Basketball: Etete's eyes on the prize

The 6ft 5ins Londoner, who will be 31 on Bonfire Night, was part of the Birmingham Bullets team Nurse led to victory in the 1996 play-offs.

That remains Etete's one major trophy in the English game, though he went close last season as part of the Bullets side which gave Chester Jets such a scare in the cup final.

There are the first signs that Bears could help Etete back into the limelight this season and he plans to play a big role coming off the bench.

Defensive hussle, rebounding skills and a sure shot when required are what Etete brings to the Bears squad. Plus a whole lot of experience.

He said: "It was Nick who first signed me for Birmingham. I remember he called me at at the World Student Games and asked if I wanted to sign.

"I did, basically because it was my only offer. I was going to go to Coventry. The rest of the players I was with were already signed for BBL teams and were making fun of me a bit because I was going to a lower division. I just wanted to sign for someone like my peers.

"That was a good experience. Even when Nick went on to Manchester he would call and ask when my contract was up. I never went because things were all right at Birmingham and I didn't want to rock the boat.

"Then things happened over last summer which led to me leaving. Birmingham got a new coach (Tony Garbelotto), which was no problem because I had been talking to him, but I also had discussions with the owner and after that I thought the time had come to play my final years somewhere else."

That reference to final years is Etete's way of admitting he is the old hand of current Bears squad.

Not by much. Mike Brown will be 30 in January and was briefly a team mate of Etete's at Manchester.

Etete, who was born and brought up in the capital but whose family hail from Nigeria, is already looking to the future and has no plans to go into coaching.

Nor will he be a cocktail waiter. That was just him having fun at a Bears social event last night.

Instead, the computer business beckons and he was intently working his way through a hefty course book during the pre-season trip to Portugal while colleagues plugged into their personal stereos or snatched some sleep.

He said: "I'm young at heart but it is time to look at future goals and what to do after basketball.

"I hope to go into computers. I have got certificates already and the ideal would be to get some work experience while I am still playing.

"I hope to do something away from basketball. I've been in the game since I was 15 and I would like to have other experiences.

"Basketball has been good to me. I suppose sometimes I wish I had been a footballer because of the money but I consider myself rich in terms of friendships from the game and people I have met.

"There are a lot of people in worse situations."

For the time being, the focus is on turning Bears' potential into prizes.

The next stage in that process comes against Newcastle at the Triangle on Saturday (7pm).

Eagles won in a controversial finale at the same venue last season and are unbeaten in their last five visits to Sussex.

Etete said: "Looking at their results they are playing really well and have beaten some good teams. We think we are one of the best teams in the league but we have to prove it every game.

"When we went to Bracknell we thought we could just step on the floor and win by 20 but we ended up going behind by 20.

"We pulled it around and we are professional enough to realise we cannot go into games like that.

"We're winning, that's the main thing. We've got a good first five and the bench men are players you can go to and not lose too much.

"I love this set of players. We have got nine people who are learning each other's attributes and who want to play defence."

That word again. Defence. One of the keys to Bears' game plan and one of the reasons why Nurse has gone to a tried and trusted exponent.

As at Birmingham, Etete plans to make it a winning mix.