Hoopsfix Podcast - British Basketball with Sam Neter: Recent Episodes
Sam Neter: British Basketball Advocate, Blogger & Thinker
The Hoopsfix Podcast is the hub of British basketball discussion. Hosted by Sam Neter, founder of British basketball website Hoopsfix.com, and featuring guests ranging from players, to coaches and key influencers within the UK basketball community, it is one of the few places to get accurate, topical and thought provoking information on the British basketball landscape.
For Episode 111 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Princeton Tiger and unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year, Tosan Evbuomwan.
The 21 year old out of Newcastle is fresh off a breakout season with Princeton, and is coming to London next week for the London Basketball Classic to play in front of a home crowd with his college team.
The former GB U18 and Hoopsfix All-Star Classic alumnus ended regular season play last season as the Ivy League leader in assists per game (5.0), and assist/turnover ratio (2.2). He ranked second in the conference in field goal percentage (53.2%), fourth in points (15.4), fifth in steals (1.4), and seventh in rebounds (6.4).
In this 50 minute episode we discuss his career so far, playing in the London Basketball Classic next week, and his hopes for the future.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
03:28 Interview start
03:35 Returning to England and playing on home soil
04:22 Looking ahead to the London Basketball Classic opener against Army
05:03 How important NCAA showcases in the UK are for young British players
06:02 Whether Tosan is going to be showing his teammates around
06:52 How he first got into basketball
08:03 What made him give up football and pursue basketball
09:03 How he ended up getting involved with the Newcastle Eagles
09:44 When the growth spurt happened
10:21 When he started taking the game seriously
12:44 Whether has has goals of being a pro and when that became the driver
13:30 Who the guys he was looking at as the best in his age group in the UK
14:22 Feeling out of his depth at first England U15s camp
15:33 His experiences in the EABL
17:28 How NBL Division 1 helped his development
18:15 How his two summers with the GB U18s in Division A was
19:16 Comparing Division A European teams to GB
21:07 Frustrations around British basketball
24:48 The recruiting process and how he ended up at Princeton
27:24 Blowing it in front of Princeton coaching staff on their visit to the UK
29:14 What his visit to Princeton was like and being a student-athlete on campus
30:50 Dealing with the academy load
32:10 His Major, and interest in finance along with work placement
33:52 Transition from the UK to the US and difference on the floor
35:33 Welcome to America moments
36:44 His Sophomore year being cancelled due to COVID
40:00 The step up from his Freshman year to his Junior year
41:27 His expectations going into the 2021-22 season
43:32 What his expectations are for this season
45:00 The best British player he’s ever played against
46:03 Favourite coach he’s played for
46:29 Favourite basketball memory so far
46:46 Most challenging basketball moment
47:20 Advice for a young aspiring British player
48:06 Where he wants to be five years from now
For Episode 110 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with GB all-time great Dan Clark, who announces his retirement from playing professional basketball.
The London 2012 Olympian, whose final season has ended up being his only one playing domestically - with the Manchester Giants in the BBL - is fresh off becoming GB men’s all-time caps leader during their recent EuroBasket campaign last month, adding to his all-time points, rebounding and blocked shots leader titles.
The first British player to sign a junior contract in Europe as a 14 year old, he had a 17 year professional career that saw him amass over 1800 points in the ACB, the top domestic league in the world outside of the NBA, while becoming GB captain as an ever-present force in the squad each summer.
In this hour long convo we discuss his decision to retire, what's next, GB's recent EuroBasket campaign, his first season in the BBL, as well as looking back on taking the European pathway as opposed to the US route.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
03:16 Interview start
03:26 Why Dan has decided to retire
05:11 Whether he thought coming into this season he could retire
06:25 What his masters is in
06:38 What the next step in his career is
07:59 Whether he had the next role lined up before making decision to retire
09:07 Whether he's completely stopped playing and working out
09:55 How difficult the recent EuroBasket campaign was
13:27 Whether he would get involved with working with the federations
18:28 Does grassroots or elite need to be focused on first for basketball's development
20:10 Thoughts on the BBL after a full season in it
25:33 The impact Lloyd Gardner being Head Coach at Manchester had in bringing him back to the UK
26:46 His assessment of the Giants' season
29:15 The situation in Manchester with regards to this off-season and the club's financial troubles
30:44 The lack of communication from the Giants
32:56 Why the Giants might be struggling financially
34:34 Whether he could see himself owning a BBL franchise
36:30 Where the BBL could be better from a player experience perspective
39:00 The importance of a player association
41:20 Signing a junior contract in Spain as a 14 year old
49:06 The intricacies of signing a junior contract
51:10 What his schedule looked like as a 14 year old
52:40 How it worked with regards to getting paid
54:33 Being recruited by high major Division 1 programmes
56:34 Turning down the likes of Syracuse to take the European route
59:02 Whether he felt the NBA was in reach
1:53:05 His ability to pass the ball and where it came from
1:03:28 The standout moments from his career
1:05:29 His best individual performance
1:07:15 Best coach he's played for
1:09:34 Whether it was a surprise for him that Spain won EuroBasket
1:11:21 His favourite teammate of all time
1:12:51 Advice he would give to a young aspiring British basketball player
1:14:35 What he wants his legacy to be
For episode 109 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we do a special with British basketball legend Jo Leedham-Warner, who has announced her retirement from playing professional basketball.
An 11-year career that reads like a fairytale, Leedham-Warner is coming off an undefeated season in the WBBL where she was named MVP after returning to play following giving birth.
A London 2012 Olympian, EuroCup champion, WNBA draft pick and the NCAA Division 2 all-time leading scorer to name a few, Jo will go down as one of the all-time greats out of the UK and in this hour episode we look at her decision to retire and her final season in the WBBL.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:46 Interview start
03:07 Discussing the Hoopsfix Pro-Am and lack of interest from the women
07:48 Making the decision to retire and how she feels about it
10:23 Having had a month to reflect on it since the end of the season
11:50 How important it was to have done a season after becoming a mother
12:56 How difficult it was playing after being a mother
15:57 How the club managed having a player with a newborn
18:37 The first practices of the season after time off to give birth
22:06 How important it was for Jo to finish her career on top
23:57 Has Mark or the club tried to persuade her to come back
25:09 Not collecting the MVP trophy before the WBBL Final
26:34 Jo's mentality and where it comes from
30:55 The shock win over her former club Bourges
34:19 Frustration with the wider British public/media and own club not caring about what her and the team were doing
38:53 The amount of media that British basketball misses out on from not having a dedicated PR person
41:30 The WBBL not bringing Jo out for the final post-game presser at the WBBL Playoff Final
42:37 What she would do as the CEO of the WBBL
45:03 Deciding on whether to go back to school next to study psychology
48:49 Whether she would want to be involved with British basketball from a federation or club standpoint
50:40 How many conversations she had with the federations while being back in the UK to capitalise on her presence
56:42 What her career highlight is
58:21 Favourite coach
59:36 How she wants to be looked back on as a player
1:00:07 Advice for the next generation
With less than 2 weeks until the NBA draft, we sit down with projected lottery pick Jeremy Sochan to discuss how his preparation is going and ask him questions submitted from the fans via our Instagram page.
Sochan is set to become the first Brit drafted since Ryan Richards in 2010, and only the second to go in the lottery, following on from Luol Deng.
The former MK Trojan and Solent Kestrel left the UK at 16 to attend La Lumiere High School before returning to Europe to play in Germany at OrangeAcademy. From there he signed with Baylor where he has risen draft boards over the course of the season to become a projected lottery pick on June 23rd.
In this 15 minute interview we spoke about how the draft process has been and answered questions for Jeremy from fans via our Instagram page.
Timestampes:
00:00 Intro
03:21 Interview start
03:45 What the last 8 weeks have been like since declaring
04:28 When he knew he was going to declare for the draft
05:26 What a typical day looks like for Jeremy at the moment
06:30 How is he feeling about it all
07:22 His own assessment on his game
08:15 Dealing with internet trolls
10:09 Biggest thing he's learned from his journey to the draft
10:59 Which coach has had the biggest impact on his game
11:21 When he was at Itchen did he think he would make the NBA
11:43 Best players he played against in England
12:24 What colour is he going to dye his hair next
12:40 Does he consider himself British, American or Polish
13:16 Who he wants to dunk on the most
13:29 How many pairs of basketball shoes he owns and favourite brand
13:46 Who he would compare his game to in the NBA
14:17 Does he remember the MK Trojans
14:45 Was going to the Solent Kestrels the right move for him
15:13 What is he most excited about
15:42 Approaching the financial side of things with NBA money
16:29 Would he consider owning an AAU team
17:10 What advice he would give to the next young player from the UK
For episode 107 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Lenz Balan, Vice President of 777 Partners and new owners of the BBL and London Lions.
Following on from the announcement that 777 have invested £7million into the BBL for a 45% stake (though their ownership of the Lions takes it to 50%), we thought it was necessary to get a look into who is behind the scenes at 777, find out their reasons for investing into British basketball and what their plans are for the league.
In this hour and a half podcast we dig deep into how the investment came about, what their learnings have been so far, and the scale of their ambition for British basketball.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
05:01 Interview start
05:28 Why did they invest in British basketball?
08:42 What 777's assessment is of what has held the game back in the UK so far
13:55 How private equity works and how investors will get a return and how long it will take
16:45 What the immediate plan looks like for the next 12 months
19:50 How important the TV piece is
21:00 The scale of ambition of 777 and how much money is really needed
24:10 How 777 have been received in the British basketball community and dealt with politics
27:29 The level of collaboration required and involving other stakeholders in the plan
29:55 How the investment into the London Lions led to the BBL investment
31:29 The percentage stake 777 have in the BBL and how decision making will work now
33:34 The similarities between the Australian NBL and the BBL's situation and creating a situation for NBA draft prospects to do a rookie year in the UK
38:04 The BBL's role in developing British talent
40:47 His thoughts on British basketball culture
44:14 The GB national team programme
46:14 Whether a strong national team programme is more important than a strong professional league
47:40 The London Lions mens teams not playing British players in European competition
50:39 Why BBL teams competing in Europe is so important
54:30 Is the Euroleague the aspiration with the London Lions?
55:49 Whether it's a conflict of interest to own the league and a club in it
57:21 What the key cities are the BBL is targeting for new franchises
59:19 How many franchises the BBL could realistically support
1:00:43 Would the BBL ever consider promotion and relegation
1:02:13 Whether the size of the task ever becomes overwhelming
1:03:52 If the investment was to fail, why would it fail
1:06:00 What the biggest learnings and surprising things are so far
1:08:30 How to work out which opinions to take seriously and which to disregard
1:11:07 The biggest mistakes they've made so far
1:14:30 How difficult hiring and finding the right people is
1:17:39 How this BBL investment will impact the WBBL and the women's game
1:20:01 How the BBL will look in 10-15 years time if everything goes to plan
1:22:23 Facilities and how important the infrastructure around the game is
1:24:15 Whether current BBL owners will want to split their franchise equity stakes with other investors
1:25:44 What message he would have for fans
1:27:22 Wrap up
For Episode 106 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with Jon May and Tom Bennett from the Malvern Hoops campaign, who have recently transformed their local basketball courts.
The five year campaign came to an end in August, after the brand new courts at Victoria Park, in Malvern, Worcestershire, were officially opened.
Not purely aesthetic, the courts have been resurfaced with new hoops installed, completed with spring loaded rims and fibreglass backboards.
In this hour long podcast, we go into the backstory of the Malvern Hoops campaign, how they managed to pull it off and what others who are trying to do the same thing can learn from them.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
2:56 Interview start
3:30 Jon May's background
08:35 Tom Bennett's background
08:45 What made them both decide to take action
13:30 Their first steps after being positively received by the council
14:20 How confident they were of being able to make it happen
18:43 Where to go to find out about land permissions
20:02 What is the role in the council responsible for basketball court renovations
20:56 What they were looking to do
24:55 The first budget they drew up and the costs they were looking at
26:50 What the breakdown of costs were for an estimated £90,000 budget
28:10 What makes the Malvern Hoops campaign different to a lot the other art court projects
28:57 How they were going to be able to raise the money
29:56 How long of a process it is working with councils
31:36 The process of trying to raise £5,000 themselves
36:55 Deciding to involve netball for a different part of the park to help gain more support
40:25 Ensuring you publicise your campaign and getting media coverage
42:36 Importance of being able to show a need/desire for the project from the community
45:14 Jon and Tom's top 10 tips for anyone trying to their own basketball court project
45:43 1) Check the Malvern Hoops website for more details
46:13 2) Don't expect it to be easy
47:41 3) Get your budget and financials in order
49:54 4) Use 2D/3D software to get a mockup of the court project done
51:35 5) Be a spokesperson & advocate for your project
53:28 6) Get as much help as possible
56:04 7) Include costs for security in the project
58:11 8) Consider the use of FlexCourt flooring
1:01:20 9) Consider putting other sports into the proposal
1:02:54 10) Focus on having a big launch
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For episode 105 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with England international and nine year pro, Joe Ikhinmwin.
In this two hour bumper episode, the former London Lions captain exclusively reveals he is retiring from basketball, with a smooth transition to The Cyber Nerds, the business he set up with three friends to review movies, comics and games which has become a huge success.
Starting his basketball career as a 14 year old at East London Royals, he moved on to Barking Abbey basketball academy before attending Seminole State Junior College and then NCAA Division 1 South Carolina State where he turned pro upon graduation.
He signed with the Newcastle Eagles in his rookie year before moving to his hometown London Lions where he has remained since, captaining the club for the past 6 seasons whilst winning a Cup, Trophy and League title.
We discuss all of that and more in this episode that crosses the intersection of basketball, business, content creation, player welfare, and more.
Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
03:37 Interview start
04:00 Joe reveals he is retiring
06:50 Why he's decided to retire now
09:24 Is Joe still working out to stay in shape?
10:48 Whether Joe is 100% of if he could come out of retirement in years to come
11:42 The transition to retirement from playing being easier due to his other stuff
13:28 Advice for younger players starting their career in the BBL
25:00 Whether the level of the BBL is underrated
26:54 Minutes and wages for British players in the BBL
28:51 The important of continuity of a roster for marketing
30:50 Clubs arguing they operate within the rules so signing naturalised British players is fine
31:55 Whether his contracts would have been enough to live well off and British players not being paid enough
33:55 What he would say to teams that say they don't have the budgets to pay players more
39:25 Where is the player union?
42:13 How much do players communicate throughout the league?
43:40 If players discuss their contracts with each other
50:20 Perception is everything
51:55 Joe's early days playing starting at East London Royals
56:30 How he ended up going to Barking Abbey
1:01:23 Sam's two standout memories of Joe
1:03:57 The impact Barking Abbey had on Joe's development as a person
1:06:49 Where Joe's work ethic came from
1:09:23 Self awareness as a player and why so many players lack it
1:11:27 Whether Joe has been able to have input on systems with teams he plays on
1:13:10 The London Lions last season and Joe's evaluation of it
1:17:39 Whether the big roster was a source of issues with players having to sit out on rotation
1:19:00 How much 777 have changed things internally with the London Lions
1:19:55 The impact of COVID last season on the Lions' European run and the Cup Final
1:23:13 The Cyber Nerds and the stuff Joe has going on off the court
1:27:37 Whether he started the Cyber Nerds with the intention of it being a business
1:28:35 The different revenue streams of the Cyber Nerds
1:32:30 How to monetize Hoopsfix, and size of the British basketball market
1:47:03 Having almost 100,000 followers on Instagram
1:48:29 Whether there is more pressure when posting with a large audience
1:50:24 Importance of a personal brand for athletes and whether players with a bigger following will have greater leverage with contracts
1:54:14 Marketing advice for the league and teams
1:56:44 Favourite basketball memory
1:59:50 Favourite coach he's ever played for
2:00:08 Best junior player he's ever seen
2:01:30 Best individual performance he's ever witnessed
2:02:33 His best performance of his career
2:05:12 What's next for Joe in the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For episode 104 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with Jay Marriott, CEO of Gloucester Sport, responsible for new WBBL franchise Gloucester Queens and potential BBL franchise Gloucester Kings.
A former pro player and Head Coach of the Plymouth Raiders, Marriott was brought in by long-term friend Alex Petheram - 100% owner of the new Gloucester operation - to oversee and manage the basketball side of things, including the WBBL franchise that was recently accepted for this coming season, and a potential BBL franchise for the 2022-23 season.
In this hour plus conversation, hear from Jay on how the franchise came to be, what the process has been like, along with their plans for the future in a unique behind the scenes insight into what it is like to get a professional basketball franchise off the ground in the UK.
Time codes:
00:00 Intro
02:22 Podcast start
02:30 How did the franchise come to be?
05:08 The specific date Jay first heard of the potential franchise
06:02 Who the people are involved behind the scenes
08:35 The projected costs of having a BBL and WBBL franchise
11:01 What is the current BBL franchise fee
11:46 What is the value in a BBL franchise, is it a good investment
16:14 Whether there are standard operating procedures and documentation you receive as a BBL franchise owner
21:24 The timelines for a WBBL and BBL franchise and how they changed
26:18 How confident they are of having the BBL franchise accepted in 2022
28:50 Whether clubs should have to work their way up through the NBL and spend longer building their base before getting a professional franchise
34:35 Venues, and where Gloucester will be playing
42:14 Biggest surprises so far in the whole process
47:48 Visas and the process to be able to get import players
51:46 Roster make up with visa limitations
52:54 Whether Gloucester have scholarships to offer players
56:29 What their expectations are performance wise on the floor
1:01:29 Who will be coaching the WBBL franchise
1:05:10 Whether the WBBL gets less focus because its the same owners of the BBL clubs
1:08:58 Immediate priorities heading into the new season and over the next 18 months
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For episode 103 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with former England senior international and BBL pro, Jason Swaine.
Swaine, known to be one of the great all-time shooters, picked up 24 caps for England, is a three-time BBL title winner and 12-time National League Division 1 title champion.
Starting his professional career with the Sheffield Sharks, he led the BBL in 3-point percentage in his second year, and also played for Chester Jets and Manchester Giants.
Eventually signing with Teeside Mohawks, he was a part of one of the most successful teams in national league history as they pulled off the clean sweep treble three times in four years.
After choosing to focus on his teaching career in 2004, he continued to play in the lower national leagues (winning Division 3 MVP twice in 2009 and 2010), before retiring from the national league in 2016 but still playing to this day in local leagues and in the masters tournaments.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:58 Interview start
02:10 Swaine's take on the BBL this season in comparison to his playing days
05:18 Whether Jason followed the league much prior to this season
06:21 The growth of netball and Jason's daughter being a player
08:39 Whether it's hard for him to enjoy basketball as a fan
09:36 What made Jason first get into basketball
11:19 Balancing football and basketball
12:32 Curtis Xavier and his impact on Jason
15:17 Where are the roles for ex pros in the UK?
