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Northern Conference
Chester Jets
Last season: 25-11 (2nd); Trophy: Winners. Championships: QF
Retained:
Mark Ogley 6'1", Dave Gardner 6'10" (England), Pero Cameron 6'7"
(New Zealand) NWP, Paul Singer 6'7", James Hamilton 6'7" (Iowa State)
WP, Neil McKelvey 6'0", Coach Robbie Peers. Continuity Rating 49.4%
New:
Mark Singer 6'6", Calvin Davis 6'8" (Texas A&M), Vijay Ramburuth,
John Thomas 5'10" (St Francis NY) WP, John McCord 6'6" (Cornell - Thames
Valley) WP
The addition of
John McCord, a man who has scored more than 3,000 points (23.5 per game) in the
last four seasons, makes Chester look even stronger than last season's Trophy-winning
outfit.
Much will depend
on how Thomas and Davis accept the inevitable secondary roles to McCord. The return
of Hamilton and the influential Cameron will give the team some degree of continuity,
but the down side is that Chester still look weak on the bench if injury strikes.
Ogley, McKelvey and Singer combined for only five and a half minutes on court
per game last season.
Chester will look
to get the job done by the starting five, but both Cameron and Hamilton can be
prone to foul trouble and that might make Chester vulnerable. Even so, the northern
conference looks to be theirs for the taking.
Derby Storm
Last season: 6-30 (6th)
No one retained (0%)
New:
Keith Dolby 5'8", Guy Renton 6'7", Robbie Bowen 6'6", Durrell Robinson
6'3" (Union College, Barbourville) WP, Jemar Miller 6'3" (Hawaii Pacific)
WP, Shawn Kennedy 6'9" (Southern Alberta, Canada - Sheffield) NWP, Kevin
Griffin 6'4" (Lynn) NWP, Tyler Peterson 6'11" (Northern Iowa), Coach
John Spezia.
Last season's Storm
had blown itself out into the lightest of zephyrs long before most people were
tucking into their Christmas turkey and a trip to the fearsome-sounding Thunderdome
was about as daunting a prospect as a fortnight in the Maldives. Five wins in
22 home games, only two of the last 20 league games were won. Time was when Derby
was the most difficult place in the league to get a win. It still is, but only
if you're Derby.
This summer's moves suggest Derby have finally given up all pretence of being
a premiership club. Bringing in a second division junior college coach seemed
almost calculated to give the finger to the EBA's policy of licensing only NCAA
Division One imports.
Since then, John Spezia has added two of his former players and ex-Sheffield foul
buffer Shawn Kennedy. Maybe Spezia knows something we don't, namely that Derby
are the sleeping tigers of the BBL. Then again, if they are bunch of toothless
old mousers, could someone please call the vet?
The first signing was announced just before the start of September, so the opening
night should be interesting. Do they introduce the players to the fans, or to
each other?
Edinburgh Rocks
Last season: 5-31 (7th)
Retained:
Ted Berry 6'1" (Christopher Newport) WP, Keith Bunyan 6'3" (Scotland),
Campell Flockhart 6'7" (Scotland). Continuity Rating: 33.4%
New:
Ryan Huntley 6'4" (Tarleton State) WP, Darren Mills 6'5" (Leicester),
Brendan Graves 6'9" (Santa Clara - Manchester) NWP, Stuart Mackay 6'10"
(Scotland - Georgia College - Thames Valley), Damon Johnson 6'7" (Texas-Arlington)
WP, Coach Dave Wall (Derby)
The only team in
the BBL that could have looked at Derby with envy last season, the Rocks were
persuaded to pick up Storm coach Dave Wall during the close season. Ted Berry
remains and Brendan Graves and Stewart Mackay are back after seasons at Manchester
and Thames Valley respectively, but Iain Maclean's departure will be keenly felt
by a franchise still trying to recapture the promise it showed in its first season.
At least Edinburgh gave their local talent a chance to play last season, a factor
that may have prompted the return of Mackay and the arrival of Leicester's Darren
Mills. The latter has, in one preseason game, already improved on the pitiful
25 minutes and 12 points he bagged at Leicester in the whole of last season.
