The Saskatchewan Rattlers, member club of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), are excited to announce that Chan De Ciman, Alexander Dewar and Rashawn Browne have been drafted by the club in the 2020 U SPORTS Draft.
De Ciman and Dewar will bring a Saskatchewan flavour to Saskatchewan’s only professional basketball team, hailing from Regina and Saskatoon respectively. De Ciman has been with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies since the 2015-16 season, whereas Dewer recently completed his second year of eligibility with the Huskies. Browne - a product of Toronto, Ont., most recently finished his university eligibility playing for the University of Manitoba Bison.
Chan De Ciman is no stranger to the Rattlers, after being drafted in the U SPORTS rounds of the Inaugural CEBL Draft in 2019. De Ciman served as the team’s designated U SPORTS player for the first portion of the season before having to sit out the latter part of the season due to injury. De Ciman was a medical redshirt for the 2019-20 U SPORTS season. De Ciman has averaged 11.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 23.1 minutes in 50 collegiate games with the University of Saskatchewan. In 2015-16, De Ciman was named to the U SPORTS All-Rookie Team and the Canada West All-Rookie Team.
Alexander Dewer is entering his third year with the Huskies Basketball program after graduating from Marion Graham Collegiate in 2018. In 47 games with the Huskies, Dewer has averaged 13.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 25.6 minutes. Shooting an impressive .476 field goal percentage over his two years in U SPORTS, Dewer was named the Huskie Athlete of the Week on two occasions in 2018-19, as well as being named a 2018-19 U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian.
Rashawn Browne recently finished his fifth and final year of U SPORTS eligibility. Browne has split his collegiate eligibility between New Mexico State University (NCAA Division 1), California University of Pennsylvania (NCAA Division2) and the University of Manitoba (U SPORTS). Over his five year collegiate career, Browne averaged 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 27.3 minutes in 122 games. During his time at New Mexico State, Browne played on the same team as 2019 NBA Champion and Most Improved Player, Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors. After transferring to the University of Manitoba, Browne played alongside former Saskatchewan Rattler Justus Alleyn. In his final year with the University of Manitoba, Browne averaged a career-high 20.4 pointers per game and 6.0 assists per game, ranking him 3rd overall in Canada West in both points and assists. Browne also finished first in free throw attempted and ninth in minutes per game in Canada West.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled that we got the three players that we were targeting before the draft. All three can come and not only play in our system but make an impact”, said Barry Rawylk, General Manager of the Saskatchewan Rattlers. Chan was a great teammate last year and was always one of the first to get out for community events. A healthy season from him would be great for the team. Alexander is an absolute warrior and a fantastic team player - his determination and hard work ethic will translate well into the professional game. Rashawn is a premier talent at the guard position. He can get it done on both ends of the floor whether it’s knocking down shots, getting to the basket for a foul or using his playmaking ability to get assists to his teammates. He’s also scrappy on the defensive end of the floor and can pick up a few steals every game. Overall, we think our three selections will raise the talent level of our team and also give them a great experience and exposure to the speed, physicality and skill required at the professional level.”
The Rattlers enter the 2020 season as the defending CEBL Champions. They will open the season away from home on May 8 when they take on the Fraser Valley Bandits. The Rattlers home opener will take place on May 14 against the Bandits, when they will celebrate the 2019 season by unveiling the first-ever CEBL Championship banner. Season tickets and flex packs are available on therattlers.ca, with group and single-game tickets expected to be released in the coming months.
