Beasley turned down a role in the USA to return to the Pavilions

Plymouth Raiders have persuaded American forward DeAntoine Beasley to stay at the club by offering him a role as assistant coach.

Beasley had been considering an offer to return to the USA to take up a coaching role.

"It was a really hard decision to return because I had a really good job opportunity," Beasley said.

Last season the 28-year-old averaged 15.1 points per game with an average of 5.3 rebounds.

Head coach Gary Stronach added: "This will be his seventh season in Plymouth, it's virtually unheard of for a foreign player to stay with a team that long.

"It really proves how much players respect and want to play for the Raiders.

"The lure of returning to the Raiders and pushing us on to even more success was just too much for him to turn down, he's one of the best players in the league.

"He's a consummate professional, and I'm over the moon to have him back for another year, this is huge for the Raiders and a massive boost to the recruiting efforts."

Beasley went to college at Tennessee Tech and first signed for the Raiders in 2002.