WATERLOO — This isn't your grandfather's game and these aren't your garden-variety players.

Nineteen hopefuls pounded the hardwood Monday at RIM Park as the expansion Kitchener-Waterloo Titans raised the curtain on their inaugural National Basketball League of Canada training camp.

The pro league makes its regular-season debut on Boxing Day night at the Kitchener Aud when the Titans entertain the Orangeville A's.

"It's hard to believe that it's here. But it's been a blitzkrieg," Titans general manager Stu Julius said of the team's race against the shot clock since the club landed here in the spring.

The contenders, to be put through their paces this week, have been drawn from Canadian and U.S. colleges and pro leagues across the globe, including some players released by the NBA's D-League franchises.

With the players in town, their accommodation lined up at a university-area apartment complex built by majority owner Ball Construction, the Titans' next task is to whittle down their roster to 12, including the league minimum four Canadians.

Some players — like top draft pick and former Western Mustang standout Greg Morrow and fellow Canadians, brothers Tramique and Tramar Sutherland and American point guard Adam Blazek — are shoo-ins.

Competition for the team's remaining roster spots is stiff to say the least.

The team's first round of cuts will likely follow Wednesday's intra-squad game, a 4 p.m. tipoff at RIM Park.

The calibre of basketball at the camp had Titans minority owner Leon Martin grinning on Monday morning and former Wilfrid Laurier guard, and Titans hopeful, Will Coulthard shaking his head.

"Oh, it's different. Guys are a lot bigger, a lot stronger than university basketball," said Coulthard, 23, now an assistant coach with the men's team at Laurier. "But I think I held my own."

Titans head coach Serge Langis' first impression? The team has plenty of work ahead.

"We saw tired bodies," said Langis. "A handful of guys have come from other leagues and those guys showed really well.

"The other guys really struggled. Even after our first few drills, fatigue started setting in. We've got to work on that, for sure."

Blazek, 24, an NBL veteran who came to the Titans from league rival, the Niagara River Lions, knows that, too.

"It wasn't that good to be quite honest," Blazek, of Erie, Pa., said after the Titans' first official workout.

"We didn't play that well as a group. But every practice will get better."

Langis said the squad will consider temperament as well as talent when making its decision on players.

"We want to see which guy quits, which guy gets frustrated and which guy can't control his emotions," the coach said.

"The NBL is a very physical league. The referees really let you go. We need guys that can absorb the physical play and still perform without getting too emotional about it."

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K-W plays an exhibition game on Dec. 17 at the Kitchener Aud against the Buffalo-area Chautauqua Hurricane of the U.S.-based Premier Basketball League. Admission is $5 with an unwrapped child's toy for the Salvation Army's Christmas gift drive.

The six-year old NBL operates with 10 teams, including Ontario franchises in London, Windsor, Niagara and Orangeville.

The loop also includes an eastern Canada division.

Clash of the Titans The 19 players vying for a spot on the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans' 12-player roster:

Ryan Nitz, guard, California State, Monterey Bay; Ricky Tarrant, guard, University of Memphis; Orlando Coleman, guard/small forward, Texas Southern University; Tramique Sutherland, point guard, Bradley University; Adam Blazek, guard, Niagara River Lions, NBL; Will Coulthard, guard, Wilfrid Laurier University; Keala King, guard, Blackwater Elite, Philippines; Kyle Wiggins, guard, Washburn University; Tramar Sutherland, guard/small forward, Niagara River Lions, NBL; Fred Sturdivant, small forward, Windsor Express, NBL; Brandon Crompton, post, Sutherland Sharks, Australia; Greg Morrow, guard/small forward, Western Mustangs; Hichem Benayad-Cherif, guard/small forward, Ussetif, Algeria; Jamell Harris, power forward, Zonkeys de Tijuana, Mexico; Adam Wing, guard/small forward, University of Evansville; Paul Cooper, power forward/centre, Tabare, Uruguay; Cavell Johnson, power forward/centre, Prometheus, Greece; Jermaine Dailey, power forward, Halcones CIBACOPA, Mexico; Nate Howard, centre, Keene State College.

Christine Rivet Christine Rivet covers sports for the Waterloo Region Record. Email | Twitter

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