National Basketball League Champions Patriots have signed American tactician Alan Major as their new head coach ahead of the upcoming inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).

The appointment of Alan Major follows the departure of Dean Murray, also an American who guided the club to their third consecutive domestic league title last October.

Alan Major is a veteran coach with more than 20 years of experience having coached different USA college basketball programs.

Among other jobs, he worked as the Director of Player Development for Texas Women's Basketball, as well as an assistant men's basketball coach at Ohio State, Pacific, Southern Illinois and Cal Lutheran.

Major was instrumental in the recruitment and development of such players as Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Daequan Cook, Kosta Koufos and Evan Turner at Ohio State.

He was at Ohio State for six seasons, assisting them to four National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NCAA) Tournament appearances, a school-record 35 wins in 2006-07, three outright Big Ten regular-season titles and two league tournament titles.

Major graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Education degree in sociology in 1992, serving as a manager for Gene Keady's Boilermakers, including spending the 1991 and 1992 seasons as head manager. He earned his Master of Education degree in physical education from California Lutheran University in 1995. 

The BAL tournament is set to be played from May 16 through 30, and Rwanda will be hosting it.

Meanwhile, Patriots have already signed two players including point-guard Jean Jacques Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza and Elie Kaje both from REG basketball.

Roster of home-based players ready for training:

Aristide Mugabe, Sedar Sagamba, Dieudonne Ndizeye Ndayisaba, Steven Havungintwari, Guibert Nijimbere, Elie Kaje, Jean-Jacques Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza, Jean-Paul Ndoli, Bush Wamukota, Junior Kasongo, Joseph Bukuru, Didier Ishimwe, Sano Gasana and Leonard Hitayezu.