Shane James said going into year two, the goal remains the same for the Calgary Surge: To win a Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) championship.

The Surge announced Tuesday that James would return as general manager for the club’s second season, along with assistant GM Michael Girling and senior advisor Steve Konchalski.

James and crew put together a team that marched through to the CEBL championships in 2023, just falling short against the Scarborough Shooting Stars last August.

“Whatever we have to do to improve our roster, with some slight tweaks, we’ll do that in order to continue being a contender for the title,” James told LWC.

The GM, who is also the founder of the Under Armour Canada Elite AAU basketball program, said one aspect that will help them stock the team is the increase to the league’s salary cap.

“It allows not only us but other the other nine teams, more flexibility to sign higher level players, which is great for the quality of basketball in our league,” James said.

The club’s vice-president, Dylan Howe said they were happy to have this group back assembling this year’s team.

“Their return underscores our dedication to assembling a team of exceptional talent and reinforces our mission to bring a CEBL Championship to the city of Calgary,” said Howe.

The club opens their season May 21 at the Scotiabank Saddledome against the Edmonton Stingers.

Adding some shooting prowess

James said last year they were the top team defensively in the CEBL. He said that’s part of the culture they wanted to build here in Calgary.

Now, to get them over the top, James said he wants to bring in pure shooters to bolster the scoring and to complement core players.

Last year’s core was led by Sean Miller-Moore and Stef Smith. Smith was second in the league in assists with 115, Miller-Moore was second in the league in minutes played last year, and played for Team West in the all-star game.

“Both could have been candidates for MVP; that’s the kind of season those guys had and Stef is having a phenomenal year in France,” said James.

They will be without shooter Mason Bourcier, who signed with the Winnipeg Sea Bears in February, just after the league’s free-agent period began. Bourcier was second on the team in three-point shots, hitting on 33 per cent.

James said losing Bourcier was tough, but with no multi-year deals in the CEBL, there’s a lot of player movement in the off-season.

One thing that will stay the same is the team’s commitment to the community. James said he’s connected with nearly every basketball club in Calgary over the first year of operations. He said that’s an important aspect of the general manager role.

“My role as general manager is not just to put together a competitive basketball team for the city, but to also engage the community and build community,” he said.

He said the entire front office team has been working since the season ended last year to deliver another successful year on the court for the Calgary Surge.

“For us, the work doesn’t stop. It’s a year-round thing. We don’t just work for the three months that the season operates,” James said.  

“We’re not satisfied with last year. Yeah, we had a great year. Yeah, we made it to the championship game. Yeah, we put together a great roster, a great coaching staff, but we’re not satisfied. We’re not even close.

“This is year two, and I think and I strongly believe we can do much better – not just performing on the basketball court, but in all aspects of the organization.”

For tickets to this year’s games, visit the Calgary Surge website.