Gatineau NBA draft pick Olivier Hanlan signs with Ottawa Blackjacks
Team makes its CEBL debut next week
Gatineau, Que., guard Olivier Hanlan, a 2015 draft pick of the NBA's Utah Jazz, has signed with the Ottawa Blackjacks a little more than a week before the new team's first game.
The 27-year-old played three seasons with Boston College, then spent time in the NBA G-League and in Europe, most recently with Iraklis Thessaloniki in Greece. He's also played for Canada's national team.
"Playing for the Blackjacks this summer is a unique opportunity to play with a bunch of guys who I have either competed with or against in Canada," Hanlan said in a news release.
"Being able to train at home and represent my community in a Canadian professional league will be a memorable experience."
The Blackjacks, led by former Carleton Ravens Dave Smart and Osvaldo Jeanty, are an expansion team in the seven-team Canadian Elite Basketball League.
They'll play their first-ever game Saturday, July 25, at 3:50 p.m. against the Guelph Nighthawks as part of a CEBL tournament in St. Catharines, Ont. It will be nationally televised and streamed on CBC.
The tournament replaces the league's previously planned regular season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Blackjacks say Hanlan replaces former Ravens star Kaza Kajami-Keane at training camp because Kajami-Keane had a scheduling conflict with his pro team in France.
