Wilson cut from Lady Braves

By Travis King
Updated November 7 2012 - 7:03am, first published February 6 2012 - 10:18am

Bendigo basketball star Kelly Wilson was a surprise omission from the Bendigo Lady Braves roster for the 2012 SEABL season.Wilson – who is currently playing her fourth season with the Bendigo Spirit in the WNBL – was a Lady Braves vice-captain last year and was the SEABL’s Most Valuable Player in 2009, but there was no room for her in this year’s new-look squad.Champions IGA Lady Braves coach Lukas Carey has made eight changes to last season’s roster, bringing in a number of players with WNBL experience.Logan Thunder guard Renae Camino and Townsville Fire’s Mia Newley head the list of new faces, which also includes Bulleen Boomer Kerryn Harrington and West Coast Waves forward Melissa Smith.Former Spirit player Madeleine Garrick will return to Bendigo after finishing her WNBL season with the AIS, while Lucy Dawson joins from Frankston.Drouin product Skye Rees has also joined the club after graduating from the University of Arkansas, where she played college basketball, and Lucy Spalding returns to the team after missing last season.Sarah Strange and Jane Chalmers are the only players retained from last season.Surprised and disappointed at being dumped from the Lady Braves squad, 27-year-old Wilson said she wanted to continue her SEABL career and had been talking to clubs in Melbourne.“It’s not really my choice that I have to go; it’s a tough decision for me but I really do want to (keep playing),” Wilson said.“I love playing in Bendigo – I was surprised, it’s not ideal for me to have to seek somewhere else.“Bendigo is home for me now, I would possibly travel (to Melbourne to play).”Carey said it was a difficult decision to let Wilson go, but felt she would get better opportunities at another club.“Kelly’s a fantastic basketballer. I’m thinking there’s definitely some opportunities without me as a coach and she’ll get more opportunities elsewhere,” Carey said.Carey believed he had assembled an athletic and exciting squad which he hoped would see the Lady Braves improve on last year’s semi-final knockout.“We’re very deep (as a squad), we’re deeper than we have been in the last few years,” he said.Carey said signing 23-year-old Newley would bring added firepower to the team.

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