Basketball: Bears emerge as a threat
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Your support makes all the difference.THE 21st season of National League First Division Basketball starting tomorrow already had a more competitive look than for several years. The League's decision to force the champions, Guildford Kings, to play within the salary cap, by leaving two of their higher paid players on the bench for each game, makes it even more so.
Thames Valley Tigers, runners-up to Guildford in the League Cup and play-offs last season, look stronger on the perimeter and inside, despite the retirement of the former England international Tony Balogun.
Lester James, a 6ft 8in rebounder, is the new American partner for returning guard Nigel Lloyd and the new coach, Mick Bett, has added potential shooters in Mark Scott, from Worthing, and Nick Cooke, from Hemel.
Stentofon Worthing Bears may replace Tigers as Guildford's closest challengers. Alan Cunningham, whose leadership was instrumental in Guildford taking all the domestic titles last season as Kingston, is the Worthing player-coach and has regrouped the personnel who won the League title alongside him at Portsmouth in 1987 and '88.
Colin Irish, from Guildford, and Steve Nelson, from Derby, link again with Mike Spaid, and Cunningham has recruited the former Portsmouth American Kalpatrick Wells and the former Oldham American Cleave Lewis.
Dangerous floaters in Division One include Derby Bucks and Manchester Giants. The individual recruiting coup of the summer could prove to be Jeff Jones's success in tempting the 7ft 5in former Manchester United junior Alan Bannister back to England to join the Giants.
Bannister's college career in the States was dogged by injury and he spent a season on the books of the NBA's Utah Jazz recuperating from ankle and knee surgery.
Derby's astute coach, Terry Manghum, has brought in two new Americans in 6ft 8in centre Carl Mitchell and 6ft 6in power forward Lester Hood. Mike Landell, from Leicester, and Drew Sewell, from Worthing have also joined the Bucks.
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