BALLARAT Rush have landed their first import for season 2016.
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Joy Burke has signed for Rush’s South East Australian Basketball League campaign, which gets underway on April 1.
Burke will join the Ballarat squad after recently completing a season with Bendigo Spirit in the Women’s National Basketball League, where Rush head coach David Flint is an assistant.
After returning to America following the WNBL season, Burke is set to fly back to Australia in time to train with her Ballarat teammates ahead of next month’s round one clash.
“I am so excited to be able to stay in country Victoria and play basketball for a great team,” Burke said.
“I had Dave as coach at the Spirit and I love playing for him and believe he is a great coach that will help our team reach its potential.”
Burke will be joining her Spirit teammates in Molly Mathews and Ashleigh Spencer at the Rush – a contributing factor to her signing at the club.
“They are all great players and teammates, which made the decision a bit easier,” Burke said.
Flint expects Burke to be an important player in 2016.
“Joy played in her first WNBL season during the 2015-16 season and is looking forward to continuing her basketball career in Australia with the Ballarat Rush in the SEABL,” Flint said.
“Joy will be an integral part of our success and I have no doubt Joy will be one of the best front court players in the SEABL this season.”
Before Burke joined the Bendigo Spirit, she played with Horsholm 79ers in Denmark after a five-year college stint with Arizona State University Sun Devils.
She also represented Chinese Taipei at the FIBA Asia Championship.
“Not only is Joy an outstanding player, she is also a tremendous person who is looking forward to working in the community, going to schools promoting the game and also working with the Basketball Ballarat and Rush sponsors,” Flint said.
Basketball Ballarat’s elite teams administrator Melissa Thomas expects Burke to arrive in town during the next fortnight.
“Joy has been out in Australia since September with the Spirit. She has returned home for a few weeks as this is the only chance she would get until August,” Thomas said.
Rush will host Bendigo at the Minerdome in the opening round of the season before travelling to Canberra for a clash on April 9.
The team then returns home for a fixture against Sandringham the following weekend.
Meanwhile, Ballarat Miners launch their 2016 season as the second leg of the Bendigo double-header on April 1.
