Manatí Bears Build a Stellar Team for the Upcoming BSN Season

After finishing last year in the basement of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) with a record of 11-25, the Manatí Bears have put together a team for next season that envisions being one of the best. s competitive tournament.

And this year the Bears will have stellar basket players such as Jhivvan Jackson, Jordan Howard, Tyler Davis and possibly Ethan Thompson, after confirming that he is registered in the 2024 New Entry Draw.

ManatÃ’s general manager, Flor Meléndez, has publicly expressed in recent months that, if Thompson was included in the draft, he would be selected with the first pick. After this became a fact, Meléndez assured Primera Hora that he has not changed his mind and there is a great possibility that the franchise will choose him.

“I would tell you that there is a 90 percent chance that (our selection) will be him… Until now, we have always said that, if we have the first pick, we want to take the best player in the draft. and I think he is a great candidate. All of us who are in charge of the board like it, but we have to see what happens from here to there,” Meléndez said in a telephone interview.

Thompson, a 24-year-old, 6’5” shooting guard, is active in the G-League with the Mexico City Capitanes. He there is averaging 21.9 points and five rebounds in 31 games. He also represented Puerto Rico in the FIBA ​​World Cup.

Likewise, the general manager of the Bears revealed that none of the other teams have made them a formal transfer proposal for the first round of the New Entry Draw, which will be held on March 2. They have only communicated with Meléndez through third parties. But, even if one of the 11 franchises makes them an offer, the general manager commented that he will not consider it, since changing the first shift is not in his plans.

“Teams always shoot at you, but never anything direct. They drop hints and send messengers, but if it comes directly from someone who wants the first turn, no one has ever made us an offer. And we are not going to change the first shift with anyone either,†said the also experienced 77-year-old leader.

Elsewhere, the Bears announced Friday that Jordan Howard will join the team in early May. The guard, 28 years old and 5′11 tall, will be returning to the tournament after three years of absence. Howard debuted in the BSN during the 2020 campaign with the Brujos de Guayama. That season he was named Rookie of the Year and recorded 18.4 points and 4.4 assists in 14 games. Currently, he is competing in the ACB of Spain with the Monbus Obradoiro club, where he averages 15.3 goals in 19 games.

Jordan Howard, with the ball, belongs to the Obradoiro club in Spain. (FIBA Media)

Davis impresses Flor

But, Howard is not the only renowned native shooter who will strengthen the ranks of the Bears next season. Last week Meléndez drove to the Luis Muñoz Marín airport in Carolina to pick up the center with Puerto Rican roots, Tyler Davis.

After multiple efforts, including traveling to the United States to speak with him personally, Meléndez managed to convince the center to play for the Bears in the upcoming campaign. It was not an easy mission. Davis, 26 years old and 6’11”, was chosen by the Brujos with the first pick of the 2019 New Entry Draw, but since then he has not stepped foot on a BSN field and has not represented the National Team.

Despite various attempts by former Guayama manager Rafael RodrÃguez to recruit the tall center, he always refused and was placed among the reserve group when the team was transferred to ManatÃ.

Five years later, it seems that the moment in which Davis will wear a BSN uniform has finally arrived, since the Bears have him from the first day when they visit the Guaynabo Mets at the Mario Coliseum â €œQuixote†Morales on April 3. Davis participated in Manatí’s preseason practices this week and left Meléndez more than impressed.

Tyler Davis during a preseason practice with the Manatee Bears. (Supplied)

“I’m not very easy to convince, but the word I would say to you (about how Davis has looked in practice) is extraordinary. It had been a while since I saw a player with the attitude and desire to train that he has. The guy is dedicated to training and the truth is that I, personally, am very happy with how he is working and the attitude he has to unite the group,†he highlighted.

“He arrived a month and a half early. He already came in an acceptable condition. You have to see it… The way he is working is very good,†he added.

The center has just been off the court for almost a year due to an injury to one of his knees while playing with the Texas Legends, an affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks, in the G-League. Before the injury, Davis was averaging 9.1 points and 7.8 rebounds in eight games.

Jhivvan Jackson arrives in mid-April

On the other hand, Meléndez mentioned that Jhivvan Jackson is expected to join the Bears after April 15. Jackson was chosen by Manatà with the first round of the last New Entry Drawing. For this, the Bears made a last-minute trade in which they sent Jahvari Josiah and the second pick to the Leones de Ponce in exchange for the first. But, the explosive point guard did not see action last tournament.

Jackson is currently competing in the German Bundesliga with the Tübingen Tigers club. He there has a record of 19.8 units in 19 games.

2024-02-23 23:20:00
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