Basketball: Lloyd returns to Birmingham

Nigel Lloyd is to coach the new British Basketball League franchise, the Birmingham Panthers, returning to the city where the 45 year-old Barbadian had an illustrious career with the Bullets, who dropped out of the League at the end of the 2005-06 season.

Lloyd also played for Thames Valley Tigers, Leicester Riders, Manchester United and started with Hemel Hempstead in a career that began in 1984. He joined Milton Keynes Lions in 2000 where he was also player-coach until the end of the 2006 season.

Lloyd, who won BBL Championship, League and Trophy titles, was voted on to the All Star Team eight times. Lloyd said: "I was honoured to be approached by the Panthers organisation. I hold many fond memories of the people of Birmingham."

Lloyd will be assisted by another former Bullets hero, Clive Allen, who played for 17 years in Birmingham, and Paul Douglas.

Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng is one of three NBA players called up by Great Britain coach Chris Finch for a summer programme leading up to the European B Championship qualifying games in the autumn. The others are Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Dallas Mavericks) and Kelenna Azubuike of the Golden State Warriors, though he has yet to acquire a GB passport. Only six of the 24-man squad played in the BBL last season.

Great Britain squad: K Achara (Duquesne Univ, US), R Archibald, A Betts, A Sullivan (Badalona, Sp), M Bernard (Teramo, It), E Boateng (Arizona State Univ, US), F Boyd (Rosalia, Sp), L Deng (Chicago), J Forbes (Dombovar, Hun), J Freeland (Gran Canaria, Sp), N George (Imola, It), S Hansell (Evreux, Fr), C Haslam (Kunin, Cz Rep), R Huggins (Charleroi, Bel), T Johnson (London United), J Joseph (Scottish Rocks), M Martin (Guildford), P Mensah-Bonsu (Dallas), R Midgley (unattached), N Reinking (Bree, Bel), C Sanders (Penne, It), A Virgil (Chester), Y Williams (Leicester), K Azubuike (Golden State).