Coach Love: “Rowe wanted a bigger deal and I respect that”

The UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders have made the surprise announcement this morning that Plymouth-born forward, Anthony Rowe, has left the club he started his career at.

The popular 6’8 forward established himself in the British top flight with the Raiders during the 2009/10 season and has been a fixture in a Raiders team that has reached two cup finals.

The news that Rowe is leaving his home town club will shock many but Raiders Coach Gavin Love understands the nature of the business and the reasons behind player movement.

“It’s professional sports – people come, people go and chemistry is really important but we’ve got a lot of mature guys on the team,” said Love when discussing the impact of losing 27 year old Rowe. “Everybody likes Anthony. I like Anthony, he’s a great guy and a decent basketball player. We enjoyed having him around.”

“Let’s make it absolutely clear: I have not released him. It was his decision to leave because he felt he wanted a bigger deal and I respect that completely.”

The last few months for Rowe as a Raider were difficult for both player and club, with the British forward recovering from off-season surgery on his knee which caused him to miss the start of the season. When Rowe returned, he was playing limited minutes.

“Anthony has signed a contract in the summer and there was a clause in his contract saying that he had to be fit and he hasn’t been,” Love explained. “We’ve paid for an operation to have him there and obviously had to bring in other players because he was still injured and then it’s got to the point where we’ll have to offer him a new deal and he basically didn’t think it was enough money and he declined to stay for the rest of the season.

“But he was here for the whole two months, we paid for the accommodation, car and had some money. But at the same time, I completely understand, if he wants, then he should go to a team that can afford him.”

The Raiders announced Rowe’s replacement earlier today, stating they had re-signed forward Jamal Williams, who was with the club last year.

Williams has been cleared to play in this Saturday’s league fixture between the UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders and Glasgow Rocks at the Plymouth Pavilions. Tip-off is at 7:30pm.