Jorge ‘Steamy’ Ebanks is having a good start to his pro basketball career in England.
Ebanks, 26, earned a Most Valuable Player award during a recent preseason tournament for his Tees Valley Mohawks. The squad plays in division one of the English Basketball League and is based in Middlesborough, England.
The George Town native states he is adjusting well.
“I am settling in great here with the Mohawks,” Ebanks said. “The people and fans here are great, they embraced me like I was their own. Team owner Tony Hanson and head coach Steve Butler have been nothing but amazing to me, it’s like being a part of a big family. They are doing the best they can to make me feel as comfortable as possible.
“I’m still trying to adjust to the food here but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Ebanks, who signed a one-year contract with the Mohawks this summer, had 16 points, eight steals and four rebounds in one contest and propelled Tees Valley to win all three of their matches. Among the teams they beat were the Birmingham A’s and Stirling Knights from Scotland.
Coach Butler states Ebanks had a big impact on the team.
“Our defence was amazing, Jorge and new signing Dave Hanson never give Birmingham players a chance,” Butler said. “We created a lot of steals, which produced some fast-flowing offence and that’s what we have to do this season.
“It was fantastic for us as a club. We earned £140 for the Macmillan Cancer Care, won all three games and played some great basketball. The fans were fantastic and loud plus we opened up the world to Mohawks basketball.”
Tees Valley play host to the Huddersfield Heat this Saturday, 8 September, in their final preseason game. The Mohawks are expected to begin their regular season campaign against the Derby Trail Blazers on 27 October. Ebanks is slated to play at shooting guard. Matches continue through November and December and into next April.
Ebanks states his goal is to improve on the court.
“My goal is to get better every game and help the team win in any way I am asked. We really have a good group of guys who work hard everyday in practice and a good coach who is very open minded to his players. There are a lot of expectations for this team and this upcoming season, which I am very excited to get started.”
Ebanks, who turns 27 next March, was previously based in New York. He played for semi-pro team the Buffalo Stampede, in the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League, the last two years. The team played in the New York metropolitan area, which was convenient as Ebanks was finishing up his studies at Daemen College in Amherst, near the city of Buffalo.
The 6ft 1in guard will be looking to replicate the form he had in Cayman last year. He won the Cayman Islands Basketball Association 2011 national men’s league championship with Jerome Narcisse and the Dominos Warriors, earning the Finals Most Valuable Player trophy.
After that, he captained Jerome Graham-Record and the national team to the Island Games on the Isle of Wight in the UK and the Caribbean Basketball Confederation Senior Mens Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.
In the long run, Ebanks states he wants to gain more accolades for Cayman basketball.
“As far as my legacy in Cayman basketball goes, I just want to be looked at as a person that worked really hard to achieve what I wanted and that I never gave up on my dream of being a professional basketball player, even when there are people that doubted me. My journey has just begun and I’m still looking to make bigger jumps and do bigger things.
“Hopefully what I can do is open doors for other basketball players in the Cayman Islands to pursue their dreams. I just want the Cayman people to know that I’m trying my hardest to put us on the map every time I step onto the court. I really do believe that we have some talented athletes and we just need a chance to showcase what we can do.
“Sometimes, all it takes is just one person to open people’s eyes.”
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