Glasgow Rocks captain Kieron Achara wants the club’s owners to move quickly to agree new deals with the core of this season’s squad to boost their hopes of a BBL title challenge next term.
The Great Britain captain is one of several players out of contract this summer but is expected to be top of the priority list for coach Sterling Davis once the American has settled his own future at the Emirates Arena.
New Rocks owner Duncan Smillie has pledged to find the funds to add extra depth to the line-up after injuries wrecked any hope of a concerted championship push.
And even though Glasgow exited the BBL Playoffs in the quarter-finals to end another campaign without a trophy, Achara has insisted that a show of faith in the current team will pay off.
“Continuity isn’t essential, but it definitely helps,” said the Scot. “We’ve got a group who are working hard to improve but when you bring in new guys, you just don’t know how they’ll adjust to us. There’s community work to do. Adjusting to Glasgow, the weather, a new place to stay. There are a lot of factors to get used to. Past that, there’s basketball.
“But at the same time, having the same squad can bring complacency. We need to get a direction for what we’re trying to achieve, figure our system and then get the personnel to fit. But I hope next year, the core returns and we are pushing for a championship.”
With a contract extension for Davis expected to be a formality, he will have to make tough decisions over whether to bring back American point guard Neil Watson, who frequently struggled to run the offense at critical points, and on how to construct a roster able to cope with the temporary absence of multiple players if Scotland earn a spot at next year’s Commonwealth Games.
But after reaching the BBL Cup Final and coming third in the league this term, Achara believes it will only take small improvements to become a contender.
“I’m proud of the way our guys fight,” he maintained. “We showed our inexperience at times. But I’d love to come back with his group next year. I felt comfortable with this group. We showed improvement. I look at the positives. We had a good season, apart from a bad spell in December and January. But it’s ended here.”
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