HEAD coach Ty Shaw believes new recruit Deshawn Freeman has the potential to be a “big cog” in Worcester Wolves’ wheel.

Freeman turned on the style in his first outing for Wolves as he scored 20 points and notched 10 rebounds in the 97-89 British Basketball League defeat at Newcastle Eagles last Friday.

Shaw said he “could not be happier” to finally see Freeman pull on a Worcester shirt after being forced to wait for the American’s visa to be rubber stamped.

And he has high hopes of what the 6ft 7in forward will be able to bring to his side this season.

“It’s always tough coming in after guys have got settled in but I thought Deshawn did a really good job,” Shaw said.

“He took good shots, played hard and did some really good things on the court.

“Having that extra body and presence inside definitely helped us out and settled things down for a lot of guys.”

Freeman graduated from Rutgers University last season where he captained Scarlett Knights, averaging 11.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

He has also played for Israel National League side Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin.

“He has competed at a very high level so for him to come in and do the things that he did is a positive for us,” Shaw continued.

“It showed how our team can shape around him.

“Anyone who comes in and scores 20 points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes of a game has the potential to be a big cog.

“We will see how that goes going forward.

“If anything it just gives us another weapon and dynamic that can hopefully improve our team.”

As well as Freeman’s performance Shaw praised the way his side stuck to their task at high-flying Newcastle.

“That’s the most complete we have played,” Shaw said.

“It was not perfect by any means. We still made mistakes and there are things we can work on.

“But in terms of effort and focus it was one of our better games.”

While Worcester were boosted by the arrival of Freeman, the search is still on to find a replacement for Dean Wanliss who resigned due to personal reasons earlier this month.

“We are still looking to see what options are out there,” Shaw said.

“But as I said before you don’t just grab someone. It has got to be a good fit for us.

“It is about making a smart decision.”

Wolves are gearing up for back-to-back games against table-toppers London Lions, starting with a league encounter at the University of Worcester Arena on Friday (7.30pm).

Shaw’s side then make the trip to the Copper Box Arena on Sunday (4pm) to take on Lions in the quarter-finals of the BBL Cup.