Return of Mustangs puts rivals on guard
Return of Mustang puts rivals on guard
Dick flies into town today after a season of college basketball with the Gillette Pronghorns in the National Junior Colleges Athletics Association league in the United States.
He will bring with him Pronghorns teammate Brean Tennant, who will provide the Mustangs with their second American import for the 2011
season.
Boyle said Dick could provide an immediate spark for the Mustangs in their match against arch rivals Newcastle but thought Tennant would only play
limited minutes off the bench.
“Matt will definitely play but at this stage we’re not so sure about Brean,” he said.
“The pair are getting off a plane tomorrow [Thursday] and playing on Saturday so they won’t have too much time to prepare and Brean won’t know our plays or anything like that.”
Boyle said he thought Dick would come back an improved player after nine months of full-time study and basketball.
“I think he’s definitely going to be a better player after the experience of playing over there,” he said.
“He’s been in an environment where you train every day and he should come back with a lot more confidence.
“Matt should provide a steady hand in the offence for us and another scoring threat alongside Mitch [Rueter] and Josh Clifford.”
Dick and Tennant finished playing basketball for the Pronghorns in March after a 23 win, 8 loss season and should be fresh and injury free if called upon.
Boyle said his team were focused on keeping their hands firmly wrapped around the Kibble-Mallon Cup, a trophy the two teams have played for since 2009.
The Hunters have never held it but went close after winning their first encounter in 2010 at the Federation Centre.
In order to take ownership of the cup, which is held to acknowledge the contributions to basketball from Newcastle and Maitland stalwarts Denis Kibble and Tim Mallon, the Hunters must win both home and away fixtures in a season.
“We really don’t want to let it go,” Boyle said.
“They haven’t had it yet and we don’t want that to change now.”
Meanwhile the Mustangs women’s team will be looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking last minute loss to the Norths Bears last Saturday night.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Mustangs who take on the second placed Newcastle Hunters on Saturday afternoon.
The Mustangs men tip off at 7pm while their female counterparts start at 5pm at the Maitland Federation Centre on Saturday.
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