(NO) RETURN TO OZ

His bags were packed, the flight home was just days away and Adrien Sturt was about to say farewell to the UK.

But then the Plymouth Raiders called and Sturt put those plans on hold as he opted for one last season in the BBL.

“I was originally going back to Australia with my wife and kids as we’ve looking to move out there,” he explained.

“Daryl [Corletto, Raiders’ player-coach] hit me up before the season started and was like ‘do you want to come play?’ I was like, ‘no, I’m going back to Australia.’

“When they made a few roster changes, I was actually about to fly out a week later, but I’ve changed my flight and will now most likely jet out as soon as the season is over.”

Sturt added, “Daryl is a good friend of mine, I’ve known him for ten years and we played together in Melbourne, so I’ve come down here to help him out.

“It feels to be good to be playing again.”

With a strong Aussie feel to the team, Sturt is now playing alongside guys he grew up playing either with or against in Australia and enjoys the style of basketball that Corletto is advocating.

“Australian basketball is a little different style of play as some of the guys are still trying to understand it,” he said.

“It’s a little more physical and not quite as fast.”

He added, “I’ve grown up with a bunch of these guys and played against them when I was younger. We all kind of play the same sort of way and it’s been easy to slot in.”

This definitely looks like Sturt’s last go round in the BBL, a career that has seen him play for the likes of London Lions, Cheshire Phoenix and the long-forgotten Essex Pirates.

It doesn’t necessarily mean the end of his basketball career though.

“I had basketball offers to go back and play, but we’ll see when it comes to it,” he said.

“I will look into that when I move.”