Coach Kannemeyer’s 3 Keys vs. EDM - August 4
By: Cassidy Kannemeyer • August 5, 2021
Here are Coach Kannemeyer's 3 Keys to the Game:
Passing, Passing, Passing
After two straight losses to the league leading Edmonton Stingers at home last week, the Bandits have to do some serious soul searching to reclaim their offensive identity.
Losing Marek Klassen several weeks ago has had a lasting impact on the roster with only four games left. Still the leader in assists for the team, Klassen had the ability to identify the hot hand, reward the bigs for strong defensive play and knew when to create his own shot. Klassen was the floor general that the current Bandits desperately need to get back to their winning ways.
The guard play needs to get better, the passing needs to be sharper and the team needs to execute in transition at a much higher clip to get back to get those momentum buckets that help spark offensive runs. The team has struggled mightily to score in odd man scenarios and I feel that this burden falls on Alex Campbell, Malcolm Duvivier and Shaquille Keith. Keith especially needs to see the tape. Because the hulking forward is one of the Bandits' best scorers, the ball is in his hands often. And as teams load up to stop Keith from getting to the rim, the forward needs to find his teammates and share the ball when the situation calls for it. With more of the burden falling on his shoulders, Keith could make even more of an impact offensively if he can begin to make better reads in both the half court and in transition.
How to Stop Xavier Moon?
The two time MVP completely dominated the two game series in Abbotsford last week. Moon was able to orchestrate in transition, in the half court and conducted the Stingers' offence with little resistance -- none of it had to do with a lack of effort. The Bandits have played hard on defence all season, but allowed Moon to find his rhythm whenever he needed a bucket against the team's pick and roll coverage. Over and over again, the Stingers got their shot when they needed a score because of Moon’s tremendous offensive talent.
The Bandits for the majority of defensive sequences against the Stingers' pick and roll played drop coverage. This means that the man guarding the ball is forcing their matchup to use the screen or not get screened at all. The defensive big man drops to the free throw line and protects the rim. As the ball handler gets over the screen, he has a defender chasing from behind and a big man staring him right in the face. More often than not this forces the offensive player to take a long contested two-point shot.
Moon is the one player in the league that can destroy this coverage with his devastating shot off the dribble. He was manipulating the screen so well in their last matchup that he was able to take lightly contested off the dribble threes, which in theory is a low percentage shot. I expect the Bandits to adjust for this two game set against Edmonton. We could see less Brandon Gilbeck in the second and fourth quarter allowing the team to switch onto Moon to take away this shot. We might also see the team try and trap Moon off the pick and roll occasionally to help take away his rhythm. Whatever the team chooses to do, I expect them to change their coverage throughout the game to try and disrupt the tremendous rhythm all the Stingers are playing with offensively.
Grit and Grind
The margin for winning for the Bandits is such a fine line. Three of the team's five losses have come by single digits.
However when the Stingers did miss, it seemed more often than not, that they were quicker to the loose balls than the Bandits. Who on the Bandits is best suited to go through the proverbial wall for his teammates? Gilbeck is often preoccupied boxing out and Ryan Ejim does not play enough minutes to make that type of impact when it matters in clutch time in the fourth quarter. A guard has to take on this role. The floor dives, the charge taker, flying into the crowd for no other reason to spark their teammates. This level of hustle is infectious and it might just take one desperate act to get this team going.
I’m going to nominate Kenny Manigault for this assignment on Wednesday, not because he’s the best at it but I think it might spark him and get him going on both sides of the court. Manigault is the team's smoothest athlete and is clearly a great leader. If he can kick it into high gear with hustle plays, adding to an already solid offensive repertoire, Manigault could propel himself to becoming one of the best import players in the league. More importantly get the Bandits back in the win column Wednesday night in Edmonton.
LATEST NEWS
The Vancouver Bandits have announced today the following roster updates in advance of its Thursday, June 18 away game against the Winnipeg Sea Bears at 5:00 p.m. PT: G Shamar Givance has been added to Club's active roster and will be available for tonight's game. F Tyrese Samuel has been placed on the Club's reserve roster in order for him to participate in potential NBA team workouts; he will return to the club at the conclusion of his commitments.
Mitchell Creek’s season debut didn’t disappoint. The reigning Canadian Elite Basketball League Most Valuable Player poured in 29 points, seven rebounds and four assists as a late game comeback by the Vancouver Bandits fell short. “I thought (Creek) was awesome tonight, as he always is,” said Bandits head coach Kyle Julius. The Scarborough Shooting Stars defeated the Vancouver Bandits 108-105 in dramatic fashion on Monday Night. The Shooting Stars led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, which eventually turned into a one point deficit, led by Creek. However, the comeback proved to be too much for the Bandits as they fell in the final moments of the fourth quarter. “I was disappointed with our third quarter. It was like an implosion,” said Julius. In the opening quarter, back-and-forth action followed, with neither team gaining too large of an edge. The Shooting Stars led 24-23 after the first quarter. This contest featured a star-studded cast of players as both teams boast the best records in their conferences. The Bandits entered action with a 7-2 record, while the Shooting Stars were 7-1. Countless lead changes ensued, yet Scarborough’s lead jumped out to 65-61 by halftime. They continued the pressure as the lead grew to double digits in the third quarter, headlined by Myles Powell’s 33 points. Julius thought his team “lost their cool” and acted “immature” as the Shooting Stars took the lead. Jaelen House scored 22 points on seven-for-nine field goal shooting, while Miller Kopp followed with 20 points, five three pointers made and three steals. Jarkel Joiner had 17 points in 26 minutes. Despite the loss, Julius praised the versatility and depth of his team, noting the Bandits’ adversity through injuries. “I’m proud of where we are,” he said. The Bandits were without reigning Canadian Player of the Year Tyrese Samuel and Dre Davis, allowing Dominic Parolin into the starting lineup. Parolin finished with eight points and eight rebounds. Next, the Bandits will travel to Winnipeg for a matchup with the Sea Bears on Thursday before playing the Brampton Honey Badgers at home on Saturday.