Then again, last season's Rocks starters shot only 46 per cent from the field,
so the urge to reach to the bench must have been irresistible. Whether the recruitment
has been any better this summer, time will tell. Next May marks the end of the
Rocks' three-year franchise agreement. Will they want to take the BBL experience
any further?
Leicester Riders
Last season: 17-19 (4th). Championship and National Cup winners.
Retained:
Billy Singleton 6'8" (St John's) WP, Tom Mahood 6'2", Ralph Blalock
6'3" (Towson State) WP, Dave Jones 6'6", Karl Brown 6'2" (England),
Coach Billy Mims.
New:
James Hurrell 6'7", Jon Gaines 6'5" (Cal. State Bakersfield) WP, Jermaine
Brown 6'3" (Georgetown College - Derby) WP, Jermaine Gonsalves 5'10",
Hilroy Thomas 6'6" (Derby), Jorone Taylor-Lewis 6'4", Neil Turner 6'11".
Jekyll and Hyders
they were last season. Unbeaten in knockout games, the Riders won the Cup and
Championship double to stun everyone, including probably their fans, who had been
subjected to some very mediocre results from a team struggling to get into the
playoffs for the second time in seven seasons.
Make it they did, though, and the rest is history. Some of us still can't believe
it. It sent shock waves around Europe. "A six-man team playing out of a student
gym just won your championship?"
Bits and pieces man Malcolm Leak has left and so has Larry Johnson, which will
probably mean more ball handling for Ralph Blalock. His backcourt partner, Jon
Gaines, needs to stay fitter than he was at Brighton two seasons ago.
Leicester will again look to Karl Brown to be the sixth man, and that may well
be as far as coach Billy Mims will go into his bench on a regular basis. If you
love to see English kids all dressed up and nothing to do but wave towels, the
Leicester versus Chester series is the place to be.
Manchester Giants
Last season: 15-21 (5th); National Cup: QF
Retained:
Adam Thompson 6'5". Continuity Rating: 1%
New:
Craig Webster 6'3", Steve McCarthy 6'0" (Ireland) NWP, Howard Barratt
6'0", Cory McGee 6'5" (Savannah State), Steve Graham 6'3", John
Leahy 6'7" (Seton Hall) NWP, Rick Mickens 6'4" Central Connecticut State)
WP, Clyde Ellis 6'7" (New Orleans) WP, Dwayne McDonald 6'7" (Harding)
WP, Steve Pilkington 6'7", Coach Mark Ingle.
Last season the
Giants became the first defending champions in BBL history to fail to make the
playoffs and the predictable response has been to been to look westwards - but
to Ireland?
The loss of the
two big successes of last season - Justin Phoenix and Julius 'Jellyfish' Joseph
- means this is a journey into the unknown for the Giants. The three new Americans
will have to make a better start than their predecessors last season, but the
unproven nature of the bench players leaves Manchester, the north's second-most
unknown quantity after Derby, hoping the Anglo-Irish accord plays better in the
Velodrome than it has at Stormont Castle. If it works, the Giants might even start
a trend in the BBL. If it fails, this franchise will start to look like the old,
going nowhere Giants.
Newcastle Eagles
Last season: 20-16 (3rd) Championship 1st Round. National Cup: QF; Trophy: Runners-up
Retained:
TJ Walker 6'0" (Azusa Pacific) WP, Steve Ogunjimi 6'4", Graham Dotchin
6'5", Leroy Manhertz 6'4", Ian Whyte 7'1" (England), Coach Tony
Garbelotto. Continuity Rating 36.4%
New:
Malcolm Leak 6'8" (New Mexico State - Leicester Riders) NWP, Fabulous Flournoy
6'3" (McNeese State - Sheffield) NWP, Shawn Myers 6'6" (Western Georgia)
WP, Jeremy Hyatt 6'6" (North Carolina State) WP
Tony Garbelotto
is quite right to ring the changes at the Eagles - last season the team did well
despite the injury problems they had, but were let down by key American players
on the big occasions.
