Kularoos Plymouth Raiders have made a spectacular last second signing, strengthening their team ahead of the BBL Cup Winners Cup game on the 9^th September. Point guard Anthony Martin has signed for the team, a move necessitated by the on-going rehab to Gavin Love’s ankle.

Martin was born in Leeds, but was brought up in the Bronx, New York City. He played for the Chester Jets in the BBL in 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons, and played a significant role for the team. In his second season, he averaged 6 assists per game, ranking third in the BBL, along with 9 points a game. More than anything though, his devastating speed earned him the reputation as a player that nobody liked to guard. “He’s lightning fast,” said Raiders Head Coach Gary Stronach, visibly excited by the announcement. “He can blow past defenders and he creates so many opportunities for other players and I’m really excited that he’s decided to join us in Plymouth. I had to move quickly to get Anthony and it was all sorted out in just a couple of days.”

Anthony will be at the Raiders’ press evening on Monday 3^rd September and will have a week to build up a good understanding with the rest of the squad. Coach Stronach added, “He’s a great point guard, he likes to get his teammates involved as much as he can, and his performances with Chester prove that he’s going to be a valuable part of our success this year. It’s going to enable me to mix the team up a little bit. Brody can play shooting guard as well as point guard, and there are times when we may even go with 3 guards and have a small and very quick team on the court. He knows what it takes to be successful in this league, helping lead Chester to the league title in 2005.”

With Drew Lasker and Anthony Martin, Raiders will now have one of the quickest guard lineups in the country. “We already had a quick team, but adding Anthony to the team has made us even quicker. We’re going to be hard to match up with this year, and it makes the team even deeper,” said Raiders Chief Executive Dave Briggs. “The board were excited by what they heard, and gave Gary the go-ahead to get Anthony in. It all happened very quickly at the end of last week and he only flew in on Sunday. With his pedigree and league championship experience, I guarantee that there isn’t a team in the country who wouldn’t be excited to have signed him.”

Martin played for Adelaide Stevenson High School in New York, before moving to Brookhaven Junior College in Texas where he put up some great statistics – 13 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists per game in his second year. He finished University playing for Texas Wesleyan in NCAA Division 1, before signing with Chester Jets and helping them record 32 wins en route to the league title in 04/05.