A wonderful Final performance by Lauren in the National Junior Division 2 Championships enabled her College, Kirkwood (Iowa), to triumph for the second year in succession.

In a 78 - 53 victory over Kankakee, Lauren was voted MVP and led her team with 21 points, converting 9 of 11 field goal attempts. "It feels amazing" said Lauren, " Not a lot people can say they have won it in their freshman and sophomore years. I am just trying to take everything in right now".

Lauren has completed her 2 years at Kirkwood and is now able to take up her original College offer at Marquette, NCAA Division 1. The step up in standard will not daunt her "I am really looking forward to Marquette. Kirkwood has been a great experience for me, and I would like to thank everyone here for their friendship and support in the last 2 years".

Andrew Lovedale has been instrumental in 2 amazing performances by Davidson College (North Carolina) in the NCAA Tournament. Davidson are now in the Sweet Sixteen, with the ambition and confidence to go much further.

The first round saw them defeat the highly-rated Gonzaga by 82 - 76, with Andrew producing a sterling performance with 12 points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes of action.

The team remained underdogs in the last 32 as they came up against the second-seeded Georgetown who made the Final Four last year. Despite being 17 points down at one stage, a brilliant come-back enabled them to win by 74 - 70. Andrew's 11 points and rugged rebounding were a major factor in the victory.

Davidson now go to Detroit, knowing that 2 more victories will get them to the Final Four. They meet the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday 28 March.

Andrew is being recognised nationally for his performances so far and for being a tough competitor who backs down from no-one.

We will continue to follow his progress.

If any of our supporters wish to follow the progress of our youngsters who are playing in foreign parts, here is the information you need.

Andrew sends his best wishes to all at the Club. He is about to begin his third year (Junior) at Davidson College in North Carolina, with big hopes of making a major contribution to the team.

In recent weeks, Davidson has been ranked as high as 23rd nationally, after their outstanding season in 2006/07. Great hopes are pinned on the leadership and skills of Stephen Curry, the Sophomore guard, who defied Davidson tradition last season by being a starter and leader as a Freshman. He may be good enough for the NBA - follow his progress.

Andrew's academics have also gone well and he is due to graduate in 2009. He has had the good fortune to have Bob McKillop as his Coach, who is establishing himself as one of the top coaches in the nation.

If you wish to follow Andrew's progress this year, the Davidson website is www3.davidson.edu/athletics/x11725.xml

Excellent news for Verity Peets - she has been offered and accepted a full scholarship at Division 1 College, Idaho State. She starts her USA career in August 2007, and we wish her all the best for the future.

Verity has made a great contribution to the Mystics Senior team in the last 2 years and can justly be proud of her achievements and success.

To keep all our fans in touch with our youngsters who are playing abroad:

DOVER, De. - The Wesley College men's basketball team added its second member to the 2006-2007 recruiting class as Joseph Ransom has committed to play men's basketball for the Wolverines. Ransom, a 6'3" guard, comes to Wesley from Wilbraham and Monson Academy in Massachusetts, where he averaged 15.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.6 steals, while being named team captain and coaches award winner. In Great Britain, playing for his UK under-18 club team the Manchester Magic, Joe was a team captain helping lead his team to the national championship in 2005.

Joe has extensive international competition playing on the under 18 national team at the European championships for England and was recently selected to the Great Britain under 20 team for tournaments in Belgium and Portugal in the summer of 2006. "We are extremely excited to have a student-athlete like Joe Ransom join our program. Joe is an excellent student in the classroom and has considerable experience in international competition. He will be an asset to have at Wesley College," stated head coach Jerry Kobasa. Ransom joins James Stratton from Caesar Rodney High School as the first two incoming freshman for the 2006-2007 season.

After a stellar 4-year career at Virginia Commonwealth, Nick has just signed a 3-year contract with top Italian Club Benetton Treviso. Although disappointed to have not been picked up by the NBA, Nick is thrilled to be playing at the highest level of European basketball.

Many congratulations to Nick and also to his coach and mentor, Graham Williams, who guided him through his formative years.

Nick also earned his degree in Sociology at Virginia Commonwealth and all at the Club are very proud of his success story - he has represented the Club with class at all times.

Lauren has now finished her season at Notre Dame Academy in Virginia. She has been instrumental in her School winning the Virginia Independent Schools Division 1 State title for the first time. Their opponents were Flint Hill, who were defeated 67 - 46, with Lauren hitting 14 points in the game.

