Vancouver Bandits Announce 2023 Training Camp Roster for 5th CEBL Season

Bandits Staff • May 14, 2023

LANGLEY, B.C., May 14, 2023 – The Vancouver Bandits announced Sunday its 2023 training camp roster ahead of the club’s upcoming Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season at Langley Events Centre (LEC).

Vancouver’s roster features a total of 14 athletes; including six Canadian veterans, four Americans, one non-American overseas import and three U SPORTS development athletes.

Media availability to attend Bandits training camp has been scheduled for Friday, May 19 at 10:30 a.m. at LEC. Journalists interested in attending are kindly asked to RSVP to Andrew Savory (asavory@thebandits.ca) to request credentials. Accreditation will be required.

The group will be led by head coach and general manager Kyle Julius, who is returning to the CEBL sidelines for the first time since he led BC’s professional basketball team to the brink of championship glory in 2020 when the Bandits fell to the Edmonton Stingers in the Summer Series finals.

“We are all really excited about this year's training camp roster. The goal is to build a team the province of British Columbia can be proud of. We are committed to competitive greatness, toughness and playing together,” Julius said.

Name	Height	Pos	City	School
Giorgi Bezhanishvili	6'9"	F	Rustavi, Georgia	Illinois
Alex Campbell	6'2"	G	Brampton, ON	Windsor
Malcolm Duvivier	6'2"	G	Toronto, ON	Akron
Shane Gibson *	6'2"	G	Killingly, CT	Sacred Heart
Gus Goerzen *	6'6"	G	Roberts Creek, BC	UBC Okanagan
Jaycee Hillsman	6'6"	G	Champaign, IL	Illinois State
Stefan Jankovic	6'11"	C	Mississauga, ON	Hawaii
Kur Jongkuch	6'9"	F	Juba, South Sudan	Temple
Diego Maffia *	6'1"	G	Victoria, BC	Victoria
Duane Notice	6'2"	G	Woodbridge, ON	South Carolina
Grant Shephard	6'10"	F	Kelowna, BC	Carleton
DJ Steward	6'2"	G	Chicago, IL	Duke
Brian Wallack *	6'7"	F	Surrey, BC	UBC
Nick Ward	6'9"	F	Gahanna, OH	Michigan State

* Shane Gibson will arrive late to training camp

* Gus Goerzen, Diego Maffia and Brian Wallack are U SPORTS Development Athletes

A trio of sharpshooters are returning to LEC this summer; including Alex Campbell, Malcolm Duvivier and Shane Gibson. Together, the three guards nailed a combined 130 three-pointers last season on 316 attempts. The combined 41.1 per cent clip from long-range fueled the Bandits’ attack from distance. Both Duvivier and Gibson finished in the top five in league-leading three-point percentage. 2023 will be Campbell and Duvivier’s third and fourth season with the Bandits, respectively. Gibson will arrive late to training camp due to current obligations with his overseas club, TED Ankara in Turkey.

Giorgi Bezhanishvili, DJ Steward, Nick Ward each bring NBA G League and Summer League experience. A native of Rustavi, Georgia, Bezhanishvili is a mobile power forward that played for the College Park Skyhawks this past CEBL offseason and suited up for the Guelph Nighthawks in 2022. He averaged 15 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game on 53.2 per cent shooting from the field over seven CEBL regular season games last summer.

This upcoming season will be Ward’s second CEBL campaign after earning an all-star nod in 2021 with the Ottawa BlackJacks. Ward was named a member of the All-CEBL First Team after leading the BlackJacks in both points (17.3) and rebounds (9.1) per game.

Steward brings flash and scoring to the Bandits. Formerly a Duke Blue Devil, Steward played 28 games during the 2022-23 season for the Sacramento Kings’ G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, averaging 12 points, 4.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game on 45.8 and 40.9 per cent shooting from field goal and three-point range, respectively.

Two decorated Canadian NCAA Division I exports in Stefan Jankovic and Duane Notice bring poise and talent to the Bandits. Notice’s career has seen him earn Southeastern Conference sixth man of the year honours and has taken the 6-foot-2 guard to the NCAA Tournament Final Four, the Raptors 905 and the international stage with Canada’s senior men’s national team. Notice previously played two seasons with the Brampton Honey Badgers (then known as Hamilton) in 2019 and 2020.