The Vancouver Bandits announced Sunday that the reigning Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) Most Valuable Player Mitch Creek has re-signed with the club and will suit up on Monday, June 15 against the Scarborough Shooting Stars. The 6-foot-5 forward and fan favourite returns to the Bandits after a stellar 2025 campaign in which he was named Most Valuable Player and an All-CEBL First Team Selection. Creek had one of the most statistically productive stretches of his career during the 2025 CEBL season. Starting in all 20 regular season games, he averaged a team-high 24.4 points per game along with 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 34.4 minutes.Creek made his CEBL debut during the 2024 season and currently ranks second on the Bandits’ all-time leading scorers list (643 points). Creek appeared in five NBA regular season games during the 2018-19 season, splitting time between the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves averaging 4.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game on 50 per cent shooting from the field across both clubs. A veteran of 15 professional seasons, Creek was a mainstay and all-star in his home country’s National Basketball League (NBL), logging 338 games and served as captain for both the Adelaide 36ers and South East Melbourne Phoenix. Most recently, Creek competed for Romanian club U-BT Cluj-Napoca during the 2025-26 season where he captained the team to a Romanian League championship and received All-EuroCup Second Team honours. A native of Horsham, Australia, Creek is a major basketball figure in his home country and has been instrumental to the success of the national team, known as the Boomers, and was recently named to Australia’s roster for the upcoming 2027 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers taking place in July. Creek will step away from the Bandits’ roster later this month to join the Australian national team in advance of its FIBA World Cup Qualifier games on July 3 and 6 against Guam and the Philippines, respectively. He will rejoin the Bandits at the conclusion of his international duties. Bandits Single Game Tickets and additional 2026 ticket options can be purchased here . All CEBL regular season games including playoffs will be live-streamed on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, the CEBL Mobile app, the CBC Gem app and the CBC Sports YouTube channel. Marquee games will air nationally on CBC TV. More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok, as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter.
The Vancouver Bandits led nearly from start to finish, avenging an earlier loss with a 104-95 victory over the Ottawa BlackJacks. The teams met on Saturday night on Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre, with the Bandits improving to 7-2 atop the Canadian Elite Basketball League's Western Conference. The BlackJacks fell to 4-5, dropping into a tie for third place in the Eastern Conference. “The way they beat us was pretty evident and obvious,” said Vancouver Bandits coach Kyle Julius of the earlier meeting on June 2. “So, I thought we did a great job – for the most part – correcting what hurt us, so that was nice to see.” “I think there was probably a little more urgency defensively,” he explained. The Bandits led for all but 29 seconds of the game, thanks in large part to a 30-point opening quarter. From there, however, the offence struggled to maintain the same rhythm. “Fatigue. We just didn’t have our rotation,” Julius said. “We were shorthanded, and I wasn’t really surprised with the ebb and flow and the dips we had. “Even D’Andre Davis – who is going to be a very good player for us – but if you look at his ankle, it’s still swollen, so he’s out there hobbling around.” The offence was powered by Jarkel Joiner, who had 37 points – a franchise record – seven assists and four rebounds. “The coaches had a great game plan, and we executed it,” Joiner said. “We locked in, we didn’t take the game for granted.” Joiner had a larger role in the game, especially with point guard and leading scorer Jaelen House sidelined. “Honestly, it’s hard without him. He makes the game so much easier with his quickness, how fast he is, how explosive he is, how he sees the game,” Joiner admitted. “But coach needed me to step up tonight, and (Duane Notice) helped with the point guard role, and everybody stepped up.” Miller Kopp added 15 points and eight rebounds, Mychal Mulder finished with 13 and Tyrese Samuel chipped in 10 points and eight boards. Dominic Parolin came off the bench to finish with a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, giving Vancouver five scorers in double figures. Ottawa was led by Javonte Smart’s 29 points with Matthew Cleveland and Justin Harmon both adding 19. "They play hard. They have respect for the game and force you into a lot of contested shots, so for us, we have to continue to fight for great shots," said BlackJacks coach Justin Mazzulla. “We have to continue to play together and have our energy not be impacted by whether the ball goes in or not.” Up next, the Bandits return to Envision Financial Court on June 15 to host the Eastern Conference-leading Scarborough Shooting Stars (7-1). Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
LATEST VIDEO
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Mamba on May 14, 2026.
A message from Vancouver Bandits head coach and general manager Kyle Julius on the 2025 season and thoughts on the CEBL Western Conference Semifinal.
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Calgary Surge on August 16th, 2025.
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Winnipeg Sea Bears on August 3rd, 2025.