This victory capped a 28 - 3 winning record for Notre Dame. Lauren also earned Selection to the All Tournament Team and has also been awarded 'County Player of the Year'.

Lauren has been a tremendous advert for our Mystics programme and has represented the Club admirably at Notre Dame in the last 2 years. Her biggest reward has been a 4-year all-expenses-paid Scholarship to Division 1 Marquette - we all wish her well in her future career.

Joe, who came to us from Sheffield Sharks, is now at Wilbraham Monson Prep School in Massachusetts. He is making a major impact at this Class C School where he has grabbed a starting spot and plays most of the game.

Despite only being 6' 2'', Joe is expected to do it all and has made big contributions in scoring, rebounding and assists. Wilbraham's current record is 7 - 1 and Joe hopes to be involved in post-season action in March. We'll keep you n touch with his progress.

Callum is doing a post-grad year at St. Thomas More Prep School in Massachusetts. In a very strong programme, Callum is currently first player off the bench, with ambitions to make a starting spot his own.

St. Thomas More is amongst the strongest Prep Schools in the nation, with a schedule which takes in all the powerhouse schools on the East Coast.

There is already recruiting interest for Callum and we will keep you in touch with any progress he makes. His brother James, also a great performer within the Manchester programme, is at Whitworth College (Div 3) on the West Coast - he is currently a Junior and has one more year of eligibility.

Jack is at Proctor Academy in New Hampshire for his second year at the School. Proctor is enjoying a terrific year so far and exceeding all expectations in its results. Jack is playing shooting guard and has secured a starting spot and lots of minutes. He is improving the other parts of his game, to go with his excellent shooting touch.

Proctor is led by the all-star guard, Jerome Dyson, who has signed for UConn and, with the 7' 1'' Phill Wait (more of Phill later) in the middle, Proctor is expected to go to the post-season play with a very good record.

After some early problems with injuries, Phill is finally healthy and making a big contribution to the Proctor programme. His rebounding and shot-blocking have been big factors in the Proctor success story and his Coach is hopeful that Phill's assets will be even more important as the season progresses.

Phill is in the first year of a 2-year stint at Proctor, with aspirations to play Division 1 College ball after graduation from Proctor. Most pleasing is that he has settled academically and socially and is very popular on the campus.

Andrew is already making an impact at Davidson College in North Carolina.

Davidson upset University of Massachusetts this week, with Lovedale making vital contributions in the comeback win. Trailing by 10 points, with 8 minutes to go, coach McKillop called on Andrew to take care of the dangerous point guard from UMass. This he did admirably, and he was a main factor in clawing back the deficit to eventually win 66 - 63. This comes after a 30 point drubbing at Duke who are ranked Number 1 in the nation.

Andrew's next game is another tough one against the acclaimed St. Joe's - another victory would mean an excellent start for Davidson in their non-Conference schedule.

Virginia Commonwealth will be relying heavily on Nick this season in their quest to top the CAA Conference.

Nick began this season as a 4-year starter and grabbed 30 points in a losing opener against Virginia Union (78 - 83). In his second game, he again top-scored with 14 points but Virginia Commonwealth lost a close battle at Appalachian State by 51 - 47.

Voted a pre-season all CAA First Team selection, Nick hopes to make this year a springboard towards the NBA or a major European Club. He is the oldest of the 16 Magic players currently in the USA and a great role model for those following in his footsteps.

Lauren is now in her second year at Notre Dame Catholic High School in Virginia, USA.

After making a major impact last season, she attracted the attention of many Colleges wishing to recruit her to their programmes. She eventually narrowed down her choice to three Big East Schools, Marquette, Seton Hall and Cincinnati.

After visits to all three Colleges, she was most comfortable with the setup at Marquette - the coach, academics, and atmosphere were all to her liking. She has now committed to Marquette and we wish her all the best for the future. We feel that she will be another excellent representative of our Club programme and its ability to produce players with the correct attitude, both on and off the floor.

Great news for Ben and the Club when Ben made a verbal commitment to accept a 4-year Scholarship at the University of Connecticut.

Hall of Fame coach, Jim Calhoun, was so impressed with Ben during informal scrimmage games that he felt he wanted him on his roster immediately.

A weekend visit to UConn convinced Ben that it was the right place for him to further his career in the States.

