The Halifax Rainmen have signed centres DeAndre Thomas and Marc Mazur and guard Antwan Dobie and could have all three in the lineup on Saturday at home against the Vermont Frost Heaves.
Owner Andre Levingston calls the six-foot-eight, 320-pound Thomas “a point guard in a big man’s body” and said he could be “the best big man in the” Premier Basketball League if developed properly.
Thomas, a friend of guard Tony Bennett, is a former Indiana Hoosier who Levingston considered selecting in October’s PBL draft but shied away because of Thomas’s poor conditioning.
Mazur, six-foot-10, averaged 7.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks for the PBL’s Manchester Millrats last season. The Rainmen want him for his rebounding and defence, likely in a depth role.
Dobie, a six-foot point guard from New York, is a 31-year-old who spent the 2008-09 season with Nanterre of France’s B League, averaging 13.3 points and 4.0 assists in 25 games. Levingston said Dobie is “really smart” and “good in transition.”
All three have been practising with the Rainmen and could see “significant” floor time against the Frost Heaves, Levingston said.
Small forward Jevohn Shepherd will sit out with a hamstring injury while guards Lonnell Shuler-Jones and Devon Norris remain on the practice roster.
