| Glasgow Rocks | 86 |
| Guildford Heat | 75 |
“This is what we’ve been hoping for all along,” said Davis. “The plan has always been to bring back as many guys as we could from last year’s team, and now the plan is coming together.”
The Rocks now have six of last season’s primary players back on board. Hampton and Joseph join Americans Davis and Rob Yanders, Arbroath’s Gareth Murray and German Moritz Wohlers in a side that hopes to get off to a strong start. Davis added:
“Last year we struggled early on because almost everyone was new to the club. Now we’ll have familiarity and strong team chemistry from day 1. I hope that will help.”
Hampton joined the Rocks fresh out of college in the summer of 2006 and impressed sufficiently during his rookie season to warrant a new contract. The Austin Peay graduate shone in the last campaign, helping the Rocks to both the BBL Cup and Playoff Finals. With an average of 14.2 points per game, Hampton was the 4th leading scorer on the team and also led the League in steals.
Nicknamed “Squeaky” by his grandmother back in Russellville, Kentucky, Hampton proved himself last year as one of the League’s best young players. The young American performed well on the big stage as he scored 16 points in the BBL Championship Playoff Final and 19 in the BBL Cup Final. However, many fans will remember his electrifying dunk in the BBL playoff semi-finals against Guildford last season, and we’ll all be looking for another strong season from the young American.
Joseph is a familiar face to Rocks fans as he returns for his 3rd full season with the club. One of the League’s most dangerous outside shooters, “JJ” averaged 16.7 points and 4.34 per game through the 2006/07 campaign while hitting 34.7% of his 3-pointers. The London native hopes to help bring some proper glory north of the border after too many close calls in recent years.
On his return, Joseph had this to say:
“I’m really happy and excited to be back with the Rocks, especially with most of last year’s squad returning, The Rocks are one of the top franchises in the League with great fans, and Glasgow is one of my favourite cities. With myself and the others, we’ve got a lot of experience coming back, so I’m looking forward to a successful season.”
The Rocks are still hoping to make one more signing before the regular season tips off on 21 September at Sheffield. Meanwhile, the squad will get a good test against the “USA Select” squad of travelling American collegiate all-stars at Kelvin Hall on Tuesday night. Tip off is 7:15. Entry is £2 for adults and £1 for children. Entry for Rocks season ticket holders is free.
Posted on 08 September, 2007
