Ottawa Blackjacks hire former Ravens star as head coach
Osvaldo Jeanty helped lead Carleton to seven national basketball championships
A former Carleton Ravens basketball star has been named the first head coach of the Ottawa Blackjacks.
Osvaldo Jeanty, who helped the Ravens to seven national championships — five as a player, two as an assistant coach — will be behind the bench when the Canadian Elite Basketball club's debut season tips off this spring.
He'll join former longtime Carleton Ravens head coach Dave Smart, who was hired as the team's general manager late last year.
Jeanty was named the most valuable player in three of the national championships the Ravens won with him on the floor.
He also played on the Canadian national men's basketball team, including at the Pan Am games in Rio de Janeiro.
The Blackjacks' inaugural season gets underway May 7 when the club travels to St. Catharines, Ont., to face the Niagara River Lions.
The first home game at TD Place is May 14 against the Hamilton Honey Badgers.