16:08 Whether he saw a career in basketball at 15
18:02 Swaine's work ethic to become a great shooter
20:17 When he became known as a good shooter
21:53 Players he looked up to coming up
23:13 Access to the NBA in the early 90s
24:02 Why he switched from Calderdale to Doncaster
25:07 The level of competition in Division 1
26:46 Other great players of his generation
28:00 How the opportunity with the Sheffield Sharks came about
30:05 Whether he had a welcome to the pros moment
31:45 How much money he could earn as a 19 year old in the BBL
33:08 Whether playing in the BBL felt like 'a thing'
35:41 To be a professional you need a tax code!
36:49 The increase of his role from his rookie year to his second year
39:19 The McDonald's Open Championship
43:21 Playing Real Madrid being up 17 at the half and losing by 3
45:24 Making his debut with the England Senior national team at 21
47:28 Standout memories with the England team
49:16 How good were John Amaechi and Steve Bucknall?
50:58 Standout victories with England
52:55 Why he left Sheffield Sharks
57:15 His half season in Chester
58:50 Playing for Manchester Giants in their prime years
1:00:19 The level Manchester were operating at compared to other teams
1:01:30 Whether he thinks Manchester can get back to where they were
1:03:15 His dominant years with Teeside and why he chose to go D1
1:05:22 Teeside doing a treble three years out of four
1:07:23 What has kept Jason playing for so long
1:09:21 Playing with his son Eisley at Bradford in Division 1
1:12:59 The importance of having family support
1:14:33 Standout best British junior players
1:15:29 The best British player he has played with or against
1:16:20 Best individual performance he has ever witnessed
1:17:36 Favourite basketball memory
1:18:51 What is in the future for Jason in the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For episode 102 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Warwick Cann, the former Performance Pathways Co-ordinator and National Teams Director for GB and Basketball England.
Warwick, an Australian, was hired in 2009, and had a number of different roles through to 2016 focused around performance pathways and the national teams, as he sat between both the BBF and BE.
In this little over an hour conversation, we look back on his time in the UK with basketball, what the issues were, and what we can learn from them.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:48 Interview start
02:55 Warwick's background before getting involved with British basketball
05:00 The original role he applied for within British basketball
07:19 What his plans and expectations were coming into the role
09:12 His early impressions of British basketball compared to his expectations
12:52 Why there was a gap in coaches' knowledge about the game
15:40 The ease of which clubs can get set up in the UK compared to Australia
18:28 The first thing he needed to do in his role and getting buy in
23:45 The Regional Institute of Basketball model
28:44 Is basketball in the UK made more complicated by having clubs and educational institutions?
31:04 The difficulty of relying on a volunteer workforce
39:07 The Areas of Emphasis
44:37 The need for a focus on point guard play
46:49 Whether it is disappointing the Areas of Emphasis is not used anymore
49:04 Did he think the London 2012 Olympics was going to change everything
55:36 What he thinks the Olympic legacy was
58:16 The politics involved with British Performance Basketball being a separate entity
1:05:35 If he could go back, what ]he would change to ensure there was a London 2012 legacy
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For episode 101 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with British coaching trailblazer Tim Lewis.
Lewis, who most recently was an advanced scout for the Toronto Raptors, left the UK in 2006 to pursue his coaching dream, starting at CBA in Spain, before returning to set up Essex Pirates in the BBL as a pathway for young British talent.
A former junior and senior national team player who went on D1 scholarship to the University of New Hampshire, Lewis has coached at European Championships, Commonwealth Games and at the Olympics.
Since then he did time in Germany's pro B with Weissenhorn Japan with Hitachi Sun Rockers, times in the NBA G-League between Bakersfield Jam and Raptors 905, before heading to Thailand, where he also took the helm of their Senior National Team.
Time with the Qatar National Team followed, and he is currently surveying for the next opportunity.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:55 Interview start
03:17 Opportunity over money
06:43 Whether being single makes pursuing dreams easier
08:54 The barriers British coaches face and the perception of British coaches
11:26 The need for more professional coaching roles in the BBL
15:41 Advice for young coaches who want a career in coaching
19:17 What he would do if he was working for the federation to develop coaching
23:54 How importance the level of coaching is for the development of the game
25:45 Why we haven't seen another pro club try to replicate Essex Pirates efforts to give young British talent meaningful minutes
31:19 Could the UK produce a compelling enough offer to keep kids here instead of the US college route
33:51 Why the Essex Pirates failed
37:37 How much of a personal blow the failure of the Pirates was
39:55 Skepticism of being able to run a pro franchise with young British talent
41:31 the London 2012 Olympics and lack of British presence on the men's coaching bench
48:43 Thoughts on the London 2012 Olympic legacy
51:39 What needed to be done differently to ensure a legacy
1:01:40 Thoughts on British player talent development over the years
1:04:48 What he is currently doing
1:06:18 Whether he feels he is close to getting a gig in the NBA
1:08:36 Having to start from the bottom again if an NBA gig was to come to fruition
1:09:27 The job opportunity in Thailand that gave him financial stability
1:12:48 Losing his job in Thailand
1:15:15 Reaching different tiers in coaching and being put in different brackets
1:18:31 Whether coaches have agents
1:19:45 Favourite basketball memory
1:21:21 Best British junior player he's ever seen
1:22:17 Whether it was obvious certain British guys were going to the NBA
1:23:35 Best individual performance ever witnessed by a British player
1:24:28 Other top British coaches
1:26:46 What's in the future for Tim
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 100 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we do a deep dive into the London 2012 Olympic legacy, interviewing 8 different people who were in and around the British basketball programme.
We wanted to do something a little bit different for hitting the century mark and after a suggestion on Twitter from @auld_jethart to look at the Olympic legacy, we jumped on it.
There were plans to interview a lot more people - but already reaching just short of 3 hours, we figured release this is as a part one with a potential part two to come with other guests, if people want to see it.
The eight people interviewed for this Olympic legacy special were Ron Wuotila, Head of Operations for British Basketball amongst other roles, Dan Clark, current GB co-captain and Olympian, Tim Lewis, GB assistant coach at the London 2012 Olympics, Phil Waghorn, GB Senior Men's Team Manager, Tony Garbelotto, GB assistant coach in the run up to London 2012, Warwick Cann, GB's Pathways Performance Co-Ordinator, Mark Clark, the GB Senior Women's coach from 2006-2009, and Mark Woods, the UK's leading basketball journalist who covered (and continues to cover) GB pre and post London 2012.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
03:41 Ron Wuotila
19:05 Dan Clark
35:37 Tim Lewis
51:51 Phil Waghorn
1:18:28 Tony Garbelotto
1:39:37 Warwick Cann
2:00:43 Mark Clark
2:24:31 Mark Woods
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 99 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with British coaching legend John Collins.
Collins, awarded an MBE in 2009 for his services to basketball, has been coaching for over six decades and done it at every level.
He was at the helm of Sutton for the first ever National League game, and again when they became the first ever English team to win a game in Europe, coached both the England and Great Britain Senior Women, where he qualified England for the European Championships, was at the helm of the legendary Avon Cosmetics women's programme who dominated the national league for a number of years, and has been instrumental for the development of basketball in Northamptonshire, founding the early stages of Northants Basketball Club in 2000 along with Moulton College basketball academy in 2005.
Having also helped set up the Basketball Coaches Association (BCA) with Mark Dunning, Collins has dedicated his life to the sport and been a long-term advocate for the development of the British game.
In this 90 minute episode, we look back at John's journey.
Note: We had some technical issues, so the episode does end rather abruptly and not in the usual fashion - expect a part 2 at some point!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:59 Interview start
03:15 How John was first introduced to basketball
04:35 Whether he fell in love with the game right away
05:38 How far he took his own playing before coaching
07:34 Royal Albert Hall as a basketball venue
09:14 The evolution of the skill level
12:48 Where basketball sat within English culture in the '60s
14:54 Where the hotbeds of basketball were in the '60s and '70s
18:10 How John's early coaching career progressed
20:33 Working out what to teach and how to learn
23:30 The role the governing body had to help coaches develop
25:44 How the move to Sutton & Crystal Palace happened
29:58 Coaching in the first ever National League game and its formation
32:42 How basketball had been able to develop from the 60s to 70s
35:09 Whether the national league was being administered by the NGB or the clubs in the early years
35:55 Not learning from our mistakes in the past
36:44 The important of getting British basketball history accessible and documented
39:12 Under-appreciated success stories in British basketball history
40:56 British Performance Basketball initially wiping history in the sport's narrative
44:11 What can be done to make the basketball history more accessible
46:03 Losing his job with Sutton & Crystal Palace
48:00 How important it was to be the first English team to get a win in Europe
49:46 How important it is for British clubs to be competing in Europe
51:47 Getting involved with Central YMCA
53:38 His first exposure to women's basketball and whether it changed his approach
55:02 The progression of his coaching development journey
59:34 Why English coaches were so closed in their sharing of tactics
1:01:55 Whether English coaches mentality is more open now
1:03:17 The founding of the BCA UK
1:06:02 His proudest achievements with the BCA
1:08:50 The Avon Cosmetics women's programme
1:12:44 The level of dominance the Avon Cosmetics team were having
1:14:23 The barriers to development of the women's game over the years
1:17:32 The founding of Northants Thunder
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 98 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with Solent Kestrels forward and England and GB Senior international Orlan Jackman.
Originally out of Hackney, Jackman started out with the Hackney White Heat before heading to the US to prep school in California. Unable to get the NCAA Division 1 offer he was looking for, he returned to the UK for a season playing for Manchester Magic under Jeff Jones in NBL D1, before heading back to the US to JUCO.
He attended Seminole State College - with current London Lion captain Joe Ikhinmwin - before being stung by the NCAA's eligibility rules at NCAA D2 school Newman, and ended up at Oklahoma City University in the NAIA.
Turning pro in 2012-13, he signed with his hometown London Lions for his rookie year, and has gone on to a pro career that saw him have success in Germany, a stint in Portugal before returning to play domestically, having played for Worcester Wolves, Newcastle Eagles, Cheshire Phoenix, London City Royals and since the Royals folded, time with Essex Leopards in NBL D1 and now Solent Kestrels.
Having always wanted to use basketball as a tool to give back to his community, Jackman has set up his own business coaching younger players to help the next generation.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:09 Interview start
02:44 How Orlan first started playing basketball
05:09 Players that Orlan looked up to when first playing
06:35 How much natural ability he had versus having to work on his skills
07:09 The different competitions he was playing in
08:30 Junior career memories
09:29 His formative years and the impact of Joe White
11:07 When he set his sights on the States
14:09 The other talented players of his generation
15:08 How the move to the US came about for prep school
16:19 The transition to California from London
17:46 His numbers in high school
18:44 The recruiting process
20:17 Playing in Manchester for a year after high school
23:21 Returning to the US to JUCO after his year in England
26:14 Getting to play with Joe Ikhinmwin at Seminole State
27:11 Breaking his foot and becoming aware of eligiblity issues
35:19 His crazy dunk at OKC University
35:58 Standout memories from college
39:45 How he felt about signing in London for his rookie year
44:33 Getting called up to the GB Senior Men in the summer of 2013
56:17 How he felt about returning to the BBL with Worcester after being abroad
57:19 Signing with Cheshire and their BBL Cup run
1:01:37 His time with the London City Royals
1:06:00 His evaluation on the first London City Royals season
1:07:40 People rooting against the Royals
1:11:14 The communication from ownership when things started getting shaky
1:13:49 The players' reaction to knowing the club was folding
1:16:45 Signing with Solent this season
1:17:56 Solent being so dominant in NBL Division 1
1:20:11 Playing for friend Matt Guymon
1:21:50 How many years playing Orlan has left
1:22:34 Almost signing for London Lions this season
1:23:48 Signing for Solent despite it being less money than London and a commute away
1:24:52 Rooting for the Lions' success
1:27:00 His thoughts on the state of British basketball
1:30:15 His favourite basketball memory
1:31:55 Best coadch he's every played for
1:33:16 Best Brtish player he's played with or against
1:33:50 Best invidivual performance he's witnessed
1:34:58 The future, where he wants to be in the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 97 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with 3-year pro and Ireland Senior international Taiwo Badmus.
Badmus did not start playing until he was 16 years old, under the legendary Mike Cartey in South London, before attending Hackney Community College. After struggling to get to the US, and enrolling at the University of West London, Badmus exploded onto the scene in the summer of 2014 with a strong showing at Midnight Madness, eventually leading to a scholarship to Fairmont State, one of the top NCAA Division 2 programmes in the US.
After a season and a half of barely playing, Badmus transferred to UVA Wise for his final two years, putting up crazy numbers as he averaged 20 and 10 to seize the opportunity, turning pro in 2018-19 in Spain, where he led his side Marin to LEB Gold promotion, and has played in Spain's second Division ever since.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
03:18 Interview start
03:35 How Taiwo first picked up a basketball
05:27 What made him move to Ireland as a 5 year old and his history there
06:29 Learning the game under Mike Carty in South London
08:26 His progression with playing National League
10:53 Being under the radar and the moment he felt he had a future in the sport
13:54 Blowing up in the summer of 2014 and what he had been doing before going to the US
15:49 Doing a year at the University of West London in 2013-14 and how he stayed sharp
17:39 Whether he ever questioned whether basketball was the right path for him
19:09 The players in London who helped him on his path before heading to the US
21:06 The players from around his generation that he was looking up to or going against growing up
22:44 What the process was to end up in the US at Fairmont State
25:14 Going Division II as opposed to NCAA Division I
26:26 The transition of going to the US from the UK
28:39 Whether the transition was challenging just athletically/physically or also skill-wise
29:45 How long the transition took
30:59 Not getting a chance to play a lot at Fairmont State
33:14 Memories from Fairmont State
35:19 Finding somewhere to transfer to without having played a lot
36:37 The transition to a new school in UVA Wise
37:37 Putting up crazy numbers at UVA Wise after not playing for 2 seasons
39:32 If he still had one eye on turning pro whilst at college
40:34 Dropping 38 points on his previous school when they played each other
44:16 His standout memories from UVA Wise
45:36 The process of turning pro
47:32 The options on the table for his rookie year
48:44 Transition to pro life from college life
51:34 Whether he had to adapt his game for pro life compared to college
52:44 The cultural transition to Spain
54:33 His rookie season with Marin and earning promotion to LEB Gold
57:00 Making the decision to re-sign with Marin for his second year in the pros
58:29 The gap between LEB Silver, LEB Gold and the ACB
1:00:26 His second season being cut short by COVID-19
1:02:29 Being back in London for lockdown in the Summer of 2020
1:04:34 This season with Coruna
1:06:29 Representing the Ireland national team in the summer of 2018
1:08:36 His thoughts on FIBA 3x3 having played in it and its potential for the future
1:10:25 His favourite basketball memory
1:11:41 Best British player he's played with or against
1:12:14 Best coach he's played for
1:12:57 Best individual performance he's ever witnessed
1:13:49 Taiwo's future aspirations for the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 96 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Toyotsu Fighting Eagles Nagoya big man, Ben Lawson.
The 7’1″ centre originally out of Oaklands College, turned pro in 2017-18 after a four year career at NCAA Division 1 school Western Kentucky University where he finished up as their fourth all-time blocked shots leader, starting his career in Cyprus before making the switch to Japan in 2018-19 where he has remained since.
A former England Under-18 and GB Under-20, Lawson played for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2019 NBA Summer League, and was recently named to the GB Senior Men’s squad long list.
In this 1 hour and 20 minute interview, we look back on Lawson’s journey so far and how he has fought through adversity to carve himself out a pro career.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:44 Interview start
03:01 How COVID-19 has affected the leagues in Japan
05:29 Whether COVID-19 impacted his decision to sign in Asia
06:51 How much he is in touch with other British guys overseas
07:54 His inclusion on the GB Senior squad long list and how much that is an aspiration
09:17 Whether his involvement with the GB program will be limited to summer months
10:33 Ben’s early years being involve with multiple sports
13:03 How serious about basketball he was when he enrolled at Oaklands
14:27 How much his height played a role into funnelling him into basketball
16:02 Getting to grips with his body and height
17:35 Coming out of nowhere onto the scene and when things started to click
20:23 The talent in the ’95 generation and if he ever felt out of his depth
23:14 Being coached by Steve Bucknall with the national team
24:59 Standout memories from playing in Division A with the England U18s
27:10 When the US colleges started recruiting him
29:26 How early he knew he was going to sign with WKU
30:50 Being a true freshman
31:20 The transition from England to WKU
33:15 Whether the biggest thing about the UK to US transition is the physicality & athleticism
34:50 Sticking out all 4 years at WKU
37:37 How much he’s thinking about stats at college to be able to turn pro
40:41 The standout memories from college
42:15 How much he goes back to visit WKU now
43:03 Turning pro
44:36 Whether he ever second guessed turning pro
46:42 Whether Cyprus was the only pro offer he had
47:43 Reflections on whether he made it when he was in Cyprus because of the lifestyle
49:16 Knocking down the game winner at the buzzer in the Playoff Semi-Finals in Cyprus
52:35 Whether the offers started coming in after his good year in Cyprus
55:43 Why he thinks the offers didn’t come
58:30 Getting two big offers from Japan after a workout in LA
1:01:47 The cultural transition from West to East, playing in Japan
1:05:12 Whether he feels like he has embraced the culture and found a second home in Japan
1:06:29 If he feels like he’ll spend a lot of his career in Japan
1:08:10 The level on the floor in Japan and if he feels he is being challenged enough
1:10:58 Playing for Memphis in the NBA Summer League
1:13:23 How close he feels to being able to play in the NBA
1:14:44 Whether he wants to do NBA Summer League again
1:15:47 Turning down a G-League offer to play in Japan
1:18:39 Staying with the same agent since his rookie year
1:19:11 His favourite basketball memory
1:19:37 Best coach he’s every played for
1:20:22 Best teammate he’s ever had
1:20:33 Best British player he’s played with or against
1:21:08 Best individual performance he’s ever witnessed
1:21:52 Where he wants to be in the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 95 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with GB Senior Men's Acting Head Coach Marc Steutel, who has just led the team to EuroBasket 2022 qualification.
An assistant with the squad since 2018, Steutel was given the reins of the team for the February 2020 window when the British Basketball Federation became aware Nate Reinking would be unavailable due to his commitments with the Canton Charge.
Since then, he has taken the helm through all three windows across the past 12 months, going 4-2, and qualifying for EuroBasket 2022 this past week after a big victory over Germany at the buzzer before defeating France to round out the campaign.
In this interview, Steutel reflects on the campaign, discusses being in the position of acting Head Coach, and looks ahead to what is next for the group.
Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
03:09 Interview start
03:14 What EuroBasket qualification means for him and the team
06:46 Whether qualification exceeded people’s expectations
09:54 Whether qualification exceeded the team’s own expectations
11:53 Whether the team bought into the underdog mentality
14:22 How much of a project it is to change the perception of GB basketball
16:49 How much of an advantage the new FIBA qualification system is for GB
19:56 When selecting the squad whether continuity of the squad is taken into account
23:14 If the programme had more funding and resource whether they would do extra camps
26:25 Jacob Round, Kareem Queeley and Cameron Hildreth and having younger guys with the team
29:35 The challenge of balancing minutes and egos
34:00 Being thrust into the role of Head Coach
39:03 Dealing with criticism of the level he has coached at whilst being the GB Head Coach
41:49 Whether he feels vindicated having secured EuroBasket qualification
43:27 Gabe Olaseni coming out in a press conference to stand up for the coaching staff
46:31 How the dynamic has worked with Nate Reinking and the role he is playing
50:19 Whether there’s a chance Marc could take the reins of the team for EuroBasket 2022
52:29 How GB were able to turn around a heavy defeat to France into such a resounding victory in Game 2
58:45 The Luke Nelson game winner against Germany and that final possession
1:03:25 GB previously always being close but not quite winning and whether that’s changing
1:08:43 The importance of playing home games and the game in Newcastle against Germany
1:14:20 What’s next for this GB group
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 94 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with St Benedicts prep wing and Cal commit, Sam Alajiki.
Alajiki left the UK in January of 2020, where he had started the season with Barking Abbey having initially been developed by Kent Crusaders, to attend Beckley Prep in Virginia.
After a half season there – which was cancelled due to COVID – he made the switch to St Benedicts in New Jersey, but not before committing to PAC-12 side Cal, becoming the third British-developed player in the Class of 2021 to sign with a high major programme.
The 6’7″ small forward with a 7’2″ wingspan and 44 inch max vertical, jumped on the Hoopsfix podcast to discuss his journey so far, being
intent on taking the US High School route, and his aspirations for the future.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
03:10 Interview start
03:16 Alajiki’s American accent
04:33 Sam’s upbringing in Ireland and how he ended up in England
08:07 Making the decision to focus on basketball over football
09:13 Whether the move from Ireland to England was difficult
10:36 The role of Jesse Sazant, Adam Davies on his early stages
11:50 How Sam was difficult as a younger player
12:34 How he matured
13:48 When he started taking basketball seriously
14:17 His involvement with the England U15 development programme
16:00 His initial focus on representing England/GB then that becoming Ireland
17:31 His relationships that are still in Ireland
18:10 His early aspirations in the sport
19:13 Wanting to prove himself to Coach Jesse Sazant
20:06 Sam’s physical gifts and matching the skills to them
22:25 Finding his shot and working on his jump shot
23:14 Deciding to make the switch to Barking Abbey for year 12
23:48 Being intent on going to the US
24:54 Why he felt the need to go to the US for HS rather than stay in the UK
26:59 Why his visa was denied in Year 10
27:19 Concerns about his eligibility
27:38 Why choosing to go to Barking Abbey from Canterbury
28:18 Leaving Barking Abbey midway through the season
29:57 Coaches from the US getting in his ear
30:30 Having D1 options in the UK already and still wanting to go to the US
31:36 Whether he has any regrets on the route he took
32:17 If Barking Abbey was the step up he wanted in the UK
33:33 Whether he ever felt out of his depth in the UK
34:43 US High school vs NBL D1 men
37:35 Whether the ultimate allure to the US is exposure and coaches wanting to see prospects against US competition
39:37 The transition to the US from England
42:20 How quickly the college interest came when going to the US
44:06 The Xs and Os in the US compared to England
45:12 2019-20 season being cancelled, staying in the US last summer
46:09 Making the decision to commit to Cal early
46:42 Why he chose Cal, who else he was looking at
47:42 The role he sees himself having at Cal
48:45 Is the goal to be a professional basketball player?
49:01 Choosing a bigger school over a smaller one
50:44 Switching to St Benedicts this season
52:51 Status of their current season
55:03 The impact of COVID-19 on the Class of 2021
57:58 How Cal are anticipating the 2021-22 season being
59:53 Whether he’s coming back to the UK this summer
59:29 His NBA aspirations and potential barriers
1:00:57 His favourite basketball memory
1:02:27 Feedback on the Hoopsfix All-Star Classic
1:05:15 best British player he’s played with or against
1:06:18 best individual performance he’s witnessed
1:07:05 His basketball role models
1:08:50 His goals for the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 93 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Commissioner of the Australian NBL, Jeremy Loeliger.
Loeliger has overseen an unprecedented growth period of the NBL across the past 5 years, as the league has gone from on the verge of bankruptcy to one of the most prominent leagues globally with arguably the closest product as a game day experience to the NBA. Click here to enter your details and be notified when we release our in depth case study.
In 2015, multi-millionaire Larry Kestleman took a 51% controlling stake in the league (he now owns 94%) for $7million operating capital, and brought on Loeliger as General Manager to oversee the transition. Those 5 years have seen tens of millions of dollars invested, packed out stadiums, free to air tv deals, rafts of sponsorship agreements, franchise valuations go from tens of thousands to multi millions, and the league having become a breeding ground for NBA prospects who do not want to go to college like LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton through the Next Stars program.
There are some remarkable similarities to the BBL's history - both had a 'heyday' in the 90s, before experiencing an extreme lull, both countries do not own their own facilities and arenas, both leagues used to have equal ownership between every franchise (the BBL still does), and both have to battle culturally against bigger national sports.
It was hard to get into everything within an hour, but we discussed the progress of the NBL and tried to extract the learnings for the BBL.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
04:56 Interview start
05:00 History of the NBL and how Larry Kestleman and Jeremy Loeliger came to be involved
17:39 How much investment it took to turn things around
23:40 The first deals and how much they relied on their relationships
27:07 How important the relationship between the federation and the pro league is
32:34 The underrated role the Australian Basketball Players Association has played in it
37:03 The importance of having home grown talent in the league
41:52 Decision making within the NBL and with the franchises
44:21 Teams buy in when they see the success
46:03 Whether the league currently owns any of the franchises
49:44 The importance of having a centralised marketing plan
52:30 How important digital and social has been to the growth of the league in the last 5 years
55:30 Whether the NBL is now profitable
56:08 How much more room the NBL has for growth
57:01 The importance of having people that know both basketball and business
58:53 Sign off and positive conversations about British basketball
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 92 we sit down with Chris Mayes, Technical Director of BC Triple Threat in Haarlem in Holland.
Mayes, who grew up on the South East coast near Worthing, started out playing before turning his eye to coaching between Worthing and Solent Kestrels under the tutelage of the legendary Jimmy Guymon
Whilst trying to build his experience at a camp in the US, he was told he would need a degree to be able to permanently relocate across the channel so returned to the UK to take an assistant role with Worthing Thunder, whilst doing an undergraduate degree in Coaching Science at the University of Chichester.
However, in late 2004 he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, having to undergo surgery and requiring a period of recovery but it gave him an opportunity to reflect and decide coaching was the path he wanted to pursue seriously.
After getting his undergrad, he moved to Worcester for an MSc in Coaching Science whilst assisting with the BBL side, before feeling that for him to progress like he wanted, he would need to leave the UK. He dropped out of his masters and in 2010 took an unpaid job (food and board only) at Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain.
After five years at CBA (he did end up taking a salary!) working with some of the top prospects in Europe, he moved on, having now worked in Belgium with Pepinster-Verviers, Liege Basket and Leuven Bears (where he was interim Head Coach for a period), Netherlands (New Heroes Den Bosch), and Spain (CB TerrAlfàs), in roles split between Assistant Coach with the pro side and youth development roles.
Mayes has now spent over a decade on the continent in unstable conditions in pursuit of a career in the sport he loves.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:32 Interview start
02:40 The situation with COVID-19 in the Netherlands
04:22 Chris' role as Technical Director with BC TTT
06:33 The structure of BC TTT
09:53 Comparing the levels of junior talent in Holland to the UK
12:04 Mayes' first exposure to basketball and why he decided to pursue coaching
18:03 Getting his undergrad in coaching science and whether it has helped with his coaching
20:22 Why chose not to pursue the US route in the end
23:36 Dropping out of his masters at Worcester
24:27 What he was unable to get in the UK which led him to want to go abroad
26:54 Why he wanted to go overseas
28:56 The process of going abroad and landing a role with CBA
32:30 The early years of Canarias Basketball Academy
34:07 His roles and responsibilities at Canarias Basketball Academy
36:07 How often he was coming back to the UK when at CBA
38:21 The realities of day to day life at CBA
42:23 Some of the most talented players he worked with
45:46 The Sports Illustrated article in 2016 alleging potential underhanded dealings at CBA
48:47 Why he decided to leave CBA
51:05 Moving to Belgium with Pepinster-Verviers
52:43 The differences going from elite youth to elite pros
56:38 Player development becoming team development
58:48 Whether his focus is around youth development or coaching at pro level
1:01:38 Believing development comes from top to bottom
1:08:34 Working with the Armenian national team
1:12:42 Moving to rival Belgium club Liege
1:14:27 His time with Leuven Bears in Belgium, becoming interim Head Coach
1:16:56 The lack of stability in basketball coaching
1:20:41 Whether the instability of coaching is sustainable
1:23:09 If there is frustration with the British game for not allowing him to be able to develop at home
1:28:58 Best British junior player he's ever seen
1:30:27 The best coach he's worked with
1:31:22 His favourite basketball memory
1:32:09 Whether we are going to see a return of Makem Takem podcast
1:32:58 Where Mayes wants to be in 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 91 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with Belfast-based Marc Mulholland, the Executive Director & Creative Producer of the Belfast Basketball Classic with Inspirus Sports.
Mulholland is a former Irish junior international, and plays a huge role in the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic - the first NCAA tournament to take place in Europe with the Sport Changes Life Foundation and partner NCAA MAAC Conference and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
He has been embedded in the Irish basketball community for years starting in historic St Gall's Basketball Club in West Belfast, a time at Lisburn Scorpions and Andersonstown Tigers. Having done extensive coaching from development to Team NI Academy level, is now a Basketball Northern Ireland & NI Sport Forum Board Member, and is currently on FIBA's Timeout 2.0 programme, which helps players & former players make the transition into the next phase of their career.
With a background in film and media, he released 'House of Hopla', a SCRAM Films documentary about legendary NBA shooting coach Dave Hopla. A story about Belfast , Basketball and Brotherhood, in 2019.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:41 Interview start
03:02 Impact of COVID on basketball in Northern Ireland
07:43 How Northern Ireland fits into the British basketball governing body structure
11:15 Players in Northern Ireland are able to choose whether to represent Ireland or GB
14:28 Basketball culture in Ireland
22:50 Whether young players in Ireland are looking to England/Scotland/Wales (incorrectly labelled the 'mainland' by me!) or players more local
27:01 The ideation phase of the Belfast Classic and how it came to be
40:57 How to finance an event with a budget in the millions
53:32 Raising sponsorship requires persistence and patience
59:56 British basketball needs to think bigger
1:01:12 What's in the future for the Belfast Classic
1:06:53 House of Hopla - Marc's documentary about Dave Hopla
1:15:52 Distribution options for documentary releases
1:21:13 FIBA Timeout Program
1:30:07 Potential for a BBL franchise in Belfast
1:32:58 Marc's aspirations for the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 89 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with Great Britain and San Pablo Burgos guard Kareem Queeley.
The 2001 born prospect, originally out of Leicester, has been regarded as one of the UK's brightest talents since bursting onto the scene as a 13 year old winning the MiniCopa MVP whilst on trial with Real Madrid.
He swiftly signed a multi-year junior contract with Real Madrid, moving to Spain to continue his development - winning a Euroleague ANGT title in the process, whilst representing England and Great Britain at Under-16, Under-18 and Under-20 level.
He departed Real Madrid ahead of the 2019-20 season to sign with another ACB side, San Pablo Burgos, and most recently in October became one of the few Brits to win a club European title as they secured the Basketball Champions League title.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:14 Interview start
02:33 How Kareem first started playing basketball
03:28 Living in St Kitts before moving to England
04:40 Getting involved with the Leicester Warriors
05:24 Whether he feels he had a natural ability for it
05:50 How much he could work on his game as a youngster
06:11 The progression from there
06:39 When basketball became a serious pursuit
07:34 Choosing between football and basketball
08:03 What he learnt at Leicester Warriors that set the foundation
08:56 When he realised he was pretty good
09:15 Some of Kareem's bigger scoring games as a junior
10:02 Weighing up his options as a 13 year old
11:44 Playing in the Junior Final Fours
12:28 Playing with teammates who weren't as talented
13:30 How the trial with Real Madrid came about
15:10 Winning the MVP at the MiniCopa in Spain and the impact mentally
16:22 What made him decide to sign with Real Madrid and move to Spain
16:55 What the pros and cons were that he was weighing up with deciding to sign in Spain
18:06 Signing a 4 year deal (2+2) and making the adjustment to Spain
19:21 The quality of the facilities at Real Madrid
20:16 How it works with his education in Spain and a typical day in the life
21:34 What type of school he attended
21:56 The language spoken on the court
22:12 The comparisons between what he had in England to Spain basketball-wise
23:07 The different competitions he competed in in Spain
23:25 His progression over the 4 years at Real Madrid
24:35 The level of competition Real Madrid faced at Junior level
25:38 Winning the Euroleague ANGT
26:28 Making the decision to not go to college in the US
28:42 The highlights from his 4 years with Real Madrid
29:28 Representing the England/GB junior national teams and whether there was a difference in his level
30:33 Whether coaches in Spain noticed any bad habits
31:26 His contract with Real Madrid coming to an end
32:28 Beginning the process of finding another team
33:19 At what point he became fluent in Spanish
33:39 Signing with San Pablo Burgos
34:29 Playing for Burgos' feeder team and not their ACB side
35:27 Becoming a true 'professional' and getting that first pay cheque
36:03 How he feels about his own development as a player
37:01 Whether the club can hold him more accountable now as a pro
37:27 The instability of being a professional basketball player
38:16 Dealing with the impact of COVID-19 in 2019-20
39:22 Winning the Basketball Champions League
41:56 Dealing with not playing as many minutes as he might like
42:54 The impact of COVID-19 on the current season
44:29 His day to day at the moment
45:08 The surprises about pro life
46:06 Representing the England/GB junior national teams
48:05 What prevents GB from getting top 8 finishes at every age group at Division A level consistently
49:09 Other players he rates from his generation
50:07 Getting a call up to the GB Seniors
52:17 Best coach he's played for
52:58 Favourite basketball memory
53:37 Favourite teammate
53:55 Hardest player he's ever hard to guard
54:25 Best individual performance he's ever witnessed
54:55 Best British player he's played with or against
55:16 What's in the future for Kareem in the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 89 of the Hoopsfix podcast we sit down with Kent Crusaders Director Jesse Sazant.
Sazant, originally from Canada, built the foundations of his coaching career and philosophy working under the legendary Dave Smart at Carleton University, before moving to the UK in 2000 to pursue his teaching career.
He got involved with Kent Crusaders - then known as East Kent Crusaders - the day he landed in England, before becoming a director 3 years later and taking over the reins of the programme. In the 17 years since, the Crusaders have grown to mini ballers (boys & girls), U12 (boys & girls), U14 (boys & girls), U16 (men), U18 (men) and Senior men's teams, along with two academies.
Alongside the Crusaders, Jesse has served Head Coach of the England Under-15 boys development program for 5 years, assisted the England Under-16 men for 4 years, was Chairman of the EABL for 4 years, has coached various South East Regional teams and was a statistician at the London 2012 Olympics.
Sazant also served in the competitions group for Basketball England's Basketball Development Model in 2016.
In this two hour episode, we discuss the growth of Canadian basketball and the lessons that can be applied to British basketball, along with the birth of the EABL and Basketball England's attempts to change the game through the Basketball Development model and much more.
00:00 Intro
02:32 Interview start
02:58 Jesse's start in basketball in Canada
05:23 Who is Dave Smart and his relevance to basketball in Canada
06:39 What his takeaways and learnings were from working with Dave Smart
11:15 Dave's confrontational demeanour and whether it can be too much
13:38 Smart's role as GB U20 Head Coach and what happened with the programme
16:53 Whether the young British player mentality is not ready for accountability
20:01 Fixing the depth problem within British basketball
24:09 If defining club's levels needs to be federation led
26:26 Whether the BBL could be taking a lead on the pathway
28:38 How Canada develops players and the mixture between clubs and school sides
34:50 Canada's rise to prominence as a basketball nation
39:41 Coach development in the UK
46:43 Why Jesse moved to the UK and his biggest surprises about basketball here
52:06 The progression of basketball since he has been here
53:52 His intentions around coaching when he moved here
56:24 His year with Humph Long at the East London Royals
1:00:44 How much of an advantage London or big city clubs have
1:02:27 How to prevent players from moving clubs
1:05:09 Making the decision to focus on the Crusaders
1:06:45 Becoming a director of Kent Crusaders and taking the reins
1:08:20 Whether there were aspirations to have a BBL franchise
1:09:00 Could Kent support a BBL franchise?
1:10:09 Discovering Ryan Richards
1:16:50 Whether it was obvious Richards was a potential NBA player
1:18:25 If Ryan reached his potential as a player
1:21:35 Academy basketball - why academies are important and what role they have to play
1:25:25 The different competitions academies were competing in originally
1:27:11 The formation of the EABL and where it has come to
1:38:32 The decision by Basketball England to move the academy leagues back in-house
1:42:11 Easy wins for the academy leagues to improve
1:44:43 Basketball England's BDM - Basketball Development Model
1:50:58 The scale of the changes the BDM were initially proposing
1:53:28 The change of direction the Kent Crusaders decided
1:58:36 Favourite coach he's been around
1:59:14 Best British junior player he's seen
2:00:23 Favourite basketball memory
2:01:29 Best individual British basketball performance he's witnessed
2:02:23 What's in the future for Jesse and Kent Crusaders in the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 88 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Head of Basketball Operations for Luol Deng, founder of recruitment and scouting service She's Got Next, and assistant coach at Sierra Canyon High School, Steve Vear.
Vear, a former England junior international, played the majority of his career in NBL Division 1 with a season in the BBL with Leicester Riders, before making the move into to his own coaching business and working with Deng, heading up the UK arm of the Luol Deng Foundation.
As part of that role he oversaw Deng Camp, and the transition into the Deng Camp Top 50 format with rankings in 2014, alongside coaching - he headed up Brixton Topcats' WBBL side, coached London Southbank University, was an assistant with the U16 England Women national team and assisted with City of London Academy's Under-19 women's squad that dominated in 2016-17.
