Sudbury Five plan to return to basketball court in February

After a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sudbury Five basketball team is expected to resume play in February.

"Our league was devastated by the pandemic, like most professional sports worldwide and we've been working over the last 19, 20 months, it's hard to believe, but we've been working diligently with the board of directors trying to find a path to return to play," said Bob Johnston, the team's vice-president of basketball operations.

The Five play in the National Basketball League of Canada, but due to the pandemic, some teams in Atlantic Canada were not able to secure leases for their venues. So the league now has four remaining teams in Kitchener, Windsor, Sudbury and London, Ontario. 

To expand the number of teams, Johnston said the league reached out to an American basketball league called the TBL (The Basketball League) to help expand the roster of teams.

Thanks to inter-league play, the Sudbury Five will also play teams from Toledo, Ohio, Syracuse, New York, and Flint, Michigan.

Johnston said most of the team's roster will return for the new season, and the team plans to make an announcement soon about its new head coach. 

The team's former head coach, Logan Stutz, announced his departure in July, after he accepted a job as the director of player development with the Boston College Eagles.

Despite a recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Sudbury, and new measures to curb the spread of the virus, Johnston said he hopes they can sell out the Sudbury Arena for their home opener against the London Lightning on Feb. 5. 

"Obviously, everyone will have to be double vaccinated and wear masks while in the arena as well as the players will be double vaccinated," Johnston said. "But we're hoping to have a full sold out crowd for opening night."