The Cheshire Jets head coach believes the ex-Worcester Wolves point guard can play a key role for the club when the new season starts in September.

Smith said: "I have been really keen on Chuck and the way he plays since the first time we played Worcester and it is really great news that he has agreed to put pen to paper.

"He is a genuine point guard, with many years experience in the top European leagues and he will lead the team we are assembling on the court.

"Chuck is well aware of the role we want him to play – simply make the rest of the team look great as he did to the Wolves last season, and they ended up with the league's top two scorers.

"I am confident that he can bring same approach to the Jets."

Evans, 5ft 11in, played last season for the Worcester Wolves and is an American/German dual national and a graduate of Mississippi State University.

He is an experienced point guard with considerable European experience, having played for Bayer Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga first division, as well as their rivals ALBA Berlin in the 2004 season.

The 13-year-professional has also featured for CSKA Moscow, where he was a Russian league winner, and has also won the German league title and been an All-Star in Poland.

Last season, playing for the Wolves, he finished up third in the league for assists, averaging 5.5 per game, and also seventh overall in three-point shooting with a 42 per cent success rate. He will bring both flair and experience to the squad that playcaller Paul Smith is steadily assembling.

Pete Hawkins, Cheshire Jets' director, added: "Chuck is a proven player who will provide the creative backbone of next season's squad. But just as importantly, he is a great person and he will be playing a major part in our expanded community programme which will bring healthy eating and living messages as well as basketball training to thousands of young people in Chester, Cheshire and North Wales."

Andrew Donaldson, owner of Cheshire Jets' main sponsor, BiG Storage, also enthused: "With the help of BiG Storage's sponsorship Paul is starting to assemble a team that will, I'm sure, be very competitive next season – we look forward to hearing about further recruits."