SARNIA – It may be time to change our name to either the Oxford Lions or the Lambton Attack.
Guard Julian Brooks-Cannon has officially announced his commitment to Head Coach James Grant and the Lambton Men’s Basketball Program for the 2024-25 season, and beyond.
Brooks-Cannon is the eighth member in what is a re-tooling recruiting class for Grant and his coaching staff as they build towards an exciting future. Brooks-Cannon will join the likes of Loghan LeBlanc (New Waterford, N.S.), Owen Newell (Brussels, Ont.), Cory King (Toronto, Ont.), Jaxson Halward (Woodstock, Ont.), Darius Schmidt (Waterdown, Ont.), Samuel Isaac (Winkler, Man.), and Clayton Burgess (Tillsonburg, Ont.) as a newcomer with the Lions when the 2024-25 campaign opens in September.
“I’ve dreamed of this since I was a kid,” said Brooks-Cannon after signing his OCAA Letter of Intent. “It’s been a goal of mine for a while (to play collegiate basketball), and I’ve worked really hard for this so I’m just super excited that it actually happened.”
“I’m excited to play for Coach Grant, and I’m looking forward to giving it my all for this school.”
The excitement is a mutual feeling, as Grant is excited to have Brooks-Cannon in the fold with the program for the foreseeable future.
“We were able to see Julian play with a number of other players that are coming in this fall, and he showed right away that he would be a great fit here,” said Grant. “Julian is going to be the type of player that is going to help us develop a really strong culture around him.”
“He has the ability to handle the ball well and has shown himself to be unselfish, both of which are key traits.”
Brooks-Cannon, a five-foot-eleven guard, comes to Lambton College by way of College Avenue Secondary School in his hometown of Woodstock. He is the latest student-athlete in what’s becoming a lengthy line of student-athletes to come to Lambton College from Woodstock in recent years.
Away from high school, Brooks-Cannon also suits up for the Kitchener Impact Academy and the Oxford Attack U19 programs throughout the year. With the Lions, he will be playing alongside several of his Oxford teammates for the foreseeable future (Newell, Halward, and Burgess).
The quartet attended the Men’s Basketball Winter Showcase event back in December inside the Cestar Group Athletics & Fitness Complex, and they were part of the team that won the day-long tournament.
“I’m looking forward to having a gym available at any time and just being able to get a bunch of work in and get a bunch of shots up,” added Brooks-Cannon. “I’m looking forward to playing with the high-level guys and see how far I can push myself, and I’m also excited to just spend some time with a lot of the guys that I’ve grown up with and have played with for a while.”
“Fans can expect to see a lot of energy. I’m going to bring the energy, I’m going to try and be the hardest worker, and I want to be the biggest supporter of my teammates.”
Academically, Brooks-Cannon will be enrolled in the Sports & Recreation Management Program at Lambton College.
The Lions are coming off a 2023-24 season that saw the group finish 9-9 during the regular season, good for seventh in the always-competitive OCAA West Division. They were unable to replicate their post-season magic from the 2022-23 season, one in which they finished seventh in the regular season but made a run to the OCAA Final Four. This year, the Lions dropped their OCAA Crossover Game on the road at George Brown, who went onto win a CCAA Silver Medal, bringing a premature end to their season.
Now, Coach Grant and his staff have turned their focus to filling out the roster for the 2024-25 season. With several guards having moved on following last season, the addition of Brooks-Cannon adds both talent and depth in the back court rotation for years to come.
Welcome to The Den, Julian!
For more information, or for any media inquiries within Lambton College Athletics, please contact:
Tyler Bennett
Lambton College Sports Information & Marketing Coordinator
tyler.bennett@lambtoncollege.ca