Kent Crusaders partnership with Barking Abbey enters its fourth season as the club tries to rebound from relegation to NBL Division 2 last season.
A familiar face returns to the helm, as Barking Abbey’s Director of Basketball Operations, Lloyd Gardner returns as head coach. Gardner has been a driving force in establishing Barking Abbey, and led Crusaders to the Division 1 Playoff Championship in 2015.
There will be a number of returning players to the team with four players remaining after the disappointing 2015/16 campaign. Led by RJ Eytle Rock, fresh of a summer of playing for the England U18 Men’s National Team and being voted as the number 1 ranked player at the Luol Deng camp will be Emmanuel Odunsi, Hamadee Taousi, and Obi Agu. This quartet all gained valuable experience in NBL Division One last year, playing major roles on the team.
They will be joined by three players familiar to them, making the step up from the Barking Abbey’s NBL Division 3 Men’s team, Joe Cummins, Zephi Sharman and Kevin Boatey who will all continue their studies at Barking Abbey School and will now jump up to the NBL Division 2 level with Crusaders.
A new face to the NBL2 team but not to the club, Dan Akin will be moving up after a successful season playing for Crusaders’ Division Four and U18 teams, while studying at Crusaders’ Northfleet Academy.
Northfleet Coach Rob Newson is thrilled for the next step in Dan’s pathway, saying, “Dan had several options at the end of last season, including some in the US; however all the coaches agreed that Dan’s best choice would be to spend one more year in the UK at one of the finest academies in the Country before hopefully signing with a top programme Stateside. We wish Dan the best of luck for the season and will be keeping a close eye on his progress!”
Three new faces to the Barking Abbey Academy will join the team, transferring from other clubs from around the United Kingdom and are expected to play major roles on the team. Amin Adamu, Josh Kanini, and Sean Nealon-Lino will all join from Southwark Pride, Eastside Eagles and Boroughmuir Blaze respectively.
Finally, the group of Barking Abbey Academy players will be supported this year by guard Tim Shodipo and forward Jonny Foulds. Both players will combine playing for Kent with studying at the University of East London and have experience in the NBL. Tim played previously for NASSA Neptunes and is one of the driving forces behind UEL’s successful BUCS team, whilst Jonny has played with Tees Valley Mohawks NBL Division 1 team for the past three years.
NBL4 Senior Men
The Kent Crusaders II will see them linked far more closely with the Crusaders academy at The Canterbury High School. The team will be mainly compromised of Canterbury Academy students, complimented by a small group of senior players, all with prior links to Crusaders.
Most notably, James Harris enters his 13th season with Crusaders having played in every senior national league, as well as winning back to back Founders Cup championships with Crusaders. Omari Coates, will combine studies at University of Kent while playing for Crusaders. They will be joined by Canterbury Academy alumni Ryan Palmer and 3 alumni from Northfleet in Ciaran Kelleher, Sam Bignell and James McCartney.
The team will be coached by Canterbury Head Coach Jesse Sazant, who is looking forward to the new setup. “This link will really help us to further challenge our academy athletes. I’m really happy about the senior guys who have committed. They will be exemplary role models for us,” said Sazant.
U18 Men
Crusaders will field two U18 national league teams this year, one each respectively from their two academies: Canterbury Academy and Northfleet.
The Canterbury Academy team will be coached by Tamas Okros. Completely comprised of Canterbury’s EABL players, the team will be striving for promotion to the premier division this season. With 7 newcomers to the programme joining 5 returning EABL players, the team will have an exciting mix of new and old.
The Northfleet U18 team enters its 2nd year in the national league. With an almost brand new group, with only 3 returning players and a new coach, Miguel Cuesta, there will be a different feel in the camp this year. Cuesta will undoubtedly bring a fresh enthusiasm and style of play to the programme.
The two teams will actually face each other in their opening league game of the season!
U16 Men
The U16 Crusaders are all fired up for this season, with a number of players returning from last season, many of whom are at Crusaders junior academies also. Adam Davies will continue as head coach, supported by academy alumni Samuel Bell who joins the Crusaders coaching teams and Cuesta. Adam commented on his team expectations saying, “I’m really excited about this group, we have done some amazing things in practice and I believe if we keep pushing hard we can push for promotion into premier this year.”
U14
After a successful season last year the Under 14 Crusaders are back with a brand new lineup and a new coach in Billy Beddow. With only one returner from last year’s squad, the roster has been reinforced with some younger players from last years U12 team and some new additions, including one from as far as Yorkshire.
In his first season with the Crusaders, Beddow is excited for the challenge. He said, “I’m really excited to learn and grow with this group of players. We’ve played well in our pre-season games and are showing some promise at training. It’s good to bring in some new faces and give them a chance to find their place on the team.”