Reading Rockets have made a double signing ahead of the start of their pre-season by bringing to Reading American combo guard Craig Ponder and Bulgarian swingman Paulin Jardim as the Berkshire outfit looks to complete their roster later next week.
Ponder joins the Rockets having played at the University of North Caroline Wilmington Seahawks, an NCAA Division One college playing in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The West Virginia native played in a program-record 130 games over five seasons and finished 12th on the all-time list with 1,160 points. He averaged 11.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 44 percent shooting last season to help the Seahawks win 25 games and a Colonial Athletic Association Tournament title. The 6’1 22 year old is excited to travel abroad to get his pro career started and is looking forward to arriving in Reading later this month. Ponder said,
[su_quote]I couldn’t be more proud of myself and thankful for everyone who’s helped me along the way to get me to this point. I can’t be complacent and slack up on my work ethic now that I know I have a deal sorted. I’ve got to keep working as if I didn’t have one and help my new teammates in Reading achieve something big. I am really looking forward to getting started and showing what I can do in what I hope is a great first season of my professional career.[/su_quote]
Rockets have also captured the signing of Bulgarian Under 20 international Paulin Jardim. The 6’3 guard joins the Berkshire club from Tundja Yambol Basketball club in Bulgaria and will join up with the Reading outfit having represented his national team at the Under 20 European Championships in Chalked, Greece last month. The Sofia native was on trial with the Rockets during the post season and impressed the coaching staff during his time in Reading with Head Coach Manuel Peña Garcés deciding on recruiting the shooting guard to his team for the 2016/2017 season.
In speaking about the double swoop, the Rockets Head Coach is delighted to add what he feels is two quality players to his back court and is very pleased with the business the Berkshire outfit has done prior to the start of the upcoming campaign. Returning from a month in Spain with the Spanish Basketball Federation, Coach Peña Garcés said,
[su_quote]I am really pleased to bring Craig (Ponder) and Paulin (Jardim) to Reading and I think we have got two versatile and different players to add to our roster. Craig is a combo guard who will provide us with a real threat from the perimeter and coming straight out of college, he will be really eager to work hard and show what he can do and how he can contribute to his new team. I really like what I have seen so far and I am looking forward to Craig arriving here in England.[/su_quote]
About his second signing, the Spaniard went on to say,
[su_quote]Paulin is a really good, young talent, who we feel has a lot more potential and someone who we can continue to develop further. He was with us for a short time during the post season and we liked what we saw so it made sense to invest in a player we feel will also contribute during the season. Paulin is another good addition to our back court and I feel we have a nicely balanced team as it stands, maybe we are one player short from being complete but let’s see what happens – as it stands I am very happy with what we have to work with and I can’t wait to get started with this group.[/su_quote]
Rockets will be back for pre-season training on Monday 22nd August and will be straight into action as they entertain Seattle University from the United States on Tuesday 23rd August in a behind closed doors friendly at the John Madejski Academy. The Berkshire outfit’s following game takes place on Sunday 4th September as they travel to the south west to take on BBL team Plymouth Raiders before hosting Team USA Select four days later in the teams’ annual friendly.
To keep up to date with all the happenings at the Rockets, follow the club on Twitter @rocketsreading.
