The Halifax Rainmen hope they’ve found the answer in their quest to find a big man.
Larry Turner, who signed two weeks ago, has made a favourable early impression on the team’s brass, especially after a 10-point, seven-rebound effort while going head-to-head with some of the Premier Basketball League’s best in the paint during Sunday’s big win over the Puerto Rico Capitanes.
“I think he’s our answer,” Rainmen owner Andre Levingston said. “He’s physical, gives us a big presence, he takes up space, he rebounds, and he’s mean. I don’t think we need anything else there. He’s one of the best bigs we’ve ever had.”
Turner, who is a muscular six-foot-11 and who showed enough promise to earn a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2007, allows six-foot-10 Marc Mazur to come off the bench and prevents veteran John Strickland and rookie DeAndre Thomas from logging more time than they’re capable of.
His arrival is important with the PBL transaction deadline coming up on Friday.
“We’re not actively looking to make any changes,” Levingston said. “If something presents itself to put us in a better position, we’ll look at it. But we’re excited about where we are. We think we can beat anybody in the league and we’ve proven that.”
Levingston said point guard Taliek Brown will not rejoin the Rainmen this season because of a rule that stipulates players must appear in a minimum of four PBL games to dress in the post-season. Brown signed earlier this month but left the team before appearing in a game because of a death in his family.
The Rainmen have only five games remaining.
The fourth-place Rainmen, 10-5, visit the Maryland Greenhawks, 3-14, on Friday before returning home to face the first-place Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry, 15-2, on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Cavalry have won 12 straight games and have usurped the Capitanes atop the PBL standings.
