Already well advanced in building its squad for next season, Poitiers Basket 86 has just unearthed the penultimate piece of its puzzle by enlisting Canadian international Jahvon Blair (26 years old, 1.92 m) to strengthen its external sector.
“He has a fairly versatile profileexplains the general manager of PB 86, Arnaud Marius. He is a player who is both capable of scoring and creating for others and who should provide us with an additional threat in holding the ball, controlling the tempo of the match and the ability to score from afar while being a very good defender. honest. We were looking for someone to be an added offensive threat on the back line while also being able to get in there as Andy (Thornton-Jones) wishes in terms of collective defense. »
“An external threat while fueling the collective”
His statistics with the Niagara River Lions (Canadian D2) where he was for the last two seasons speak for him and although he only played seven games this season, he averaged 20 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 Average assists for 17.6 rating. He even made a splash on the Edmonton floor on June 10 (26 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 26 rating).
Contacts with the Canadian scorer who played for the Georgetown Hoyas in the NCAA (2017-2021) do not date from recent weeks. “He was one of the players we identified when we were looking for a joker after Andy Cleaves’ injury”, confides the vice-president in charge of sports, Eric Pinaud. The Poitevin club then made the choice of Mohamed Diawara with the success that we know.
“Compared to last season’s team, we thought that we needed more of a profile like Mo but we really appreciated what we had seen from Jahvonspecifies Arnaud Marius. He quickly came back to our minds when we were looking for this talented player who will allow us to have a real external threat while continuing to fuel the collective. »
If Jahvon Blair has already had two experiences in Europe, in Lavrio in Greece where he did not play before joining KTP basketball in Finland (2021-2022), he returned to Canada, to the New Foundland Growlers (D2) after having played 14 games, before joining the New York Knicks G-League team in Westchester and then playing in the Basketball Champions League Americas, the Champions League of the American continents, with the Brampton Honey Badgers. He will discover the demanding Pro B championship next season.
All that is missing is an interior for the PB to complete its recruitment with a pivot. Several avenues are being studied but the Poitevin staff is taking the time to find the best profile. “We are looking for someone who will bring us a lot of activityexplains Arnaud Marius. That is to say a player with a big engine, who will bring us additional physical density to complement Jonathan.”
