The Lancashire Spinners Basketball Club and Myerscough College have agreed to form an exclusive educational partnership aimed at creating a player pathway to elite level basketball in England.
Starting in 2016-17 with an initial one-year deal, the agreement could potentially run through the 2018-19 season, and will prioritise the development of student athletes as a key area of focus alongside required studies to pursue advanced educational degrees.
“Bringing Neal [Hopkins] on board early to see if we could ultimately make this work was important,” said Spinners General Manger Ken Masser. “He’s a visionary, who has already taken the Myerscough Academy to exceptional heights in a relatively short period and we know he’ll continue do the same as our head coach.”
In return for the use of Myerscough campus training facilities for practices and occasional games, the Spinners will reciprocate substantial advertising across the website, social media channels and on game days, as well as recruitment and adequate opportunities for players on the first-team squad.
“The significance of working with Myerscough College is huge,” said Hopkins. “The development of a pathway in which talented junior players have a chance to play at a level that suits their ambition is key for their success. Ken has fully supported what I hope to accomplish and we’ve already been fortunate to have great talent play under the Spinners name.”
Lancashire had five players on its roster in 2015-16 from Myerscough, including Alex Roberts, Cian Hickey, Zion Tordoff, Kyle Carey and George Darling with the latter two signing athletic scholarships to attend NCAA Division I institutions in the United States.
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