Midway through that season, Vear moved to LA to be with his wife, where he currently resides, continues to be the Director of Deng Camp - overseeing their UK, USA and Australia camps, launched She's Got Next, a recruiting and scouting service to help place British females in the US college system, and is an assistant coach with the powerhouse Sierra Canyon High School girls' team.
In this bumper three hour episode, we discuss Steve's story and the learnings that can be applied to British basketball.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:37 Interview start
03:19 How Steve first started playing
04:29 Whether playing with his brothers developed his competitiveness
05:24 Starting playing at 6 years old and how much of an advantage it is
07:59 The level of provision he had as a six year old to play
09:45 When it became a serious pursuit
13:57 When he thought he could have a professional career
16:20 The dominant Ealing Tornadoes junior team led by Steve and Walid Mumuni
20:02 The landscape of junior basketball when he was coming up
22:39 How good Richard Midgley was
26:24 Luol Deng as a junior
30:48 Rough & Ready and Steve's experiences and memories of it
35:59 Rough & Ready being ahead of its time in putting players on a pedestal
37:49 Steve's short stint at High School in the US
47:11 Whether he gave up the idea of returning to the US
48:47 Whether he wanted to stay in the UK or planned to play abroad
52:24 Whether Steve feels like he reached his potential as a player
54:01 What he was able to earn in NBL Division 1 as a player
56:40 Playing for Kingston University
59:38 Playing in an inter-county tournament for Sussex with Steve Gayle
1:01:19 Beginning the process away from playing after Leicester Riders
1:07:38 His first involvement with Deng Camp via Andrea Norton
1:13:35 His role as CEO of the Luol Deng Foundation in the UK
1:15:59 The progression of Deng Camp to Deng Top 50 Camp
1:25:02 The depth of talent in the UK
1:30:46 Advice he would give to a young player not selected for Deng Camp
1:37:26 Difference in the mentality between British players and overseas players
1:42:50 What would happen if you put Sierra Canyon's teams in the EABL & WEABL
1:45:17 Working with the 2016-17 CoLA girls squad and the program Jackson Gibbons is building
1:52:29 Steve's decision to move to LA and leaving British basketball behind
1:58:23 She's Got Next - Steve's recruiting service and the comparisons between the US and the UK talent
2:05:01 The US pathway as a progression route for young British players
2:13:39 Eligibility for British players in the US college system and where players are getting it wrong
2:20:56 Whether players needing to go to High School & Prep School is on the decline
2:25:55 The biggest surprises about basketball from when he moved to the US
2:34:20 What the UK could learn from the US without needing a massive cash infusion
2:46:56 Best British junior player he's seen
2:47:15 Best coach he's played for
2:49:04 No. 1 draft pick from all the of the Deng Camps
2:49:44 Favourite basketball memory
2:50:28 Best individual performance he has witnessed in British basketball
2:51:35 What's in store over the next 3-5 years - South Sudan Basketball Federation
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episode 87 of the Hoopsfix podcast we sit down with former GB international and 12 year pro Dzaflo Larkai.
Larkai retired from playing ahead of the 2019-20 season and made a smooth transition into life after playing as an international NBA scout with the Milwaukee Bucks.
'Flo' played professionally for 12 years, spending most of his time in Japan where he won 7 titles, including doing the regular season and playoff double three times consecutively. He also played in Spain and in the UK - suiting up for Mersey Tigers, Leicester Riders, Manchester Giants and London Lions where he won a Cup and League title.
More recently, he has joined Luol Deng's coaching staff for the South Sudan national team as an assistant in their continental qualifiers.
Since COVID-19 hit, Larkai's contract with the Bucks has been paused and he is currently waiting to see how it plays out but remains hopeful he will be brought back on board.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:26 Interview start
03:03 Making the transitioning from playing into his next career
11:27 How a role with an NBA team as a scout comes to fruition
17:18 What scouts are looking for and the red flags
22:55 The level of talent in Africa and how far we are from African ball becoming a powerhouse
27:58 The difference in young players from Africa compared to young British players
30:30 What made Flo first start playing the game
34:32 The three versions of Flo that exist that help him make decisions
41:13 Forgetting basketball players are humans
43:37 Becoming self aware
45:54 Starting out at Chessington Wildcats
52:57 How Brixton Topcats cultivated that family feel and loyalty within the club
55:24 The landscape of junior basketbal and who the talents were of his generation
58:43 How the move to the US for prep school came about
1:03:22 Turning down D1 offers to go to Prep School
1:06:27 Playing with Rasheed Quadri at La Salle
1:07:49 Redshirting his first year at La Salle due to injury
1:10:45 Playing in his Redshirt Freshman year
1:14:39 Whether the transition to college basketball was easier than he expected
1:17:55 His memories of Rough & Ready
1:20:47 His sexual assault case at college that led to his departure from La Salle
1:32:03 Transferring to Bellarmine and how the case changed him
1:37:33 Turning pro and signing in Spain
1:43:25 Ending up playing in Japan
1:48:52 Whether he knew he was going to end up longer term in Japan
1:50:57 What sort of money you could earn in Japan
1:52:01 Managing your finances whilst being a pro basketball player
1:57:15 What his younger and older self would say to him now
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 86 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Jamie Edwards, former England international and now heading up the new Manchester Giants project.
After almost a decade of dwelling near or at the bottom of the league table, in February of 2020, Manchester Giants saw new ownership led by Edwards, and have started this season as a new-look outfit, with a competitive roster, new home venue and re-brand.
Edwards grew up playing for Oldham Celtics before making the move to Manchester United and was taken under his wing by the legendary Alton Byrd, who remains a mentor to this day.
After going to the US for High School (at Byrd's former school), he returned to the UK where he had a 5 year career in the BBL before getting into running basketball camps and clinics, ultimately leading to the creation of NBA Mad Skills, a nationwide tour of 16 cities and towns which saw him featured on Channel 4 with Scoop Jackson.
Edwards was involved in two unsuccessful attempts at buying the Giants franchise in the late 90s, before setting up Trained Brain in 2000, where he does peak performance coaching with elite athletes and people.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:49 Interview start
03:51 How Jamie started playing basketball
06:28 The Manchester United basketball programme
10:12 How juniors used to all play before the seniors to encourage the club links
13:31 Playing at Royal Albert Hall
17:30 Being mentored by Alton Byrd
19:32 The similarities in their position and height meaning Byrd took a liking to him
22:39 Jamie went to the same High School Alton did
25:51 Choosing not to play college ball
27:16 Returning to the UK to play at Chester
30:30 The length of Jamie's pro career
31:56 Why he chose to retire from playing
35:11 Working camps and setting up the NBA Mad Skills nationwide tour
37:24 The first attempts at buying the Manchester Giants in the late 90s
41:09 What was it that motivated him to want to own a BBL franchise
44:03 The years he attempted to buy the franchise
44:29 What stopped it from happening
44:43 The franchise being valued higher in those times
45:15 Whether he has been biding his time over the last 20 years to get the franchise
47:38 How transferring ownership of a franchise works
49:31 How many other people are involved with the ownership of the club
50:31 Where the funding for the club is coming from
51:05 How the reality of running a BBL club compares to his expectations
52:53 Assessing the state of Manchester basketball
59:28 Moving into the National Basketball Performance Centre
1:02:41 The importance of knowing the history to be able to build for the future
1:05:32 The release of Callum Jones from the club
1:08:06 The balance of home grown development with winning at the BBL level
1:10:53 Getting tangible minutes for young British players and whether the focus is on players from the North West
1:14:40 What Jamie's day to day looks like
1:16:57 Looking to the future of the Giants
1:22:34 Whether it's a good look for players to have to have another job whilst in the BBL
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 85 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with first year pro and GB Senior international Akwasi Yeboah.
Currently plying his trade with Saint Quentin in France's Pro B for his rookie year, Yeboah is coming off a hugely successful college career, where he played at Stony Brook before becoming a grad-transfer to Rutgers.
He is one of the few Brits to score over 1600 points during his college career, made multiple-all conference teams, and also led the 2017 GB Under-20 side to Division A promotion whilst earning All-Star five honours.
Yeboah was part of the 'comeback kids' Barking Abbey side that won the 2015 NBL Division 1 Men's title with a squad that consisted of just one player over 19.
Due to COVID-19, Yeboah missed out on his opportunity to play in the 2020 NCAA Tournament (which was cancelled) and subsequently increase his 'stock' for the pros, and has navigated turning pro during a challenging time for basketball globally.
In this 1 hour and 20 minute pod we discuss Akwasi's journey so far and how he is finding pro life.
Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
02:37 Interview start
03:01 Transitioning to pro life
04:03 Whether there is more pressure now he's a pro
04:40 How COVID-19 has affected the basketball in France
07:24 The lockdown in France and how it's impacting the league
08:46 Whether COVID-19 impacted the decision on where he signed
10:43 How COVID-19 has impacted Akwasi's opportunities
12:05 What it felt like to sign his rookie contract
13:21 Whether there are any surprises about being a pro basketball player
14:52 What Akwasi does with his down time
15:26 What a day in the life looks like
16:58 How his French is coming on
17:33 Akwasi's early years in Ghana and why he moved to the UK aged 9
19:18 Getting punished with a cain in Ghana
21:20 How much his brother Kwame influenced his playing
23:16 Playing for London Spartans, Brentwood Fire and NASSA
24:04 The stacked NASSA junior side that were a year up from Akwasi
26:06 Now playing on the GB Senior squad with guys he looked up
26:39 His first junior national team experience
27:17 Not getting selected for the England Under-18s
28:15 The point he realised he could be a professional player
29:38 His first year at Barking Abbey and transitioning to an academy
30:56 The jump in his development from his first year to second year at BA
32:32 The group he was with at BA and how much that pushed him
34:02 The NBL Division 1 run with BA and getting his only D1 scholarship offer at the back of it
37:22 Whether he always maintained the faith he could play at NCAA Division 1 level
38:20 If there was any hesitation to sign with Stony Brook immediately
38:48 The herd mentality when it comes to recruiting
39:25 The transition to the US
40:06 Putting on weight in his Freshman year
40:43 The decision to redshirt his first year at Stony Brook
42:19 The team making the NCAA tournament in his redshirt year
43:57 Whether the level of provision and facilities at D1 schools become normalised after a period of time
45:31 Whether college sports in the states has a higher level of provision than the pros
46:19 If redshirting made it hard to know whether his skills would transfer to games
48:04 The coach that recruited him leaving after his redshirt year
50:13 Hitting the rookie wall in his Freshman year
51:06 Not having the option to transfer even if he wanted to
51:48 Being named All-Rookie conference team in his Freshman year
52:37 His year by year progress in his college career
53:42 Looking back on his 3 years at Stony Brook and the standout memories
55:42 When he started thinking about the pros
56:26 Whether being a grad-transfer and getting his masters was in his head when he initially redshirted
57:20 When he knew he was going to transfer
58:04 The recruiting process from schools to be a grad-transfer
59:29 Whether he always knew Rutgers were going to be the likely choice
1:00:30 The differences between mid-major and high-major level at college
1:01:40 Whether anyone ever torched him in the Big 10
1:02:16 The best player he personally guarded
1:02:59 Playing against NBA talent and seeing it up close
1:03:54 His season at Rutgers
1:05:58 The difference between Rutgers and Stony Brook off court
1:07:03 Missing out on the NCAA tournament and being nationally ranked
1:08:15 Playing for Junior national team and whether it helps with his development
1:09:15 Whether having knowledge of the international game gives him an edge in college
1:10:06 Deciding which agent to sign for when it came to turning pro
1:12:06 How he is approaching his rookie year
1:13:11 Whether playing in the BBL is on his radar at all
1:15:05 Best British junior player he's seen
1:16:29 Best coach he's played for
1:17:18 His favourite basketball memory
1:17:42 Where he wants to be in the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 84 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with Worcester Wolves Head Coach Matt Newby.
Having been coaching for over 21 years, Newby, is one of the few coaches to have won titles at NBL Division 4, Division 3, Division 2, Division 1 and BBL levels following his BBL Cup title in January with Worcester. He has won no less than 14 national titles across Senior competitions, from National League, to BUCS and the BBL.
He built a programme from the bottom up, taking the Leeds Carnegie programme from the lower rungs of the national leagues through to a BBL franchise, the Leeds Force, which was in the top flight from 2014-2018.
Coach Newby had a difficult departure from the Force, and after two years out from the pros returned last season at the helm of the Worcester Wolves.
In this 1 hour and 40 minute podcast, we go into his new life at Worcester, dissect the journey of Leeds Carnegie through the national leagues to the BBL and look at the role of educational institutions like universities and their role within British basketball.
Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
3:03 Interview start
3:07 How he sees this season going with COVID
4:01 Whether Worcester are in a better situation than some clubs because of the university partnership
5:12 Worcester’s roster this season and where the imports are
6:12 Whether he’s surprised with how well Worcester have been competing without their imports
7:14 Transitioning from Leeds to Worcester
9:01 The differences between his role in Leeds and Worcester
11:46 Reflecting on his cup title with Worcester
13:21 How high he would put the Cup title on his resumé
15:07 Matching up with Andreas in the Cup Final, his old NBL rival
16:51 How much of a blow it was for Worcester that the season was cut short due to COVID
18:26 His start in basketball and made him first get involved
26:35 Going to the US for 8-10 years every Summer
28:15 Covering his costs to go to the US
29:10 What the US was doing for his coaching development that he wasn’t getting in the UK
31:40 Whether young coaches now have more resource to improve their coaching
33:53 You’ve got to pay your dues to get a head coaching role
36:17 The importance of man-management and not just XS and Os
38:34 When recruiting a player how important is the connection the coach has with them
41:00 His involvement with York Vikings
41:44 Whether he was full time coaching from the moment he left uni
42:41 Implementing a scaled out schools coaching program
44:34 His coaching role with the council
45:43 How he first got involved with Leeds Met university
48:29 Why a university looks at sport and wants to focus on it
50:22 The timelines and aspirations of the plan for the university programme
52:18 The success of the programme through the national league and why it worked
56:11 The double-edged sword of being backed by a university
58:42 How BUCS and university basketball has changed over the last decade or so
1:02:53 How much of an opportunity BUCS basketball has to be a bigger part of the British basketball ecosystem
1:06:12 How the BBL opportunity in Leeds first arose
1:08:01 Losing the university backing of the BBL franchise shortly before the entry into the league
1:09:40 Why the decided to push forward with the franchise despite losing the full backing of the university
1:11:00 Whether he would advise himself back then not to enter the BBL
1:12:22 Picking up 9 wins in his first BBL season and whether that exceeded expectations
1:14:14 The differences between running an NBL Division 1 program and a BBL franchise
1:15:48 Whether he thinks the BBL franchise committee should have not let Leeds enter
1:16:27 Making the playoffs in Leeds’ second BBL season 1:18:42 The resources Leeds had in comparison to other BBL franchises
1:19:41 His final year with the club before departing
1:20:51 What ultimately led to the breakdown of the club
1:22:33 How hard it was having to leave the club he helped build up from the bottom
1:24:53 Whether he wanted to have another crack at a BBL franchise in Leeds after they withdrew from the league
1:26:18 What he was doing during his two years out from the pros
1:27:06 His thoughts when he was saw the Worcester position advertised
1:28:16 The lack of stability around coaching roles
1:29:22 best British junior player he’s ever seen
1:31:07 Favourite player he’s coached
1:32:21 His coaching role models and inspirations
1:34:47 Favourite basketball memory
1:34:24 Where he wants to be in 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In episode 83 of the Hoopsfix podcast we sit down with founder and Director of City of Birmingham Rockets, Rob Palmer.
Having originally founded a local league club in the West Midlands in 1988, Palmer also headed up the Birmingham Bullets’ junior development programme from 1993-2000, before leaving his job in banking to pursue his basketball interests, initially working with Birmingham City Council as their Active Sports Basketball Co-ordinator.
He founded the City of Birmingham Rockets in 2003 whilst in his basketball development role, and has grown the club to 13 teams from under-9 through to Seniors. In 2015, Palmer recruited NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon as an ambassador of the club, after he relocated to Birmingham for his daughter’s university education.
It was revealed last month that City of Birmingham Rockets have secured in excess of six figures of funding from 2K Foundations for the refurb of their venue at Nechells Wellbeing Centre.
In this episode hear from Rob on his background, building the club, the funding they have secured from 2K Foundations and the involvement of Hakeem Olajuwon in their programme.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
2:30 Interview start
2:36 What the 2K investment means for the club and what the outcomes will be
6:13 How long these projects take and when the Nechells refurb will be finished
8:12 Where the money is being invested into
10:11 The seating capacity for the refurb
10:58 Whether City of Birmingham could fill a 500 seat venue
11:50 Do the City of Birmingham Rockets have BBL aspirations?
13:16 How far conversations have gone with the league around a BBL franchise
14:05 2k funding for stuff external to the venue
15:58 Whether the funding is based over long term or not
16:40 How big the investment is from 2K
17:41 Commercial sponsors being interested in london and why 2K are interested in Birmingham
19:16 How Hakeem Olajuwon came to be involved with the club in 2015
24:03 Hakeem Olajuwon has actually moved to the UK
25:15 What difference it makes to the club having Olajuwon associated with it
27:40 Rebranding to the Rockets due to Hakeem’s involvement
28:50 Rob’s background prior to founding City of Birmingham basketball club
44:55 Recruiting players and raising awareness of the initial CVL
48:42 How the club was able to grow so quickly in the first two seasons and whether it was too quick
49:45 Growing pains going from 1 teams to multiple within 2 seasons
54:36 Being able to double up on the club through his basketball development role with the council
57:01 When Rob was able to go full time on the club
1:00:52 Going full time and what difference it had on the club’s growth
1:05:39 What the club’s revenue streams are
1:09:27 Breaking down the percentages of club revenue
1:11:11 How many full time employees the club has
1:12:47 How much scope there is for the club to grow in Birmingham
1:15:29 What impact the Commonwealth Games could have in Birmingham
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 82 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with former GB Senior international and more than decade-long pro Olu Babalola.
Olu, who retired in 2016, is one of the most physically dominant and talented junior players to come out of the UK, coming through the great late Joe White's programme before having an esteemed high school career at St Augustine's Prep where he made multiple All-State teams whilst winning State titles, and scoring more than 1000 points.
The 6'6" 260lbs (!) wing was recruited heavily, ultimately choosing to go to Clemson where he was a three year starter and one of the best defenders in the ACC.
Turning pro in 2005, he started his career in Italy and Sweden before returning to the UK where he spent the majority of his career in the BBL, winning 9 titles whilst also receiving a couple of call up to the GB Senior Men's squad in the run up to 2012.
