ST VINCENT'S stretched their import tally of Americans this season to 10 when they brought in 36 year old Douglas Arnold just before the New Year's Eve deadline passed.
Arnold, who was once an NBA draft player with Utah Jazz, has spent most of his career in Europe playing in the competitive Spanish and French leagues. He last played, in Belgium, a season ago and needs a few games to get back to full fitness.
Although Killester looked at him and turned him down before this season, St Vincent's liked the idea of bringing on board an experienced hand to help guide one of the youngest and most talented squads in the country. At 6 feet 8 inches Arnold will slot into the role of an inside player and will partner another very tall American, Eric Stevens, who has been signed for the rest of the campaign.
Stevens acted as a stand in American for the departed Carter Long but has now been recruited on a full time basis following the decision of Kevin Vulin to return to America after undergoing dental surgery.
With the halfway point of the season now upon most superleague clubs, it is difficult to see St Vincent's, with three defeats so far, reeling in the leaders, Neptune, or indeed second placed Star of the Sea, who between them have lost only one game.
As Neptune coach Tom Wilkinson sees it: "With two strong frontrunners, it's hard to imagine both sides caving in over the last nine matches."
Pat Boylan, the St Vincent's club secretary, has not given up on the league, but he knows that it means at the very least having to win their last 10 matches, starting tonight with a tough Dublin derby game against Delta Notre Dame at the National Arena in Tallaght.
Neptune's task on Sunday is also far from straightforward, as they travel to Dublin to play Marian, who have soared out of relegation trouble with three successive league victories.
Neptune were involved in the only superleague game of last weekend when they defeated Sligo 101-81. Gordon Fitzgerald was their top scorer on 27, and if Neptune have one major worry at the moment it is the impending loss of the Army man, who must undergo surgery for a groin injury well in advance of heading off to the Lebanon in April for a six month tour of duty.
Neptune coach Wilkinson is hopeful of staving off the operation until after the Sprite Cup play offs at the end of the month, but it is very unlikely that Fitzgerald will be available for the concluding games in Neptune's league programme.
In another game this Sunday, Star of the Sea should keep the pressure on Neptune by winning at home to Sligo.
The only match on tomorrow in the superleague involves the bottom club, Annadale and the champions Tralee.
After cutting their injured American Corey Taylor in late November, Tralee's other foreign player, Gordon Winchester left the club in sympathy with his colleague. Tralee had to sign up two completely new Americans by the New Year deadline. Both Robert Riley and Roscoe Patterson Jnr will be in action tomorrow.
