Lighting strikes the Island Storm

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: DAN TODD
The London Lightning took on the Island Storm Jan. 31, bringing their winning streak up to nine games.

On Jan. 31, the London Lightning took on the Island Storm of PEI in their third game in three days, and came out with a 114-105 victory that brought them up to a nine-game winning streak. The Friday and Saturday nights before involved a close 109-103 win in Niagara over the River Lions, and a 135-130 win over the visiting Moncton Miracles.

Sitting at the top of NBL Canada’s Central Division standings with a 12-2 record so far, Lightning head coach Kyle Julius is feeling good about the season. He’s expected to be voted Coach of the Month, and gives a lot of credit to his team.

“When you can find every night six or seven guys who are going to contribute, coaching is easy. I haven’t done anything that anyone else wouldn’t do with this group.”

He added that the most difficult part is managing the players that want to do well every night, but sometimes don’t. As a former player himself he understands that feeling.

“[Coach of the Month] is not an award you can get without a tremendous organization behind you. We take care of our guys here, we do really well here and as a result the guys can play at a high level. That’s just a by-product of great players, a great owner and a great organization.”

Forward Marcus Capers had a number of plays throughout the game involving blocks that got the crowd going wild. He feels that the audience plays a large part in the game, and making sure they’re enjoying themselves is important.

“Especially at home, it’s like having an extra player on the court to get the other team a little flustered. Our fans are very important, and home court plays a big advantage in the playoffs so we have to build a fan base, which will help us out going toward the playoffs.”

He added that he’s a crowd pleaser, and while he can’t hit shots like Nick Okorie, or be as hyper as Tyshawn Patterson, he does what he can to get the crowd involved.

Capers attributes the team’s success this season to off-court chemistry.

“It’s a family-based atmosphere. I look at everybody like they’re my brother, and I’ve got their back on and off the court, so I think that has a lot to do with it… It’s an ‘us against the world’ mentality that we have, so that’s what helps us out on the court.”

From a personal standpoint, he feels that staying positive and building his confidence are important parts of improving as a player.

Although it is still early in the season, the London Lightning appears to have the record and the lineup to make it into the playoffs.