HEAD coach Paul James believes Worcester Wolves’ “massive gamble” to make wholesale summer changes is starting to reap its rewards and he has high hopes for 2016.

After being stunned by London Lions in the quarter-finals of the British Basketball League play-offs, Wolves offloaded almost every member of their squad and recruited a raft of new players.

James admitted it had taken a while for his new-look side to gel but, after gaining revenge over Lions to keep up the pressure on top two Leicester Raiders and Newcastle Eagles, he said Wolves were starting to showcase the talent in their squad.

“It was a massive gamble for us to revamp the team as we had a lot of players who were fans’ favourites and they had been here for a while,” he said.

“But I think now people are beginning to believe in this team. They are starting to forget about the old and are embracing the new.

“It was ropey at the start for sure but that is always going to happen when you bring in nine new players and now we are starting to show some quality.”

Worcester Wolves head coach Paul James continued: “We are sharing the ball a bit more and players now understand the team’s psychology both offensively and defensively, so I am really excited about moving forward into 2016.”

James said the improvement of Javier Mugica, who produced an “outrageous” display in Wolves’ 79-75 victory over London, has demonstrated how far his side has come on this season.

“When he came in, Javier was initially shell-shocked at what was going on in this league,” said James, who signed the 32-year-old from Spanish side Forca Lleida.

“But he has adapted his game really well and is now probably one of our most consistent players.

“Early on he had a game where he had no points whatsoever but he had something like 15 rebounds and 12 assists, which was great and showed what sort of a player he is.

“But now he is starting to put the points on the board as well and you can’t ask for much more than that.”

Worcester head into the new year in third place and James said it was important they got 2016 off on a high with victory over Surrey Scorchers at the Sports Park tomorrow (7pm).

“Surrey are very tough at home as they have got a good crowd behind them,” said James, whose side beat Scorchers 108-92 last month.

“But there is no reason why we can’t go down there and show them what we can do.

“We are playing well at the moment, so we need to keep it close and hopefully we can execute better than they do down the stretch.”

Surrey then head to Sheffield Sharks on Sunday.

Leicester Riders host Leeds Force tomorrow, while London Lions entertain Plymouth University Raiders on Sunday.

To watch a video clip of Wolves player Orlan Jackman demonstrating a lay-up shot, go to worcesternews.co.uk/sport