Cheshire Phoenix is delighted to announce its initial ten-man roster for the 2024-25 Super League Basketball campaign, featuring a core of returning players alongside two standout performers acquired from rival clubs, and two exciting new talents to British basketball.
Since ending last season with heartbreak at the O2 Arena on 19th May – when NBA star Sam Dekker hit a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining to condemn the Nix to an 88-85 Play-off Final defeat – the club has worked tirelessly to build on what was still its most successful season in two decades, and the best of the Phoenix era since 2012.
That success included winning the silverware in January in what was described as the biggest upset in British basketball history, in front of a capacity crowd at Utilita Arena, Birmingham, and live on Sky Sports. That was followed by a second-placed finish in the league and a post-season run all the way to the Play-off Final, winning 70% of games overall including 10 straight over January and February.
Returning from that team are league veteran Skyler White, American stars Cam Christon and Cam Holden, and local North West talents David Ulph and Greg Wild.
Sharp-shooting White will be in his fourth campaign in Britain’s top flight and second with the Nix, having averaged 10 points per game last time out with five games of at least 20 points, each including six or more three-point makes, most notably in the Trophy semi-final win over Leicester Riders.
Christon averaged 11 points per game and continued to add individual accolades as he was voted 6th Man of the Year in his first season as a professional, adding to his SWAC Player of the Year award while at Grambling State University in 2023.
Holden became renowned for his high-energy two-way performances and averaged five points, three rebounds and two assists, while epitomising the team’s playing style beyond the stat sheet, including two excellent showings over the Trophy Finals Weekend, and near triple-doubles against Leicester Riders and Manchester Giants.
North West basketball stalwart David Ulph has over 150 top flight games and returns for his third seasons with Cheshire, Ulph a former All-British Team of the Year selection. At just 22-years-old, Wild has already been around the top flight for three seasons and will look to expand his role in his second year in Cheshire, having exploded for 16 points in a Trophy group stage win over Sheffield Sharks in January.
Alongside these returners from last season, the club is delighted to welcome back Tahjai Teague, the 6’8” Indianapolis native who averaged 11 points and five rebounds for the 2022-23 Nix side that was the Trophy runners-up and finished 5th in the league. After suffering a season-ending injury, he returned to the floor for Rustavi in Georgia last year.
The four new names to the club are TJ Atwood, RJ Eytle-Rock, Ricky Clemons, and Tyreek Scott-Grayson.
Versatile American forward TJ Atwood averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Plymouth City Patriots last season, and was a All-Star selection. That followed a successful year at BK Iskra Svit where he finished second in the Slovakian league in 2022-23, and a college career at Lamar University in the Southland Conference.
Great Britain international guard RJ Eytle-Rock earned his first call-up for the senior national team last season, while starting and averaging eight points per game for Sheffield Sharks as they finished fourth in the league. The product of Barking Abbey’s youth system had previously had an extremely successful college career at Utah State and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).
New to these shores, 24-year-old 6’2” American point guard Ricky Clemons joins from Michelin Etha Engomis, where last season he led the Cypriot league in assists, averaging 13 points, five rebounds and six assists per game. He was previously a Big South All-Tournament Team selection while averaging 14 points per game as a senior for the Campbell University Fighting Camels.
He is joined by 25-year-old 6’5” New Jersey born guard Tyreek Scott-Grayson, who played for Timisoara in Romania last season, having previously averaged 13 points per game at Old Dominion University and 10 points per game for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He featured in the cross-continental Alpe-Adria Cup last season, averaging 11 points and five rebounds and hitting a buzzer-beater to win the semi-final, before coming up just short by two points in the final.
Head Coach Ben Thomas said “After a really successful season we wanted to bring as many players back as possible and I feel we have brought back a really good core group! We will be new team, but we will be looking to play a similar way and try to double down on some key characteristics of the team.
The new guys coming in bring a mix of experience, some from British basketball and a couple from other leagues in Europe. I’m excited to get to work with this team, everybody is motivated to be competing and hopefully we can bring another successful season to NixNation!”
This announcement confirms the departures of Aaryn Rai, Ethan Chargois, Laquincy Rideau, EJ Stephens, Dan Rudd and Maceo Jack, the latter of whom was recently announced at Orleans in France. All leave with the best wishes of everyone at the club for future success in their careers, and we thank them for their incredible contributions to an historic season for Cheshire Phoenix.
Further details about each of the upcoming season’s signings will follow, including the specific thoughts of Coach Thomas and the players themselves.