by Romy Aquino
Saturday night will mark the beginning of a professional basketball rivalry here in the Maritimes. The Mill Rats PBL franchise moved from Manchester, New Hampshire to Saint John, New Brunswick during this past offseason and by location alone, the team is an ideal rival for the Halifax Rainmen.
The start of this rivalry will begin on Saturday evening when the Halifax Rainmen (4-2) take on the Saint John Mill Rats (2-3) at the Halifax Metro Centre (7:00 PM AST) and will be the first regular season matchup between the two Maritime teams. A few notable players on the Mill Rats roster include former Halifax Rainmen guard, Eric Gilchrese, and Canadian talents: UNB alumni, Mike Anderson and Toronto native, Jeff Ferguson.
Ian McCarthy is the President and General Manager of the Saint John Mill Rats and has been with the team since its inception in 2007. I had the chance to preview Saturday night’s Rainmen-Mill Rats matchup with Ian, discussed the new additions to the Mill Rats roster and got his thoughts on the now defunct PBL franchise, the Vermont Frost Heaves.
Romy (Haligonia.ca): First off, how has the move of the Mill Rats from Manchester to Saint John been so far?
Ian McCarthy: The move has been an incredible experience. Harbour Station is an amazing venue, so the presentation to the fans, and the experience for the players is first class.
Romy (Haligonia.ca): What has the response been like in the Saint John community?
Ian McCarthy: The fan response and the community response has been great. We have over 2,000 season tickets and have averaged 4,000 fans per game thus far, compared with 500 or less last season in Manchester.
Romy (Haligonia.ca): The weekend will be the beginning of a new rivalry between the Halifax Rainmen and the Saint John Mill Rats, what is the scoop with this new “Rogers Fan Cup” and also the friendly wager between the mayors of the two cities?
Ian McCarthy: The Fan Cup Challenge is basically a competition that Andre (Levingston) and I discussed doing and it has grown into a friendly wager between the Mayors. It’s a way to allow the fans of each team to compete directly with each other, in addition to the teams playing each other.
We’re looking forward to the Mayor Kelly wearing a Mill Rats jersey to a Council Meeting this spring!
Romy (Haligonia.ca): In your opinion, what will be the biggest challenge for the Mill Rats when they face off against Halifax on Saturday?
Ian McCarthy: The biggest challenge we will have Saturday is playing together with our roster changes. (Tyrelle) Blair is a new addition and (Marc) Egerson is probably not going to play due to a lower leg strain. If we can play our brand of basketball and get contributions from our new guys, we should be fine.
Romy (Haligonia.ca): Let’s hear the scouting report on some on the newest guys on the Mill Rats roster: Rob Diggs, Ross Demasi and Tyrelle Blair. What do they bring to the Mill Rats?
Ian McCarthy: Diggs had a great first game (23 points, 9 rebounds). He’s athletic, runs the court, and has good post moves. Blair is a shot blocker and inside presence. We acquired the rights to Demasi but we have not signed him yet and he will not be in uniform on Saturday.
Romy (Haligonia.ca): In other PBL news, the Mill Rats former arch rivals (when they were back in Manchester), the Vermont Frost Heaves, folded this week. What was your initial reaction when you heard the news?
Ian McCarthy: We were all aware as a league that Vermont was in a fragile condition financially and we decided to give them a chance to play this year due to their history and their value as a rival and as a travel partner. So it wasn’t a huge surprise. I think in hindsight we could have provided them with more guidance as to how to manage the budget they did have and the pitfalls of minor league sports. They were fans after all and really wanted to win badly as well.
Romy (Haligonia.ca): How does this affect your team going forward?
Ian McCarthy: It really hasn’t affected us other than rescheduling one home and one road game, and we get to play Quebec and Halifax in the additional games.
Romy (Haligonia.ca): Will there be a friendly wager between you and Andre Levingston in this new Maritime rivalry?
Ian McCarthy: Good question! Its not something we’ve discussed because we’ve both been tending to our team’s business everyday, but perhaps we can think of something!
Photo courtesy of the Saint John Mill Rats
