WINNIPEG – After 10 years on the road, Emmanuel Akot is coming home to play.
Akot, a 6-foot-8 forward from Winnipeg who played five seasons of NCAA Division I basketball, has been signed by the Winnipeg Sea Bears of the Canadian Elite Basketball League for the 2024 season. He will join the team as soon as his season in the BNXT League is complete.
“I'm excited to be back in Winnipeg and can't wait to get started with the Sea Bears. Growing up in this city, I've been fortunate to have received nothing but love and support from the community. To be able to compete for the city that has given me so much is an incredible honour. We've got a passionate fan base, and we're committed to giving them a team they can be proud of,” said Akot.
“We are extremely excited to add another top talent from Winnipeg, Emmanuel Akot, to our roster. Emmanuel gives us outstanding versatility and another quality Canadian player for our rotation. In these early stages of his professional career, we are excited to see Emmanuel grow and develop his game as a Sea Bear,” said Sea Bears head coach and general manager, Mike Taylor.
Originally a student-athlete at Kildonan East Collegiate, the 25-year-old Akot set off on a journey in basketball that took him to the American southwest and eventually to the Netherlands, where he played the 2023-24 professional season with Heroes Den Bosch of the top-flite Dutch/Belgian league, BNXT.
In Den Bosch, Akot averaged 7.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists this past season.
“This year in Den Bosch Netherlands, Emmanuel has played very well and put together a solid rookie season. We look forward to Sea Bears nation cheering for another one of their own this summer when Emmanuel joins us in June,” said Taylor.
After playing prep for two seasons at Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, Akot was a five-star commitment to the Arizona Wildcats, where he played two seasons for one of the top programs in the NCAA. Akot made four starts as a freshman in 2017-18 and played 48 games in Tucson before transferring to Boise State for the 2019-20 season.
With the Broncos, Akot was named an honourable mention all-Mountain West and was named to the Mountain West all-tournament team in 2021-22.
In two seasons in Boise, Akot averaged 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 36.7 per cent from three.
In 2022, Akot used his COVID-year eligibility and transferred to Western Kentucky, where he started all 31 games in ‘22-23 for the Hilltoppers as a Super Senior. He averaged 10 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and shot 31.6 per cent from three.
Akot appeared in two games last summer with the CEBL’s Ottawa Blackjacks.
Akot is the 10th professional player signed by the Sea Bears this spring with former NBA centre Byron Mullens and G-League all-star Darius Days coming to terms in the past few weeks. The also announced the signings of Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, David Muenkat, Chad Posthumus, Alex Campbell, Mason Bourcier, and Shane Osayande. The team signed 2023 CEBL MVP, import Teddy Allen on Feb. 7 and drafted developmental players Simon Hildebrandt, Tyler Sagl and Shawn Maranan on April 11.
The Sea Bears will be back in action this Saturday, June 1 at Canada Life Centre for the team’s third game of the 20-match slate. Tickets can be found at seabears.ca.
Source: https://www.seabears.ca/sea-bears-sign-versatile-wing-winnipegger-emmanuel-akot