Foot Locker Elite Classic Welcomes Sixth Team, as Overseas Player Draft nears.
Patrick Reidy and Matt Shanahan have committed to the ‘Foot Locker Elite Classic – High Stakes Hoops’ event and purchased the Team Rights to the ‘Rays’, it was announced today.
The duo, with close to 900 NBL games between them, have worked behind the scenes on the acquisition of the Rays and a potential roster for the past few weeks.
Townsville-based Reidy and Melbourne-based Shanahan are well connected in basketball circles and have been actively involved in the game since their respective retirements from the NBL.
With 468 games under his belt including a Championship with the Giants in 1994, and 104 games for Australia including the 1996 Olympics and 1994 World Championships, Reidy is looking forward to an official return to basketball.
“The ‘Foot Locker Elite Classic – High Stakes Hoops’ tournament has the makings of a fantastic addition to the Australian basketball calendar. Live free-to-air TV on ONE, a nice winner’s cheque and interesting new rules will make these games fun to watch, competitive and exciting”, Reidy said today.
Shanahan, the former South Dragons captain with three NBL Championships and more than 400 games over 16 NBL seasons on his resume, has been keen to return to the sport that he has so recently stepped away from at the highest level.
The Australian Institute of Sport graduate and former Australian Under 21 World Championship Silver Medalist has been eyeing the ‘Foot Locker Elite Classic – High Stakes Hoops’ event for some time, before knocking heads together with Reidy to pool their collective connections in the hope of taking home the cheque.
Shanahan is looking forward to the event contributing some excitement to the landscape.
“I think the ‘Foot Locker Elite Classic – High Stakes Hoops’ event is great, an innovative idea that will be exciting for both players and fans. It will help bring basketball back to its ‘glory days’ and at the same time showcase talent in an entirely new way.” Shanahan stated today.
Shanahan, an up & coming coach, and Reidy, who earned a reputation as a player with an amazing grasp on virtually every element of the game, who mastered the fundamentals, should be well placed to have the Rays team ready. Their team will face opposition led by such names as Bruce Bolden, Brett Maher and Daryl McDonald
The Rays’ roster, and those of the other teams, will begin to take shape over the next few weeks, and announcements will be made accordingly.
An ECB announcement on the seventh and eighth teams is expected early next week.
The Overseas Player Draft, announced in Adelaide earlier this week, will have its Selection Order for the eight teams determined on Friday, March 5th, with the Draft itself occurring on Monday, March 8th. Each of the ECB teams will be allowed to select three players, one first round, second round, and third round selection, from a pool of potential international players, who most nominate by midnight, March 5th.
Players drafted must be able to travel on April 2nd and will be flown into Australia, accommodated with their teams, and returned home on April 12th, directly after the Foot Locker Elite Classic – High Stakes Hoops event concludes. Overseas drafted players as well as those from within Australia are all eligible for prize money splits and automatically entered in the “$10,000 Game Breaker Challenge” during the event.
