Saskatchewan Rattlers find GM, head coach in their own back court
Greg Jockims to lead the professional basketball team into its inaugural season
The chance to coach a professional basketball team was just too enticing for Greg Jockims to pass up.
"It was unexpected," said Jockims, who was introduced as the first-ever coach and general manager of the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Wednesday.
"It is really hard to turn down an opportunity like this and I just wanted to make sure I was ready to do a really good job, and I think I am."
The Rattlers are Saskatoon's latest pro basketball team. Their inaugural season in the six-team Canadian Elite Basketball League begins this spring.
Jockims, who still works for Saskatoon Public Schools, is no stranger to the basketball scene in the province.
He coached the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's basketball team from 1998 to 2011, rebuilding a team that hadn't been a contender for many years.
Jockims guided the Dogs to seven straight playoff appearances, culminating with Saskatchewan's only CIS national men's basketball title in 2010.
Jockims, who played five seasons with the Huskies, began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Dogs before moving to the University of Victoria, and then becoming head coach at Cape Breton University.
He also was an assistant coach for the Saskatoon Slam in 1993.
Besides working for the Saskatoon Public Schools, Jockims has most recently spent time as a high-performance coach for Basketball Saskatchewan Inc.
"He has a proven track record as a winning coach on the national stage and has strong ties to the community," said Rattlers president and chief operating officer Lee Genier.
Getting in from the beginning with a new team was a major factor in Jockims taking the role.
"We want to have a championship-calibre team and program here," he said. "To be the first in gives you a chance to establish things right from the ground up."
Recruiting players
Jockims's first task as the Rattlers head coach and general manager is to begin the recruitment and assembly of the Rattlers roster.
"That is the biggest challenge," he said. "You gotta get the talent in here and get the quality of people in here.
"Not only do they have to be talented players, but they have to fit our community and they have to be good people."
Each team will have at least seven Canadians on their roster and three imports. And teams will be able to protect four local players in their area.
"Just like my days with the University of Saskatchewan and the Huskies, our foundation has to be good quality players, good quality people who are local."
He said he has already talked to some players, who he wouldn't name, who have expressed interest in playing.
Coaching the pros
Coaching professionals will be different than university ball, Jockims admitted.
For starters, most — if not all — of the players are looking to step up to a higher league.
Getting them to buy in to a team concept will be challenge, but that's where taking the time to develop relationships with the players comes into play, he said.
"That is the art of coaching. You gotta develop a really strong relationship and show that I care and am going to help them in what they want to do post-Rattlers."
New league
The CEBL has six teams — Hamilton, Edmonton, Guelph, St. Catharines, Abbotsford and Saskatoon. They will play 20 games from May to August.
The Rattlers tip off the season on May 9 at SaskTel Centre against the St. Catharines-based team, the Niagara River Lions.
Rosters will be made up of at least 70 per cent Canadian players. The CEBL is planning a draft in March for Canadian players.
"The intent of the whole league is to have really good parity," Jockims said.
And he thinks Saskatoon is ready for another pro basketball league.
"There is a pretty large basketball community that likes to be involved in these types of things," he said. "Our challenge is to make sure we put a quality product on the court."