To solve that problem, in comes Malcolm Leak - not everyone's cup of tea but a
proven winner with Towers and Leicester nonetheless - and Fab Flournoy, who does
a little bit of everything. Shawn Myers will need to be able to score on a regular
basis or this team, because Flournoy and Walker cannot be relied on for that.
Newcastle will certainly miss last season's captain, Tony Windless, who is the
latest recipient of British credentials to flee abroad, and those who look for
the leadership on a team may well wonder where it will come from for the Eagles
this term.
Garbelotto is, without doubt, the cream of the current crop of English coaches,
and this could well be the season he confirms that reputation, although he may
need some patience from his directors in the early stages.
Sheffield Sharks
Last season: 27-9 (1st) Championship: Runners-up; Trophy: SF.
Retained:
Iain McKinney 6'1" (England), Peter Scantlebury 6'4" (England), Michael
Payne 6'5" (England), Andy Bridge 6'3", Nate Reinking 6'1" (Kent
State) WP,
Leonid Okorie 6'4", Richard Windle 6'8" (England), Coach Chris Finch.
Continuity Rating: 62.1%
New:
Lynard Stewart 6'8" (Temple) WP, Justin Phoenix 6'8" (Manhattan - Manchester)
NWP, Jeff Monaco 6'0" (Southern Utah) WP
Good to see that
the Sharks have survived the Chesterfield saga which threatened the team's existence
at the end of last season.
Their England international nucleus (the players they've been so reluctant to
release for England duty in recent seasons, you may recall) has been returned,
as has coach Chris Finch, whom many thought would or should be on his way to pastures
new.
The signing of Justin Phoenix could be a piece of inspired recruitment, and by
our calculations, the Sharks still have a dual national spot open if they can
find a suitable candidate.
What the Sharks will miss is the free scoring of Terrell Myers, who has gone on
to European basketball with the Towers, but even without him, Sheffield look to
be Chester's main rivals for the northern conference if their other newcomers
work out. A word of caution, however: The Sharks have been cursed with injuries
to new recruits in the past.
On past experience, the Sharks will again be the best-drilled outfit for the purists
to watch, although one of the crucial aspects of their success in recent years,
their three-point shooting, may take a dip with Myers' departure.
Southern Conference
Birmingham Bullets
Last season: 18-16 (4th) Championship: QF; National Cup: QF;
Retained:
Rob Paternostro 5'10" (New Hampshire) NWP, Danny Craven 6'10" (England),
Brant Bailey 6'8" (Wisconsin) WP, Emiko Etete 6'5", Coach Lance Randall.
Continuity Rating: 50.4%
New:
Sam Salter 6'0" (SAIT), Shawn Jamison 6'8" (San Diego) WP, Mark Lane
5'10", Brendan Lenane 6'4", Ben Walker 6'0" (Creighton) WP, Rashod
Johnson 6'2" (Western Michigan) WP.
The Bullets' late
change - bringing in high-scoring shooting guard Rashod Johnson - means that Walker
will probably have to leave to squeeze the former Leopard (20 points per game
and 41 per cent three-point shooting) into a work permit slot at the expense of
Walker. It might also make their season for them.
Elsewhere, the return of Jamison, whose inside work was instrumental in the Bullets'
run to the Championship final two seasons ago, will give Randall an inside presence
they lacked last season and take some of the heat off Danny Craven. That factor
that could prove vital in the Bullets' NEBL campaign. With Johnson in the backcourt
and Brant Bailey slashing at the forward slot, Bullets also have greater balance.
Coach Randall should have no problem with rebounding, but he took Paternostro
away from the point last season because of doubts over his ability to run the
play. Now it looks like Paternostro is back there. Will it work this? Bullets
have the scorers - but they have to get the ball if they are to make it pay off.
