BBL 2013/14 Preview: Durham Wildcats
A new era dawns for the Wildcats with Lee Davie taking over at the helm from Dave Elderkin, so could this be the season where Durham break through into the BBL Playoffs in three years of playing in the top flight?
Lee Davie has had plenty of experience in the Durham set-up as Senior Coach with Team Durham’s women’s basketball team, assistant coach to the U20 GB Women’s Team and Head Coach to the England Under 15 Girls Development Squad.
Key to this campaign was being able to retain the services of captain Ralph Bucci, who will also this year take on the role of assistant coach. Voted as Durham’s MVP of the 2012/13 season, the star guard was averaging just shy of a double-double every game.
Power forward Joel Madourie was the second arrival on the roster list, switching allegiances from local rivals Eagles having spent two years there; he will be looking to develop from his experiences with the 2011/12 clean sweep champions to bring Durham to the next level in the league.
Another player with previous BBL experience added to Davie’s Wildcats was that of Danny Huffor. The 6′ 4″ forward averaged 10.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Glasgow Rocks in 2011/12, but injury affected his appearances last year, however confidence is high that he will be on form for the upcoming campaign.
Paul Elderkin, another veteran of this Wildcats side, re-signed but on the whole it will be a raft of new faces at Newton Aycliffe this year.
Devan Ginty is a 24-year-old point guard who spent a season with Finnish Division 1 side Torpan Pojat. Ginty regularly posting double-double stats, scoring an average of 14.8 points per game and a 41.7% success rate from the 3-point range.
Completing the line up sees RJ Evans, a 6′ 3″ guard who was a teammate of ex-Wildcats centre Andrew Keister at Holy Cross University. Kirk Crecco comes in as another guard after a year with Luxembourg side, Grengewald Hostert. Mike Allison and Mattia Bradascio will be vying with each other for the centre spot; Allison graduated from NCAA Division 1 side Maine Black Bears, whilst Bradascio has international experience with Norway, and for the past four years has played with Norwegian outfit Centrum Tigers.
It certainly sounds like the Wildcats have made promising moves to bolster their roster this year. Pre-season has been a mixed bag of results, with victories over Teesside Mohawks and USA Select, but defeats to Manchester Magic and Sheffield Sharks. However, the latter result will give Coach Davie some confidence with it being decided by just a single point. Only time will tell whether this will be the year of the Wildcats.
Durham Wildcats roster:
Guards: Ralph Bucci, Devan Ginty, RJ Evans, Kirk Crecco, Paul Elderkin
Forwards: Joel Madourie, Danny Huffor
Centres: Mike Allison, Mattia Bradascio
Predictions for Durham Wildcats:
BBL Championship: 8th
BBL Playoffs: Quarter-finals
BBL Trophy: 1st Round
BBL Cup: 1st Round
