Glasgow Rocks captain Rob Yanders has been released from the Great Britain squad as coach Chris Finch prepares to finalise his roster for Monday's opening European Championship qualifier against Hungary.
The Milwaukee-born guard always faced a battle with team-mate Nate Reinking to secure the lone berth permitted for a naturalised player. However he revealed that he rejected an offer from GB coach Chris Finch to remain with the side in case injuries struck.
“It’s been a good experience and a really different one for me. I was pleased that I scored 15 points in my last game so I could go out on a high. But Chris told me that his decision wasn’t to do with my talent, just that he could only keep one naturalised player in his team and otherwise, I’d have been in. But he’s said I’m in his plans for the future. I knew it would be difficult for me because Nate’s been by Chris’ side for the last seven years. I’m up against a giant there. But he’ll be 39 by the time the London Olympics come around around so I’ll have another shot.
Finch, who joined his team on a tour of London's Olympic Park on Friday, is likely to take 12 players to face the Hungarians with Luol Deng now available to feature on the court. Yanders must wait another 12 months for his next chance and has returned to the USA while finalising his club destination for next season, which looks increasingly likely to be in Spain's LEB Oro League rather than in Glasgow.
"I need to do things to get ready for the new season and I wouldn’t have been able to do that effectively without being on court," said Yanders. "But Chris was really straight up with me. He's a stand up guy who I really respect. And I hope I can come back next year and make the squad. I just want to focus on being at the start of camp for whatever club I join and learning their system. "
.
Showing posts with label Rob Yanders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rob Yanders. Show all posts
Friday, 30 July 2010
Monday, 26 July 2010
Reinking and Yanders must scrap for one place, admits Finch
Glasgow Rocks captain Rob Yanders has been handed three games to prove that he deserves a place in Great Britain’s European Championship plans by coach Chris Finch.
With just one naturalised player allowed per team, the American-born guard will have to compete with Nate Reinking for a spot in the final 12-man squad over a trio of warm-up friendlies in Tel Aviv, starting today against Belgium.
And Finch has signalled that Yanders needs to show he can make the step up from the BBL to the international stage.
“I coached Rob in Sheffield in his first year in Britain and he’s my type of guy,” said Finch. “He’s tough, he’s smart and he makes big plays. He’s a good team-mate. Unfortunately, he and Nate are battling it for the only naturalised spot.
“For Rob, his opportunities will come if he proves himself as a point guard which we need. It will be interesting because they’re both good players but we can’t play them both at the same time.”
.
With just one naturalised player allowed per team, the American-born guard will have to compete with Nate Reinking for a spot in the final 12-man squad over a trio of warm-up friendlies in Tel Aviv, starting today against Belgium.
And Finch has signalled that Yanders needs to show he can make the step up from the BBL to the international stage.
“I coached Rob in Sheffield in his first year in Britain and he’s my type of guy,” said Finch. “He’s tough, he’s smart and he makes big plays. He’s a good team-mate. Unfortunately, he and Nate are battling it for the only naturalised spot.
“For Rob, his opportunities will come if he proves himself as a point guard which we need. It will be interesting because they’re both good players but we can’t play them both at the same time.”
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
