City will have a not-so-secret weapon up its sleeve when it kicks off its 2018 campaign against Rebels on Wednesday.
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San Diego-born 25-year-old Darreon Tolliver arrived in Launceston two weeks ago and will be tasked with leading the Rockets’ title charge in the Launceston Basketball League.
Set to play for both the Rockets and NWBU outfit Wynyard Wildcats this season, the 200cm forward has already begun to settle in to both sides.
“In my first week here I had a couple of training sessions with the Launceston guys and it was amazing, there’s a lot of young fellas with a lot of great talent,” Tolliver said.
“They’re very athletic and energetic and they’re just great guys as a whole so that’s always a positive thing.
“And then the same thing with the Wildcats, the same young guys, eager to learn and willing to take the role and have fun out there.”
Having spent time at York College in Nebraska, US, and a season playing his trade in Palermo, Italy, Tolliver feels he has plenty to offer Launceston basketball off the court as well as on it.
As well as helping run junior clinics, Tolliver hopes to help develop some of the up-and-coming talent in his own Rockets side.
“A lot of these guys they’re still young and they’re learning so I feel like having some previous experience playing in Italy and the previous experience from being in the States, there’s always room to learn and grow.
“They’re learning from me and I can learn from them also.”
Oh – and he wants to win the league as well.
“The main thing is they want to win a championship so that’s a goal we work towards that every single day - and also just growing as a player, so making sure that the weaknesses I have I grow in.”