THE countdown to the new British Basketball League season has continued for Worcester Wolves who have unveiled the foundation of their 2018/19 team with the promise of further additions.
Managing director Mick Donovan has worked with distinguished sports scientist Dr Alejandro Vaquero to put together a versatile group of players ready for a new coach to come in and work with them in September.
American combo-guard Darell Combs joins the team after a spending his rookie year out of Purdue at both Serie A2 team Roseto Sharks and Stjarnan in Iceland. Miki Servera, who has a plethora of experience in Spanish Liga ACB and LEB Gold teams such as Unicaja Malaga, Tecnyconta Zaragoza and UCAM Murcia, will join him in the guard position.
Servera has also gained Eurocup experience during his time in Spain.
Keen BBL fans may also recognise British-born Jordan Whelan, who will also be playing in the guard position. He ended last season at Manchester Giants in a spell which included a 29-point personal haul against Surrey, after a year with German side Hertener Loewen.
Robert Crawford’s seven-foot wingspan should prove to be significant as he comes to the Worcester Wolves after a season with German side Rasta Vechta in their Regionalliga team, before a brief stint with the senior team who gained promotion to the Bundesliga last season. He will play as a forward alongside Filip Krämer and Terrel Martin-Garcia.
Krämer is the second new player to boast Eurocup experience as he has spent the past seven years at Austrian Bundesliga side Ece Kapfenberg Bulls. Martin-Garcia is another British-born player who joins the Worcester Wolves from Adelphi University in the USA.
Donovan said: “We have worked strategically to put the foundations in place that presents the new head coach with an exciting team, but also a group of players that can be flexible and can adapt to various system of play.”
“We have been able to speak with former players and friends of the club, who have given us an insight on all of the players and consequently, our research and recruitment has been very detailed. We now need our fans to step up as always and work with us to welcome our new players and coach and make next season a huge success”
The club expects to be in a position to announce the appointment of their head coach in the coming weeks.
Wolves’ opening game of the season will be against ex-coach Paul James’ side Plymouth Raiders on Friday, September 21 at the University of Worcester Arena.
Tickets are on sale now online at www.worcesterwolves.org.