Daniel Hildreth admits his career will be at a crossroads as Bears complete their home BBL programme.

Like most of his colleagues, he will leave the Brighton Centre still in the dark as to whether he will be offered a contract for next season.

But he already admits he may have to turn his back on the top division as relaxed player registration rules continue to squeeze out home grown talent.

Finances permitting, Bears will field six players from across the Atlantic next season.

And that threatens to make life tougher than ever for someone like Hildreth, who was brought up in Bognor, watched Bears as a schoolboy and was taught the game by Phil Waghorn, Brighton's current assistant coach.

Instead, his future could involve completing his sports psychology degree while playing the game he loves on a part-time basis.

Hildreth says he has been living a dream since signing pro for the Bears in 1998 but admits: "I find it hard to say there is a place for English players in the league.

"I think the world of the Americans, on and off the court. But Mike Brown now classifies as English, the same as me, and anybody given the choice between him and me would sign Mike Brown.

"Wil Johnson now classifies as European, you've got Dave Wahl and three Americans. "Then you have got players like myself, Errol Seaman and James Brame who are very capable but are fighting for seventh or eighth spot and not getting a majority of minutes.

"If I could change the English game I would have two foreign players and maybe one dual national. That's how it was when I was first involved.

"Coach Dunning is one of the few who plays his bench players and gets the English guys involved. Hopefully we haven't let him down."

Hildreth, 24, is employed by Bears from September to April. He earns extra cash by coaching youngsters and gets by with a little help from his understanding girlfriend Helen, who is a familiar face to Bears fans as choreogrpaher and dancer with the Southern FM Allstars.

He added: "There's no question I would like to be here but I'm not getting any younger. "Each year they are bringing in more players and I'm moving further down the bench.

"The monetary value goes down and I need to make a living. I want to settle down and build a future for myself. I love the game. If I had to work nine-to-five and play for nothing in the evenings, I would. I would never give up playing."

Hildreth added: "They haven't said who is coaching next year so that's a factor. If I had a choice Mark Dunning would be coach.

"He knows he has not fulfilled his potential this year but he is a good coach and deserves the chance to get the recognition."

Hildreth has shared in some tough times with the Bears so would love to be part of what he sees as a bright future and enjoy the sort of success he had in lower divisions with Mid Sussex and Stevenage.

He described the current season as a rollercoaster ride and added: "We showed the potential to be a very good team. We beat Sheffield and we were capable of doing that night in night out.

"We forgot how to win. When the game was on the line, we were coming up with turnovers, missing shots, missing our assignments on defence and basically throwing the game away. That's partly from inexperience."

Lack of confidence too. Fans love to see Hildreth's defensive aggression but cannot understand why he does not have the self belief to shoot more often.

He said: "I look at myself as a traditional point guard. It's pass first, pass second, shoot third.

"Eighty-five per cent of it is confidence. My team mates and the coach are telling me to shoot the ball more, but I don't do it enough.

"But I'm working on it...believe me, I'm working on it."