Rainmen Head Into Weekend With New Faces and New Expectations

To say the last couple weeks were busy in the PBL and for the Rainmen would be an understatement.

In chronological order:

They signed former NBA guard/forward, changed coaches and saw one of their competitors fold, changing the dynamic of their conference and of the league.

It was announced last week that former NBA guard Kirk Snyder would be joining the Rainmen. The six foot six guard drafted in the first round in 2004 averaged 6.3 points in 16.8 minutes per game during his time in the NBA playing for the Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves.

His career was brought to a standstill when an undiagnosed mental health condition caused let to conviction for aggravated assault.

Now being treated and with recommendations from his trial judge, his lawyers and new general manage Andre Levingston, he is set to make his debut in the Metro Centre on Saturday night against Maritime rivals, the Saint John Millrats.

If Snyder gets back to form, he could easily lead the Rainmen in the scoring department and to a possible title.

If that wasn’t enough to spark serious title talk in Halifax, the Rainmen have recruited former NBA standout Mike Evans to be their new head coach after Less Berry resigned from the team to pursue other careers.

Evans has a great pedigree. As a former three-point marksman, he was selected 21st overall in the 1978 NBA draft and was well traveled in the NBA. He has had a bit of coaching experience with the Denver Nuggets and even the Toronto Raptors and has also worked as a scout in the NBA.

While Berry was an excellent coach, this sudden infusion of talent could give fans something they’ve never seen before in both talent and play style.

Sadder news broke this week, however. The Vermont Frostheaves have folded and the PBL quickly held a dispersal draft. The Rainmen were able to pick up guard/forward Julian Allen and waived the productive Tommy Mitchell.

There have been a lot of changes to the Rainmen roster this year, which is not uncommon so it has been hard for fans to keep track of and get to know the many new faces on the team this year. But with high profile names being added to the score sheet, it could be the catalyst for a Rainmen popularity growth spurt and the Rainmen are heading into the weekend with a lot of eyes on them.

If there was a game to go to this year, it would be this Saturday to see how these guys perform first hand. See you there.

Peter Clarke lives in Halifax. Follow him on twitter @rainmenblogger and check out his website at http://rainmen.kingsjournalism.com.