He does not sound English. In fact, he has spent less than a quarter of his life in this country.

But Bears new boy Jason Medford could just turn out to be a shrewd domestic signing.

The 6ft.6ins forward was born in Coventry and has had spells at Sheffield and Thames Valley, as well as in France, Germany and Denmark.

The accent, though, is distinctly trans-Atlantic.

Medford, 30, revealed: "I was born in Coventry but I moved to Canada when I was five. I played in Toronto and went to school in Nova Scotia. Sheffield were my first team out of university but I've enjoyed the experience of playing basketball in different countries."

Medford has most recently been playing in Denmark and flew in from Copenhagen last Saturday morning.

After an anxious wait for his kit to arrive on a later flight, he made it to Crystal Palace in time to sit on the bench, but was not required on court as Bears beat London Towers 92-81.

He said: "The move happened pretty quickly. They were talking to me for a few days as I was finishing my season in Denmark and it was a great chance for me to come here and play on a good team.

"I guess I had a decent season in Denmark but you want to win games and we weren't doing that. We had some rough luck.

"The standard here is a little faster and more explosive but it's not a bad league over there."

Medford, who graduated from St Mary's College in Canada in 1997, walked straight into a reunion of ex-Sheffield colleagues at his first game, with Wilbur Johnson playing for Bears and injured Terrell Myers watching his Towers club mates.

He added: "I'm glad to be here. Hopefully I can be a presence on defence and rebounding and do whatever Brighton need."