The Airwaves Plymouth Raiders have added their third signing of the summer, with the news that American forward Terry Horton will be joining the team for the 2009/10 season.
Horton, a 27 year old, 6'4" small forward comes to the Raiders after having spent 2 seasons in Germany and also playing in the IBL in the USA. He graduated in 2004 from Alabama A&M University with a reputation for being a dangerous shooter, but also someone who gets to the basket well.
"Terry had an outstanding senior year at Alabama A & M," said Raiders Coach Gary Stronach. "He then moved on to play pro basketball in Germany where he averaged around 20 points a game in a tough league. He's going to help us enormously as he can also rebound the ball well. He'll bring us a lot of energy at both ends of the floor."
The IBL season runs from April to June, and Horton has made a fantastic name for himself in the league while playing as team captain of the Central Oregon Hotshots. He finished this season 8th in the league in scoring, with an average of 24 per game, and was second in the league in rebounding, averaging 10.8 per game. He was one of only two players in the league averaging a double double (double figures in points and rebounds) – the other being Lamond Murray, the former NBA star. He was this year selected as one of the league All Stars.
He's also highly thought of in Germany, where he has been playing in the highly competitive German B league. While playing for Iserlohn Kangaroos in 2007/08, he finished the season in the top 5 in scoring, averaging 21.1 points (top in field goals made) and also in finishing in the top 10 in rebounding averaging 8.6 per game (top in offensive rebounds). Horton was a three time Player of the Week Selection and was voted as one of the Top 5 players in the Pro B by eurobasket.com as a 1st All German Team Selection.
While at University, Horton put up some great numbers in a traditionally tough league – the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). He finished his senior season averaging 15.1 points per game and lead his team to the Conference final with an outstanding performance in the Semi.
Horton himself is keen to get to Plymouth and get started. "I'm really looking forward to coming to Plymouth this upcoming season and playing for a Coach, Team, and Fan Base that have a history of winning and succeeding. I am looking forward to hopefully helping the team pick up where they left off last season, but this year, I want to help the team win the BBL Championship. That is definitely my ultimate goal for this year. I'm going to bring an energy and excitement to the team that will carry over to a winning attitude, and I'll give 110% on every play of every game and in practice. To say I'm excited is an understatement!"
As with American point guard Eric Flato, who signed with the Raiders earlier this week, Raiders have applied to England Basketball and the Home Office for a work permit. "We're moving forward as quick as we can with the paperwork to make sure this is all sorted out early on," said Raiders Chief Executive, Dave Briggs. "Terry is coming to us with a great reputation, but some very solid recommendations as well, particularly from Mikal Duilio, the IBL League Commissioner, who not only praises his basketball talents, but also Terry as a person. We're definitely looking forward to having Terry here this season, and I'm sure the fans are really going to enjoy watching him."
Source: www.bbl.org.uk
