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KENT CRUSADERS' PLAYER NEWS, 2008-09 |
08/09/08
Parker pens a new contract - and Crusaders welcome two new recruits
The Kent Crusaders men’s team has signed a trio of players including standout guard Robbie Parker. Parker is joined by Polish 6’7 big man Rafal Sojczynski and Jamie Bragan from Bath .
Parker averaged a team high 18 points last season, but only played 11 games in the 2007-08 campaign. He travelled to several try-outs with European professional clubs before Christmas and was only able to return from an injury sustained late in 2007 to help the team win two of the last three games and secure the spot in Division 2. Before that shortened season Parker played for Crusaders from 2004 to 2006 before spending a season at German club Freiburg .
“We witnessed Robbie’s impact on the team last season as we had a winning record in the games he played in, even as we struggled to a record of 10 wins and 19 losses for the season”, says Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen, “I’m extremely happy that we were able to sign Robbie to a contract for the full season, as he’s one of the best and hardest working players I’ve ever coached”.
Parker has been training with the team since the start of pre-season in July, and is excited about the upcoming season: “I’m looking forward to the new season with Crusaders. We have been working hard through the summer and with the new additions to the team we should be very competitive this year.”
The Crusaders have also secured the services of big man Rafal Sojczynski, 27, from Scottish National League club Grampian Flyers. Sojczynski, who has moved to the East Kent area to work as a physiotherapist, played division 1, 2 and 3 in his native Poland before moving to the UK .
“Rafal really fills a need for us”, says coach Olesen, “We don’t have a lot of big guys, so to have an experienced and good player like Rafal fall into our laps is really fortunate. He’s a big guy, but at the same time he’s very good technically, and I expect him to compete for a starting spot”.
“When I was in Poland I used to train every day and when I moved to the UK I missed playing hard like that”, says Sojczynski, “I’ve trained with the team for a couple of weeks now and I really like the intensity and I’m looking forward to the season.”
Jamie Bragan joins the Crusaders from Preston Pride, but he has had EBL Division 2 experience playing for the now defunct Bath Romans from 2004 to 2006. Bragan is waiting to join the RAF so he might not be with the team for the full season.
“Jamie is an athlete”, says coach Olesen about the 6’5 22 year old, “and tall athletic players are always welcome. Right now we’re still trying to establish which position he’ll play on the team, as he’s very versatile, but once he’s settled in, I’m sure we’ll see even better things from him than what he has already shown We don’t know how long he’ll be with us, but for as long as he’s here he’s an exciting signing”.
Crusaders former head coach and current director of basketball Jesse Sazant is excited about the new signings. He was the one who brought Robbie Parker to the club four years ago, and was instrumental to signing him this season: "Resigning Robbie was one of our key priorities for the off-season. He gives us a proven scorer at this level and will complement Canadian import Simon Mitchell very well. Jamie and Rafal give us some much needed size and athleticism.”
Next week the Crusaders will take part in a preseason tournament in Bristol, playing the division 1 hosts on Saturday night, while playing either Derby (Division 1) or Bristol 2 (Division 3) on Sunday.
25/08/08
Crusaders' imports
The Kent Crusaders National League men’s team have signed two import players. From Canada’s Queens University it’s 6’3 guard Simon Mitchell and from Denmark it’s 6’5 forward Soren Sorensen from Aalborg BK.
Both players have played at a high level, with Mitchell playing four years for his Canadian Division 1 side and Sorensen having played in the Danish Basketball League and Division 1.
Mitchell, 24,
starred for Queens University in Kingston, Ontario in Division 1 of the CIS
national university league, where he averaged 12 points and was selected Most
Valuable Player for his team for the last three years. Apart from playing with
the Crusaders Mitchell will be a coach at the Kent Crusaders basketball academy
at Canterbury high school.
Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen is looking forward to having Mitchell as a part of the team around the Kent Crusaders: “I’m really looking forward to having Simon around both as a player but also as a coach. I’m sure he will contribute greatly to the success of the team on the court, and I think he’ll be as great an influence to the younger players off the court”.
Mitchell’s coach at Queens, Rob Smart, calls him the most complete player he has coached in his time as a CIS coach, and continues: “It is important to recognize that Simon’s statistics do not tell the story of his ability. Perhaps, the biggest compliment I can give Simon is that he continuously places the best interest of the team ahead of his own personal accolades. There is no question that Simon could have easily averaged a much higher PPG total, however, he was committed to involving his teammates and consistently shot a high percentage throughout his career. Simon is a proven winner and would be an asset to any team at the next level.”