Brighton Bears
Last season: 9-25 (6th)
Retained:
Chris Wright 6'7", Michael Brown 6'1" (Providence)NWP, Dave Wahl 6'8"
(Simon Fraser, Canada) NWP, Wilbur Johnson 6'9" (St Joseph's) WP, Errol Seaman
6'4". Continuity Rating: 62.4%
New 2000-01
Randy Duck 6'2" (California - London Towers) WP, Rodney Alexander 6'3",
Cairan Burns 6'6", Mark Jackson 6'0" (Thames Valley), Sterling Davis
6'7" (Tulane) WP. Coach Nick Nurse (London Towers).
A crunch season
for Nick Nurse - last term he was in the European shop window as head honcho at
the Towers, now he's in a bargain basement at the foot of the southern conference.
This is the season when we find out just how good a coach Nick is. The same is
true, from a playing point of view, of Randy Duck. He was slated for a season
at Barcelona, which invites speculation over what happened there. Bears' talk
of European ambition during the summer was frankly laughable in view of the past
two seasons (20 wins and 48 defeats) but at least they have ambition.
Dave Wahl showed promise last term and Wilbur Johnson made a name for himself.
New man Sterling Davis may need to be a reliable scorer if the Bears are to get
on their hind legs this season.
London Leopards
Last season: 24-10 (2nd ) Championship SF; National Cup: Runners-Up; Trophy: QF
Retained:
Jason Kimbrough 6'0" (Western Michigan) WP, Rico Alderson 6'5" (South
Alabama) NWP, Rod Brown 6'1" (Western Michigan) WP, Maurice Robinson 6'8"
(Oklahoma State) NWP. Continuity Rating: 66.8%
New:
Carl Miller 6'7" (England - Derby), Gianni Lettieri 6'2", Martin Henlan
6'10" (England - London Towers), Revonte Dantzler 6'2" (South Alabama)
WP, Coach Chris Pullem.
A strong season
last time around, albeit devoid of silverware, and with much of the same personnel
returning, this term could be even better. That hinges on "Reservoir Bob"
Donewald's old proteges Alderson, Robinson and Brown giving the same effort for
someone other than himself, now that he is NBA-bound.
Chris Pullem remains unproved in this country, but he inherits a team that, given
Towers' defections and numerous commitments abroad, could take the southern conference.
They could also make up for the big-game failures they delivered last season.
They evaporated twice in the league against the Towers and nearly did the same
in the Cup semi-final before qualifying to play like novices and lose the final
to Leicester.
Dantzler is the man who must replace the 20 points per game missing since Rashod
Johnson let or Birmingham. The addition of Henlan (the Sol Campbell of the BBL)
and Miller gives the Leopards vital leadership and experience of the bench, as
well as rebounding in the absence of David Attewell.
Watch out also for a charm offensive from the Leopards, who had become the nation's
most hated team by the time Donewald took a cab to Heathrow, that despite having
a perfectly affable management at the helm. This would be better or basketball
of course, but to be honest, we'll miss the sideline tantrums and flying advertising
hoardings.
London Towers
Last season: 27-7 (1st) Championships SF; National Cup SF; Trophy: QF; NEBL: Playoffs
Retained:
Wayne Henry 6'6". Continuity Rating 8.1%
New:
Brett Eppenhimer 6'0" (Lehigh) NWP, Silas Cheung 6'2" (Mount St Mary's
- England), John White 6'7" (Southern Mississippi) WP, Robert Youngblood
6'7" (Southern), Terrell Myers 6'3" (St Joseph's) NWP, Phil Hickey 6'11"
(Notre Dame) WP, Jeff Kent 6'9" (Rhode Island) WP, Stuart Robbins 6'11"
(St Joseph's) WP, Coach Lino Frattin.
All those games
and all they won was the southern conference - Towers' GM Rick Taylor could be
forgiven for spinning the revolving door again this summer. Taylor can claim to
have made two major achievements in the close season. Firstly, he has managed
to get six American players into five foreign slots (Robert Youngblood is officially
English now and has the passport to prove it). As a result of this recruiting
masterpiece, this team should be able to play, unchanged, in all the various tournaments
Towers will compete in this season.
