MOSES SEEKS OUT PROMISED LAND

Victor Moses wants to start pushing Cheshire Phoenix up the table after making a strong start to his pro career.

The American is one of four new recruits for the Nix after head-coach John Lavery made a number of changes from his original roster, resulting in Calvin Clemmons, Yannick Crowder, Masse Doumbe and Shawn Myers all departing the club. Kai Williams, Gerald Robinson and more recently Devan Bailey joined late along with Moses, and he believes the current squad is capable of atoning for the poor start.

“The 2-7 record that we currently have does not reflect the team’s talent at all,” the American said. “We’re all confident in what we have here and feel that we can be just as good as the other top teams in the league.

“When you have a great floor general like Reggie Middleton, two deadly shooters like Kai Williams and Dominique Coleman, and another dominant forward in Gerald Robinson, the game is made a whole lot easier on both ends of the court.”

In recent weeks, Cheshire have competed with the league leaders Sheffield and Leicester and battled right to the end against London despite only having five players at their disposal. With an already small roster, Robinson and Coleman picked up injuries leaving the starting 5 to play the full game against the Lions but Moses has taken heart from his side’s performances of late.

“It’s very encouraging to know that we battled to the end against some of the leagues best teams despite being short-handed at times. We feel that if we start executing down the stretch we will be able to start winning those close games.”

Arriving as a late addition, the American’s confidence is sky-high having led his college side Georgetown Tigers to NAIA Championship glory in March, whilst claiming the Player of the Year honours in the process, leaving him in high demand over the summer.

“I had a few other offers over the summer but I felt that the UK would be a great place to start my career. So far it has been a smooth transition and I’m enjoying my time here,” said Moses.

And, the 23 year-old has been thrown straight into the deep end, playing the full 40 minutes in his last three league outings although Moses was aware of his expected role prior to his arrival and played down the physical demand of the task.

“Before I joined the team, Coach (John) Lavery told me that he would have a very small roster and that I would be playing big minutes. The last 3 games haven’t been too tough on me as the coaches do a great job of calling timeouts to allow us to recuperate, and try to keep us from tiring throughout the game.”

Moses has made the most of his extensive minutes by producing some huge performances already, quickly matching Worcester’s Will Creekmore as a certified double-double candidate every time he steps on the court. The most notable of four double-doubles in five games, was his 24-17 showing against the Sharks and the 6’6″ forward currently averages an impressive 21 points per game as well as 14 rebounds.

With Moses in the thick of the action, Nix fans will harbour renewed hope of a change in fortunes as the season progresses and the current roster begins to gel together. Phoenix are currently sitting in 10th place after nine games and with a gradual split in the league developing, Moses is keen for his side to avoid further behind in their quest for the post-season.

He said: “The play-offs are definitely still a firm target for us but I believe the next few games are very important to ensure the gap above us doesn’t widen.”

Assessing his own start so far, Moses said: “I feel that I have gotten off to a good start in the BBL and I’ve been pleased with my individual contributions so far.”

While the American is doing his best to make a name for himself on the court, his name immediately attracted the attention of neutrals off the court, because his namesake plays in football’s English Premier League for Liverpool.

“I’ve known about him for quite some time now. I still think it’s funny that I share my name with a well-known footballer and we’re in such close proximity to each other. I would love to go see Victor Moses and Liverpool play while I’m out here.”