Raftopoulos took over as coach from Chad McKnight in the summer

Guildford Heat have brought in power-forward Ralph Hegamin to join new point guard Carlos Medlock.

Hegamin, 24, comes from US college West Chester, and follows Medlock, 23, who came from Eastern Michigan Eagles.

"I have brought in Ralph as he plays both the power-forward and centre positions" Heat coach Creon Raftopoulos told BBC Surrey.

"This will relieve a lot of the current work load we are putting on our captain Mike Martin."

The Heat have created room in their squad by releasing fellow Americans David Schneider and James Porter.

"Now that the future of Guildford Heat is secure, I have been able to re-shape the team in order to ensure that we can remain highly competitive in the league," Raftopoulos said.

I believe we now have a very strong team, capable of giving many winning performances - this will put us in a strong position for the rest of the season Coach Creon Raftopoulos

"The release of David Schneider was because of injury and I released James Porter in order to freshen up and match up with other teams in the league who have added new players.

"It was not an easy decision to cut James. He has been the model professional both on and off the court and I know he will be missed. However, I need to do what's best for the team and we need more versatility at the four and five positions."

Raftopoulos added: "I believe we now have a very strong team, capable of giving many winning performances. This will put us in a strong position for the rest of the season, particularly with the BBL Trophy Final in March."

Raftopoulos added that he was particularly pleased with recent new arrival Carlos Medlock who played two games over the weekend.

"We have really struggled without a point guard and I've already seen the impact Carlos has made on court."

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