24/09/08 Trio of New Faces Arrive As Derby Embark On New SeasonThere’ll be a new look to the Derby Trailblazers team which takes to the floor this weekend for the start of the 2008/09 basketball season. Three new players have already been added to the squad and in addition, England Under 18 point guard Mikey Manghum will step up to the Senior Men’s team, despite still only being 17 years of age. The other newcomers are Czech brothers Tomas and Jan Selinger and local player Williamz Omope, who has previously played in Mansfield, Nottingham and Birmingham.Trailblazers. Chairman and Assistant Charlie Wright believes Derby learnt a lot from a pair of pre-season friendlies against BBL side Leicester Riders last weekend. “On Saturday, it really showed that it was our first game of the pre-season and it was just as apparent that it wasn’t theirs!” he joked. “Consequently there weren’t many positives to be drawn from Saturday, but on Sunday I thought there were there were some really optimistic signs. “Of the new players, I thought Williamz [Omope] really impressed. He worked hard and hit some difficult shots. I also thought Mikey [Manghum] handled the ball exceptionally well for such a young lad”, he went on. “This is going to be a very big year for Mikey, regardless of whether he becomes our main point guard or not. In those two games against Leicester, he really proved he’s ready to play at this level and he can handle the pressure.” “I also thought both the Czech triallists did very well, particularly on Sunday. Tomas and Jan Selinger are brothers, 25 and 23 years old and we’re delighted to have signed them both. They’re very hard working and they’ve got a lot of potential which hopefully we can help them to develop. On top of that, they’re very nice people too, which is important to us as a club. At 6’8 and 6’6 respectively, the Selingers will be amongst the biggest players on the Derby team, but that apparent lack of size doesn’t unduly the Trailblazers assistant coach. “We were playing a very big side in Leicester Riders, but on Sunday we actually out-rebounded them which proves we’ve got a good degree of athleticism,” he said. “Playing against Leicester twice was a good way to prepare for taking on Manchester this weekend, because in pre-season, you want to be challenged. “Last time we played them, we made it really made it tough for them and we almost pulled off what would have been the result of the season. The key to that game was our defensive intensity and we believe this season we can be better still defensively.” “We were hoping to sign a 6’9 American, but he broke his foot just as we were trying to sort out work permits and contracts. That leaves us a little short handed, but we still have a number of options we’re pursuing. It’s just that we’ll have to wait a little longer to finalise our full line-up. “In terms of Sunday’s Cup match, we really need to get past the first round, because we didn’t manage that last year. I think we’re slightly better prepared now than we were at this stage last season, so I hope we can move on. However we can’t afford to underestimate Loughborough. I know they’re in a lower division, but we need to respect them and do our best to make sure we beat them,” he concluded. |
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