Injury jinx has hit us hard, but players are stepping up to plate
ROB PATERNOSTRO
THE Riders had a major challenge last week and met it head-on.
The performance against Hungarian champions Szolnoki Olaj was a professional one.
We could have settled at one stage for the pattern of previous games, but we kept coming and I was extremely pleased with the way we really stayed composed down the stretch.
Guys like Conner Washington are really understanding and learning what it is all about at this level, and kept going with composure right to the end.
The three-point defeat was disappointing but we remain upbeat, confident and together. And it we did it with a main scorer Deandre Burnett out, Pierre Hampton continuing to build his fitness, and TrayVonn Wright hampered by a continuing leg injury which is impacting his effectiveness.
To then turn around and play as we did in Newcastle on Friday night was especially pleasing.
Not so long ago, Sports Central on a Friday evening was pretty much impregnable for Riders and everyone else, and we look a little tired and not at it in the opening period.
But we dug deep defensively and the scores started to come, and the confidence levels built through that second period.
I felt we controlled the game exceptionally well throughout the second half. Our injury jinx struck again with Keifer Douse going out with another ankle injury early in the game, but we shrugged that off and got good contributions from other guys like Harrison Gamble and Josh Ward-Hibbert.
The fact it was our last-ever visit to Sports Central, with the Eagles new arena due to open next month, made it especially memorable. Over the years we have had some really difficult games there, so to go out with a solid win was really nice for our fans.
Now we face a really tough part of our schedule, with games thick and fast, before the break for the GB games.
Injuries have been a major part of our early season, and they are always harder to deal with at this stage of the season.
If it was March or April you would be looking for guys to grin and bear it, with the climax of the season so close, but at this stage you don’t want to aggravate matters and potentially have a guy out for a month or more. So we are having to juggle resources a bit, and look for other players to step up and maybe play out of position, and I feel we have guys who are willing to do whatever it takes.
We will be short-handed this week, but need to look to the longer term and hope the lessons learned in November will help us to play at a higher level come the new year. BC in Kosovo, in the Kosovo Super League. Kosovo also played last season in the Champions League and FIBA Europe Cup with Prishtina. He averaged more than 12 points and seven rebounds in Kosovo.
He joined Nicosia in the Cyprus league in January with more than 14 points and 9 rebounds per game. He shot 48 per cent from the floor.
Riders Head Coach Rob Paternostro said: “Right now we need bodies. We have been struggling to fill the gaps, but there are a lot of games coming up over a short period of time and we need the cover.
Wayne has experience in European competition which will help.”