The Canadian Elite Basketball League will reveal the results of their U Sports Draft on Thursday, April 14.

       The seven teams will do a three-round virtual exercise of picks before that. The Saskatchewan Rattlers will have the first overall choice as the C-E-B-L determined the draft order be based off of last year’s order of finish in the Summer Series. The reverse order will be used in Round 2 with Round 3 being the same as Round 1. Results will be posted on the C-E-B-L website and on their social media channels.

In addition, the Snakes announced the signing of 6’8″ American forward Travin Thibodeaux Thursday. A Louisiana product and U of New Orleans grad, Thibodeaux is currently playing professionally in Ukraine. He played two seasons with Indiana’s N-B-A G Leaguye affiliate in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

       Following are the news release from the C-E-B-L and the Rattlers…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Saskatchewan Rattlers are excited to announce the signing of import forward, Travin Thibodeaux. Thibodeaux enjoyed a standout collegiate career at the University of New Orleans and has played two seasons for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G League.

Thibodeaux is currently playing for BC Kyiv of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In 17 games for BC Kyiv, Thibodeaux has averaged 4.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists. BC Kyiv is currently in first place in the SuperLeague, sporting an impressive 23-5 record. The 6-foot-8 forward played for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants – the NBA G League Affiliate of the Indiana Pacers – for the 2018-19 season and the 2019-20 season. During his time in the NBA G League, Thibodeaux impressed on both sides of the court recording an average of 6.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 61 games. In the summer of 2019, Thibodeaux suited up for the Indiana Pacers NBA Summer League team for two games.

The Plaquemine, LA-native spent all four years of his collegiate eligibility with the University of New Orleans Privateers (NCAA Division 1). Over the course of his four-year collegiate career, Thibodeaux gained recognition for his defensive tenacity as well as his ability to put the ball in the basket. Thibodeaux averaged 8.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists over the course of his four-year career. As a junior, Thibodeaux led the University of New Orleans in assists (104), while ranking second in rebounds (233) and rebounds per game (7.3). In his senior year for the Privateers, Thibodeaux led the team in scoring (16.2 points per game), field goal percentage (54.2), rebounds (5.8), free throws (89), steals (39) and blocks (29). Thibodeaux’s impressive collegiate career earned him a multitude of accolades including the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District (23) First Team in 2018, as well as the Southland All-Defensive Team and Southland All-Academic Second Team in 2017.

“Travin is another exciting addition to our roster for the 2021 season”, said Rattlers general manager Barry Rawlyk. “Travin is somebody who is highly competitive and has experienced success at multiple stages in his young career. Travin had two very productive seasons in the NBA G League and his quality of play has further developed overseas. He is someone who can not only score points for us on the offensive side of the court, but he can also set the tone for the team defensively. We are excited to see him continue to evolve his game with us.”

“I am very excited to be joining the Rattlers for the upcoming season”, said Travin Thibodeaux. “This is a fantastic opportunity for myself and I cannot wait to get onto the court and start competing to bring another CEBL Championship back to the province of Saskatchewan.”

The CEBL is preparing for its third season in 2021 starting June 5, 2021 following the success of this past year’s CEBL Summer Series in St. Catharines, Ont., which saw millions of viewers across Canada and around the world tune in starting July 25 to watch 26 games played over 15 days in a single-site league competition. The CEBL became the first professional sports league in Canada to return to play after the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in mid-March shut down sports across the country. For more information on the Rattlers, visit therattlers.ca.