Mitchell is still in Canada awaiting finalization of his work permit, and from there he says: "I'm very excited about this opportunity to play basketball in England and I'm looking forward to playing for the Kent Crusaders. I hope that I will be able to help the club achieve further success and in turn improve as a basketball player. I'm also looking forward to my role as a coach for the younger players. I hope that my knowledge of the game will be of use in helping develop their basketball skills. I'm eager to arrive in Canterbury and begin training with the team."
The other import,
Soren Sorensen, is a 19 year old talented guard/forward from Denmark. He has
been able to play for Aalborg in the Danish Basketball League and Division 1
since the age of 16 because of his large physique – he’s 6’4 and about 17 stone
of pure muscle.
Coach Olesen has known Sorensen for a number of years and as Sorensen was looking to play abroad decided to offer him a spot with the Crusaders: “I talked to Soren over the Christmas break last year and when I heard he was looking to play abroad I jumped at the opportunity to include him in our team. He’s a very talented player and he has an obvious physical advantage with his large frame, but at the same time there is a lot of room for improvement. We’re looking to feature Soren in a defensive role early in the season, and as we develop his skills we expect him to excel on offence as we get closer to the playoffs.”
Sorensen is moving to Canterbury along with his girlfriend Britt Christensen, who will be looking to use her extensive experience in Hip Hop and street dance to get into dance coaching. She was a 2006 silver medallist at the world championships of street dance in Gent, Belgium and has coached a Danish team to a 2nd place finish in the national championship.
The Crusaders expects to announce a few more signings before season commences with a Patrons Cup game away against Plymouth Marjon on September 27th. The club is still awaiting final confirmation on star player Robbie Parker and young big man Dan Garrad’s return and there are a few other domestic players currently training with the team who might be signed.
19/08/08
Crusaders bring back core of team
The Kent Crusaders National League men’s team that have started preparing for the new season and have announced that they’re bringing back the core of last years team.
The club have been able to sign contracts with several players of last year’s players enabling them to focus on basketball full time. This is a delight to Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen, as he sees a real possibility for improvement: “Damian Lyons has been working with the club for a couple of years now, and has really been an inspiration to a lot of players with his work ethic, coming in at 7 am five mornings a week to improve as a player. Last season several other players began to join him in the mornings, and we saw a definite improvement because of that. Now that we’re able to bring in more players who can schedule their commitments around morning practice, we’re looking to really develop these players”.
So far contracts have been finalised with Rikki Broadmore, the young guard who showed a lot of promise last season, and Sam Betts, a do-it-all forward with real scoring touch, and the club is still waiting for finalisation of another couple of contracts.
Olesen is also happy to see the return of a group of players who have been with the team since division 3. Veteran defensive specialist Jeff Wadey, explosive scorers Steve Findley and James Harris, captain Pete Ayling and last years team Most Valuable Player Mike Webber are all back for another go around. “The experience of these players is invaluable”, says Olesen, “They’ve been around the block and every one of them won games for us down the stretch last season”.
One of last season’s most exciting players, highflying big man JP Dimandja is also back in the Crusaders uniform. The improving young player excited crowds home and away with his high flying dunks and coach Olesen looks forward to another year of improvement for Dimandja: “JP came in as a very, very raw talent last season, but by the end of the year he was really one of our most important players. With his leaping ability and length he is really a force on defence, as he forces the opponents to change their shots”.
The Kent Crusaders have traditionally included a few junior or young talented players in the men’s practice squad. The Kent Crusaders and Canterbury High basketball academy and the Crusaders Under 18’s are supplying Charlie Thomas, Kalil Irwing, and Akin Lisk-Carew who all have trained with the Crusaders men before. Also in with the group of youngsters is first year men’s player Lewis Elgar, who played with Tenterden last season.
The Crusaders are looking to bring in a few new signings, most of these to be confirmed in the next few weeks, but Olesen is delighted to have his core of players from last year back. “In previous years we’ve had a lot of players come and go between seasons, and it has obviously affected our results as it’s taken the players a while to get to know each other. This year we made it a priority to bring back a core of the players who really started to gel at the end of last season, and we’re happy to say that we’ve achieved that goal. I’m looking forward to taking this group of players to new heights this year”.
The Crusaders have had to say goodbye to Rob Dagger, who’s off to London for university, Julian Naci who’s focusing on his last year of university, and Adam Browne who is joining the Army. Also the club is awaiting final confirmation on star player Robbie Parker and young big man Dan Garrad’s return.