A passionate chef, he is now based in Sheffield, and runs The Wing Kings, a chicken wing company serving Yorkshire.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:12 Interview start
02:32 Starting Wing Kings, his catering company he transitioning into after basketball
06:03 How he first got into basketball
14:48 Whether he had natural raw talent or it was something he had to work at
16:22 Where his size comes from, being 6'6" 296 at 17 years old
18:02 If he lifted weights
18:48 Being the strongest despite not lifting
19:38 The impact Joe White had on his life
22:33 Why players sought Joe White's approval
25:34 Top players of his generation he played with and against
28:28 How his move to the States happened and how good Dajuan Wagner was
31:18 The transition to the US
31:58 How good Drew Sullivan was in High School
33:59 How college turned Drew and Olu into defenders potentially taking away from their offensive game
37:00 Some of the future NBA players Olu was guarding at college
38:36 Going to high school with both Andrew Sullivan and Pops Mensah-Bonsu
42:03 A crazy story from Pops at a 7/11 in Jersey
43:51 The recruitment process and being chased by almost every program in the US
46:00 False rumours that he had committed to Villanova
48:36 His tough freshman year at Clemson and wanting to leave
52:30 The two players who left Clemson that opened up minutes for him
54:49 How confidence he was he could make the NBA
56:10 His standout memories from Clemson
1:00:44 His 22, 7 and 5 game vs Virginia
1:01:13 Whether there is footage floating around of his college career
1:01:53 Playing for the American football team at Clemson after his Senior year
1:07:11 The transition to being a pro and his rookie year
1:14:01 Leaving Italy for Sweden
1:16:55 Why he played in the BBL for the majority of his career
1:18:48 Basketball players being humans and having to take other factors into account in their decisions
1:26:38 Whether he feels the BBL has progressed and the need for a player's union
1:29:02 Players still playing in the BBL and barely getting paid
1:30:34 National team and why he didn't feature more heavily for GB
1:33:42 His favourite basketball teammate
1:34:05 Best coach he has ever played for
1:34:59 Best British junior player he's ever seen
1:35:17 Best player he's played against
1:35:48 Standout basketball memory from his career
1:36:42 What he wants his legacy to be
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episode 81 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with James Merchant, founder and director of the Richmond Knights.
Founded in 2009, the Knights have taken a steady, sustainable approach to growth, starting with taster sessions in schools, working their way up from friendly games to central venue league (CVL) competitions, and not entering their first team into national league until four years later.
Now, 11 years later, the programme boasts over 1000 participants across 32 different primary schools, 9secondary schools, with 21 teams across the club from Under-10s to Senior, including 9 competing in the NBL, and have had 9 players selected to national team programmes.
Perhaps more impressively, there are 9 core coaches that are able to earn the majority of their living from the programme.
In this 1 hour, 10 minute episode we go into the founding of the club, the process of scaling it and the aspirations for the future.
Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
03:18 Interview start
04:35 James playing background
15:55 Knowing you could make being a full time club coach work
20:20 Focusing on getting players playing younger
26:17 How to get the first ever session for your club and scaling it from there
33:06 The incentive from the school's perspective to provide basketball
35:13 The compounding effect of having a track record
36:48 How much room for growth there is in Richmond for the Knights
39:03 What would happen if he hit 100% saturation of every school in the borough
41:28 Where he sends his players on from Richmond Knights
43:20 Whether he has long term aspirations for an EABL academy and owning the entire pathway
46:41 If he has aspirations for a BBL franchise
47:55 The senior side of the programme being more of a drain than the juniors
48:59 The juniors playing up in the senior team
50:57 Whether the BBL would become more attractive if he had investors and the right operators
54:05 If the success of Richmond Knights can be partly attributed to the affluence of the area
58:27 The different revenue streams of the club
1:01:57 Whether he's had conversations with potential commercial partners
1:03:28 The scale of how big the Richmond Knights are financially
1:07:24 What he envisions for the future of the Richmond Knights over the next 3-5 years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 80 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with Caroline Charles, founder and owner of the Newham Youngbloods basketball club.
Charles founded the Youngbloods in 1992 and for almost three decades has provided an outlet for young basketball players in one of the most deprived boroughs in the country.
Caroline has been responsible for thousands of players getting their start in basketball, having fielded Youngbloods teams for both boys and girls through u14s to u18s, as well as coaching the Newham London Youth Games squad for 25 years.
Having been mentored by the likes of legendary grassroots coaches Humph Long, Jimmy Rogers, and Joe White, she has received an award from the Mayor of London for services to youth basketball, and led Youngbloods teams to multiple Final Fours appearances, as well as winning the U16 Girls National Cup this past season.
Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
02:15 Interview start
02:33 What made Caroline first get into basketball
05:55 Her progression as a player and transitioning into coaching
10:17 Where the name Newham Youngbloods came from
13:31 What was the motivation to start her own club
20:03 The influence of Jimmy Rogers, Joe White and Humphrey Long on her journey
24:26 How she approaches working with a new young player who comes to the club
29:07 The current Newham Youngbloods structure in terms of teams
30:34 Whether she's considered setting up an academy
33:02 Basketball as a tool for a social impact
38:32 the London 2012 Olympic legacy
45:47 Being involved with the London 2012 Olympic bid
50:01 If she was given a blank cheque for the club what she would do with it
54:00 The Youngbloods partnership with the London Lions
57:28 If the Lions new ownership changed anything with the partnership
59:20 The state of female basketball in England
01:03:12 Why less females are into basketball than males
01:06:48 If she was in charge of increasing female participation what she would do
01:10:18 Whether Newham could support more clubs
01:13:21 Favourite basketball memory from playing and coaching
01:14:52 The best player Newham Youngbloods has produced
01:17:40 The best coach she's played or worked with
01:19:04 Advice for someone who wanted to set up a community club
01:21:03 The future of the Newham Youngbloods
01:24:05 What she wants her personal legacy to be
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episode 79 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with one of the most highly regarded UK prospects, 2003 born and Class of 2021's Jeremy Sochan.
The former Solent Kestrel departed the UK ahead of the 2019-20 season to head to powerhouse high school La Lumiere in Indiana, drawing attention and being ranked as high as in the forties by national ranking outlets, before returning to Europe this year and signing with OrangeAcademy - the feeder team of ratiopharm Ulm in Germany.
Sochan - who has both Polish and American passports but was raised in the UK - ultimately ended up representing Poland in international competition, having suited up for the Under-16s in 2018 and 2019, leading them to Division A promotion last year whilst picking up the Division B European Championship MVP.
The 6'8" wing committed to NCAA Division 1 powerhouse Baylor this off-season, having just impressed in his German Pro-B debut this past weekend.
Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
02:29 Beginning of interview
03:02 How he first picked up a ball
05:10 His parents basketball background
06:01 Memories of watching his dad play for Bristol Flyers
06:40 Whether his parents - both former players - encouraged him to play
07:14 The point he realised he was pretty decent as a player
07:40 His first appearance on Hoopsfix
08:28 When his growth spurt happened
08:50 Playing in conference national league in Milton Keynes
09:19 Being coached by his mum
10:00 Making the decision to leave Milton Keynes to go to Southampton in Year 11 and play for Solent
11:38 The European clubs that came recruiting him from a young age in the UK
12:17 Why he chose Solent instead of another program
13:14 What the initial plan was when he went back to Southampton
13:15 Whether his eyes were always on going overseas
14:16 Going from playing in conference competitions to NBL D1 Men's and EABL
15:11 Why he wanted to overseas and leave the UK
15:47 Why he ended up representing Poland and not Great Britain at the European Championships
18:05 The conversations with GB about choosing Poland
19:03 GB will regret not sorting Sochan's passport
19:14 Playing against GB in the Europeans
19:50 Not playing with his friends for Poland in the same way as it would have been for GB
20:20 His first summer at the Europeans in 2018 with Poland
21:16 Learning his role with Poland and getting used to fluctuating minutes
22:26 What the year in Southampton did with Solent did for his development
23:38 Single biggest thing he took from his time with Solent
24:26 Whether he's a player who rises to the occasion
24:52 His 31 point, 15 rebound performance in the EABL as a 15 year old vs Barking Abbey
26:44 His dunk and trash talking
27:53 Whether he felt other teams were zoning in on him
28:25 Whether British basketball has a lot of haters
29:35 Whether a lot of younger players message him
30:11 The decision to go to La Lumiere High School
31:48 Whether he made the decision before the Europeans
32:17 Winning the MVP and leading Poland to Division A promotion at the 2019 Europeans
33:17 Whether he can speak Polish
33:45 The point at which colleges started recruiting him
34:53 Was it a big deal to start getting college offers
35:56 What has kept him grounded
37:02 Being well travelled
37:40 Why he wanted to go to La Lumiere
38:21 How the American High School system works
40:16 Players that he played against
41:04 The transition from the UK to the US
42:19 The level of athleticism in the US
43:27 The level of high school basketball in the US
44:01 Whether La Lumiere lived up to his expectations
45:00 Whether High School basketball increased his confidence
45:55 How he felt about the level of attention he started getting
46:53 Whether colleges recruiting him became overwhelming
48:02 How he feels about individual player rankings in the US
50:39 Whether he used rankings as a motivating factor
51:40 How high his ceiling is and how good he thinks he could be
52:26 Never getting to compete in the Geico Nationals due to COVID-19
53:08 COVID-19 taking away a bunch of opportunities in the summer for his exposure
54:50 Why he committed to Baylor so early
55:53 Having to play out of position at La Lumiere
58:29 Whether he's been on any physical visits to schools because of COVID-19
59:31 Zoom tours and COVID-19 proof recruitment techniques
1:00:10 The best thing that happened whilst being recruited
1:01:31 What it was about Baylor that made him want to go there
1:03:04 What he is most looking forward to about going to Baylor
1:03:53 How much he is contact with Baylor now
1:04:34 COVID-19 hitting and when he got back to the UK
1:06:06 How he decided to sign in Europe this season and return from the US
1:08:55 What ratiopharm ulm said to make him sign with them
1:11:03 His typical daily schedule in Germany
1:11:57 What he's doing for education
1:13:07 How far into the season he is so far
1:14:09 His living arrangements in Germany
1:14:22 His schedule for season
1:15:21 His plans for next summer
1:17:22 Other top players of his generation
1:18:31 Whether he follows British basketball when he is overseas
1:19:06 Whether he thinks it could be an option to leave college early and declare for the NBA
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 78 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with four year pro and GB Senior international Josh Steel.
Steel - currently playing in Spain's LEB Silver - was a much heralded junior in the UK, starting on BA London Leopards title winning squad as a 14 year old, being selected as a starter in the Jordan Brand Classic international game, and being a part of the Barking Abbey Kent Crusaders squad that won NBL Division 1 men with a roster of all under-19s bar one.
Having represented the junior national team at U16, U18 and U20 level, he went to NCAA Division 1 school Duquesne but ended up leaving midway through his Sophomore year and ultimately deciding to turn pro the following season, signing his rookie deal with the Surrey Scorchers.
In this 1 hour and 20 minute episode, Steel goes into his journey so far and what he has learned.
Time stamps:
00:00 Introduction
2:37 Beginning of interview
2:42 Impact of COVID-19 on the end of his 2019-20 season in Spain
4:23 His thought process on leaving Spain and returning to the UK
5:33 Chasing unpaid wages and the process for getting missed pay cheques
6:49 How the lockdown has been for him and staying in shape
8:23 Whether his game has taken a step back due to the lockdown
9:53 How to prioritise what to work on during lockdown
11:45 How he approached this season and deciding where to play
13:39 The environment he needs to be in to excel
15:03 Making the transition to being a pro after leaving college early and if it has gone as he envisioned
18:32 Whether he ever thought about quitting basketball
19:28 How he compares the levels between Spain and the BBL
21:22 How a top BBL club would do in LEB Gold
22:03 Organisationally, off the court, how the leagues compare
23:02 How pre-season went for him this year
25:25 How LEB Silver is handling COVID-19 and whether there are a lot of cancellations
27:32 What made him first start playing basketball
29:01 The decision to go to Barking Abbey so young
30:34 The point he realised he was better than other players his age
31:27 Playing with a Division 1 Men's side at 14 years old and its impact on his development
33:56 Whether he felt his was basketball IQ was higher than his peers from playing with men
34:55 Being a system player and why he needs to focus on his 1 on 1 game
36:09 Advice for his younger self in terms of his development
37:40 Winning the 2015 NBL Division 1 Men's playoff title with only one player over 19
42:04 Standout memories from his time at Barking Abbey
42:50 The 2014 EABL title
43:57 The City of Palms Classic
44:36 Making the decision to go to the US and the recruitment process
48:47 Whether the recruiting process was a bit intense
49:53 Does the recruiting process feel fake?
50:20 What Duquesne had said to him during recruiting and the reality
52:40 Tough conversations with the coaching staff at college
54:16 How not playing affected him mentally
55:20 Why he decided to return after a tough freshman year
56:38 The circumstances around him leaving college and why
58:58 Deciding to come home instead of transferring to another college
1:01:30 Being a 'freelance practice player' on his return to the UK
1:02:23 His first pro contract with Surrey
1:04:12 Creon Raftopoulos giving genuine opportunities to young British players
1:05:08 How he found the BBL compared to his previous perception
1:06:31 Whether he felt he belonged in the BBL and was of the level
1:07:24 The biggest adjustments to pro life
1:08:37 Whether he was looking at the BBL as a stepping stone
1:10:00 Whether he thinks the BBL is changing
1:10:39 Giving young British kids a genuine opportunity in the BBL
1:12:34 What advice he would give to an 18 year old who was considering their options for college
1:13:54 How you know whether or not you will be given a big role in college
1:15:52 The best British junior player he's played with or played against
1:16:34 Best coach he's ever played for
1:16:45 What separate Lloyd Gardner as a coach
1:17:32 Single favourite basketball memory
1:17:46 Playing in the Jordan Brand Classic as a youngster
1:19:35 The future; what he wants to achieve in the next five years
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 77 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with Director of Myerscough College basketball academy, Neal Hopkins.
In just eight years, Neal has built Myerscough to one of the most successful elite academies in the UK, having won two EABL titles (the most recent being a co-championship), 4 X AOC Elite National Cup titles, plus two Division 3 titles whilst gaining promotion to Division 2, along with a European Youth Basketball League regular season title last year, all whilst sending numerous players to the US on scholarship.
Also a GB U20 assistant last summer with the team in Division A, and an assistant with the Mersey Tigers in the BBL during their most successful period winning three titles, Hopkins has a wealth of experience with elite basketball, and has won seven Coach of the Year awards across various competitions.
In this 1 hour and 20 minute conversation, we cover a range of topics including his background, building an academy, the state of the academy basketball leagues in general, the impact of COVID-19 on the coming season and much more!
Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
03:11 How Sam first came across Neal in 2010
04:30 Neal's focus on coaching in terms of qualifications & ensuring his financials were taken care of to be able to coach
09:30 Freebie culture in British basketball and building a basketball economy
13:20 Neal's background in basketball growing up
17:32 The forgotten 'recreational' basketball crowd
19:00 Why both Runshaw and Myerscough have been in less populated rural areas
23:12 Ensuring games were filmed from early and doing highlight tapes
27:01 The importance of digital/social media presence and online brand for basketball programmes
34:24 The lack of awareness in the UK of the different levels
39:35 Having difficult conversations with players who aren't so good but want to pursue a career
42:58 Dealing with blowback on Hoopsfix All-Star Classic selection
44:01 The European experience; competing in the EYBL, how it first came about and the journey
50:55 The format of the EYBL and how the competition works
55:51 Dealing with loading of the extra games and managing the domestic season too
58:56 The feeling of winning the EYBL regular season title and what it meant for Neal personally
1:02:55 The state of the academy leagues, talk of 'super academies' and the direction they are heading
1:08:45 What Neal would do if he was Head of Performance for the federation to grow elite talent
1:13:22 The dilution of the EABL and the ABL
1:14:57 The impact of COVID-19 on the coming season
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For episode 76 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with 13 year pro and 20-year coach Paul Douglas, aka Dougie.
Dougie, originally a Birmingham Bullet, played all his years in the UK, predominantly in the North East, across Gateshead, Vikings, Sunderland Saints, Sunderland Scorpions, Newcastle Comets and Newcastle Eagles.
Having represented England at U15, U17 and U18 levels, he received his first call up to the Senior team in 1993, and when he retired from playing in 1997 was 7th all-time in BBL 3-point shooting.
As a coach, he has won 13 national championships, assisted England U16s between 2000-2003, and was involved with two attempts to revitalise pro basketball in Birmingham - as an assistant with the Panthers in 2006-07, and at the helm of the Birmingham Knights in 2013-14.
In this 1 hour 50 minute episode, hear from Dougie on:
- Why he decided to leave Aston Manor Academy to focus on his own projects
- What his plans are for his own projects
- The state of Birmingham basketball
- How not having a pro club in Birmingham hurts the rest of the game
- Whether he knows of any talks around bringing a BBL franchise to Birmingham
- Where the Birmingham Knights went wrong and the biggest learnings
- The Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and whether he believes it will have an impact
- How he first started playing
- Getting cut from Birmingham Bullets and it being the driver to pursue basketball as a career
- How good Steve Bucknall was
- His standout years as a pro
- His favourite memories from his playing days
- Being one of the early coaches at basketball academies in the UK at both Newcastle and Middlesborough
- The success his Middlesborough academy side had, being one of the early junior sides to play in senior competition
- The Nike Milfield Camps and adidas ABC camps that used to take place in the UK
- Being a co-founder of UK Elite and what they were trying to do with it from 2009-11
- Best player he has coached
- The top British player he has played with or against
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In episode 75 of the Hoopsfix podcast we sit down with GB starting guard and four year pro Teddy Okereafor.
Currently a free agent, Okereafor is mulling over his opens and seems to be open to a return to the UK to play in the BBL, as we discussed the state of the domestic league along with his career and journey to date.
Having had a successful junior career in England which culminated in an U18 national championship with the Westminster Warriors, Teddy went to the US to Christchurch High School where he won Virginia Prep League Player of the Year and signed with VCU the year after their Final Four run.
Having completed his sophomore year and with minutes still hard to come by, Okereafor made the decision to transfer to Rider – and with it had a fundamental shift in his work ethic, realising if he wanted to play something needed to change.
He went on to have two successful years on the court at Rider (and another one he had to sit out due to NCAA transfer rules), before turning pro in 2016, where he has played in Estonia, Italy and Greece, whilst becoming a core part of the GB senior men’s squad.
