'A dream come true': Sask. Rattlers players rekindle childhood friendship

From the Windy City to the Bridge City.

Saskatchewan Rattlers players Scottie Lindsey and Lawrence Moore are set for a reunion nearly 20 years in the making.

The pair grew up in Chicago and first met when they made the same travel basketball team as children. Over the years that followed, Moore and Lindsey would end up playing against each other in high school before the sport separated them.

Now the lifelong friends are taking their talents to SaskTel Centre this summer as professionals in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

“My childhood friend still playing basketball, and we end up meeting like 20 years later. So it's like excitement and almost a dream come true,” Moore said.

The pair took two different paths to get here.

Moore arrived at the University of Saskatchewan in the fall of 2016 to play for the Huskies after two years with Bakersfield College.

The guard better known as “Bam” to his friends and teammates quickly became a Canada West star.

Since then, Moore has put roots down in Saskatoon, staying in the area full-time and playing with the Rattlers since the league’s inaugural season in 2019.

Lindsey stayed in Illinois to play for the Northwestern Wildcats in the NCAA. He has since played in Portugal and a few NBA G League teams.

The idea of taking the court together again is still sinking in.

“This is just full circle. Just thinking about it and thinking about where we were, and for us to still be playing almost about 20 years later. That's something special so we definitely don't take that for granted,” Lindsey said.

Moore says he would go as far as calling Lindsey a brother.

And once they get their chemistry back, teams around will take notice.

"I felt like I could walk down a dark alley and come out with no scratches. That's my guy. When we start clicking as a group we will be a very tough team,” Moore said.

Moore and Lindsey have spent lots of time together since training camp started last week, It got Lindsey thinking of all the success the two shared as children.

"Honestly, it’s something crazy to think about, but I mean, that's how life works. You just never know,” Lindsey said. “I’m glad it came full circle that we could connect. Hopefully, we can have the same type of success we had when we were younger.”

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New head coach Dean Demopoulos has the tough task of getting his team to jell immediately with the season fast approaching. But he knows he doesn't have to worry about Moore and Lindsey’s familiarity.

"It's amazing the connections in the basketball world, and that's just one of them,” Demopoulos said.

If the Rattlers need a basket for the win late in the game, Moore knows who he's passing the ball to.

"If you look at his Instagram name, it's Big Shot Scott — and that's what he is,” Lawrence said.

The pair will take to the court together when the Rattlers open the 2022 season at SaskTel Centre on Wednesday. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.