Returning for his 11^th season on Tyneside, forward Darius Defoe is ready once again to bring his powerful inside talents to Esh Group Eagles Newcastle as he continues his stellar one-club career.

The veteran of over 400 BBL games all of them with The Eagles, Defoe made his debut in season 2004/05 and has been an integral part of every single one of the 18 national trophies Newcastle have won in The BBL since that first season in 2004/05 when they lifted The BBL Trophy.

An often under-rated player, “Double-D” as he known to The Eagles famous OOTA has a career average of 11 points and 6.2 rebounds per game which has steadily climbed season-upon-season to the point that last campaign he had his best scoring return of 16.3 ppg adding 6.9 rebounds.

A hard-working no-nonsense forward, Defoe has a great presence in and around the basket at both ends of the floor and is without doubt one of the premier English forwards n The BBL and a player most, if not all, BBL coaches would love to have in their team.

Head Coach Fab Flournoy is delighted to have Defoe back in his roster for another season.

“Darius has been with me since he was a kid and I’ve watched him grow from a raw rookie to a seasoned vet over the last ten years. He’s gone from being a kid to a grown man before the eyes of the Newcastle fans and me.”

“Every year he improves because he’s willing to work hard in every game and every practice session and he makes it easy for me as he knows our system and ways inside and out and vital to our plans. He’s now one of my leaders and an important part of what we do.”

Darius joins up with the squad next week in preparation for pre-season games against leeds force and Team USA Select at Sport central on the 8^th and 9^th September. For more information contact the club offices on 0191 245 3880.