In this 1 hour and 20 minute ish episode, hear from Teddy on:
- What he’s been up to during lockdown and how things are looking for him this season
- Whether he had any conversations with London lions ahead of this year
- The prospect of playing in the BBL this season
- Whether he feels British basketball has pushed forward over recent years
- How hard it is finding somewhere to work out and play in London
- How he first picked up a ball through his step father and brother
- Getting cut from the England Under-16s
- Playing for Hackney White Heat but not getting off the bench, and NASSA in a local league
- The forming of the stacked Westminster Warriors team that won the 2010 U18 National Championship
- How the move to the US came about
- The transition on and off the court from the UK to the US
- The recruitment process and choosing VCU
- Why he decided to transfer away from VCU
- The wake up call that got him to change his work ethic for the better
- Having to sit a year out after transferring and then getting back on court with Rider in a much bigger role
- His first call up to the GB Senior Men’s team
- The process of turning pro
- His workout with the Washington Wizards
- Signing with agents over Facebook
- Finding a scenario in Greece that has seen him play 3 seasons there
- The Greek fans
- Standout memories from national team duty
- The current GB Group
- Thoughts around qualifying for EuroBasket
- His favourite GB teammates
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 74 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Great Britain big man, Gabe Olaseni, currently plying his trade in Turkey with Buyukcekmece.
This episode is supported by Foot Locker, find out what they are doing for grassroots hoops in Europe at the Foot Locker Basketball Hub.
The 6'11" centre is in his sixth year as a pro after a successful college career at Iowa, and has played at the highest levels in Europe, having signed what was reported as one of the biggest rookie contracts in Europe with Euroleague side Bamberg straight out of college, and along with Germany has played in France, Italy, Spain and now Turkey.
Olaseni had a rough start to his pro career; he likes to joke he was fired from his first two pro jobs, but has used the lessons to bounce back and carve himself out a role at the highest tiers of European competition.
In this 90 minutes episode hear from Gabe on:
- When he first realised COVID-19 was going to be a serious thing
- Staying in Turkey for two months believing the postponed season would get started again
- Coming back to London for the summer and working out outside
- How COVID-19 has affected the European basketball market
- Making the decision to sign back in Turkey for a second year
- How COVID-19 has impacted Turkish basketball this season
- His first exposure to basketball and why he started playing
- First playing club basketball with the Eastside Eagles
- Making the decision to not joined a stacked Westminster Warriors U18 squad who would go on to win the title
- Travelling from East to West London to play for Uxbridge Emperors
- The top players of his generation that he was keeping an eye on
- Getting turned down by Barking Abbey
- How the move to the US to Sunrise Christian Academy first came about
- The transition to the US both on and off the court
- How Iowa came across him by accident whilst recruiting his teammate
- His work ethic and the time he was putting in whilst at college
- The standout memories from his time at college
- Dealing with doubts after not playing a lot in his first two years at Iowa
- Learning to embrace a role on a team
- His mentality on turning professional
- NBA draft workouts and NBA summer league
- Why he chose to sign in Europe instead of play in the G-League and pursue the NBA
- His rookie contract and the rumours of him being one of the highest paid rookies in Europe
- Financial management
- His rookie season with Bamberg in the Euroleague and the difficulties
- Playing for Great Britain Senior Men and receiving his first call up
- His breakout tournament at EuroBasket 2017
- How he feels about the current GB group and their chances of qualifying for EuroBasket 2021
- Whether he stays in touch with other GB guys through the season
- Balancing personal production and team performance
- Playing in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Turkey and comparing the leagues
- His thoughts on the levels of the BBL
- What the London Lions are doing this season
- Highlights of his career so far
- Toughest moment of his career so far
- Best coach he's played for
- Toughest player he's had to play against
- Best British player he's played against
- Favourite British teammate
- Goals for the next 5 years of his career
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
For Episode 73 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with highly rated Class of 2021 prospect Cameron Hildreth and his father and coach, Danny Hildreth.
Danny is a former BBL professional, having had more than a decade long playing career with Ware Rebels, Brighton Bears, Derby Storm and Worthing Thunder, before stepping into the coaching side of the game, whilst Cameron, a GB junior international, is arguably the best player of his generation, having dominated NBL Division 1 as a 17 year old last season averaging over 20 points per game.
Danny has coached Cameron on at least one team he plays for (whether as assistant or head coach) since he first competed as a nine year old in Under-13 national league, and most recently led them to an undefeated season with Holy Trinity in the ABL.
Cameron has just announced his commitment to ACC school Wake Forest, and is believed to be the first male player to go directly from the UK to a high major program, and one of less than a handful of British guards to ever go high major.
In this hour episode, hear from Cameron and Danny on:
- Cameron’s decision to commit to Wake Forest
- The recruiting process and how it has been affected by COVID-19
- Why Cameron decided to commit early
- Montana State being the first school to offer Cameron and how it happened
- The decision between going to a smaller school or a big school
- Advice for parents weighing up options for their basketball-playing children
- ‘Virtual’ recruiting and how that has looked without being able to go on any visits
- Cultural differences between Americans and British people and the intensity of it all
- Choosing the US college route instead of Europe
- Where the BBL sits in Cam’s plans and why he is not playing in the BBL instead of NBL D1
- The six-year offer Cameron had on the table from London Lions
- What the BBL needs to do to sign young British talent and pull them away from the allure of the US
- Suiting up at the Euroleague adidas Next Generation Tournament and the impact it had on interest
- Foreign recruiters discounting what players do against British competition
- The concerns around COVID-19 wiping out the season and what it could mean for Cam’s development
- British guard development and what has attributed to Cam’s basketball IQ and guard skills
- An analysis of Cam’s strengths and weaknesses
- Why Cam chose to not leave Sussex Storm after his GCSEs for an EABL school, going to Holy Trinity in the ABL
- Cam’s future aspirations and where he wants to be after four years at Wake Forest
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
In Episode 72 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with former Newcastle Eagles assistant coach Dave Forrester, who announced he would be stepping down from the sidelines last week.
Forrester, a criminal defence lawyer by day, has an improbable story that saw him start as a super fan of the club before forging a relationship with Fab Flournoy that eventually saw him take a spot on the bench as assistant coach.
He served over a decade on the sidelines with the league's winningest franchise under Fab, winning 14 trophies, and ending as runners up another 8 times.
Having been involved with British basketball across multiple levels, as a fan, administrator, recruiter, operator, referee, coach and member of the Eagles Community Foundation board, Forrester has a unique holistic perspective on the game which we were able to get into.
In this 1 hour 50 minute episode, hear from Dave on:
- Why he decided to step down from his role as assistant coach with the Eagles
- How he went from fan to assistant coach
- Whether there were any issues gaining the respect of players not having had an extensive coaching background
- His relationship with Fab Flournoy over the years
- The biggest things he learned from working with Flournoy
- The opinions that changed going from the stands to having inside knowledge of the workings of the team
- The number one criticism he sees of the BBL that he believes to be incorrect
- What causes some of the negative perceptions of the BBL
- The need for help and guidance to aid NBL club's development
- What impact the arena has made for Newcastle Eagles
- The biggest leverage points he sees for the growth of British basketball
- Why the North East is not producing more elite talent despite a thriving grassroots
- His take on the Newcastle Eagles using a lot of 'plastic Brits' - non-home grown developed players with access to a British passport
- The impact of COVID-19 on the coming season
- How importance a TV deal is for the future growth of the sport
- His favourite memories from his time on the Eagles bench
- The best player he's coached
- The best players he's seen in the BBL
- Predictions for the coming BBL season
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
For episode 71 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with Tayo Ogedengbe, 12 year BBL veteran, England international and the face of the Surrey Scorchers franchise.
Ogedengbe has been one of the best and most consistent British players in the BBL for a number of years, having made his debut in 2007-8 with London Capital under Steve Bucknall before representing Guildford Heat, Glasgow Rocks, plus a season in France with Calais, London Lions, and then signing with the Surrey Scorchers in 2015/16 as their franchise player, where he has remained since.
His role with Scorchers goes beyond purely on-court as a player, and he is involved in a lot of decision making with the franchise.
In this 90 minute episode, hear from Tayo on:
- His 'brand ambassador' role with the Surrey Scorchers
- The inception of the Surrey Scorchers franchise and the vision for his place with the franchise
- How many years he thinks he has left playing
- What he sees himself doing when he finishes playing
- The change he has seen in the BBL over the decade he has been playing in it
- Areas he would like to see the BBL improve
- His take on the All-Stars Championship
- When he found out last season was going to be cancelled due to COVID-19
- The need for a player's union
- His thoughts on the coming BBL season and the potential impact of COVID-19
- Surrey's training 'bubble' that has seen numerous players compete as lockdown eased
- Joel Freeland and whether we could see him getting involved with the Scorchers
- His relationship with Puma and involvement with other brands
- The commercial development of British basketball
- His early playing days with Ealing Tornadoes
- Winning Midnight Madness and as a result getting a place at Canarias Basketball Academy
- Starting his time in the BBL with London Capital under Steve Bucknall
- Playing under Creon Raftopoulos - initially at Guildford Heat - and their relationship to this day
- Scratching the itch to play abroad and doing a year in France with Calais
- Whether he has any regrets about not spending more time overseas
- His thoughts on the Scorchers' roster this coming season and an overall season preview
- The goals he wants to achieve before retiring
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
For episode 70 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with Delme Herriman, aka Mr Versatility, former England international and 13 year pro.
Herriman, who published his autobiography in 2010 chronicling the details of his life and basketball career, collected 77 caps for England, winning a Bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, alongside a more-than-decade-long professional career that saw him play in Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and the UK.
The 6'6" 'point forward' started games at the 1 through 4 positions, and would regularly stuff the statsheet flirting with triple doubles which earned him the nickname Mr Versatility.
Delme finished his college career at Wright State - where he was a four year starter - second all-time in games played, and third all-time in minutes played, but he lives forever in the memory of Raiders’ fans for hitting ‘The Shot’; the basket which saw WSU’s 71-70 victory over No.25 Ranked Xavier in the 1995 MCC Tournament, with just 1.1 seconds remaining.
In this 1 hour forty minute episode, hear from Delme on:
- How he was first introduced to the game
- The Manchester United basketball programme
- What inspired him to take the game more seriously
- How watching VHS tapes of Steve Bucknall and Karl Brown at college inspired him
- Whether or not he had a natural ability for basketball
- How he ended up getting out to the US through the Rotary International programme
- Whether High School was what he expected it to be
- The difference in mentality between Americans and English players
- Growing up in Widnes compared to Urichsville the town he moved to in the US
- Having to deal with racism
- The recruitment process and why he chose Wright State
- The impact that redshirting a year had on allowing him to adapt and improve
- College life and living independently
- Playing in front of 42,000 fans against Indiana in the NCAA tournament in his freshman year
- Hitting 'the shot' to lead WSU to victory over Xavier in the MCC tournament
- Whether or not he believed he had the talent to make the NBA
- The Bosman ruling
- Turning pro and his first contract in Italy with Trieste worth $90,000 a year
- Falling out of love with the game
- Returning home to play for the Manchester Giants after turning down a renewal offer from Trieste
- Playing for England and his favourite memories with the national team
- Coach Laszlo Nemeth and his impact
- His time in the Netherlands
- Winning a championship with Chester in the BBL
- Making the transition to retire from playing
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episdoe 69 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we speak with Ajou Deng, one of the most talented players to ever come out of the UK.
Standing 6'11" with a 7'4" wingspan, Deng - the older brother of NBA and GB star Luol - had a skillset ahead of his time, being able to face up and handle the ball on the perimeter, ending up one of the most heralded prospects to ever land at UConn.
Growing up through a devastating civil war in Sudan, him and his family fled to Egypt where he picked up a basketball for the first time under the tutelage of 7'7" Sudanese NBA star Manute Bol.
From there, his family were granted asylum to England, where he played for Brixton Topcats for a year and a half under Jimmy Rogers before attracting the attention of UConn, committing early and making the move to St Thomas More High School in the US for two seasons, where he averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks a game.
He was named a Parade All American Third team in 1998, before joining UConn in the 98-99 season, where, led by future NBA players Richard Hamilton and Khalid El Amin, they won a national championship although Ajou was stuck to practicing only due to being academically ineligible.
The level of hype around him was unprecedented, Khalid El Amin called him the best player on their roster that year in a Sports Illustrated feature spread, as he was named the Big East preseason rookie of the year.
Battling through foot injuries in college and with minutes hard to come by, Deng announced he was transferring from UConn in his Sophomore year, ending up at Fairfield for his final two years at college whilst still having foot issues.
Having been told by a doctor he should never play again, a year out rehabbing after college saw him sign his first pro contract with Nick Nurse's Brighton Bears in the BBL, where he would go on to have a five year pro career predominantly in the UK along with a season in Slovakia, before hanging them up after the 2008-9 season.
He now works full time for the Luol Deng Foundation.
Note: Ajou joined us on the call from Uganda where the internet connection wasn't always the strongest, we have edited most of the drops out where possible, but there are still moments where it gets a little choppy - stick with it and it gets stronger as the call goes on!
In this 90 minute episode, hear from Ajou on:
- How he first started playing basketball in Egypt under Manute Bol
- The provision for basketball in Egypt and the environment he was playing in
- Watching old VHS tapes of the NBA and cultivating his love for the game
- Arriving in the UK, being turned down by Crystal Palace and ending up at Brixton
- The culture shock of the UK
- His first impressions of the legendary Jimmy Rogers
- Standout players in the British basketball landscape as he was coming up
- The Brixton - Hackney rivalry with Joe White's teams and Andrew Sullivan
- How Tony Hanson - a UConn legend then coaching in the UK - was the first to put Jim Calhoun and the UConn programme on to Ajou
- Heading to St Thomas More Prep school under Jere Quinn and how instrumental that was to his development
- The players he was looking up to for his own skill development
- Transitioning from the UK to the US and the physicality and athleticism
- Coming back in the summers to play in Rough and Ready
- His first year at UConn and having to sit out, practising only
- The '99 squad winning the national championship but not being able to play
- The Sports Illustrated article where Khalid El Amin said he was the best player on the team
- Whether he felt pressure of the expectations placed upon him
- Playing through a foot injury and having to take painkillers daily to practice
- Trying to focus on basketball with the civil war going on in Sudan and seeing it as an opportunity to inspire and represent other South Sudanese
- The decision to transfer 5 or so games into his Sophomore season at UConn
- Why he chose to go to Fairfield
- His goal to make the NBA
- Whether he has any regrets about his college career
- Taking a year to rehab his injury having been told by a doctor to never play again
- Turning pro and signing with Brighton Bears under Nick Nurse
- His memories of Nick Nurse as a coach
- His time in Scotland and Guildford
- Going into Europe with the Guildford Heat
- What kept him going despite the repetitive foot injuries
- His experiences playing in Slovakia
- Why he chose to retire when he did
- His role with the Luol Deng Foundation since retiring
- Seeing Luol coming through as a youngster and what he has gone on to do with his career
- Advice he would give to younger players aspiring to play pro
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 68 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with top GB prospect Holly Winterburn who recently announced her decision to return from the US and sign in Leicester on a three-year deal.
Winterburn, 19, is one of the most talented junior players to ever come out of the UK, having spent her freshman season at top ranked Oregon where she won a Pac-12 regular season and tournament championship, playing alongside three teammates who would be selected in the top 10 of the 2020 WNBA draft.
Her decision to play in the UK over the options she had in the US is unprecedented, and represents a huge opportunity for the domestic game.
The 5'11" guard has represented the England/GB junior national teams for six straight summers, from U16 through to U20 level, making two European Championship All-Tournament teams.
Before heading to the US, she shone in the WBBL, winning two Young Player of the Year Awards, and making the WBBL All-British team, whilst dominating at the junior level winning a WEABL championship and MVP, along with MVP in the inaugural Hoopsfix All-Star Classic U19 Women's game.
In this 1 hour 20 minute episode, hear from Holly on:
- How she first got into basketball at school
- Playing a number of different sports such as a football
- Getting selected for the England U15 development squad and realising she could be good
- Her role models and inspirations as a young teenager
- Disconnect between younger players and the GB senior players
- Whether playing with older players at such a young age helped with her maturity off-court
- Her first practice with Leicester's WBBL side as a 15 year old
- Advice she would give for younger players to cultivate self belief and confidence
- The challenge of tuning out other people's opinions
- When the college coaches came knocking
- What it means to represent her country and why she has suited up for the national team for six straight summers
- Playing her best basketball with GB in the summer
- Preparation time for the junior national teams
- Her lack of call up to the GB Senior Women's team yet
- Weighing up options and making the decision which school in the US to go to
- Her three visits and the recruitment process
- The level of provision at Oregon
- The struggle with playing time
- Her first basket at Oregon against the USA Senior Women's national team
- Winning the Pac-12 regular season and tournament title
- Missing out on March Madness
- Making the decision to transfer to UC Davis
- Deciding to return home to sign with Leicester and the role the pandemic had
- The importance of her happiness off the floor to be happy on it
- Whether or not her goal is still to play professionally abroad in the long term
- Her aim to help grow the profile of the WBBL and domestic game
- Working with younger players
- And much, much, more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episode 67 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with former BBL, NBL and England Head Coach, Dave Titmuss, aka Coach T.
Titmuss has spent over 50 years on the sidelines of British basketball, starting out as a 22 year old before working his way up to the highest levels of the game experiencing success at every level, with 15 national titles, a Paralympic World Cup gold medal, a World Wheelchair Basketball Championship silver medal, a Paralympic bronze medal, two Coach of the Year awards and two Paralympic sport Coach of the Year awards.
Starting in 1970 with St Albans Phoenix, Titmuss went on to the Hemel Lakers, the side that ultimately became Ovaltine Hemel Hempstead in National League Division 1 in the late 70s and early 80s, competing in the Korac Cup in Europe.
From there he spent time with Tigers Juniors in Hemel, Brunel in Division 1, before joining Thames Valley Tigers in the BBL.
He then developed the Ware Rebels junior programme, experiencing his first undefeated season, and before joining the Reading Rockets in NBL D1 where they had a historic quadruple-winning undefeated season in 2008-09.
Whilst with Reading, he served as Head Coach and Performance Director of Great Britain's Paralympic squad for eight years, coaching GB to fourth place at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, a Silver Medal at the 2002 World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, Bronze at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, and Gold at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester.
He went on to a season in the BBL with Worthing Thunder, before rounding out his career with Hemel Storm from 2010-2019.
Titmuss has dedicated a large amount of his time coaching coaches, and is now mentoring whist enjoying retirement.
