London Lions have signed local boys Perry Lawson and Laurent Irish for the coming season.
Both players originally hail from Hackney, but Lawson is no stranger to the BBL after winning everything the British game has to offer.
Lawson was part of the all-conquering Newcastle Eagles side that won everything up for grabs. He th
en went onto win the Championship, Trophy and Playoff Title with the Mersey Tigers in 2010.
Irish returns to the Lions after a spell in 2006, before going to play in Italy. He played for two years at Benevento, and has spent the last two seasons at Pamphill Roma.
Lions coach Vince Macaulay said the Olympic legacy was all about providing London players the chance to represent their home city.
He said: “This is what the Olympic legacy is about. Perry played his basketball within a stone’s throw of the Copper Box and he cannot wait to help us get there.
Teaming him up with Nuno at the guard spots will bring us great rewards. Apart from anything Perry is a winner, he stepped down from the BBL last year due to other commitments yet still helped the NASSA team in Div 3 have a clean sweep. In fact if I’m not mistaken, they only lost one game.”
“Born and raised in Forest Gate as he is, I am a huge fan of Laurent’s. When we talk about legacy we always talk about Joe White, Laurent’s uncle who passed away a few years ago.
“But in the London area Joe inspired a lot of people, and Laurent was one of them. He has gone on himself to inspire many young people here and in Europe. I am delighted to have his veteran selflessness on the team, we have a lot of young bucks about and someone needs to calm them down.”
