now, he wants to become better and wants to be known as a guy that can really hoop.”
But this isn’t only an opportunity for Cole to showcase his talents on the pro stage; it is an opportunity for fans to experience a new League that is right in their backyard. The CEBL has teams stretching from the Fraser Valley to Newfoundland, giving all Canadian basketball fans a team to call their own.
Recently the CEBL welcomed three expansion teams for this season: the Montreal Alliance, Scarborough Shooting Stars, and Newfoundland Growlers. The Shooting Stars is part-founded by Drake’s close friend — and founding partner in Drake’s October’s Very Own apparel brand — Nicholas Carino.
“Drake had a birthday party in L.A. last year. The conversation was, ‘I heard you have your team.’ It organically grew from there,” Carino said. As Drake and Cole are evidently close friends, the move to play for the Shooting Stars seemed like a no-brainer if Cole was to join a team in the CEBL.
J. Cole’s arrival to the CEBL has already brought a lot of attention to the league, as the Shooting Stars’ home opener is already sold out. Fans are evidently stoked for the team, and the league is skyrocketing. If Cole has a successful career with the Shooting Stars, does it make sense to keep the 37-year-old around, since he does have other obligations? Cole will also miss most of the season because of music festivals that he is scheduled to perform at, starting on June 10. At that point of the season, the Shooting Stars will still have 15 more games on their schedule, which means the team will be without him for 75 per cent of the season.
The CEBL season began earlier this month, and Cole has not performed to what the hype made fans hope for, totaling three points in a total of 19 minutes. Opposing teams have exploited Cole’s lack of experience on the defensive end to find easy baskets and make the Shooting Stars an easy team to score on, resulting in the loss of their first two games.
As a growing competitive league, do fans want team roster spots and salary space to be taken up by players who are underperforming, missing most of the season, whose profession is not basketball, and already have millions of dollars? There are players who need the CEBL to not only get better at basketball, but to help them get the recognition and chances to play pro basketball that they deserve.
Esher is a second year law & communications student who is invested in sports. When he isn't filming and writing about basketball, he can often be found washing cars or cutting the grass. Esher hopes to one day enter the field of law enforcement and start his own media group.