Hume City Broncos have locked in both their imports ahead of next year’s Big V women’s state championship season.
The Broncos under new coach Carey ‘Paps’ Papanicolau haven’t wasted any time in locking in the key pieces of their squad,
Victoria Morris joins the club having played college ball for Rutgers Women’s Basketball and having represented St. Louis Surge Women’s Basketball as well as Fjolnir Karfa in Iceland most recently.
Adrienne Darden adds some height to the Broncos line up.
The 196 centimetre centre is expected to provide an imposing presence on the court and has played college ball for the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Coppin State University.
Papanicolau said both players were expected to arrive in Australia in early February which would give all the players a couple of months to get used to being on court together.
“Adrienne is a 6’5 player,” Papanicolau said. “She brings some nice size for us and we were looking for a post player and she fits that.
“She’s a pretty good passer and good shooter.
“Our other import, Victoria, is a point guard. We’ve liked what we’ve seen and we think she will be a good fit “
Joining the two imports at the Broncos is Genevieve Mucha, who crosses from the Sherbrooke Suns.
Brittany Ridlen, who was at the Broncos a couple of years ago returns, having been at the Melbourne Tigers most recently.
Papanicolau said for the most part they had kept their core group together. He said he was excited for the challenge having spent the past five years at Wallan.
“It’s exciting with all the young girls,” he said. “Once we get into trying we will get to know each other and we want to improve on last year.”
The Broncos have also locked in their men’s imports for next season as they look to go one step better than the grand final.
Malik McKinney was the first signing for the Broncos men’s side and comes straight out of college.
“Malik has represented Seton Hall Men’s Basketball and West Liberty University Athletics where he was a part of the Mountain East Conference Tournament winning team this year,” the Broncos said on social media.
“He recorded 16 points, five rebounds and three assists in the title clinching game, finishing the season with averages of 11.9 points, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.”
The other import, is a familiar name in the Big V competition, Scottie Stone.
Stone, an American, joins the Broncos from the Western Port Steelers, where he led the state championship division in scoring.
A combo guard, Stone averaged 28.9ppg while shooting over 52 per cent from the field.
He also added averages of 6.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals to earn All-Star 5 honours last season.
Tara Murray
