Ken Masser, General Manger of Basketball England’s Lancashire Spinners, has announced that forward Mike Bernard has returned for a second season with the Bury-based club.
“Mike is one of the recognisable names in British basketball and he’s already given back a tremendous amount to the game,” said Masser. “I look forward to having him back with the Spinners, as he was important to our success last season and will be a great addition to the coaching staff at Myerscough College.”
Bernard, 38, started in 32 of 36 games for the Spinners contributing 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds. His 143 field goals ranked joint third on the team whilst he shot 56.3 percent from the field. The former Manchester Giant had a personal best 24 points in a win over Derby on Dec. 12, leading the team in scoring on four occasions.
Prior to joining Lancashire in 2015-16, the Manchester native played for the reincarnated Manchester Giants for two seasons having been part of the original team from 1994 through 1998. He left for America where he attended Coffeyville Community College (1998-2000) and Southern Florida (2000-02).
Bernard began his professional career with Greek club Panionios before moving in 2003 to Pallacanestro Messina in Italy, though he spent the majority of the 2003-04 at Pallacanestro Cantu. The forward left for German club EWE Oldenburg, but returned to Italy in 2005 to Upea Capo d’Orlando and Teramo (2005-07).
He briefly played for CEZ Basketball Nymburk at the start the 2007-08 season, but opted for another return to Italy with Eldo Napoli. The forward concluded his continental career with Greece’s APOEL Nicosia (2008), Brest (2009), Crabs Rimini (2009-10) and Astrum Levice (2010-2012).
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