HEAD coach Paul James says Worcester Wolves are ready to hit the ground running when they get their quest for British Basketball League glory under way tonight.

Wolves launch their bid to better last term’s fifth-placed finish with a trip to the newly-named Surrey United (7pm) — the team who beat them in the end-of-season play-offs in April.

It is a new-look Worcester squad with former Leicester Riders point guard Zaire Taylor, one of the key summer recruits, joining up with his team-mates this week.

James, who saw his preparations 12 months ago disrupted by players not arriving on time, believes the players are in fine fettle for the curtain-raiser.

He said: “Last year there was practically no pre-season and it felt like we were always on the back foot.

“This year we have had three weeks of solid practice, with a couple of games, and the guys are responding well to what we’re trying to do.

“Everybody’s got something to prove and they look very hungry so I’m looking forward to the start.

“We are excited about what we’ve done so far and looking forward to kicking the season off.

“When you look at this team there are three key players in Alex Owumi, Zaire and Will Creekmore and then we’ve got some great role players in and around them who, on their given night, are going to do well.

“I’ve given people like Jamal Williams and Stefan Djukic some extra responsibility and Ian Salter has some targets.

“Then we have got some great youngsters who I think are going to contribute really well.”