This week, two new names were added to the Alliance roster: Hernst Laroche and Ashley Hamilton.

Although this was probably the first time these two names were side by side and even though they both grew up on different continents, spoke different languages and never played for the same team, there are many similarities in their backgrounds.

After graduating from Vanier College in Montréal, Hernst Laroche quickly packed his bags for Las Cruces to play for the Aggies at New Mexico State University. At the time, it was much rarer for a young Quebecer to make the big move to the NCAA’s division 1.

At around the same time, over 6,000 kilometers away, a young man from London also decided to take the road less traveled. Ashley Hamilton left England at a young age to attend high school in Las Palmas, Spain. The Englishman eventually graduated high school in Boston, Massachusetts, before heading to Los Angeles to attend Loyola Marymount University. He too was one of a handful of Brits who made the big move to the NCAA.

Both players spent the next several years playing NCAA division I basketball. Laroche became the 29^th player in Aggies history to reach 1,000 career points, while Hamilton was averaging an impressive 10.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in Los Angeles. Laroche and Hamilton came very close to playing against each other in a game between New Mexico State and Loyola Marymount on December 28, 2008, but a back injury kept Hamilton out of the lineup.

After graduating from their respective universities, Laroche and Hamilton both went on to play overseas. Laroche began his professional career in 2012 with Ukrainian club BC Odessa. Two years later, it was Hamilton’s turn to join the Ukrainian league, this time with Sk Cherkasy. Laroche and Hamilton spent the next few years traveling the world and playing in some of the top European and South American leagues, including in France, Greece, Argentina, Italy, England and Hungary.

Both Laroche and Hamilton also played at the international level. Laroche played with the Haitian national team at the FIBA Caribbean Cup, while Hamilton represented Great Britain on multiple occasions, including at this year’s FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

After playing a combined 17 professional seasons in 13 leagues and for 16 different teams, both Laroche and Hamilton will be playing professionally in Canada for the first time this summer. They join point guards Kemy Ossé and Alain Louis, shooting guard Isiah Osborne, forwards Dominic Green, Nathan Cayo, Abdul Mohamed and James Jean-Marie as well as center Marc-André Fortin and will join the team for the beginning of training camp for the 2022 CEBL season starting May 16.

Fans will have the opportunity to see the team play 10 times this summer at the new Verdun Auditorium. Visit https://www.alliancemontreal.ca/en-ca/season-memberships-2022 to get your season membership starting at $22.50 per game and for more information.

About the Montréal Alliance

The Montréal Alliance is a professional basketball team competing in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). The team will play all their home games at the newly renovated Verdun Auditorium. The Alliance opens their inaugural season May 25 against the Honey Badgers in Hamilton. The season, comprised of 10 home games and 10 road games, ends August 1 when the team faces the BlackJacks in Ottawa. Get your season membership and find more information about the team at www.alliancemontreal.ca and on our social media platforms, on Instagram (@alliancemontreal), Twitter (@mtl_alliance), LinkedIn and Facebook (Montréal Alliance). 

About the CEBL

The CEBL begins its fourth season in May. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, more than 75 percent of its players during the past three seasons were Canadian, the highest percentage of any professional league in the country. CEBL players bring experience from the NBA, the NBA G League, top NCAA programs, the Canadian National team program, top international leagues as well as U SPORTS. All CEBL regular season games will be broadcast live on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports mobile app and CEBL+. Additional information about the league is available at www.cebl.ca.