Author

Joel Osborne writes

Posted Thursday, September 5th 2019 @BristolSportJO

Flyers offer BBL opportunity to Academy players

Thursday, September 5th 2019

Bristol Flyers will offer a first team opportunity to four academy players ahead of the 2019/20 BBL campaign.

Marvin Dinnall, a 17-year-old guard out of the SGS basketball academy will headline the group, alongside second year academy prospects Louis Weaver and Maciej Gniady as well as new academy addition Arnold Onyenyeonwu.

The news follows the signing announcement of former SGS Basketball academy student Josh Rogers, who returns to the WISE Campus, seven years after he left his childhood team, on a one-year deal.

Fellow academy prospects Thomas Browne, Nassim Ladjimi and Louie Tucker will also be part of the BBL development group and will initially start training and playing with the men’s second men’s team, competing in NBL Division two.

Louie Tucker, who represented GB Under-16s at this year's European Championships, will initially train with the men's second team

Further players in the academy programme will follow and join the development group based on their performance through the course of the season.

Since its inception, the SGS College basketball academy has developed into one of the top programmes in the country, with former students securing US scholarships or pursuing professional playing careers.

The club's elite partnership with SGS College will continue to see the Flyers train and play their home games at the college’s WISE Campus, with the SGS Sport brand continuing to feature on the team’s playing kit and around the venue.

Bristol Flyers Head Coach Andreas Kapoulas said: “It’s a key objective of the club's vision to offer academy players the opportunity to develop their game further in the BBL environment.

“We’ve seen players such as Greg Streete, Tyrone Treasure, Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, Tamas Okros, Deane Williams and Josh Rogers come through the ranks in recent years, and now is the time to give that same opportunity to the next crop of homegrown talent.”