It is going to be a huge season for British Basketball, as the London Lions will be the focus of many as they debut in the Basketball Champions League.
The Lions are already deep in their pre-season preparations, as they learned their fate this week should they lose in their Basketball Champions League Group Stage qualifiers.
Lions in Europe
The Lions were amongst the fourth seeds and were placed into Group E and will face either Dnipro or Donar Groningen, Belfius Mons-Hainault, or Anwil Wloclawek and Sporting or Fribourg in the FIBA Europe Cup, should they fail to qualify for the Basketball Champions League group stages.
The Champions League Qualifiers have also now been changed to Final Four’s as a series to qualify for the Group Stages of the Basketball Champions League.
It isn't all so simple for the Lions to get into the group stage, as they will have to play the winners of the other semi-final between Balkan Botevgrad and Tsmoki Minsk in a one-off Final, should they beat their Lithuanian opposition in Neptunas Klaipeda.
This is uncharted waters for the Lions and a huge step forward, as they try to establish themselves in Europe; this year will mark the first-ever appearance from a British side in the Basketball Champions League.
This was one of the goals for coach Vince Macaulay, who said:
"Our first goals were to be embraced by the community in the first three to four years, to be challenging for honors within the first three to four years, and to be champions and challenging to enter Europe within a period of five to seven years.”
Return of the MVP
The Lions have begun to prepare already for this historic new season by bringing back some familiar faces.
Two-time BBL MVP, Justin Robinson, signed on for a further two years as the Lions embark on a European challenge and the star is an integral piece for the club, with coach Macaulay knowing he's got the right man for his backcourt leading the way.
“He is a true professional and the culture at the club is largely down to him and his work ethic," said Macauley.
"Having him in the side as we embark on this next historic step by the Club means we all know we will be fine”.
Robinson is joined by the return of 6’10 center, Kervin Bristol, who spent last season in Ukraine with MBC Mykolaiv.
Other returnees include captain Joe Ikhinmwin, Andre Lockhart, Edmir Lucas, and Jules Dang-Akodo.
New faces in the Pride
The new additions to the roster are sure to bring experience and talent for the Lions as they look to bolster the squad for Europe and the upcoming league.
The signing of NBA veteran, DeAndre Liggins, who comes with a wealth of talent that could be used at the Lions' disposal, playing for NBA teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
Liggins brings a championship mentality with achievements - being a G-League Champion [ Sioux Falls Skyforce ] in 2016, also an All-Star and two-time G-League Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and 2016 too.
This a signing with a lot of upsides, not only for the team, but for the league.
Coach Macaulay said, “This is a great opportunity for us all in British basketball, Deandre is an unbelievable hard worker, we wanted someone that would nullify the highest of European talent and we think we have him.
"His experience, his team ethos will no doubt spread into our team, I’m delighted we could sign him and I’m sure all our fans will take him to their hearts.”
The Lions also secured the services of versatile highflyer, Dirk Williams.
This is sure to be one of the exciting signings the Lions made this offseason, coming off a season with Zalakeramia ZTE KK over in Hungary, where Williams averaged 17 points a game on career shooting at, 51% from the floor and an impressive 47% from behind the arc.
Williams is not a stranger to the BBL plying his trade for the Sheffield Sharks before his move to Hungary.
The opportunity to return in BBL and play in the BCL excites the 6’6 guard, who said: “I am very excited for this opportunity to play back in the BBL and even more excited to get a chance to play in the Basketball Champions League.
I think this will be good for British Basketball if we can go forward and win some games.”
The Lions have also added really impressive signings in the shape of Kevin Ware, Chris Tawiah, Kingsley Okroh, Shane Walker and Josh Ward-Hibbert.
With plenty of time before the Lions' first fixture in mid-September, it is likely that more signings are likely to follow.