The Rockingham Flames are excited to announce the newest member of its SBL Men's squad to the `Hot House' signing 6"7 American Joey Harrell.
 
Hailing from Durham, North Carolina the 23 year old comes to Rockingham will great credentials to accompany his 211cm wingspan and 37 inch vertical leap which is sure to have fans flocking to the Mike Barnett Sports Complex this year.
 
After graduating in May of 2007 from the University of North Carolina Asheville, where he played Division 1 Basketball on a four year full scholarship and co-captained the team in his senior (final) year Joey turned professional signing with the Canterbury Rams of New Zealand’s National League during February of 2008. During his stay in New Zealand which completed in June, Harrell made quite an impression around the league averaging 15pts, 8 rebounds and 2 steals per game which saw him finish among the competitions elite.
 
Following his successful stint in NZ, a number of teams across Europe showed interest in securing Harrell’s services before Fisica in Portugal’s division 1 competition won the battle to snare his signature in September last year. 
 
In Portugal where Harrell finished at the start of this month he once again displayed his well rounded game averaging 13pts, 6 rebounds and was 5th in the league in steals (2.5 per game) in 39 minutes of action each night.
 
Speaking from his home in North Carolina Joey is anxious to get down under saying "I'm very excited about the opportunity to play for the Flames. I've heard nothing but great things about team and the city of Rockingham as a whole. I'm confident in Coach Utley's abilities and I'm excited about making a run at the championship this season."
 
In return Flames Coach Mark Utley spoke with delight about the process of looking at possible candidates to fill a restricted roster position mentioning how patience paid off when the news become official that Joey would become a Flame.
 
"This is huge news for the Rockingham Basketball community as a whole, Joey has shown he is a winner and a very dedicated individual both on and off the court which was a crucial aspect in the player we were trying to recruit. To compliment his playing, Joey will be actively involved in the community to promote basketball at all levels within the city of Rockingham."

Speaking on the signing Association CEO Shannon Conrad said “We have built a great foundation over the past two years and bringing in Joey will be of great benefit to our Association as a whole. We are confident he can be an X factor across the season.”