In this 1 hour 39 minute episode, hear from Coach T on:
- His first exposure to basketball and making the switch from football
- How he ended up coaching his first session and falling in love with it in his early twenties
- His process for developing his coaching skills
- Coaching in the burgeoning national league with Hemel Lakers
- The professionalisation of the Hemel club within a 7-year time frame becoming Ovaltine Hemel Hempstead and competing in Europe
- Why basketball more 'mainstream' in the late early 80s, and how big of a role tv played
- The level of American player teams were able to recruit to play in England in that era
- How much of a role having British talent at home plays in the development of the game
- Hemel running their own lottery in the south of the country which helped the club turnover upwards of £1.5million (incorrectly labelled as £5m in the pod)
- His role at Hemel encompassing a lot more than just coaching, specifically the commercial side of the club
- Formulating his own coaching philosophy and style
- Recruiting players that fit the style you want to play versus building a philosophy around the roster make up
- His three years coaching the England Senior Men
- First experience coaching in the BBL with Thames Valley Tigers from 1990-1994
- Building the Ware Rebels junior programme and it cementing his beliefs around youth development
- Coaching the England Juniors including a coming up Drew Sullivan
- Becoming involved with the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association and taking the reigns of their GB Senior Men squad
- Competing in multiple Paralympics, a world championship and experiencing the highest levels of the game
- His undefeated season with the Reading Rockets in NBL D1 in 2008-09 winning the quadruple
- A year in the BBL with Worthing Thunder in 2009-10 the following year
- Rounding out his career on the sidelines with Hemel Storm
- Mentoring coaches now to pass on his knowledge
- What he would do if he was tasked with improving the quality and quantity of coaches in the UK
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For episode 66 of the Hoopsfix podcast we have Andrea Congreaves on the show, widely regarded the greatest female basketball player to ever come out of the UK.
The sixteen-year pro was the first Brit to play in the WNBA, and won titles all over Europe after an absolutely dominant college career at Mercer.
It is hard to be succinct when it comes listing her career accomplishments but start with having her jersey retired at Mercer, being named to both the school and conference Hall of Fame.
Her time at Mercer saw her lead NCAA Division 1 in scoring in her Junior and Senior years (33.0 and 31.0ppg respectively), whilst being named an All-American in 1993.
From there, the 6’2″ ‘shooting forward’ as she likes to label herself, turned pro in Italy, before signing with Valencia in Spain where she won the first of multiple domestic titles across Europe.
She got selected by the Charlotte Sting with the 26th pick of the inaugural WNBA draft, playing 3 seasons in the WNBA, two with the Sting and one with Orlando Miracle, starting 58 of her 84 games – at a time when there were only 8 teams in the league.
Congreaves won titles in France, Spain, the UK along with multiple Euroleague Final Four appearances (runners up twice) and is up there amongst the greatest players to ever come out of the UK.
Having made her England senior debut at 17 years old in 1987, she picked up 40 caps for England and 15 for GB, and also went on represent Great Britain 20 years later for the reformation of the programme.
Congreaves won a Commonwealth Games Gold medal in 1991 and bronze in 2006 – where she led the team in scoring at 36 years old.
In this two hour episode, hear from Andrea on:
- How she was first discovered by Paul Stimpson through Crystal Palace’s School of Basketball
- Her early years at Crystal Palace, Brixton Topcats and London YMCA
- The things that happened during her development that she attributes to her success
- Her lack of care or knowledge of individual stats and performances
- The inspiration Carol Paris was for her coming up
- How Crystal Palace hosting the WICB led to her first interest from US colleges
- The lack of her belief in her own abilities and talents
- The recruiting process and the likes of Kansas, UNC, UCLA, Ole Miss and others all chasing her
- Knowing Mercer was the place for her and having a feel for it
- Transitioning to the US from the UK both on and off the court
- The coaching staff at Mercer trying to work out the best position for her
- What she feels was her natural position
- The drastic increase in her output from Freshman to Sophomore year and what caused it
- Leading NCAA Division 1 in scoring for two straight years but not thinking about turning pro
- Playing for the national team whilst at college
- Winning gold at the Commonwealth games in 1991 in Edinburgh
- What it meant to represent her country on the national team
- Her standout memories playing for the national team
- Following the current GB national team program
- The younger generation coming through and whether they are aware of her career
- Not being involved with basketball at all at the moment to take a break
- Her desire to be involved with the national team programs in the future
- Turning pro and signing her first deal in Italy
- The differences between pro life and college life
- Being the only British female player on the continent playing professionally
- Being seen as a traitor for not coming back to play in England
- Winning her first pro title in Spain
- Every opposing team thinking she was an American
- Coming up just short in the Euroleague final and how it still stings to this day
- First getting wind the WNBA was being founded
- Not believing she got drafted when she got the call from the league
- Her experiences in the WNBA, how it compared to Europe and her memories with the Sting and Miracle
- The level of the WNBA compared to Europe
- How her time in the WNBA came to and end and how she chose to focus on Europe
- Playing in Korea and getting selected in their draft
- The final stages of her playing days in Wales with Rhondda Rebels in the run up the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- Making the transition into the next phase of her career after playing
- Her favourite basketball memory
- Best player she ever played against
- Her relationship with coach Mark Clark and the impact he has had on her career
- What she wants her playing legacy to be
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episode 65 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Jack Majewski, owner of London United basketball club and founder of Future Stars International Basketball Tournament.
Originally from Krakow, Poland, Majewski was a former player who fell in love with the coaching side of the game, being at the helm of the Polish U16 national team before moving to the UK in the early 90s to join Kevin Cadle on the bench of the Guildford Kings as they made the top 16 of the FIBA Europe Cup.
From there, he founded the Chessington Wildcats, before setting up the Ealing Tornadoes whilst working as a basketball coach on the borough's sports development team.
In 2002 he founded London United, which has operated in West London since with a focus on junior development being based at different academies, and having two separate attempts at getting a BBL franchise off the ground with London United in 2006-7 and Surrey United in 2013-15.
Majewski also set up the Future Stars International Basketball Tournament in 2008, which ran for 6 years and featured top Division A U18 junior national teams from across Europe and had a number of eventual NBA players compete such as Rudy Gobert and Dario Saric. Future Stars returned in 2019 as a pre-season U18 club tournament, featuring the likes of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Rytas Vilnius.
Having now been involved at all levels of the British game for almost 30 years, Majewski has a unique Euro-centric perspective on the game in this country and what needs to be done to help drive things forward.
In this two hour (!) episode, hear from Jack on:
- His early start in basketball in Poland and how he ended up in England
- The passion he had for coaching and wanting to reach the highest levels of the game
- Jumping in at the deep end in the UK being on the coaching staff in the top 16 of European competition with Guildford Kings under Kevin Cadle
- Why the Kingston teams competing in Europe in the early 90s are one of the greatest untold stories in British basketball
- British basketball being so insular and not being exposed enough to international basketball
- The role that clubs have to play in being the driving force to grow British basketball - not the federation
- Clubs needing the ability to protect their 'investment' in players by licensing them accordingly and having final approval on movement between clubs
- Why sport is not democratic and it is not club's responsibility to keep everyone happy
- Conversations he has had with the federation to try and change things
- The current picture of basketball in the UK being so stagnated and unattractive
- Why it is so important there is stability for clubs by changing the structures they operate in
- His two stints with the BBL, with Surrey United and London United and what happened with both
- Whether or not he still has BBL aspirations
- The over-reliance on schools/educational institutions within British basketball and being at the mercy of the head teacher
- The lack of investment in coaching in British basketball
- London United's recent announcement of their partnership with Movistar Estudiantes
- The founding of the Future Stars international basketball tournament and its development over the years
- Raising funding/sponsorship to be able to run events and fund programs
- Cultivating a network of relationships to help a basketball program grow
- His belief that the social-value of basketball in the UK is grotesquely overused and overvalued
- The need to create viable future career paths in basketball in the UK for young players
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episode 64 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with former GB and England international and current assistant coach at Montana State University, Chris Haslam.
Originally out of Southport, Haslam recorded 58 caps for England and GB, representing England from 1997-2004 before being involved with the first two years of the re-start of the GB programme in 2006 and 2007.
He had a 13 year professional career, playing not only in the BBL, but Greece, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic, before transitioning into coaching where he is now an assistant at NCAA Division 1 school MSU.
At MSU he has recruited multiple British players, most recently having duo Amin Adamu and Jubrile Belo on his roster, and prior to that, Joe Junior Mvuezolo.
Note that since this was recorded, there have been a number of updates to the COVID-19 situation regarding British student-athletes, where players are now beginning to be able to return to the US.
Additionally, there were some technical issues and we lost the first 35 minutes we began recording, so the start of the podcast is essentially a re-recording.
In this 1 hour and 40 minutes episode, hear from Chris on:
- COVID-19 and its impact on British student-athletes in the US
- The wide-ranging impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on college athletics
- Whether there could be further amendments to NCAA rules due to COVID
- If a generation of players could miss out on a crucial year of development
- How he first started playing basketball
- Growing up in Southport and the local basketball scene coming up
- Playing for Chester Jets U23 side with Mike Burton and Joe Forber
- The three main talents from his generation - Delme Herriman, Steve Hansell, Danny Craven
- Moving to the US for his Senior year of High School still being relatively new to the game
- Winning a state championship and being named Player of the Year
- The college recruitment process, getting recruited by the likes of Vanderbilt and Florida State
- Choosing Wyoming and how he felt his teams did during his time there
- How his own experiences have impacted how he recruits at Montana State
- The difference between recruiting British players compared to Americans
- The impact of him being British makes in being able to recruit British players
- Playing his first two years in college with NBA lottery pick and Defensive Player of the Year Theo Ratliff
- His own game's development and how it would translate to today
- What he looks for when developing big men
- Beating a nationally ranked Utah squad with 3 future NBA players in college
- The increasing prevalence of transfers in college basketball
- Players needing to learn to embrace their role
- Whether or not he's seen an increase in the talent level of British players over the years
- General weaknesses that are more prevalent in British players
- Whether or not players are better served to stay in the UK now and going straight to college instead of High School first
- Signing his rookie deal in the BBL with Birmingham instead of opting to go to Austria
- The Bosman ruling happening just as he was turning pro and its impact on the BBL
- The difference in what he could earn in the BBL compared to Europe at the time
- His home debut for England in front of 7,000 fans in Manchester
- Standout memories from representing the England Seniors
- Being involved with the new GB programme in its first two years from 2006
- His memories of a young Luol Deng in his first year with GB
- Crazy stories from his time in Greece
- Comparing the BBL in 2006 with London United to the late 90s with Birmingham
- Finishing his career at home with the Everton Tigers and winning a Play-Offs title
- Making the transition into coaching
- Starting his coaching career at NJCAA school Lamar Community College before joining MSU
- His desire to coach within the GB set up
- His memories of a 17 year old Ryan Richards in Belgium
- Matching up with Tim Duncan at the World Student Games
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episode 63 of the Hoopsfix podcast we sit down with former England Senior international and 13-year pro, Mike Bernard.
Hailing from Manchester, Bernard hooked on to the Giants BBL team at just 16 years old, before going to the US for college and then having a pro career that saw him play in Greece, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Cyprus, Slovakia - where he had his most productive years and won a championship - and the UK.
Having been involved with the Giants during their peak years in the mid-90s, and then joining them for their second incarnation in 2012, along with seeing both the England Senior National Team programme during what many consider a trying time, through to being called up to the re-birth of the Great Britain Senior Men's programme in 2006-7, Bernard has seen a lot of key stages of British basketball first-hand.
The 6'9" big man now coaches the next generation coming through at Myerscough College, heading up their girl's programme, whist assisting on the boy's side.
Hear from Mike on:
- How he first started playing basketball, making the transition from cricket
- The impact Yorick Williams and Steve Brown had on him as a youngster
- Aspiring to play in the BBL
- Moving to the US to play college ball at Coffeyville Community College
- The importance of the weight room to his basketball performance on the court
- His aggressive nature on the court, trying to dunk everything on everyone
- Trash-talking and the only player he ever talked with
- Getting his first England Senior call up at 19 and his memories with the National Team
- The impact Laszlo Nemeth had on his career and why he was such a player's coach
- Joe White and his relationship with him
- The legendary Rough & Ready tournament and what made it so special
- What a talent Ajou Deng was
- The state of the England national team programme and how it compared to GB
- The recruiting process in college and which D1 schools were showing offering
- His standout memories from University of South Florida
- The invite to Milwaukee Bucks training camp that never came to fruition
- Winning a championship in Slovakia and almost being forced to miss the entire series
- His view on the BBL in the time between his debut in 1994 through to his retirement in 2015
- Manchester basketball as a whole and the different factions
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episode 62 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with the only British player to be drafted in the last decade, San Antonio Spurs draft pick Ryan Richards.
The Great Britain Senior international, originally out of Kent, was selected with the 49th pick in the 2010 draft, and though never ending up on the final roster in the NBA, has gone on to play all over the world in places ranging from Switzerland, to Iran, Mexico, Austria, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Greece, Poland, Lebanon and most recently the UK in the BBL.
Now 29 years old, he looks back on his career so far, from first picking up a ball through to signing in Spain as a 15 year old, the NBA draft process and the multitude of countries he has lived and worked.
In this 1 hour 45 minutes episode, hear from Ryan on:
- The decision to sign in Belgium this season
- How COVID-19 is impacting Belgium
- Having a stake in the Kent Panthers and the vision for the club
- Launching his own camp that had to be cancelled this summer
- How the game has evolved to give him greater longevity in his career
- What he does with his down time in-season
- His weight loss this off-season, dropping over 45lbs
- How he first got into basketball through his older brother
- The influence of the and-1 mixtapes
- The impact Joel Freeland and Ashley Hamilton had on his aspirations and early basketball development
- Playing for the England national team as a junior
- When the European clubs came knocking to try and recruit him
- The wooing process with Estudiantes and Gran Canarias
- Signing a professional contract as a teenager and having few people in England to turn to for advice
- His relationship with Rob Orellana and his mismanagement
- Playing in the Nike Hoop Summit as 15 years old
- Being hidden away after his performance at the Hoop Summit and drawing the attention of the likes of Coach K and Calipari
- Being take advantage of as a youngster and people looking out for their own self-interest
- How he was handled as a teenager affected his ability to trust people in his career
- The European route versus the American route for player development
- How much you can earn in Europe on a junior contract
- The NBA draft process and his performance at the Combine blowing up his profile
- Where he was on draft night and finding out he was selected by the San Antonio Spurs
- What happened the year after he was drafted and the rehab process
- Chasing stability and acceptance
- His relationship with the Spurs over the years and why he thinks he never ended up getting on the final roster
- Advice he would give to his younger self
- Whether or not he still thinks he could end up on an NBA roster
- Being embraced in Asia playing in Iran and his love for Persian culture
- The impact travelling has had on his own personal development
- His thoughts on the BBL and his experiences playing in it
- Whether or not he would want to invest in a BBL franchise
- Representing the GB Senior Men and if he aims to continue being involved
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In episode 61 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, the BBL All-Time leading scorer and second most capped England/GB player ever, Peter Scantlebury MBE joins us to talk his career.
Scantlebury won 9 titles as a player in a 23 year career in the UK that saw him miss just a single game due to injury, whilst representing his country 143 times.
He finished his BBL career all over the all-time leaderboards in various different statistical categories, having played for the likes of Bracknell, Sunderland, Thames Valley, London Towers, Newcastle Eagles and Sheffield Sharks before going into coaching with Sheffield where he won the Trophy and Play-Offs title.
Scantlebury was awarded an MBE in 2002 for services to basketball
In this 1 hour and 45 minute episode, hear from Pete on:
- How he first got into playing basketball
- The role Kevin Hibbs had on his early playing days and how it came full circle later in his career
- Making the transition from national schools to national league
- Getting on the end of the bench of the senior national league side Guildford as a 17 year old with Sam Stiller
- The legendary runs at North London College where players honed their skills
- His memories of the formation of the BBL and what changed
- Balancing having a day job whilst playing basketball through a large portion of his career
- Winning the WICB tournament
- Individual accomplishments versus team success
- Every stop at each BBL club through his career
- Whether he has any regrets
- The Bosman ruling and how it impacted the careers of British players
- Playing for England Seniors
- How Laszlo Nemeth changed the culture around the England National Team programme
- His memories of Terrell Myers' game winner at the buzzer to seal the league title for Sheffield
- Making the transition from playing to coaching with the same team from one season to the next
- Being called up as Head Coach of the 2006 Commonwealth Games squad
- His memories of the Commonwealth Games squad, practices and games
- Playing in the 1992 Olympic Qualifiers with Great Britain against numerous legends
- His thoughts on the current state of play in the BBL
- Favourite coach he has played under
- The toughest player he has had to guard
- What he wants his legacy to be
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For episode 60 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we bring back Martin Henlan on the show to discuss the Mallin Review, an independent government-mandated review of basketball done in 2007, and the Basketball Players Association.
The Mallin Review - which you can read in full here - was an independent review of basketball in England performed by a group of business and sport high-flyers external to basketball - except for Henlan - aimed to discover what is holding basketball back and why it is not meeting expectations to ensure that the upcoming London 2012 Olympics would be capitalised on.
With basketball in disarray, it was requested by Sports Minister Richard Caborn and was the third review done on the sport in a period of around five years.
Endorsed by the likes of of NBA Commissioner David Stern, the CEO of Euroleague Jordi Bertomeu, and both Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, the Mallin Review group made a number of key recommendations - including major reform of the federation - most of which were disregarded by the administration at the time.
You can see Basketball England's then-Chair Terry Donovan's response to the review in the annual report, here.
Henlan, now a successful businessman working with media and rights, is a former England and Great Britain Senior international and 15 year pro, who first appeared on the Hoopsfix Podcast in 2017, which you can listen to here.
In this 1 hour 40 minute episode, hear from Martin on:
- Why the Mallin Review was set up
- How the Mallin Review was the third independent review to be done on basketball in England within six years
- How he came to be involved as the only basketball person in the review group
- The level of gravitas the review had with the people who put their name to it, including former NBA Commissioner David Stern, the CEO of Euroleague Jordi Bertomeu, and both Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu
- What the process was to put together the Mallin Review
- The findings of the review and the 5 core recommendations
- How the only group that didn't endorse the review were Basketball England
- The response to the Mallin Review from Basketball England CEO Keith Mair
- How the calls to reform the governing body fell on deaf ears
- His thoughts on the London 2012 Olympics being a huge missed opportunity
- UK Sport's almost £10million investment into British Basketball in the run up to 2012
- How responsible UK Sport and Sport England should be held responsible for basketball's failures
- When he realised that none of the findings of the Mallin Review would be implemented
- The dominance of older white males in the upper echelons of basketball administration
- The lack of successful precedence for how basketball needs to be run in the UK to use as a barometer
- British Basketball not using basketball people in the majority of positions of seniority
- His current relationship with the sport in the UK and how he has become disconnected
- What it would take to re-engage him with basketball
- The need to use current and former players to help be the face of the sport
- The lack of growth in Basketball England's membership over the past 13 years
- Why the players association was set up in the early 90s
- How the players association was formed and how he ended up as CEO
- How many members the players association grew to and the things they were able to achieve
- Setting up an exhibition game with Magic Johnson's team of NBA players in London
- How the players association ended up dying after the Bosman ruling
- Whether he would ever get involved with the sport again
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 59 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with former England and GB international, and ten-year pro Steve Hansell.
