‘A new era’: Tyrell Vernon named new Calgary Surge head coach

April 18, 2024 Canuck

Tyrell Vernon was on the opposing sideline when the Calgary Surge fell just short of a title in its inaugural season last year.

Now, he’s been tasked to take the city’s Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) back to that game as its new head coach.

The former Scarborough Shooting Stars assistant coach is the Surge’s second bench boss in as many seasons.

On Thursday the team announced he’s replacing outgoing coach Nelson Terroba who resigned last week after signing a year-long extension earlier in the off season.

Vernon has years of coaching experience under his belt, including previous CEBL experience where he made two finals appearances, but he’s going into uncharted territory with this role — his first professional head coaching gig.

“It is a big step,” Vernon said.

“When I got the opportunity to kind of be in the head position and kind of take that next jump, I thought you know, it’s just a great opportunity.”

A winner with shared values

Jason Ribeiro, the Calgary Surge’s president and vice-chairman, said the organization was looking for someone who not only was a standout coach, but someone who checked the boxes off the court as well.

With Vernon, he said, they got their guy.

“It’s a new era, there’s a new energy. I know in our in our basketball operations conversations, I know in the conversations he’s relayed to me with players, there’s a freshness to this,” Ribeiro said.

“He shares our values and he’s a winner. I think that combination, if you can get two out of three, you’re lucky. To get three out of three, not to mix my sports metaphors, is a home run.”

He noted that finding out Vernon is a family man, whose kids are the same age as his, was an added bonus.

With the team, Vernon said, he’ll look to take advantage of the length of the players on the Surge’s roster, be more structured defensively, and play a free-flowing offensive game.

The roster, he said, is versatile and will make matching up against different teams easier to plan for.

Calgary Surge's Sean Miller-Moore, right, moves the ball past Scarborough Shooting Stars' Isiaha Mike during the first half of the CEBL basketball championship final, in Langley, B.C. — Calgary Surge’s Sean Miller-Moore, right, moves the ball past Scarborough Shooting Stars’ Isiaha Mike during the first half of the CEBL basketball championship final, in Langley, B.C. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

“I think we can change depending on who we’re playing and based on the skill set that we have,” Vernon said.

“These guys are all pros and they all have a specific skill set. So I think for me it’s more so just putting them in a space to highlight that skill set.”

A familiar face

Vernon’s been involved with basketball for the majority of his life. He spent a year playing with the Mississauga Power in the now-defunct National Basketball League of Canada.

Before that, he spent his collegiate years playing with McMaster University and St. Francis Xavier University, where he later became the head coach for three seasons.

Vernon was named the 2023 Atlantic University Sport (AUS) coach of the year and led St. Francis Xavier to the AUS Championship title and a USports silver medal.

While with that school’s basketball program, he coached a couple of Calgary Surge players, including Deon Ejim and the recently drafted Dondre Reddick, who he’ll reunite with when the season tips off in May.

“Most of the time I’ve been successful has been under him as a coach and then just the fact that he got the opportunity to be the coach of Calgary is just great,” Ejim said.

“It’s another opportunity for us to continue to grow and I’m just happy for his success and the development and growth for him as a coach.”

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