Riders facing the unknown...
PATRIOTS TEAM MUCH CHANGED SINCE LAST GAME
LEICESTER Riders look to continue their unbeaten run in the BBL Championship tonight with the visit of the Plymouth City Patriots to the Morningside Arena (6pm).
The Patriots have yet to win this season and were beaten twice in BBL Cup qualifying by the Riders after a summer of turmoil involving a change of ownership.
New chairman Carl Heslop, who took over from the exiting Turkish owners, has steadied the ship, working with one of the most experienced and successful BBL head coaches, Paul James.
Leicester-born and former Riders player James had just come off one of the most successful seasons in Plymouth’s history, so the rebuild process was as harsh as it was necessary.
It was made more difficult by delays in the club being accredited to sponsor visas for overseas players, meaning the Patriots have had to rely on British talent only.
James has used all his connections to build a solid squad that has improved as the season has gone on and received a big fillip with their visa access position normalised in early December. That means they were able to sign two weeks ago the vastly experienced and former Riders American forward Rashad Hassan.
The 6ft 7in Hassan is now 32 years old but a walking doubledouble, evidenced by his debut before Christmas at Cheshire Phoenix where he contributed 30 points and 14 rebounds in a heavy loss by a Covid-ravaged Patriots team.
Missing in that game was another new American signing, guard Antonio Williams, who last played in the Estonian-Latvian league. Last season, Williams averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and six assists.
Williams is a graduate of Kent State University and was a 2020 All-Defensive Conference selection and All-Conference Second Team selection. Since last playing Riders, the Patriots have signed former Glasgow guard Kofi Josephs who has had one 46-point monster performance and currently leads the BBL in scoring at 25 points per game. Other solid performers for the Patriots include British guard Denzel Ubiaro, who was carrying a big scoring load for the Patriots, before the recent signings of Hassan and Williams.
Ex-GB player Joe Hart has also been solid, averaging 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Experienced Albanian guard Elvisi Dusha, previously with London City Royals, is averaging six points and seven assists per game and is capable of controlling the tempo of the game.
Adding a little extra to the match is that Riders hold the longest win streak in the BBL between two clubs, with Riders’ last defeat to Plymouth nine years ago.
Riders have had a big edge in scoring over the Patriots from the threepoint line, Riders averaging a league leading 42 per cent, while the Patriots to date have managed 30 per cent.
Riders head coach Rob Paternostro, left, is aware that previous results will count for nothing tonight.
“They are a whole new team,” he said. “It has been very difficult to prepare because this team has not played before.
“It is hard to know what to expect.
It is a whole new team with much more firepower.
“Rashad Hassan is a guy we know very well, and he is a top scorer.
“He has the ability to put the ball in the basket and very efficiently in all circumstances.
“We have looked at their other American Williams during the summer and he is top quality.
“He is an explosive scorer with a great college career behind him and he will get into the lane and give them something different.
“We need to be ready to adjust to anything they throw at us.”
Leicester Riders: Geno Crandall, Zach Jackson, Marc Loving, Mo Walker, Patrick Whelan, Conner Washington, Darien Nelson-Henry, Victor Ndoukou, Justin Hedley, Kimbal Mackenzie, Jubril Adekoya, Louie Jordan.
Plymouth City Patriots: Rashad Hassan, Kofi Josephs, Antonio Williams, Denzel Ubiaro, Joe Hart, Ayodeji Adekunle, Toby Ainger, Isaiah Walker, Liam Langridge-Barker, Daniel Fawell-Molloy, Elvisi Dusha, Shawn Shelton, Cameron King.