James Brame has been told he is the man to lead Worthing Thunder in their title defence.

Thunder are determined to go on a run after the bitter disappointment of defeat in the National Cup final.

And coach Gary Smith is convinced Brame is the man to inspire them from the point guard spot.

Brame, who was handed playmaking duties after Steve Vear joined Reading, had a double-double in the final.

He also fired out four assists against just one turnover, identical figures to those he recorded in Saturday's Trophy win over Solent.

Smith said: "The key thing with James is confidence.

"He could be as good as any point guard out there. He's 6ft 4in, he has good hands and he can shoot.

"This is his chance and I believe in him, as I do with all my players.

"He's a 6ft 4in English point guard. How often do you find those? He just has to go out and play."

Thunder are in the thick of the title race in EBL division one, the league they won last season.

They want tomorrow's home tussle with West Herts (8pm) to kick start the sort of run they had this time last year which took them to the title.

Smith, however, will not be splashing out to help the cause.

He said: "I don't need stars right now.

"I might bring in a back-up forward, although Ciaran Burns is showing improvement. And I might bring in back-up for James. He had to play the full 40 minutes in the final."