Sheffield Sharks Column: Welcome Malcolm Riley, our new 6ft 4in addition

Malcolm comes to us from a short spell at ETB Wohnbau Baskets Essen in Germany and averaged 16 points and six rebounds a game in his college career. Coach Atiba Lyons explained the rationale behind Malcolm’s signing: “Malcolm can shoot, he reads the game well and I believe in the context of the replacements I want, he makes a great addition for the rest of the season,”

Malcolm was thrown straight into our road game against Glasgow last Friday but we would have been expecting miracles for an instant impact. He made a late cameo with five points and five rebounds but it wasn’t enough to save us from a 78-61 defeat. Glasgow, coached by our former player Sterling Davis, have made a great start to the season and we are now in something of a rebuilding phase. Malcolm will clearly benefit from a full week in practice and the chance to acclimatise as we continue our search for the right players to complete the roster moving forward.

A positive coming out of the road trip was a 14-point haul for Cardell McFarland. Cardell was a consistent scorer for Bristol last season and it has taken him a little while to adjust to life in a Sharks jersey.

He is an experienced and high quality player with the ability to put the points on the board that we have been lacking so far. We are also seeing Kyle Odister emerge once again as an offensive threat.

Kyle is still a relatively young guy but has an NBA-range three point shot and can tear defences apart. Again, consistency is the key - which we will need to spades as we look to reboot the campaign.

This Friday, we welcome London Lions to the EIS. The Lions are also unbeaten this season so the tough games are coming thick and fast. They have brought former league MVP Zaire Taylor back to their Copperbox Arena and his former Leicester Riders colleague Rashad Hassan has joined him in making an excellent start to the season.

Our games against London are always fast and furious and should make for excellent entertainment for the pre-Halloween crowd. We’ve got a Halloween fancy dress theme going on for the game so it should be another exciting night down at the EIS. Let’s hope that there are plenty of tricks and treats for the Sharknation to enjoy! DBL Sharks v London Lions, Friday 28th October, EIS Sheffield. Tip off 7.30pm, tickets available on the door.