When he landed at Sheffield Sharks in the first Covid winter of 2020/21, California rookie Jordan Ratinho was the explosive point guard with the unerring three-point shot.

So strong were those first impressions that there were times in that debut season when he would log the full 40 minutes a game.

Over the course of the next five and a half years his role has changed and his importance to the team has gone through various guises, not least the defensive rock that underpinned their ride to the Super League Basketball Cup triumph two seasons ago.

But one thing has stayed constant: the regard with which both player and club hold each other.

Jordan Ratinho is about to begin his seventh season with Sheffield Sharks.

placeholder image — Jordan Ratinho is about to begin his seventh season with Sheffield Sharks.

It is why when head coach Atiba Lyons looked at overhauling his roster this summer - changing everything from his captain to the three headline playmakers he went into last season with - there was one man who simply had to come back.

And for Ratinho (pictured), now 28, the feeling was mutual.

“After the season ended I figured out pretty quickly where I wanted to be, I’ve been here for quite a while so it was nothing new coming back,” Ratinho told The Yorkshire Post.

“It was an easy decision. It’s been good for me here, Sheffield gave me my first opportunity, my girl is from here, so it works out for me. The club treats me well, it’s a family atmosphere, I’m really comfortable.

“When I first got here it was me trying to prove myself, and now that I’m settled in, every team has guys that play a role and do that role well, that’s what helps teams win.

“If that means I have to play more defence and only shoot when I have a good opportunity to do so, then maybe that means I take fewer shots, but as long as I’m helping the team win.”

There were not enough wins last season. In order to turn that around, Lyons - who is entering his 18th season as head coach - brought in five new faces over the summer and only brought five players back, Ratinho and new captain Fahro Alihodzic among them.

But in a pre-season disrupted by injuries to Donovan Clay, the wrecking-ball forward Lyons wants to build around, and rookie guard Dan Gherezgher, Sharks are still chopping and changing.

Just this week, ahead of their season-opener against Caledonia Gladiators at the Canon Medical Arena on Sunday, Sharks cut summer recruit Tevin Brewer and signed Prince Onwas, a 33-year-old forward with three years experience in the British game and then on Friday evening confirmed the signing of Lu’Cye Patterson, a 24-year-old rookie guard from Minnesota.

As the club’s longest-serving player, it falls to Ratinho to help with the integration of new faces.

“I’m more of a lead-by example type of person, I just try to do things the right way,” he said.

“This year we have a lot of new guys coming in, so I just try to show what Sharks are about, how you’re meant to play, and hopefully just help the team win. If they’ve got any questions, they can come to me.

“Every season is a fresh start, there’s a lot of new faces this year, it’s about getting comfortable with each other, because what matters is later on in the season.

"We’ve got a lot of high-character guys this year and I think it’s going to be pretty good.”