Fraser Valley inks Kyle Julius as head coach and general manager following a CEBL season that saw Julius lead the Bandits to the finals and a top ranking in several statistical categories.
ABBOTSFORD, BC, November 18, 2020 – The Fraser Valley Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Wednesday that the club has re-signed head coach and general manager, Kyle Julius, for its upcoming 2021 season. A decorated coach with a history of regular and postseason success with various domestic and international teams, Julius joined the Bandits in December 2019 and led the club to a second-place regular season finish and a championship berth at the CEBL Summer Series.
Julius is currently in his second season of coaching the Formosa Dreamers, a Taiwan-based professional basketball team in the P.LEAGUE+. Julius joined the Dreamers in 2019 after three successful seasons with the Saigon Heat that saw the club qualify for its first-ever postseason. Julius left the Heat as the all-time winningest coach in team history.
In his first season with the Bandits, Julius coached Fraser Valley to be leaders in various regular and postseason statistical categories. The Bandits led the CEBL in point differential (+7) and placed second in points (87.7) and steals per game (10).
“My family and I are absolutely thrilled to have another opportunity to work for the Fraser Valley Bandits organization and the CEBL. I am extremely proud of the foundation we laid last season and I can’t wait to continue to build our grit and grind culture with the great front office and our amazing fans in B.C. It means the world to me to be able to coach in Canada during the offseason and I can’t wait to get back to work with the core group from last season,” Julius said.
Julius implemented an up-tempo and aggressive style of play that allowed the Bandits to fluster opponents and overcome deficits. Despite Fraser Valley’s roster featuring no player taller than 6-foot-7, the Bandits achieved history as the club reversed a 4-16 last place finish in 2019 and surprised skeptics by finishing the CEBL Summer Series with a 4-2 regular season and 1-1 postseason record. Although the Bandits finished as runners-up to the league champions, the Edmonton Stingers, the Bandits wrote their own chapter in the history books on two separate occasions. The Bandits held the River Lions to the lowest points scored in a CEBL game (57) on Aug. 2 and recorded the largest fourth quarter comeback in CEBL postseason history when the Bandits overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the Hamilton Honey Badgers 76-75 to advance to the CEBL championship.
“I’m honoured to welcome Kyle back for another season with the Fraser Valley Bandits. Kyle brings a family-first approach to coaching and player development. In his first season with our club, it became clear that he was intent on building a foundation of success and instilling a culture of dedication and professionalism throughout our roster,” Bandits vice president Dylan Kular said.
“The CEBL Summer Series was an exciting chapter in our organization’s history and we look forward to supporting Kyle as he develops the blueprint for our 2021 campaign.”
Fraser Valley’s 2020 roster consisted of several veterans of Canada’s senior men’s national team program, as well as past NCAA stars. Former Oregon Duck and Creighton Bluejay Olu Ashaolu and Jahenns Manigat, respectively, were named to the All-CEBL Second team as part of a cast of Bandits that earned a reputation for being stingy on defence and potent on offence.
A native of Thunder Bay, Ont., Julius is the son of former Lakehead University women’s basketball head coach and athletic director Stu Julius. Julius played NCAA Division I basketball at Furman University before finishing his university career at the University of Guelph where he was recognized as a U SPORTS (formerly known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport) All-Canadian. Julius enjoyed a solid professional career as a player, including a stint in 2004-05 with Sedima Roseto, which at the time was a team in Italy’s highest division of men’s professional basketball, Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).
Throughout his coaching career Julius has earned a track record of success, a stellar reputation as a skills coach and is known for his strong ability to build close relationships with players. Julius began his coaching career with the Mississauga Power in 2014 and later joined the London Lightning where he won his first title as a professional coach and earned coach of the year honours in 2016-17 after leading the Lighting to a championship and the best regular season record in league history (35-5).
The CEBL is preparing for its third season in 2021 following the success of this past year's Summer Series in St. Catharines, Ont., which saw a record 1.2 million viewers across Canada tune in to four days of live television programming on CBC.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 80 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players come from the NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August. More information is available at www.cebl.ca.
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About the Fraser Valley Bandits
The Fraser Valley Bandits are British Columbia’s professional basketball team. As the westernmost club in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the club is proud to call Abbotsford Centre home. The Bandits offer a riveting entertainment experience that combines a fast-paced game day atmosphere with a presentation of some of Canada’s top professional athletes within a world-class venue. PerfectLens, a Vancouver-based contact lens supplier, is the official presenting partner of the Bandits’ 2021 season. Head to thebandits.ca for more information.