The fans used to call him Baby Jordan and tip him for NBA glory.

But, when Robert Conley runs out at the Triangle tonight (8pm), he will have only a tricky ULEB Cup tie and a fight against relegation on his mind.

Conley, a 26-year-old guard from Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the star performers in the Ionikos side standing between Brighton Bears and a second successive European win.

Such are Ionikos's domestic problems, where they are in deep relegation trouble, that in-form Bears probably start as favourites to avenge their 11-point defeat in Athens.

Conley admitted: "We need a win. We have been having a tough time in the league and we need as many wins as we can get to boost our confidence."

Having been on the brink of an NBA breakthrough with Toronto, Conley has since played in various European countries and chuckles when asked if the Baby Jordan nickname, comparing him to superstar Michael, still applies.

He said: "I haven't been playing much like it lately but hopefully I will be able to live up to the expectation.

"The NBA is still a goal for sure. We will see how this summer goes and keep going until something happens.

"If it doesn't I hope to have a successful career in Europe. I have played summer league for the past two seasons with Memphis and Cleveland and I will be back there this summer."

Ionikos coach Vangelis Mageiras admits his team's priority is to stay in the top flight of the Greek league.

Counterpart Nick Nurse, meanwhile, sees tonight's contest as significant in that victory will haul his side off the foot of Group F.

Nurse, who has a full strength team, said: "We are just looking to get our asses off the bottom of the table."

Conley is averaging 18.7 points per game in the ULEB Cup this season but Joe McNaull, who starred when Ionikos beat Bears in November, is ruled out by a shoulder problem.

Victory would take Bears fourth if, as expected, Split lose at Lietuvos Rytas, but belief in the squad is that they can finish even higher.

Guard Mike Brown said: "We had a win against Split and we enjoyed that. Now we want to shoot for the top three."

Dave Morgan has left Bears and joined Furstenfeld Panthers, who are bottom of the Austrian Bundesliga.

He hit six points on his debut in a 97-91 success at Wels, only the Panthers' second win in 15 outings.