New South West Slammers men’s imports Jamal Poplar and Calvin Whipple to play first game for club in Harvey

New South West Slammers men’s imports Jamal Poplar and Calvin Whipple are set to play their first games for the club when they make the trip to Harvey on Sunday to take on Perth Redbacks in a pre-season game. The pair arrived in the South West last week and were scheduled to train with the club for the first time on Monday night. Centre Poplar is 205cm tall and has earned rave reviews for his skills and athleticism for his size, while Whipple was recruited by the club for his three-point shooting prowess. The clash with the Redbacks will tip off at 2pm at Harvey Recreation Centre, after the club’s Western Australian Basketball League Championship men’s side play a game against the Redbacks at 12pm. While in Harvey, the club will also hold a skills session for junior players between 9am and 10.30am and a coaching clinic run by men’s coach Jason Chalk from 10.30-11.30am. Meanwhile, the club’s women’s side announced a flurry of re-signings over the weekend, headlined by last year’s most valuable player award winner Zaya Black. Black, who has spent the off-season playing in England with Super League Basketball side Sheffield Hatters, averaged 10.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for the Slammers as they endured another winless season in 2024. The club have also confirmed the signings of young guns Addison Edwards and Alexis Donovan as well as Nyidier Riak, who joined the team halfway through last season. The quartet join import Mykea Gray, Skye Palmer, Bree Chalk, Javene Fitch and Courtney Bayliss as players to have been announced by the Slammers for the 2025 season. The Slammers’ men’s and women’s sides will start their NBL1 West seasons against Eastern Suns at Eaton Recreation Centre on April 5.