THE Albury-Wodonga Bandits have snared the playmaker they were after, signing dynamic point guard Jazz Ferguson as their second import for the upcoming season.
Ferguson, 22, joins the Bandits after a four-year stint with Indiana University Southeast where he finished as the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Ferguson averaged 24 points, five assists and four rebounds a game in his senior year with the NAIA school and finished as the school’s first first-team All American.
He was also named as Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s male athlete of the year.
The electric 186-centimetre point-guard is playing with professional outfit Moncton Miracles in Canada.
But he will arrive in Australia in time for the Bandits’ season opener against Mount Gambier at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre in Albury on March 17.
Bandits coach Brad Chalmers was delighted to unveil his latest recruit and said the Border’s basketball team had all but finalised its squad for the upcoming season after locking away its second import.
Congolese power forward Mohamed “Momo” Ntumba joined the Bandits in December.
“Getting Jazz on board has been in the works for a while but it’s all finalised now,” Chalmers said.
“Jazz will provide the team with another leader in regards to on floor execution at both ends.
“From my conversations with him he seems like a fine young man who is up for the challenge and he is known as the ultimate professional in his preparation.
“The feedback we’ve been getting is that we are getting a super talent.
“Another young Australian tall would be handy but we’re pretty much set now.”
In a move away from tradition, the Bandits have opted to sign a guard as one of their imports rather than two talls.
Chalmers said the highly decorated point guard would help provide some desperately needed backcourt assistance to the Border’s young brigade of smalls.
“We will be asking Jazz to provide some valuable leadership,” Chalmers said.
“He’ll also play a huge role in mentoring and teaching our local guard players over the course of the season.
“We don’t really have a big pool of forwards in the area so we’ve traditionally looked outside for them.”
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