The second achievement was to convince Lino Frattin to come back to Towers. Last
time Frattin was here, two seasons ago, a difficult season of internal squabbling
came to a happy ending when Towers won the championship. This season, his European
experience, gained with Benetton Treviso in the last two seasons, will be invaluable.
Towers will keenly feel the loss of the inestimable Steve Bucknall, and there
appears to be duplication at off guard, where both Myers and former Manchester
and Leopards two-man John White usually start. White struggled with a back injury
at Zalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania last season.
Elsewhere, Towers seem to have plenty of experience and height, probably enough
to earn a repeat as southern conference champions, and their NEBL programme, which
starts in the new year, will be easier to cope with this season. Their Euroleague
group is probably as difficult as they could have drawn, however.
Milton Keynes
Lions
Last season: 21-13 (3rd) Championship 1st Round; Trophy: QF
Retained:
Andrew Oakley 5'7", 7 Drew Spinks 6'5", Jake Russell 6'5", Victor
Payne 6'4" (Central Connecticut State) WP, Leon Noel 6'4", Nigel Lloyd
6'3" (Player/Coach - Barbados) NWP, Andrew Alleyne 6'8" (Barbados) WP,
Jason Siemon 6'9" (Morningside) NWP. Continuity Rating: 85.8%
New:
Marcus Knight 6'3", Reggie Kirk 6'4" (Fort Hays State) WP
Nigel Lloyd has
opted for the same look as last season, with only his old Birmingham Bullets cohort
Reggie Kirk added to the starting roster. This raises the average age of the Lions'
starting five to a positively Jurassic 33 years at the start of the season - and
sixth man Leon Noel will not see 35 again either.
This raises the question: have Milton Keynes made the right choice in bringing
back a team that opponents were getting the measure of by the end of last season?
Of their last 11 games against teams that made the playoffs, the Lions won only
three, and that included a victory over a coasting London Towers that already
had the conference title under their belts.
Lloyd has a difficult job as the BBL's only player-coach, and many would like
to see him stepping out of games more often to get a better look. Yet last season,
Lloyd averaged 38.3 minutes per game, second in the league, so virtually all of
his coaching was done on the court.
Then again, he needs 519 points to reach the 5,000 mark, and he scored 525 last
season, so maybe Nige reckons he could use all the minutes he can give himself.
But the main problem or the Lions remains heir vulnerability to any team that
makes an effort in transition. Leicester - themselves no greyhounds - showed that
in the playoffs last season.
Thames Valley Tigers
Last season: 14-20 (5th) National Cup: SF; Trophy: SF
Retained:
Greg Meldrum 6'7" (Victoria, Canada) NWP, Kelvin Robinson 6'7" (Buffalo
State College) WP, Lee Walker 6'4" (Wales), David Butterworth 6'7",
Coach Paul James. Continuity Rating: 44.1%
New:
Eric Burks 6'3" (Charleston Southern - London Towers) NWP, Jason Lewis 6'8"
(Kentucky State) WP, Paul Davies 6'8", Barry Bowman 6'2" (Georgetown
College - Derby) WP.
Word is that this
is Paul James' last chance to win something with the Tigers (he did get them the
National Cup in 1998, it should be stressed) so that could be another English
coach that disappears from the league. That's something the game in this country
could do without. It's bad enough that talented English coaches Andre Alleyne
and Mark Dunning are taking an enforced sabbatical this season.
Tigers were the first team in the BBL to beat Towers last season, but that didn't
get them into the playoffs and the loss of McCord won't be any sort of help.
Don't count Tigers out, though. Barry Bowman and Eric Burks will give them scoring
at guard and Greg Meldrum is a smart, team-oriented player. Kelvin Robinson is
always a willing horse in the middle but the scoring threat up front will have
to come from new signing Jason Lewis.
Last season's unlucky venue for the Tigers was Coventry. Not only did they lose
there twice in three trips, meaning semi-final exits from both the Cup and Trophy,
but their league form after each trip to Skydome dipped alarmingly - one win in
the next five games each time. That's where your playoffs spot went, guys.
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