Central Basketball Association

After completing his third season in the Central Basketball Association, Bowling Green's Fred Sturdivant has received his third career opportunity north of the border, as the 6-foot-7 small forward was drafted with the fifth overall pick of the 2016-2017 NBL-Canada Draft last night by the expansion Kitchener-Waterlook Titans. 

Sturdivant completed the 2016 CBA season with Bowling Green averaging 16.7 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game, and 2.1 blocks per game, in his best season in the league. He was also named as the 2016 CBA 2nd-Team All-Star. Prior to this year, Sturdivant spent the previous two CBA seasons playing for Chattanooga, where he averaged 15.3 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, and 2.8 blocks per game. 

The international game is not new for the former Texas Southern product. Sturdivant played in the 2013-2014 NBL-Canada season with the Ottawa Skyhawks, and the 2014-2015 NBL-Canada season with the Windsor Express. Earlier this year, he participated in the CBA Global Opportunities Program, where he traveled to Dubai to compete against the national teams from Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. 

This is the third time a CBA player has been drafted in Canada, but the first time a player has been selected in the opening round, as Sturdivant joins Bowling Green's JP Nyadaro (2014, 2nd Round) and St. Louis' Alex Jackson (2013, 3rd Round). 

(Photo by: Joshua Lindsey / CBA Photos)