The CEBL’s fifth season marks Jankovic’s debut in the league. An elite 6-foot-11 sharpshooter, Jankovic left the University of Hawaii as the reigning Big West Conference player of the year and has since built an esteemed career that has seen him play at the highest levels of pro basketball; including the EuroLeague and EuroCup. His most recent stop was alongside Julius as former members of the Formosa Dreamers during the 2021-22 P.League+ season. In 12 games played with the Dreamers, Jankovic averaged 25.9 minutes, 18.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Added size in the frontcourt arrives in the form of Kelowna’s own, Grant Shephard, and 6-foot-9 forward Kur Jongkuch. Shephard makes his first return to the Bandits since debuting as a U SPORTS development athlete in 2019 and now brings a hard-earned championship pedigree thanks to back-to-back U SPORTS national championships (2022, 2023) won at Carleton University. Jongkuch recently completed a five-year NCAA Division I career that saw him start 126 out of 151 games split between the University of Northern Colorado and Temple University.

Alongside Shephard, this year’s construction of the Bandits roster features three other local hoopers in 2023 CEBL U SPORTS Draft selections Diego Mafia from the University of Victoria and Brian Wallack from the University of British Columbia (UBC). Rounding out the local contingent is Gus Goerzen from UBC Okanagan, who signs as a U SPORTS Development Athlete.

Julius’ rosters have a reputation for their versatility and 2023’s training camp corps is no different. Champaign, Ill., bred Jaycee Hillsman brings his 6-foot-7 frame to the wing for the Bandits. Hillsman played three years at San José State before transferring to Illinois State for his final season of NCAA Division I basketball in 2019-20. Since turning pro, Hillsman is averaging 17.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game on 40.1 per cent shooting from three-point range over the course of 66 career games played in Finland, Hungary and the United Kingdom.

“We have established a culture of toughness and we have worked hard to bring in a gritty group of like-minded guys. We know we have a rocky mountain to climb and we can't wait to start,” Julius said.

The Bandits tip-off the 2023 CEBL campaign on Saturday, May 27 when the club takes on the Winnipeg Sea Bears at Canada Life Centre. Fans will have their first chance to watch the Bandits on home soil at 7 p.m. PT on Saturday, June 3 when Vancouver welcomes the Calgary Surge for its first-ever visit to LEC.

Single game tickets for the highly anticipated fifth season of Bandits Basketball are available for purchase at this link. Season tickets are available for purchase and can be accessed by clicking here.

A key highlight of Vancouver’s fifth CEBL campaign will be its hosting of Championship Weekend, which takes place between Friday, August 11 and Sunday, August 13. An annual celebration of the highest level of Canadian professional basketball, Championship Weekend features a postseason format that combines three games of playoff basketball as part of a multi-day festival experience designed to celebrate the intersection of arts, culture and sport. As hosts of Championship Weekend, the Bandits receive an automatic semifinal berth.

Individuals interested in learning more about tickets for the Vancouver Bandits’ 2023 season are kindly asked to call (604) 455-8881 or email tickets@thebandits.ca. A complete regular season schedule can be found by clicking here.

More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok, as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Mail

Former Bandits Forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili Signs Exhibit 10 Contract With Atlanta Hawks

By Bandits Staff • October 15, 2026

Former Vancouver Bandits forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Atlanta Hawks. The news was announced by the Hawks via social media on Wednesday. Introduced in the NBA’s 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Exhibit 10 contracts are one-year deals. They can include a potential bonus if the player spends time with the team’s G League affiliate.

