Rainmen join PBL but will we see any familiar faces?

The Rainmen have made some announcements lately regarding their league status as well as the whereabouts of some of the marquee players from last season.

As expected, we are now part of the Premier Basketball League (PBL). Unfortunately, none of the stars from last year will be returning.

Getting paid is a real issue with these guys. They really aren't paid a lot and they have bills just like the rest of us. Expecting someone to drop everything for a 3-month, 20-game season may prove difficult. At least with the 36-game season, there was a longer time frame to drop your life and move to Halifax.

I guess we should remember that minor leagues are stepping stones for athletes. Our team was in a league that is just like many other leagues around the world and I get the feeling that players tend to bounce around, depending on the schedules of the various leagues. They are just trying to make a living and have to go where the jobs are.

I would be surprised if we see anyone come back from last year's team and until we get into the D League (and maybe not even then), we probably won't have many returning players who aren't Maritimers.

Unfortunately, Lewis has proven that he cannot develop young players, so local talent may decide to go elsewhere rather than waste time sitting on the bench.

In my opinion, we need a local coach who has ties to the universities that will draw recent grads to our team. Once we get our version of "Coach K" who is a draw for athletes to play for him, then we might be able to count on having some consistency to the roster.