Ben's commitment finishes a heavy recruiting situation involving Providence, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Boston College and many other top NCAA Division 1 Colleges.

We wish Ben great success, and feel sure that he will represent the Magic very well in every way, both on and off the floor.

Keith Page News

Keith left our shores in late August for Blair Academy in New Jersey, the school which Luol Deng (Duke) and Charlie Villanueva (UConn) attended.

He writes to tell us that he is thrilled with Blair, and is finding both the academic work and basketball standards very challenging but enjoyable.

He knows, at such a high standard, that he will have to work very hard to make his mark, but he is very much up for it and is aiming to go NCAA Div 1 after this season.

Keith's ball-handling skills will stand him in good stead, and he hopes to make the point guard spot his own.

We will keep you in touch with his progress, along with the other 15 players currently in the USA.

Callum Moves On

One of our all-time stars at the Magic is moving on. Callum Jones (son of Jeff, Senior Magic Coach) spent last year at Notre Dame Catholic High School in Virginia.

After an excellent year, he decided to move on and look for a more competitive programme which would, hopefully, help him to reach his goals as far as USA College Scholarships go.

He has begun his academic work at St. Thomas More Prep School in Massachusetts, and pre-season scrimmaging is showing he has made a good decision. In a highly competitive programme, he will have to show all his skills to get substantial court-time, but he is ready for the action.

Callum was the youngest player ever to play for the Magic and became a regular starter in his final year. He also took with him a host of Winners' Medals and Most Valuable Player Awards from domestic Under 16, Under 18 and Under 20 competition! Always a very heavy scorer at any level, Callum knows that he must bring the other parts of his game to similar standards to fulfil his ambitions..

All at the Club wish him well for his future and we will keep you posted on his progress.

The Jones family also has James at Whitchurch College in Washington State and Georgia as starting point guard for the Mystics. Freda (wife of Jeff) is heavily involved in the management of the girls programme and is the power behind the throne.

Ben Eaves' Progress

Ben is at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts on a one-year scholarship.

He started his basketball at Preston Pride 6 years ago, before moving over to our Club where he felt he would benefit from the higher competition.

His career has gone terrifically well, with selection for both England Under 16 and England Under 18 where he has been a mainline player, culminating in excellent performances in the European 'B' Championships this summer.

Recruiting interest for major Division 1 Colleges has already begun, despite having not yet started his season at Worcester.

Ben has ambitions to go right to the top, and would like to go to a major Division 1 programme, if possible. His academics are good, his determination is outstanding and his basketball talent is top-class.

All at the Club wish him the best for the future - we'll keep you in touch with his progress.

Sweet Sixteen

Whilst the Magic policy of encouraging its best youngsters to pursue full-time basketball careers in the States may be hurting the Senior team, the youngsters themselves are making huge impacts over there and, at the last count, we had 16 players aiming to make it in the big-time.

Phill Wait Signs On

Great news for Phill, the 7' 1'' Magic Centre - he has been offered and accepted a full scholarship to attend Proctor Academy in New Hampshire for 2 years. Jack Minister (son of Peter, the Junior Magic coach) is also at Proctor, having completed one year of a 2-year stint. The boys will therefore team up next season and try to make Proctor the powerhouse of the Eastern Prep Schools.

Last weekend, Phill was a major factor in the Magic retaining the Junior National Championship, with his performance at the Final Fours at Cosford.

He goes with the best wishes of all at our Club and we hope that Phill goes on to make a sterling career in basketball.

More news to follow.

McNutt Signs On

Yet another Manchester youngster had made ti big in the USA. Richard McNutt (6' 8'') who had an excellent grounding in basketball at Ellesmere Port Catholic High School has found the cold weather to his suiting.

Having been in Alaska for the past year at a High School, Richard has just accepted a 4-year scholarship at the NCAA Division 2 University of Alaska at Anchorage.

We wish Richard all the best for his future career. He is the ninth Manchester Club youngster currently making a career in the USA.

USA for Ben Eaves

After considering several offers from Prep Schools, Ben has accepted a one-year Scholarship at the prestigious Worcester Academy in Massachusetts from September 2005. The School is about 30 minutes from Boston and both the basketball and academics are top-class and will give Ben an outstanding challenge in furthering his career.

All our Club's best wishes will go with him and we will keep you in touch with his progress.