WORCESTER Wolves head coach Paul James admits he struck lucky with the signing of Great Britain ace Robert Gilchrist on a month-long deal.

And he hopes the 6ft 9in power forward, who is set to make his debut in tonight's British Basketball League clash against Plymouth Raiders, will make a big difference in a busy December schedule.

Gilchrist's arrival brings to an end James' search for a replacement for Jermel Kennedy who left Worcester in late October.

The 27-year-old joins the University of Worcester-owned side after playing at Spanish side Araberri last season in the Liga Española de Baloncesto Oro where he averaged 6.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

He played for his country at under 18 and under 20 level and made his senior debut against New Zealand in 2015, scoring 12 points on the night, and has made seven appearance for Great Britain.

He was an outline member of the squad for the EuroBasket qualifiers in 2016 and was also part of the outline squad for this November's World Cup qualifiers for Greece and Estonia.

James said: "Robert is a quality player who just missed out on making the final 12 for the GB team this time around.

"We are very lucky to have him at this time as we have been chasing him for a little while.

"If things had not fallen into place then he would not be at the club now, but we managed to get a deal done very quickly.

"He is here for a month and then we will see where we go after that. If he likes it here he might decide that he wants to stay longer but that's another conversation to be had."

Born in London, Gilchrist studied in the United States and spent his college career at Florida State University in the NCAA Division One.

He began his professional career at German side BG Karlsruhe in 2014 and moved to Greek A2 club Peristeri the following year, where he averaged 12.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He transferred to the club’s rivals Holargos, averaging 7.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in the 2015/16 season.

Gilchrist also arrives just in time for Wolves’ cup semi-final home tie against Sheffield Sharks next Friday. This is one of seven games the team will play throughout the final month of the year.

James added: "It is a really big month for us as we have got a cup semi-final, a BBL Trophy game and four league fixtures, so it is a massive boost to have Robert with us.

"He will probably be the most athletic player on the team now.

"He is a tremendous rebounder at both ends of the floor, he can block shots and score inside and outside. He is another level up and is going to add beautifully to what we have got already."