Abbotsford’s Marek Klassen is returning for year two with the Fraser Valley Bandits.
The Canadian Elite Basketball League team announced the re-signing of the Yale Secondary grad on Wednesday morning.
Klassen averaged a CEBL-leading 7.2 assists per game in 2019 and set the league record for assists in a game when he recorded 15 assists against the Hamilton Honey Badgers in a 100-82 victory on July 6, 2019.
For his accomplishments, Klassen was named a CEBL Second Team All-Star. Klassen is currently playing for BC Kyiv Basket in the Ukraine Basketball SuperLeague, where he is averaging 12.6 points and 6.7 assists per game on 44.8 and 50 per cent shooting from the field and three-point range, respectively.
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“I am excited to join the Bandits this summer and compete for a championship on Canadian soil,” Klassen stated in a press release. “Currently, I am honoured to help lead Kyiv through a successful season. The fans in Ukraine have been phenomenal and I am looking forward to finishing this season strong and returning to an awesome fanbase in my hometown afterward.”
A former B.C. provincial player of the year and 2010 high school 3A MVP as a member of the Yale Lions, Klassen graduated with an MBA from Point Loma Nazarene University, where he starred as one of the top point guards and three-point shooters in the NAIA.
“We are really excited to work with Marek. His resume and consistent production as a pro speaks for itself,” stated Bandits head coach and general manager Kyle Julius. “We will use Marek in a variety of ways on and off the ball as his vision and ability to shoot will make everyone better.”
“I think Marek is the ultimate role model for young athletes in the Fraser Valley. We are really looking forward to Marek enhancing the culture of toughness and togetherness that we are trying to build.”
The Bandits begin their second season on Friday, May 8 when the club takes on the defending CEBL champions, the Saskatchewan Rattlers, at Abbotsford Centre.