Wolves able to compete with the best, warns Paternostro
RIDERS AIM TO KEEP UP WINNING RUN IN WEEKEND DOUBLE HEADER AGAINST WORCESTER
LEICESTER Riders look to maintain their 10-game winning run in the BBL Championship when they take on the Worcester Wolves tomorrow night (7.30pm).
The match at the Morningside Arena will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Riders’ only loss in the BBL Championship was a last-minute home defeat by a single point to London Lions in early January.
This is the first of two match-ups between the teams this weekend with Riders heading to the Worcester Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Wolves had a slow start to the campaign after winning the BBL Cup for the first time last season when they beat Bristol Flyers in the final.
Last season, the Wolves were in the running in the BBL Championship title race, with a 9-5 record, when Covid-19 brought the league to a finish in mid-March.
Back again this season is their wily Dutch captain Maarten Bouwknecht, who runs the team from the point guard position, and is one of just two returnees, along with experienced British forward Jordan Williams, for Wolves head coach Matt Newby in his second season in charge.
It is all change in terms of the American imports, with centre Mike Parks signed from Memphis University after he had a short spell in the NBA G League. Shooting guard Brandon Anderson joined from Brown University in the Ivy League, where he averaged 18 points a game.
Another young guard, Lamaar Kimble, has pedigree as a graduate of the University of Louisville, a perennial powerhouse in US College basketball, and forward K J Lawson is from Tulane University, where he averaged 13.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
British forward Josh McSwiggan was previously part of the Riders programme, and the former GB Under-20 forward spent last year in France, after graduating from the University of Portland.
Guard Micah Elan starred at NCAA Division III level at Pomona-Pitzer, and holds a British passport, while guard Henry Wilkins is very familiar to the league following his recent time with Surrey Scorchers.
This season the Wolves finished bottom of their group in the BBL Cup with a 2 and 4 record.
But they have fared much better in the Championship, particularly once their Americans arrived, including wins over Glasgow, Cheshire, Manchester, Surrey and Bristol.
Riders head coach Rob Paternostro is really pleased with the form of his team, but wary of the Wolves.
“We are really not too sure of what we are going to get against Worcester,” he said.
“They have had some uneven results, but we also know they can compete with the best.
“They are very tough on the interior and hard to stop offensively.
“It is the start of a two-game weekend against the same team, and we need to learn fast since we have not played them before.
“They had to start their season without their imports due to Covid, and that provided opportunities for other guys to step up.
“That is helping them now, because they know much better what the bench can add to the imports.
“In the experienced Jordan Williams they have one of the best British players in his position.
“And their Dutch guard really helps to settle things down.
“We are really looking forward to the match-up.”
Teams:
Leicester Riders: Corey Johnson, Jamell Anderson, Geno Crandall, Zach Jackson, Darien Nelson-Henry, William Lee, Conner Washington, Ali Fraser, Aaron Falzon, Greg Wild, Kyle Jimenez, Justin Hedley.
Worcester Wolves: Lamarr Kimble, Maarten Brouwknecht, Mike Parks, Jordan Williams, Ky Lawson, Josh McSwiggan, Micah Elan, Nathan Ramsdale-Owen, Tola Okiki, Matt Williamson, Henry Wilkins, Daniel Johnson-Thompson, Brandon Anderson, Shaun Parren-Rackley.