In a league where 80 per cent of players are Canadian, Xavier Moon — an electrifying 6-foot-2 guard from Goodwater, Alabama — is head and shoulders above the rest.
Moon received the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) Player of the Year award for the second straight year on Sept. 2, a few short weeks after leading the Edmonton Stingers to their first league championship.
The title came in a condensed bubble tournament at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ont., after COVID-19 shut down the CEBL regular season.
Moon averaged 19.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game over eight games in the CEBL Summer Series. He also led the league in 3-point percentage, shooting at a 50 per cent clip.
Moon leads Stingers CEBL awards haul
The Stingers nearly swept the league’s major awards this season. Head coach Jermaine Small was announced as Coach of the Year in August, and forward Jordan Baker was named Canadian of the Year.
Baker, a steady and efficient scorer (12.2 points per game on 61.1 per cent shooting), also led the league in rebounding with 9.4 per game.
His 3.8 assists per game were good for fifth in the league.
Moon, Baker and Stingers teammate Travis Daniel, also made the All-CEBL First Team along with Jean-Victor Mukama of the Hamilton Honey Badgers and Thomas Scrubb of the Ottawa BlackJacks.
BlackJacks guard and Carleton University product Lloyd Pandi was named U SPORTS Player of the Year. He averaged 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 22 minutes over six games in the Summer Series.
All awards were selected in a vote by CEBL coaches, general managers and media.