Newcastle Eagles are thrilled to announce that they have captured their first new face for the 2009/10 season with the recruitment of Marquette graduate Joe Chapman.
The 6ft 4in guard who made it to an NCAA Final Four during his first year in College alongside NBA star Dwayne Wade, has enjoyed spells in Mexico, Columbia and Czech Republic.
Chapman joins the Eagles after having enjoyed a stunning spell this year back in Mexico with Caballeros De Culiacan in the CIBACOPA league where he averaged 28.2 points per game.
Eagles Managing Director Paul Blake is looking forward to Chapman joining the club and is confident he will be a good addition to the team.
"Joe has enjoyed a good College career playing with some great players like Dwayne Wade and since then he has also done pretty well in all of the pro-leagues he has played in."
"He had a good season in the Czech Republic where he averaged double digits two years ago and we feel this kind of form in a comparable league would definitely be just the kind of thing we are looking for."
"It is an exciting kind of signing for us among the familiar faces we have brought back and he comes with some solid credentials while he was recently awarded the Mexican CIBACOPA guard of the year for 2009."
"As with any new player it depends on how he fits in of course but we think he will be a great addition and his flexibility as a combo guard is important."
"We had that last year with Trey (Moore) and it is something that we needed to retain."
"Having come out of a good programme and shown that he can be anything from a role player to a main guy depending on the circumstances he definitely has the all round game and firepower that Fab (Flournoy) has been looking for."
In terms of subsequent additions to the roster, Blake did hint that further names would be added.
"We might add in another experienced face if possible and we have some exciting developments as always with the up and coming guys."
"As always we continue to place a real focus on developing talent and that is where we will be turning our main focus towards now."
Source: www.bbl.org.uk
