Local boy Jay Marriott has signed a contract with the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders for the 2009/10 season. Following Marriott's highly successful return to Plymouth last season to play with Raiders 2, it's a move that was much expected this summer.
The 6'5" Marriott left Plymouth in 2002 to attend Monterrey Peninsula Junior College in the USA and from here he moved to Hungary and then to the Birmingham Bullets in 2004, where he played 30 games, a number of these against the Raiders. The following season, Marriott moved to Ireland to play in the Superleague there for Team Merry Monk Ballina.
While playing for Ballina, Jay played against new Raiders player Matt Hilleary, and he's glad to be playing with him this season, rather than against him. "He was the superstar of the league in Ireland. I told Gary that Hilleary was a player more than capable of making a huge impact in the BBL – little did I know he was already talking to him!" A year then playing for Cosehisa Monzon in Spain's EBA league was followed by another spell in the irish Superleague playing for Neptune Cork before returning to Plymouth last November. Towards the end of the 2008/09 season, Marriott made his debut for Plymouth in the BBL and it's an appearance that he is keen to build on this year.
"This is a dream come true for me," said Marriott. "There was a time when this seemed so far away and I would like to say a massive thank you to coach and the Raiders family, not just for this opportunity but for looking after me last year under difficult circumstances for myself. I'm excited to be part of this new look Raiders team and I'm hoping to bring a great deal of versatilty to the side. I'm happy to do whatever coach wants me to do. If we play hard, stick together, and remember to have fun whilst doing it, then I think we are going to surprise a lot of people. I can't wait for the season to start – playing in front of family and friends means the world to me and I get to do it in the Raiders green! Good times!"
Whilst playing with Raiders 2 in Division 2 last year, Marriott trained several times a week with the Raiders BBL team, and impressed Raiders coach Gary Stronach with his effort and abilities. "Jay had a great season in Division 2 last year. When he was invited to train with the BBL squad at the beginning of the year (2009) I was very impressed with his attitude and willingness to work hard every day in practice. He's going to help us a lot off the bench this season at the shooting guard/small forward spot."
Source: www.bbl.org.uk
