The National Hockey League is becoming the home for more and more talented black players.
There were two black players taken in last Sunday’s NHL Draft with both players having family connections to other pro athletes.
Seth Jones, a 6’4” 205-pound defenseman from Texas, was taken by the Nashville Predators with the No. 4 pick. Jones is the son of Popeye Jones, who played in the National Basketball Association for 10 seasons. Jones was one of the top players in the Western Hockey League. He was also in the discussion as the possible overall No. 1 pick heading into the draft.
Darnell Nurse, a 6’4” 185-pound defenseman from Hamilton, Ontario, was taken at No. 7 by the Edmonton Oilers. Nurse is the nephew of former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Jordan Subban, a defenseman from Rexdale, Ontario, was taken by the Vancouver Canucks in the fourth round.
Subban is the third brother in his family to be drafted by a NHL team. P.K. Subban was the Norris Trophy winner this past season with the Montreal Canadiens. The award goes to the NHL’s top defenseman. Malcolm Subban was selected with the No. 24 pick by the Boston Bruins in the 2012 Draft.
Suggs to Bucks
Former Washington High basketball standout Scott Suggs was picked up by the Milwaukee Bucks as an undrafted free agent last week. He will play with the Bucks in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League, which will run from July 12-22. The Bucks will play Denver on July 13 at 9 p.m.; New Orleans on July 14 at 9:30 p.m. and Golden State on July 16 at 5:30 p.m. All times are St. Louis time. Many of the games will be televised on NBA-TV.
Surge stays undefeated
The St. Louis Surge remained undefeated with a 95-55 victory over the Kansas Nuggets last Saturday night at UMSL. The Surge are now 6-0 in Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League play. The Surge will return to action on Saturday, July 13 when they host the Missouri Arch Angels at UMSL. Tip off is at 7:05 p.m. It will be the final home game of the regular season. The Illinois Shooting Stars improved to 3-4 with an 89-57 victory over the Arch Angels last Saturday night. The two teams will meet again on Sunday night at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis at 6 p.m.
Hawks best Hornets
The St. Louis Hawks won the Central Basketball League championship on Saturday night with a 107-96 victory over the Bowling Green Hornets. The Hawks finished first in the regular season with a 5-2 record in addition to the championship. Head coach Floyd Irons was selected as the CBL’s Coach of the Year. Forward Alex Jackson was selected to the CBL’s All-Star First Team. He averaged 15.8 points and six rebounds a game. Guard Corey Hill was selected to the All-CBL Second Team.
(You can follow Earl Austin Jr. on twitter.com/earlaustinjr or his basketball website, www.earlaustinjr.com).
