South East Melbourne Phoenix signs American Jaye Crockett as injury replacement
South East Melbourne Phoenix has signed American forward Jeffrey ‘Jaye’ Crockett as an injury replacement for Tai Wesley.
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South East Melbourne Phoenix has signed American forward Jeffrey ‘Jaye’ Crockett as an injury replacement for Tai Wesley.
Wesley, 33, suffered a significant hamstring injury in the season-opener.
The club has yet to determine a timeline on his return.
Crockett, 27, is expected to make his NBL debut on Saturday night against Illawarra Hawks at Melbourne Arena.
The 201cm big man has vast experience in Europe and most recently played in Lebanon.
Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell has backed Crockett to have a huge impact on the NBL.
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“Jaye has got unbelievable speed and his engine just stood out immediately,” Mitchell said.
“He’s that guy who plays hard on every possession.
“People see this guy play and he’s at the next level in terms of ferocity and intensity.
“We felt that, alongside Mitch Creek at that four-spot (power forward), he would be an incredible complement to what we’re trying to do.
“He’s going to up the excitement-meter for us and I think people are going to really enjoy the way he plays the game because he does it the right way.”
Crockett should have no issue slotting into the Mitchell’s system, having gone to college with Phoenix guard John Roberson at Texas Tech.
“That helped us in regards to verifying what kind of person Jaye is,” Mitchell said.
“We have a lot of trust in John and he was extremely complimentary of Jaye’s personal attributes, which are very important to us.”
Originally published as South East Melbourne Phoenix signs American Jaye Crockett as injury replacement