The Bendigo Braves have signed exciting guard Dyami Starks as their first import for the 2017 SEABL season.
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Starks replaces Jeremy Kendle after the reigning league MVP decided not to return to Bendigo for a second season.
Starks had a great college career with the Bryant University Bulldogs where he averaged 18.6 points per game in his senior year to be the leading scorer in the North East Conference.
That season he was tied for 10th in three-pointers made in the entire division one college system.
“Dyami is a scorer,’’ Braves coach Ben Harvey said.
“He can put the ball on the floor and get to the ring or he has the range to shoot the three. He’s not a bad defender as well.
“Dyami is coming to Bendigo to play in the spot that Jeremy (Kendle) played and it’s going to be unfair to compare the two, but I’m very confident that Dyami is going to be a very good player in our league.”
Starks, 24, graduated from college last year and played one season of basketball in Kazakhstan before signing with the Braves.
“I went through a lot of video tape and made a lot of phone calls and I expect Dyami is going to fit in well with us on and off the court,’’ Harvey said.
“He was captain of his college in his senior year, so he has leadership skills, which is important for us. He understands the role we want him to play in the community as well.
“We want Dyami to be our primary scorer. He’s had 35 point games in college, so that shows his scoring ability.
“He’s had limited experience internationally, but he’s young and he’s hungry to show that he can play at this level.”
Earlier this week the Braves signed Adelaide 36ers NBL player Adam Doyle to replace Kevin White as the club’s point guard.
Starks will play the shooting guard role vacated by Kendle and Harvey is closing in on a replacement for the club’s second import Damian Johnson, who retired after last season’s national championship win.
“Our second import will be a similar type of player to (power forward) Damian Johnson,’’ Harvey said.
“We want someone who is a good defensive player, who can block shots and give us some scoring punch.
“We’ll have a similar style of play to last year and we’ve got some strong local talent coming through as well.”