In July, former Breakers forward BJ Anthony told the Otago Daily Times he planned to return to the Nuggets this season and yesterday Basketball Otago general manager Markham Brown confirmed the Tall Black had made good on his promise.
Breakers bench player Leon Henry is also expected to return, as is outstanding American centre Antoine Tisby.
Nothing has been settled with leading local players Sam King, Riki Buckrell and James Ross yet. But Brown confirmed the camp was busy working on re-signing the group.
Mark Dickel signed a two-year contract last season and will return, having put a knee injury behind him.
Former Nuggets bench player Luke Aston has returned from college in the United States and will be available for the season.
Import Akeem Wright may be the only major casualty. He is unavailable for the opening two weeks of the National Basketball League but his return has not been ruled out. The lines of communication are being kept open.
It is not even October and it looks as though Arlidge, who will chalk up his fourth term, already has the core of a promising side in place.
The Nuggets had their best season since 2003, winning six of their 16 games. It was a big step up for the franchise after some very lean years.
"I felt we made a lot of progress last season and I think it is a good move for me to come back," Arlidge said.
"The thing about last season was we did not have much of a lead in but this year we will have a bigger lead in. Having Mark [Dickel] here all year has obviously been a big plus and a lot of help for me in developing the guys we've got.
"I think we have a good crew and we are just trying to get as many guys back as we can. The young guys are coming through nicely but they'll have to step up again next year."
Brown said the decision to offer Arlidge a one-year deal was linked to Basketball Otago's deal with its naming-rights sponsor Oceana Gold. That agreement ends at the end of next year.
"With the direction we're going, I think Alf is doing a fantastic job and I would like to think we'll have a longer future than one year but we have it set for that at the moment."
While the Nuggets are happy to bring back the same faces, Arlidge said the franchise hoped to add a quality outside shooter. The Nuggets struggled to make three-pointers last season but compensated by getting the ball inside to Tisby and Wright.
Had the team had more outside scoring options, it might have finished higher up the competition ladder.
Anthony signed for the Nuggets last season but was sidelined through an ankle injury, which required surgery. He is back to full fitness and recently scored 33 points for the Northland Suns against the Auckland Rebels in an intercity basketball league game. He fell just short of a rare triple double in that game.
"The important thing to remember is we played the majority of last season without the full squad," Brown said.
"By the time we got the others in, Dickel was out with an injury," Brown said.
"We didn't get BJ at all and Leon was only available for six games. So it is pretty exciting to think what we will be capable of if we can get all those guys on the court at the same time for the majority of the season."
