Called for travelling: Sebastian Aris took long trek from Denmark to join CEBL's Rattlers & More News Here

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What to do throughout a 24-hour journey between continents?

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Sebastian Aris caught up on his sleep.

No jet lag for this basketball participant, apparently.

“I’m a good sleeper,” says Aris, the designated worldwide participant on the Saskatchewan Rattlers (1-1), who return to Canadian Elite Basketball League motion Wednesday evening at residence towards the Fraser Valley Bandits (2-0).

Game-time is 7:30 p.m. at SaskTel Centre.

“I slept all the way, basically, through my three flights.”

The 6-foot-3 guard, a local of Viborg, Denmark, joined the Rattlers from the Svendborg Rabbits of the Danish prime professional league, the place he was MVP.

To get right here, Aris flew from Copenhagen in Denmark to London, England, then from London to Toronto and eventually from Toronto to Saskatoon.

He made his debut with the Rattlers final Wednesday, simply two days after his arrival, scoring 14 factors to go together with two rebounds, two assists and one steal with out committing any turnovers.

On Sunday, he had 4 factors, two assists and one rebound in 12 minutes of play earlier than turning his ankle early within the second half in Edmonton, the place the Rattlers fell 84-71 after being outscored 15-0 down the ultimate stretch.

“It was a blow to the game, but more importantly, you never like to see anybody get injured,” stated Rattlers head coach Dean Demopoulos. “He injured himself pretty good. He’s been taking therapy and trying to get the diagnosis correct, and then we’ll go from there.

“I don’t know how long he’s out for.”

Aris went for an MRI on Tuesday.

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“It’s the next man up for people we have here,” stated Demopoulos, who referred all roster enquiries to common supervisor Barry Rawlyk.

“Sebastian is a high-level basketball player. He’s a very intuitive player and he’s also a very skilful player. He needs to get used to this style of basketball. He’s a very, very good basketball player. We’ll miss him greatly in the meantime, for sure.

“As far as rotation and talent drop-off or anything like that, I’ve got unbelievable respect and confidence in all our players here.”

Aris was a late arrival after ending up playoffs in Denmark. His first impressions of town, workforce and league have been all fairly beneficial.

“It’s amazing,” he stated of his new Saskatchewan environment. “It’s a lot different. Facility-wise and competition-wise, it’s very professional. I enjoy it a lot.

“It was pretty easy for me. It’s a great group of guys and they allowed me to come in and just do what I do. Coach is doing a great job of integrating me into everything pretty quick. We had a good talk the day I arrived. It’s been pretty fluid.”

Aris stated he knew nothing about Saskatoon or Saskatchewan upon his arrival.

“Nothing, no,” he stated. “Nothing at all.”

However, he had been to the United States and Canada as soon as earlier than, when his boarding faculty workforce came visiting to play in a match at Vancouver, B.C., again when he was in Grade 9 or 10, he stated.

Now, at age 26, Aris has been enjoying basketball professionally since 2016 in each Sweden and Denmark. The CEBL’s Rattlers are his first North American skilled expertise.

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“I got the offer from my agent and I figured I couldn’t say no to going over here to play,” he stated. “Everybody is very welcoming. The facilities are great. The living situation is great. It’s been very good.

“I’m sure I can learn something from them and I’m sure they can also learn something from me, a European. The game is a little different, so I think if we can combine those two things and create a hybrid, I think we have a really good chance of doing something special.”

Aris has been described as a near-perfect shooter, technically talking.

“I’ve been working on it a lot,” he stated. “I’ve been shooting very well. I mean, the work I’ve put in allows me to shoot it.

“I would describe myself as a playmaker. If I’m open, I’ll shoot it. But if you take that away, I believe I can do other things also and involve my teammates and navigate the game also.”

NEXT UP: UNDEFEATED BANDITS 

The Rattlers are coming off a disappointing end towards Edmonton this previous weekend.

Saskatchewan had an opportunity to draw back within the first half however shot very poorly from contained in the arc and couldn’t capitalize on Stinger turnovers.

Down the ultimate stretch, the Rattlers have been unable to generate any kind of offence.

“The execution was pretty obvious — we didn’t do it,” admitted Demopoulos. “There are a lot of reasons for it but the fact of the matter is we didn’t execute in the last three-four minutes of that game properly and that’s why they won and we lost. We have to work on that.”

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The teaching employees continues to be getting used to the distinctive CEBL guidelines, whether or not it’s the Elam ending or sure roster and line-up restrictions.

CEBL groups want to play at hold two Canadians on the ground always.

“All the staff is keeping track of it,” stated Demopoulos. “It’s a wrinkle that I’m not used to and it’s something I’ve got to get used to in the competition. You play the game to win so you’ve got to master (the rules).”

Wednesday’s match-up is towards the Bandits, who stay because the lone undefeated workforce within the league. Demopoulos has fast realized that the Rattlers are in for a battle every sport.

“No. 1 it’s a highly competitive (league) and also the talent levels, so far from what I’ve seen on film and in person, are very, very similar and equal,” provided Demopoulos.

“You’re going to have a rip-roaring, physical, highly competitive game but, we’ll say is this,” added Demopoulos, alluding to some questionable antics within the Edmonton sport, “there’s a difference between that and cheap shots.”

SNAKE BITES: The Rattlers have launched ahead Rudy Joly from their roster. He’s to get replaced with a Canadian guard. It’s anticipated that the Rattlers will add former UNLV Running Rebel guard Michael Nuga, a Toronto product initially from Lagos, Nigeria.

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