Goldfield's men's signing spree begins with signatures of NBL1 North duo

The Goldfields Giants have begun their signing spree for the 2022 NBL1 West season, with re-signed coach Wayne Creek securing the signatures of captain Jerome Reid, import Hussayn Ford and NBL1 North duo Jesse Ghee and Manylok Malek.

Coming into his eighth season with the club since moving up from Esperance to join the Giants as an 18-year-old, Reid has now notched up 160 games for the Giants, including 148 in the SBL & NBL1 West competitions and should reach the official 150 game milestone early next season.

He was named club captain in 2020 and eventually took that role on court during the Covid-reduced West Coast Classic competiton in 2020 and was Goldfields' inaugural NBL1 West captain in 2021.

It saw him in career best form, where he averaged almost 11 points, along with four rebounds, three assists and 1.5 steals across 20 games.

Ford joins the Giants after a four year college career, firstly at the Pierce Raiders and most recently with the Northwest University Eagles (NAIA) where he graduated in 2020.

He is currently playing for the Seattle Mountaineers alongside former Giants import Duran Blue in the American Basketball Association in its return season from a Covid-19 season cancellation late last year.

In his final season of college at Northwest, he led the NAIA in rebounds at 12.03 rebounds per game, along with averaging 17.8 points at 55 percent shooting, on the way to receiving Second Team NAIA All American honours and being named to the All-Star game.

Ghee joins the Giants after three seasons playing in his homestate of Queensland, most recently with the Northside Wizards in the NBL1 North competition and the Ipswich Force in the Queensland Basketball League.

Prior to that, he spent two seasons in the US playing college basketball for the Fullerton Hornets in California.

He's coming off an outstanding 2021 NBL1 North season, where he averaged 16 points, six rebounds, 5.75 assists and 2.25 steals per game for Northside alongside former Giants player Atem Atem and NBL champion Mitch McCarron.

Malek called Kalgoorlie-Boulder home for two seasons after being recruited to the region in late 2018, becoming a fan favourite on and off the court with his athleticism, professional approach to the game and leadership skills.

His first season saw him average over 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, and in the Covid-shortened 2020 West Coast Classic season in an adjusted role as a scoring focal point, averaged 20 points, six rebounds and a block on his way to club MVP honours.

In 2021, the lure home back to Queenland after the Covid lockdowns saw him suit up for the Ipswich Force in the inaugural season of the NBL1 North conference, but work opportunities in his new chosen field of education and youth mentorship has seen him return back to the region and suiting up for the Giants again.

View the 2022 NBL1 roster tracker here.