We’ve already announced that we signed Mike Williams as our first major signing. Mike was a McDonalds All-American which means he was one of the best 30 high school players in his class. He played in that game with people who are household names in basketball circles like Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. Mike played at the University of Texas before transferring to the University of Cincinnati to finish his career. At Texas he was in a final 8 in NCAA March Madness.
If anyone’s been listening to us, this part won’t surprise you. He’s a great guy. He played for Coach Salerno in Vermont and Joe thinks he’s a great guy. He’ll be a great addition to the Island community.
So how do you recruit a guy like this to PEI? Well, it’s complicated and competitive. Several other NBL teams were interested in Mike, and one in particular was pushing hard. What people might not know is that the NBL has a standard player contract for all players so all the basic terms of signing a player to any team are the same. Doesn’t leave you much to negotiate on. Like so many things in life, what it comes down to is relationships. His relationship with Coach Salerno was the critical factor. So, maybe our big recruit came before our big recruit.
We are continuing to sign first rate players. We think this establishes us as a serious contender in the first season of the NBL. If anyone had any doubts about the calibre of basketball in this league, they should be gone. Can’t wait to toss it up and get started.
