In a somewhat bitter-sweet day for Medway Park Crusaders, the club have announced the return of Lukas Volskis and the new signing of Taner Adu.

Unfortunately, they are saying goodbye to Disraeli Lufadeju who is leaving to join BBL outfit Worcester Wolves.

Lufadeju represents one of the greatest successes in Crusaders’ “player-development first” philosophy.

“Dizzy,” as he was called by his teammates and coaches, joined Crusaders and the Academy at Canterbury High Scholl as a 16-year-old without any elite basketball experience.

Having played very limited minutes as an U18 player, he went on to play a major role for the then EBL2 men that gained promotion to the first division after winning the playoffs.

Last season he established himself as one of the top British players in EBL1 at the age of 20. His 37 points against Tees Valley is the fifth highest scoring game by a Crusader. Last season he set the second highest points total in a season by a Crusader. He leaves the club eighth in career game, fourth in points, sixth in rebounds and fourth in assists.

“While I am incredibly disappointed to see Dizzy leave, he leaves with nothing but good wishes from us. Having been heavily involved with coaching him at the academy I am so proud of the progress he has made on and off the court and the young man and basketball player he has become.”

“He has decided that he wants to follow academy teammate Kalil Irving to Worcester to challenge himself at the next level. Given the opportunity we are sure that he will continue to show the hunger, determination and progression that he has in his 5 years with us,” says club Chairman Jesse Sazant.

As Dizzy leaves, his back-court partner from last season returns from another year with Crusaders. Lukas Volskis signed with the club in October of last year from Essex Leopards and had an immediate impact on the team, becoming a starter, hard-nosed defender and scorer.

Last season he averaged 12.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 34 per cent from behind the three-point line.

“I am thrilled that Lukas is returning to us next season. With a high turnover of staff and players, he will provide with us some much needed continuity. Lukas has some real potential to become one of the standout guards in our league. I know how committed and dedicated he is to becoming that and expect big things from him working with Coach Ivan Cuesta this season,” said Chairman Sazant.

Volskis said: “I’m really pleased to have the opportunity to sign with Medway once again. The club showed a lot of interest in me as a player last year and I felt really comfortable within the team. I got the chance to prove myself as a point guard for the first time and I’m thankful for that. With that being said, I’m really excited for the new season as I feel we under achieved by miles last year.. I know we will have a strong squad with a quality coach.”

The Crusaders have also announced the signing of Volskis’ former teammate at Essex Taner Adu. The 29-year-old combo guard will add a lot of experience to the new-look Crusaders squad. He played for Plymouth and Essex in the BBL and was an impact player for Leopards in EBL1 last season. A former England international, he averaged 15 points, four rebounds and three assist per game for Essex last season.

“I am really pleased that Taner has decided to play for us this season. We have a real exciting group of young players joining us this season but we knew we needed a bit of leadership also. Alongside our Canadian imports, Jeremy Dunn and Josh Whyte, Tanner’s experience will be really important for us,” said Coach Ivan Cuesta.

“Taner’s signing means we are very close to completing our roster. We have a few more pieces to be announced in the next couple of days as well as being close to finalising signing our last two players. There has been a real buzz at Coach Cuesta’s practices and we feel there is some real momentum building. We can’t wait to complete our final signings and for Jeremy and Josh to arrive so we can really push on,” added Chairman Sazant.

The new Crusader added: “I am really pleased and excited to join Medway Park Crusaders this season. It was a tough decision but training with the new coach cemented my decision and I think he will be one of the best coaches in the league and great for my personal development. I think Jesse has assembled a team which will compete for honours and it will be great to be playing on the same team as Lukas again. I also hope that my experience can help the team especially the talented young players we have.”