LANGLEY, B.C. , May 17, 2022 – The Fraser Valley Bandits announced Tuesday that the club has signed former U SPORTS most valuable player and Canadian national team guard, Kadre Gray, for its upcoming season at Langley Events Centre (LEC).
Gray is in the midst of his second season of professional basketball after debuting with the Ottawa BlackJacks in 2021 after enjoying four decorated years at Laurentian University from 2016-20 where he led the Voyageurs in scoring for four consecutive seasons and Canada in points per game in 2016-17, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Gray’s impressive post-secondary resumé translated to the professional game immediately as he emerged as a key offensive weapon for the BlackJacks during the 2021 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. The 6-foot-1 guard from Toronto, Ont., led Ottawa in total regular season minutes played and averaged 14 points, 5.6 rebounds and and 4.2 assists per game on 42.2 and 38.3 per cent shooting from field goal and three-point range, respectively.
“I believe that it was by God’s grace that I would join this amazing Fraser Valley tribe on the road to a CEBL championship this season. The love and support I have received from the Bandits organization gave me the confidence to know Fraser Valley is exactly where I belong because its culture is built around family, community, heart and hard work. I look forward to meeting all the members of the Bandits family in the weeks to come,” Gray said.
A graduate of the renowned basketball program at Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Gray has competed as a member of Canada’s national team in each of the past five years.
Gray’s most impactful game with Team Canada came during the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers when on Feb. 17, 2021, Gray scored 11 points (9-of-9 from the free throw line) in less than 11 minutes of action in a 95-93 victory over the U.S. Virgin Islands.
After a successful start to his professional career with Ottawa, Gray took his talents overseas, signing with Coruna in Spain’s LEB Oro where he played 30 games and averaged 13 minutes per game with the club.
“Kadre is an extremely special Canadian player. He is a total dog – the kind of player everyone wants to go to battle with. We could not be more excited to have him join our family and push our culture forward this summer,” said Bandits general manager Kyle Julius.
Fraser Valley opens its fourth CEBL season on the road on Wednesday, May 25 at 4:30 p.m. PT against the Ottawa BlackJacks. Following a three-game road swing to start the year, the Bandits will debut at LEC for their home opener against the Rattlers on Saturday, June 4.
Full and partial season ticket packages, as well as group and single game tickets are available for purchase at thebandits.ca/tickets . Fans are kindly asked to call (604) 866-0529 or email [email protected] for any questions or ticket related inquiries.
Fans can also fill out this form to register their interest for tickets and to arrange to be contacted directly by a team representative.
All CEBL regular season games will be livestreamed on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca , the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices and CEBL+ .
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