Leeds Force: Coach Newby not putting all recruitment eggs in one basket

Jermaine Sanders, Rob Sandoval and Jack Isenbarger have impressed in their first season with the Force, but the nature of basketball at British level is that imports often move on quickly given there are so many higher leagues throughout Europe.

“That’s always going to be the case with our recruitment,” explained head coach Newby.

“We’ve done very well with our American imports this year. They have each equipped themselves well on and off the floor and they are all generating interest from at home and abroad.

“But we’re already looking ahead to next season. Resumés are coming in to us all the time.”

Force may effectively be out of the play-off equation in the BBL but there is good news in the shape of the programme’s academy team, based at Allerton High School.

Leeds’s Under-18s finished third in the premier division and are through to the final 16 of the national tournament. They also placed third in National Senior Division Four and are through to the final eight in that competition.

Further recognition sees international call-ups for homegrown academy products Micah Savery-Richards, with England’s Under-18s, and Vasja Pandza, with the Under-16s.