LONDON (AP) — With the season at the midway point, the London Knights have recovered from a slow start to being in a tight race with the Boston Buzzards for first place in the NatEast. The team spent the early parts of the year integrating prized free agent signee Bryant Walsh into the starting lineup as well as several new faces. Kelvin Corr, Jonah Wilde, Theron Brown and Patrick Maxon all received opportunities with the club. Corr came to London via a trade with the Honolulu Inferno for Harold Sammons and Evaristo Gonzalez while the others signed for the veteran minimum.
In a surprising move the coach staff settled on Trevor Collin as the starting center. Fans might have forgotten the name after London selected him with the 13th pick in the 2031 draft. The burly big man has done little to distinguish himself. Instead he’s spent 3 years in the D League where he was an adequate center but never displayed any dominance for a player that’s 7’2” 309lbs. Collin now splits time at the center position with stalwart Orville Callan. Callan is in his 8th season with the Knights after being drafted 25th. It could be a changing of the guard as Callan has refused to negotiate with the team on a long-term deal.
“We’ll love to have Orvie back. At the same time we understand he has to do what is in his best interest financially. And we have to do the same for the team. Hopefully we can come to an agreement and he stays in London.” said GM Lian
Thus far Walsh and Richard Koons are leading the club with 17.7 points and 14.3 points per game. While the two players have received the most attention it has been the team’s depth that is powering the offense. Edmund Harley, Troy Howse, and Collin are all averaging double digit scoring while the rest of the rotation has chipped in at least 6 points each. The team is currently averaging 107.9 points, 4th best in the league. Though the offense is doing well, the defense remains a work-in-progress. The Knights are allowing 102.9 points per contest, one of the highest in club history.
“Its plain and simple. We need to do better on defense.” said Coach Bennett
London still has plenty of work to do if they want to be competitive against the upper echelons of the league in St Louis, Philadelphia, and Arizona.
