Joey Haywood Named NBL Player of the Week

HALIFAX, NS – Prior to the NBL season, Joey Haywood was back home in BC and had no plans to play for the Halifax Rainmen. And then he got a call from Halifax Rainmen owner and CEO, Andre Levingston, just over a week ago who offered Haywood another chance to come back to Halifax and play for the Rainmen. Haywood, who is no stranger to Halifax, averaged 28.8 ppg last season for the Saint Mary’s Huskies, leading the CIS in scoring.

Now after just three games of play for the Halifax Rainmen, the former CIS scoring champ was named the NBL Canada Player of the Week. Haywood started the last two games for the Rainmen and averaged 18.5 ppg in his first two starts. His first start for the Rainmen left a lasting impression on the Halifax fans when he went off for 21 pts on 10-12 shooting against the Moncton Miracles. Haywood then followed up with a 17-point performance against the Summerside Storm which helped his Rainmen improve to 2-2 on the season.

“It feels great to have achieved an honour of this magnitude in the city that I consider to be my second home,” said Haywood in the Rainmen press release. “I’m glad that my hard work is paying off. I’m blessed to have the incredible support of my family; without them, I absolutely would not be here.”

Halifax defeated the Summerside Storm on Sunday afternoon 100-93 at the Metro Centre. The former Boston Celtic, Orien “OG” Greene led the Rainmen to the win with his 18-point performance. Eric Crookshank was a strong defensive presence for Halifax (on his birthday) grabbing 13 boards (6 offensive) along with 4 blocks. For Summerside, Canadian-citizen Chris Cayole kept Summerside in the game with his hot hand when he scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half.

Halifax will face off against the Saint John Mill Rats on Friday night in Halifax, game time 7pm AST.

OTHER RAINMEN NEWS:
– The Halifax Rainmen have made their first trade of the season, trading former NBA player, Rodney Buford, to the London Lightning in exchange for 6’6″ forward, Tyrone Levett. Levett played for Alabama State and averaged 4.4 ppg for the London Lightning. “Adding Tyrone to our roster will help us tremendously on defense and with rebounding,” said Halifax Rainmen President & CEO, Andre Levingston in a Rainmen press release. “He will also give us more size, strength and athleticism.”

– The Rainmen have also signed 6’9” centre Stevy Worah-Ozimo who will automatically be a strong defensive presence for the Rainmen. Worah-Ozimo, who is a native of Libreville, Gabon declared for the 2010 NBA Draft but was not drafted by an NBA team.

Follow Romy Aquino on Twitter @romyaquino

Photo courtesy of the Halifax Rainmen