THE WESTERNPORT Steelers have signed two new imports for the 2018 season who are set to make an impact on and off the court.
German championship victor Dylan Travis arrived in Melbourne last month and has made an immediate impact at the club running the Summer Basketball Camp at the Somerville Secondary College two weeks ago.
Travis, who finished his college career at Florida Southern College in 2016 with a number of honours in All-American teams, will be joined by European basketballer Attirah Munir who will arrive later this month.
Munir will join the Women’s Steelers team and will help run the School Holiday Camps with Travis as well as working with the WPBA community to facilitate development programs during the school terms.
Munir spent her 2017 season competing throughout Europe and the Women’s Steelers coach Mark Holman believes that experience will be invaluable for the younger players.
“We were searching for not only a talented basketballer but a high character person as well,” Holman said.
“I believe we’ve found both in Attirah and we think she’ll be very successful for our group this season.”
Travis will play under new Steelers head coach Luke Sunderland and is coming off the back of a successful stint in Germany where he won the 2017 Championship.
Sunderland said that Travis will be a great addition to the team and just as good for the club as a whole.
“With our current line-up of returning players and new additions his style of play will greatly suit our current personnel and most importantly the culture within the group,” he said.
“He went from a very strong junior college program at Iowa Central and into a Florida Southern team that won a D2 National Championship in his first season on the team.
“He’s a six foot three (190cm) shooting guard and a proven winner who went on to be successful playing in Germany before this season. He’s a versatile player at both ends of the floor while his biggest strength is his outside shooting.”
Munir and Travis will now prepare for the Big V season opener on Saturday 17 March.
First published in the Western Port News – 6 February 2018