Vancouver Bandits & I SPARC Host Youth Basketball Camps in Haida Gwaii

By Bandits Staff • October 7, 2026

HAIDA GWAII, BC - October 6, 2026 - This past weekend, Vancouver Bandits, BC’s professional basketball team, and the Bandits Community Foundation hosted a series of youth basketball clinics on Haida Gwaii, continuing its ongoing series of community visits across the province in partnership with the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council (I∙SPARC). The community visits and youth camps on Haida Gwaii were also made possible through the generous support of Langara Island Lodge and Skidegate Band Council. Led by Bandits Team President Dylan Kular and Community Manager Pavan Kalair, local youth athletes aged 10 to 17 from across Haida Gwaii participated in free-of-charge workshops and basketball camps, furthering the Bandits Community Foundation’s goal of bringing more basketball to more people across the province. "Haida Gwaii has an incredible passion for basketball, and it was an honour for our staff to spend time on the court with so many talented young athletes," said Vancouver Bandits Team President Dylan Kular. "Our partnership with I·SPARC through the Indigenous Basketball Collective is about building lasting relationships with communities across the province and making sure every young player has access to the game. We are grateful to Langara Island Lodge, the Skidegate Band Council and everyone in Old Massett, Masset and Skidegate who welcomed us, and we cannot wait to come back." “Programs like this show what is possible when partners come together for Indigenous youth,” said I·SPARC’s Chief Executive Officer Rick Brant. “We are proud to work with the Vancouver Bandits to bring high-quality basketball coaching to Haida Gwaii, where the game is so deeply loved." Bandits staff led PHE classes with students at Chief Matthews School in Old Massett, and ran skill development clinics for local youth athletes aged 13 to 17 across three communities at Kwiiyaans Community Hall (Old Massett), Daaxiigan Sk’adáa Née School (Masset) and George Brown Recreation Centre (Skidegate). “We are grateful for the opportunity for the Vancouver Bandits and I·SPARC to come in and work with our youth,” said Trevor Russ, head coach of the Old Massett Raiders boys basketball team. “Basketball plays a big role for our youth in Masset, and the Bandits coming to town provides an opportunity for them to work with some high-level coaches at the professional level. Our youth are very happy to have this opportunity.” “To be able to have the Vancouver Bandits come to Skidegate and Haida Gwaii is very important,” said Desi Collinson, Recreation Coordinator and elected representative to the Council of the Haida Nation. “Basketball means a lot to Haida Gwaii; it brings excitement, hope and inspiration to our communities. Organizations like the Bandits and I·SPARC give us different insights and outlooks that our young athletes have not experienced before, and we are happy to have them here to uplift our youth.” The camps are part of the Indigenous Basketball Collective, representing the ongoing collaboration between I∙SPARC and the Vancouver Bandits. Established in 2023, previous community visits hosted through the Collective since its inception include Ahousaht, Bella Coola (Nuxalk First Nation), Kitimat (Haisla Nation), Nanaimo (Snuneymuxw First Nation), Victoria, West Vancouver and Williams Lake with future youth camps and coaching seminars currently being planned for 2027.

Vancouver Bandits to Host Free-of-Charge Youth Basketball Camps in Haida Gwaii

By Bandits Staff • October 2, 2026

This weekend, youth across Haida Gwaii will have the opportunity to learn and sharpen their basketball skills from British Columbia’s professional basketball team. Through the generous support of the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council (I∙SPARC) and Langara Island Lodge, the Vancouver Bandits and Bandits Community Foundation will be hosting free-of-charge youth basketball camps across Haida Gwaii, marking the organization’s first community visit to the North Coast region. “Haida Gwaii means a great deal to us, and we know how much basketball means to these communities. The game gives young people a place to grow, brings families together, and creates opportunities for teams to proudly represent where they come from,” said Yos Gladstone, Sales Coordinator, Langara Island Lodge. “The young players, coaches, families, and teams here deserve every opportunity we can help bring their way. We are grateful to the Vancouver Bandits, I∙SPARC and the Bandits Community Foundation for their commitment to make this program happen, and especially to those in Haida Gwaii who give so much of their time, energy, and efforts to basketball year-round.” “For us, supporting this program is personal. We care about the communities and the people who make them so special. If this visit from the Vancouver Bandits gives local players more time on the court, encouragement to keep going, and a chance to connect through the game, that is something we are proud to be part of.” The camps are hosted in collaboration with I∙SPARC, Bandits Community Foundation, Haida Gwaii Recreation and School District 50 Haida Gwaii. Across three days, over 200 youth athletes aged 10 to 17 and their families will gather in gymnasiums across Haida Gwaii for camps and workshops led by Bandits and Bandits Community Foundation staff members. Youth participants will also receive complimentary Vancouver Bandits merchandise. "Haida Gwaii holds a legendary place in this province and Indigenous basketball culture and being on the ground in Masset and Skidegate truly showcases how powerful this sport is," said Vancouver Bandits team president Dylan Kular. "The competitive drive and skill level of these youth are incredible, but what is even more inspiring is how basketball acts as a heartbeat for the entire region. Seeing the immediate connection between the youth, the coaching staff, and the local fans highlights exactly why we wanted to bring the Bandits to Haida Gwaii.” “We want to extend our deepest thanks to the Haida Nation and our partners at I∙SPARC and Langara Island Lodge for hosting us and sharing their incredible hospitality. This visit marks an exciting milestone for our organization, and we look forward to building on this relationship for years to come." The camp schedule for this weekend is as follows: Friday, October 2 Kwiiyaans Community Hall, Old Massett 12:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Daaxiigan Sk’adáa Née School, Masset 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, October 3 George Brown Recreation Centre, Skidegate 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, October 4 George Brown Recreation Centre, Skidegate 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The forthcoming camps are part of the Indigenous Basketball Collective, representing the ongoing collaboration between I∙SPARC and the Vancouver Bandits, and build upon recent previous community visits to Williams Lake and Bella Coola earlier this year. Established in 2023, ongoing and past projects through the Collective include camps and clinics for Indigenous youth and coaches, building new basketball courts in Indigenous communities, and hosting the 2026 Junior All Native Basketball Tournament.

