While fullback Marquis Jackson suffered a serious thigh injury, Champagne Basket announced on Friday the arrival of fullback Zaid Hearst as a medical freelancer (29, 1m94), a 2- 3 who already knows the Pro B where he played with Antibes 3 years ago and where he left good memories.
This is the big black spot after the victory against the Alsatian alliance last Sunday. While the Marne basketball players were quietly heading for a third success in as many Leader’s Cup matches, Marquis Jackson took the ball and accelerated, before feeling a strong pain behind his thigh. His attitude then foreshadowed the worst. Subsequent examinations confirmed the fears. And his absence is estimated at between 4 and 6 weeks.
Enough to push the Champagne Basket staff to turn to a medical freelancer. A reinforcement that was not long in being identified. It is finally Zaid Hearst who will be responsible for replacing his injured colleague. Trained at a university in Connecticut, in the United States, this 2-3 position already knows the European continent perfectly. Passed through Spain where he averaged almost 18 points in the second division, he had already played before in Hungary (Fehervar) and Ukraine (Mykolaiv) before heading to Alicante and then La Coruña. Before that, he had discovered France and Pro B for around twenty matches played with Antibes in 2019/2020, before the Covid stopped competition. He was evolving like a precious 6th man (9 tenures) which did not prevent him from integrating the ranking of the best scorers in the championship (15.5pts and 11.7 from Eval). However, we will have to wait next Wednesday before discovering it with the Marnais jersey. Not qualified for the first day of Pro B on Saturday against Orléans, he could well wear the Champagne Basket jersey on Wednesday evening in the Coupe de France against Portel.