Montréal, QC – The Montréal Alliance announced Monday that Ryan Thorne, head coach of the McGill University men’s basketball team, has been named assistant coach in charge of team strategy and management for the 2022 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. 

Thorne was named head coach of the McGill University men’s basketball team in June 2020, replacing David DeAveiro who stepped down to accept a coaching positing at Ryerson University after a decade at the helm of the Montréal university. Thorne led the McGill team to a provincial championship win after an undefeated season in 2021-2022. 

“I am very excited for the opportunity to be a part of a professional basketball team in my home city and further growing my basketball knowledge under Coach Lavandier,” declared Thorne. “It is an honour to have been selected by the Montréal Alliance and General Manager Joel Anthony to assist in putting together a championship calibre team that truly reflects Montréal’s passion for the game.” 

Born in Barbados, Thorne grew up in Lasalle where he learned to play basketball. Thorne attended Argyle Academy in Verdun before committing to John Abbott College where he became a nationally recognized basketball star, being named captain and MVP of his team. With a multitude of college offers coming from Canada and the United States in the NCAA, Thorne joined Bishop’s University where he was once again named team captain and MVP, as well as being named on the All-Canadian team and winning a national championship. 

As a coach, Thorne led McGill University’s women’s basketball program for 17 seasons, winning seven provincial titles as well as the first national title in program history in 2017. Thorne has been named Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year six times at the provincial level and for the first time at the national level in 2016. The Alliance assistant coach has the most wins in the history of McGill’s women’s basketball program with 277. In his last 10 seasons at the helm of the women’s program, Thorne led his team to six first place finishes. 

Thorne also has coaching experience at the national level, playing an important role with Canada Basketball’s Women’s High Performance program, serving as an assistant with the 2015 senior development team and with the junior team starting in 2016. 

Thorne joins the Montréal Alliance coaching staff and will oversee the team’s strategy and management for the 2022 season. 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. 

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Zachary Favreau

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