Vancouver Bandits & I SPARC Host Basketball Camps in Bella Coola and Nuxalk First Nation

By Bandits Staff • September 30, 2026

The Vancouver Bandits, BC’s professional basketball team, and the Bandits Community Foundation partnered with the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council (I∙SPARC) and Nuxalk First Nation to host a series of youth basketball clinics throughout the Bella Coola Valley earlier this month, marking the club’s first visit to the region. Led by Bandits Team President Dylan Kular and Community Manager Pavan Kalair, nearly 200 local youth athletes participated in free-of-charge workshops and basketball camps, furthering the Bandits Community Foundation’s goal of bringing more basketball to more people across the province. Beginning with a welcome ceremony from Nuxalk Nation community leaders and drummers, Bandits staff led PHE classes at Acwsalcta School, hosted skill development clinics at Sir Alexander Mackenzie Secondary School (SAMSS), and assisted community coaches with tryouts for Nuxalk Nation’s U13 and U17 teams participating at the 2027 Junior All Native Basketball Tournament, taking place in March. "Bella Coola has one of the richest basketball traditions anywhere in this province, and you feel it the moment you walk into their gyms. The passion that Nuxalk Nation has for this game runs deep, and it gets passed down from generation to generation," said Vancouver Bandits team president Dylan Kular. "What stood out to us all week was how basketball brings this community together. Elders, parents, coaches and kids were all in the same room, and that is what the game is supposed to look like. We are grateful to Nuxalk Nation for welcoming us, and to I∙SPARC for helping us get here. This is the first time we have made the trip to the Valley, but it certainly will not be the last." “It was a pleasure to host the Bandits in Bella Coola; we are super grateful for the Bandits and I∙SPARC for their partnership and making the trip to experience the passion and love that Nuxalk Nation has for basketball,” said Nuxalk Nation youth coordinator Cole Sankey. “As a coach, it was a great opportunity to bring high-level basketball minds to our community and show our youth a little bit of what professional players go through. Dylan and Pavan brought great energy to our workshops at Acwsalcta, SAMSS and Nuxalk Hall, and they emphasized in each session that the best players master the basic details every day. Stutwiniititsxw Vancouver Bandits and I∙SPARC!” The camps were part of the Indigenous Basketball Collective, representing the ongoing collaboration between I∙SPARC and the Vancouver Bandits. Established in 2023, ongoing and past projects through the Collective include camps and clinics for Indigenous youth and coaches, building new basketball courts in Indigenous communities, and hosting the 2026 Junior All Native Basketball Tournament.

Vancouver Bandits Announce 2023 Training Camp Roster for 5th CEBL Season

Former Bandits Forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili Signs Exhibit 10 Contract With Atlanta Hawks

Vancouver Bandits & I SPARC Host Youth Basketball Camps in Haida Gwaii

Vancouver Bandits to Host Free-of-Charge Youth Basketball Camps in Haida Gwaii

Vancouver Bandits & I SPARC Host Basketball Camps in Bella Coola and Nuxalk First Nation

Full Game Highlights | Bandits at Saskatoon, 05/14/2026

A Message from Vancouver Bandits head coach Kyle Julius

Full Game Highlights | Bandits vs. Calgary Surge (08/16/2025)

Full Game Highlights | Bandits vs. Winnipeg Sea Bears (08/03/2024)