Hansell, now coaching Team Birmingham Elite in NBL Division 2, had one of the most successful playing careers of any player out of the UK, being signed to Italian side Kinder Bologna (literally) straight out of college - as they would win a Euroleague title weeks after him leaving Illinois State, before making a Euroleague Final Four with AEK Athens three years later.
Having first represented England as an Under-15 and making his last international appearance at 37 years old, he represented his country for over 20 years, having made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament (after back-to-back conference championships), winning the FIBA Saporta Cup title, back-to-back Greek Cup titles and a pro career that saw him play in Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus plus a couple of short stints in the BBL.
In this 90 minute episode, hear from Steve on:
- How he first started playing basketball at school
- Making his BBL debut at 16 years old with Birmingham Bullets
- The Birmingham basketball scene growing up
- Playing in the Nike All-American camp and adidas ABCD with future NBA stars such as Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury and Ray Allen
- The recruiting process and when the letters started coming
- Attending Lincoln junior college for a year to get academically eligible
- Making the transition to NCAA Division 1 basketball at Illinois State
- The hardest practices he ever had to do
- Going back-to-back with conference championships to head to the NCAA Tournament
- His game against Tennessee to advance to the second round of the Tournament
- Being in Italy within 2-3 weeks of his college career ending, joining a Bologna side that would win a Euroleague title
- The level of the Italian league in the late 90s
- His first full rookie year in Italy and making the transition to being a pro
- The financial decision to play in Europe as opposed to the UK
- His two short stints in the BBL with Birmingham and Brighton
- Playing in Greece for AEK Athens and the fans
- Making the Euroleague Final Four in 2001
- Playing under Dusan Ivkovic
- Competing against European legends such as Manu Ginobili and Dino Radja
- Being involved in the first years of the revival of the GB programme in 2006-07
- Seeing a young Luol Deng (in his second year in the NBA at that point) with GB
- Making the decision to retire and the difficulty of the transition to not playing anymore
- Coaching a young Myles Hesson and overseeing his development
- The likelihood of seeing the return of a BBL franchise in Birmingham
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In episode 58 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we go into the behind the scenes of running a BBL club with 5 different owners.
Paul Blake (Newcastle Eagles), Russell Levenston (Leicester Riders), Vince Macaulay (London Lions), Yuri Matischen (Sheffield Sharks), and Richard Mollard (Plymouth Raiders) jump on a Skype call to discuss the ins and outs of the league and running a franchise.
In this episode, hear from the owners on:
- The structure of BBL clubs and why they all have a foundation separate to the professional club
- The extent of most BBL clubs community programmes
- How revenues compare between the foundation and professional club
- Whether a BBL franchise could be successful without a grassroots programme
- Why the BBL gets a bad rep when it comes to junior development
- Why more young British players don't see minutes in the BBL
- The talent pathway and players going to college in the US
- The BBL in its 'heyday' of the 90s and early 00s being on shaky unsustainable foundations
- The importance of teams having their own facilities and arenas with basketball at their heart
- How much more sustainable the league is today compared to previous years
- Why we haven't seen BBL teams signing young elite British talent to contracts
- Why some of the owners believe the majority of kids going to the US for college are wasting their time
- Fighting the perception of what the US college route is compared to staying in the UK
- The difference between going to the US for an experience or if it's because you want a basketball career
- How important and underrated BUCS could be for the development of British players
- The relationship between the BBL clubs and the federations
- The importance of a unified basketball structure in the UK
- How hard it is to sell tickets to live basketball games
- Average attendances across the BBL
- The important and need for good sales people to sell tickets to games
- How much of team's revenues are from ticket sales
- The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the BBL
- How decision making works with the all the BBL teams being shareholders of the league
- How teams are held accountable to the terms of the BBL operating license awarded by the BBF
- Why people who are investing in the BBL aren't primarily doing it for a profit
- The importance of media coverage and what teams and the league are doing to engage media
- The automated Keemotion cameras that are used to film games and the plans moving forward
- How close the league is to getting a TV deal
- BBL player salaries
- Player welfare and what is being done to protect players in the BBL
- Whether the owners would have any object to the players unionising
- The London City Royals situation
- Changes that are being made to the franchise due-diligence process to ensure new high-risk franchises are not being admitted
- The cost of being a BBL franchise
- What teams get in return for the £150,000 franchise fee
- The incentive for a team like Solent Kestrels to join the BBL
- The average value of a BBL franchise
- What the 5-year vision is for the future of the BBL
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episode 57 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with BBL Commercial Director Bob Hope, who was instrumental of the forming of the league in 1987.
Hope has been involved with basketball club and league administration/commercial since the 70s, and was one of the main drivers for the clubs breaking away from the federation to form the BBL in the late 80s.
Since then, he has served as the commercial director of the league twice, been the UK rights holder for basketball producer Molten Sports and founded Bob Hope TV Productions Ltd to provide live tv coverage of the sport (as well as other minority sports).
Hear from Bob on:
- How he first got into basketball as a youngster, making the switch from gymnastics
- His early days of getting into basketball administration with the Exhall Eagles in the Warwickshire league
- Founding and coaching the club Granwood (later Team Fiat and then Birmingham Bullets) and entering the National League in 1974)
- The inter-county tournament that used to run at Loughborough which was predominantly made up of National League clubs representing as counties
- The early signs of tensions between clubs and the federation - England Basketball - in the late 70s
- What happened at the 1979 England Basketball AGM where the clubs - led by Bob Hope and David Last - voted out Chair Ken Charles to be replaced with Harry Keats
- The negotiations that ensued and what happened for the BBL to be formed 8 years later with the clubs effectively breaking away
- Raising money and sponsorship for the 1980 and 1984 Olympic qualifying GB teams
- The formation of Basketball Marketing Ltd set up by England Basketball which Bob Hope became the Director of Sales and
Marketing for as he retired from coaching - How they could move over the sponsorship and TV contracts from Basketball Marketing Ltd to the BBL when the clubs broke away, with Hope joining the league in charge of commercial
- All the secretive meetings clubs were having as breaking away to form the BBL became a reality
- The differences between raising sponsorship in the early days of the BBL to now
- Forming Bob Hope TV Productions Ltd in 1988 to produce live basketball TV coverage for the likes of Channel 4, the BBC, ITV2 and Sky
- How he became the UK-rights holder for Molten Sports
- Re-joining the BBL in 2016 as Commercial Director after having been retired for 1 month
- Discovering the monetary value of the betting rights of the BBL - with over €16million (accidentally stated as €60million in the interview - 16million is the correct figure!) being betted on the league each year
- How Premier League football is the biggest barrier to getting the BBL back on TV
- The issues the league is having with Keemotion and it not being up to broadcast standard at the moment
- How close the league is to signing a major commercial deal
- The importance of social media and digital for the BBL's growth and future sponsorship deals
- How COVID-19 has impacted the league and what it could mean for the future
- The growth of the league and aim to get to 16 franchises
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
In Episode 56 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with the first Englishman to play in the NCAA Final Four, Karl Brown, who went on to have a more than decade-long pro career in the BBL, being an All-Star multiple times and winning titles.
In this almost two hour episode, hear from Karl on:
- How he first started playing
- Making the choice between football and basketball
- How basketball kept him out of trouble
- How a connection with the Leicester Riders head coach landed him in High School in Florida at the age of 16
- The cultural shock of going to the US from the UK
- His awareness (or lack of) of any other British players trying to make it
- Not being heavily recruited out of High School
- Ending up at Chipola Junior College where he became one of the best JUCO players in the nation
- How he became such a good defensive player
- The recruitment process after his Sophomore year at Chipola and his five visits
- Why he chose Georgia Tech and his early memories of getting on campus
- How Coach Bobby Cremins only ended up recruiting him as JUCO player due to not being able to access High School Seniors
- His difficulty adapting to playing in the ACC
- How his coaches started questioning whether they made a mistake recruiting him after his Junior year and tried to make him transfer
- Heading into his Senior year with a stacked squad featuring three future NBA draft picks in Dennis Scott, Kenny Anderson, and Bryan Oliver
- His memories of their magical Final Four run, game by game
- How his first professional contract offer was actually in the NFL with Denver Broncos
- Why he chose to come back and play in the BBL with Leicester
- How him and a number of other players boycotted the BBL All-Star game
- His toughest player to guard in the BBL
- What happened when he got suspended for the Play-Off semi-final and final
- The difference in BBL wages then compared to now
- How the Leicester Warriors ended up getting founded
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 55 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with two-time BBL Coach of the Year and the first player in English basketball history to play for, and then coach the England National team, Mick Bett.
Bett, now a coach in Canada at Ridley College prep program and basketball commentator, is a multiple national-title winner as a player, 1983 Commonwealth games gold medalist, with 43 caps as a player, along with two-time BBL Coach of the Year along with 6 caps for England as Head Coach.
Note – the internet was particularly bad on this call and the mic at my end was not selected correctly as the input so the audio and video quality leaves a lot to be desired; hopefully should be better on the next one!
In this 90 minute episode, hear from Mick on:
- How he first got into playing basketball as a 12 year old
- Growing up with Paul Stimpson and him being the bar he was measuring himself against
- Starting out at Crystal Palace programme and it being his first exposure to a pathway
- Playing in the London league coming up and how strong it was
- Going to university at Borough Road before making the jump to the US for a year
- The Crystal Palace dynasty
- The greatness of Alton Byrd
- When Jimmy Guymon was coaching and had to step in as a player for one game
- Playing under Danny Palmer
- The legendary 2OT game of Crystal Palace against Maccabi Tel Aviv at the WICB Junior tournament
- Steve Bucknall and his talent growing up
- His favourite memories with the National Team
- Going up against the likes of Charles Barkley and Karl Malone ahead of the World University Games
- England beating Turkey two times out of three in 1986
- The British pathway and kids wanting to pursue college basketball
- How much British basketball misses Kevin Cadle
- The transition from playing to coaching
- Winning BBL Coach of the Year award in his first two seasons in the pros
- Being a basketball commentator and some of his top memories
- A story of a young Michael Olowokandi
- His all-time great British players
- The WICB tournament
- His 1987 title with BCP and the upset of Kingston in the Play-off final
- Memories of international hoops legend Nik Galis
- The best player he’s ever coached
- And much, much more!
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For episode 54 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we took an in depth look at why more British basketball teams aren't competing in Europe, speaking with Russell Levenston to focus on the Leicester Riders' experience in the 2018-19 season when they played in the Basketball Champions League and FIBA Europe Cup.
Levenston is the Riders' Managing Director, having got involved with the club in 2007, becoming a co-owner of the club alongside Kevin Routledge.
The Leicester Riders' became the first BBL team to compete in Europe in over 11 years when they entered the Basketball Champions League qualifiers in 2018-19, going 0-2 against Danish powerhouse Bakken Bears to drop down into the FIBA Europe Cup where they were unable to pick up a win in six attempts.
Before the Riders, it was Guildford Heat in 2007-8 that last competed in Europe, in a move that almost ended up bankrupting the club. But the UK has a rich history of British teams playing in Europe, most notably in the 1995-1996 BBL season there were no less than six teams competing on the continent - why is this no longer happening?
In this 1 hour and 15 minute episode, hear from Russell on:
- His background and how he ended up at the Leicester Riders
- Why the Riders wanted to go into Europe
- The cost and extra budget required to be able to compete on the continent
- How they funded the cost
- Media coverage of their European experience and how hard it was to generate interest
- How they approached roster make up and why continuity was a focus
- Some GB stars the Riders were close to signing prior to their European campaign
- Fan interest, the challenge of mid-week games and the need to educate fans
- The grueling schedule and balancing Europe with BBL games
- How injuries plagued the team but the team was able to remain competitive
- If they lost money on entering the European competition
- Why more teams aren't competing in Europe compared to years past
- The biggest learnings the Riders are now implementing in their domestic programme
- Whether the Riders have plans to re-enter European competition
- The impact of COVID-19 on the BBL at the moment
- Who he thinks will be the next BBL team in Europe
- Whether or not he can see a situation where we end up with a EuroLeague franchise in London
- And much, much more!
Follow @RidersMD on Twitter and Instagram @RidersMD.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 53 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with former England and GB international, and legend of the game Paul Stimpson.
Stimpson, is not only one of the British game's all-time greats, but post-playing has gone on to an impressive career off the court which saw him become the Managing Director of FIBA Media for over 15 years.
At the end of last year, he moved over to DAZN (formerly Perform), an over-the-top subscription sports streaming service who have a multi-year deal for FIBA events through until 2033.
Spending the majority of his playing days with Crystal Palace, he also spent a season in Kingston under Kevin Cadle and a year in Solent before pursuing a career in Switzerland.
In this near two hour episode, hear from Paul on:
- How he first started playing basketball
- Joining the Crystal Palace program underneath the legendary Roy Packham
- Getting his first England Senior call up as a 19 year old
- Playing for Crystal Palace whilst at university, with his first 'pro' deal being a car
- The debate around dual nationals and representing the national team
- Juggling playing basketball whilst working jobs
- Going up against Alton Byrd every day at practice with Crystal Palace
- Leading England past a Greek side that featured Nick Galis in 1981 (Stimpson led the team in scoring with 22 points)
- The importance of national teams having enough preparation time
- Whether or not players were aspiring to go to the US in that era
- The Crystal Palace School of Basketball and discovering Andrea Congreaves
- Basketball in England having a stronger culture in the 80s than now and why
- How important a digital and social media strategy is for basketball programmes
- What netball have done in England to experience success with fans and on TV
- The struggles British basketball has with getting on TV
- The need to get numerous people who used to play connected with the game again
- Meeting his wife through basketball
- Retiring from playing the game at 30 to pursue a career with ISL in Switzerland which included working with FIBA
- Heading up FIBA Media's operations working with broadcasters and rights-holders globally for FIBA's flagship events
- BCP's huge upset over Kingston in the playoff final at Wembley in 1987
- The need for basketball factions across the UK to come together as one
- And much, much more!
Follow @PaulStimpson2 on Twitter and Instagram @paul.stimpson.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 52 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Great Britain guard and esteemed pro, Ogo Adegboye.
Originally from the Brixton Topcats programme under the legendary Jimmy Rogers, Adegboye carved out a successful near-decade long career for himself in the pros, whilst becoming GB's starting point guard in the run up the London 2012 Olympics.
In this hour episode, hear from Ogo on:
- How he first got into playing basketball
- Joining the Brixton Topcats programme and community
- Coming up with the likes of Justin Robinson, Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Eric Boateng
- Getting to the US and his awful first experience at Laurenburg Institute
- Joining Findlay Prep and being a part of their first ever basketball program
- How his first NCAA Division 1 look fell through at the last minute and he ended up having to find a school within a week
- JUCO, attending Lamar Community College and leading them to their first ever national tournament appearance
- Signing Division 1 and why he wanted to go to St Bonaventures
- Turning pro and having regrets about the agent he first signed with
- His first professional job in Cyprus
- The Great Britain Senior Men's programme and playing under Chris Finch
- Finding out he was the last cut of the London 2012 Olympic team
- His relationship with the national team programme
- And much, much more!
Follow @OgoAde on Twitter and Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
Whilst the world is locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, two British basketball stars, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, set up a series of live discussions, hosted on Instagram Live, which we have been granted to re-post on our Hoopsfix Podcast feed.
In Episode 10, aired on April 22nd 2020, it was the grand finale which went almost three hours and it was straight Q&A, as they answered questions from fans.
Hear from the pair on:
- Whether or not Luol does his own laundry
- How Luol has not shot a basketball since retiring, but has joined a local football league
- What constitutes success for both of them
- Whether or not they would invest in a UK team
- Whether there are any quotes they live by
- What advice they would give to their younger selves
- The biggest misconceptions about being an NBA player
- The importance of mental health
- Pops on learning how to play a role and focusing on rebounding
- The importance of being surrounded by the right people and support system
- The biggest challenges the Basketball Africa League faces
- How Tacko Fall ended up as a translator on his first trip to Senegal
- The challenges of getting government involved to fund basketball programs
- Who their biggest inspirations were growing up
- How Pops ended up in handcuffs the night before the AAU Nationals
- And much, much, more!
Follow @LuolDeng9 and @PopsMBonsu on Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix's work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
Whilst the world is locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, two British basketball stars, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, set up a series of live discussions, hosted on Instagram Live. We hit their team up to ask if they would be happy for us to record and publish online and we got the green light!
In Episode 9, aired on April 20th 2020, they did a part 2 to the future of Africa, talking about the continent, favourite places to visit/live, the Basketball Africa League, and answered questions from fans.
Follow @LuolDeng9 and @PopsMBonsu on Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix's work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
Whilst the world is locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, two British basketball stars, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, set up a series of live discussions, hosted on Instagram Live, which we are now re-posting on the Hoopsfix podcast feed with permission.
In Episode 8, aired on April 17th 2020, they spoke about a cause particularly close to their heart - the plight of Africa, how they both view the continent and their respective countries - South Sudan and Ghana, the Basketball Africa League (BAL), what they are doing in both and what they envision for the future.
Follow @LuolDeng9 and @PopsMBonsu on Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix's work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
With the world locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, two British basketball stars, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, continued with their Instagram live discussions, which we have been granted permission to post on the Hoopsfix Podcast feed.
In Episode 7, aired on April 15th 2020, they spoke about life after basketball, their respective decisions to retire, how difficult it is to not be playing anymore, and what they are currently doing - Pops as the GM of the Capital City Gogo and Luol as the President of the South Sudanese Basketball Federation, along with what they are doing with their money, how they approach investing and business decisions.
Follow @LuolDeng9 and @PopsMBonsu on Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix's work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
Whilst the world is locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, two British basketball stars, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, set up a series of live discussions, hosted on Instagram Live, and have granted us permission to repost on the Hoopsfix podcast feed.
In Episode 6, aired on April 13th 2020, it was the one we've all been waiting for, as they spoke about British Basketball, the Great Britain set up in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics, and more.
Hear from the duo on:
- The build up to London 2012, helping the GB program rise through the ranks
- Having to earn their spot at the London 2012 Olympics, and not qualifying automatically as the host nation unlike every other sport
- The issues around insuring Luol Deng's contract to play for the national team
- Some of the experiences on the road around Europe and the more precarious situations
- How they fed off each other as leaders of the GB team
- When their relationship with the programme started going downhill
- Their regrets about not voicing opinions on lack of coaching staff from the inner cities
- How they felt too many staff involved with the program were there for the money and not the love
- How they felt the Olympics was a huge opportunity to change the game in the country
- Their frustrations around funding of the programme from UK Sport
- Not being involved in the decision making and not feeling like their voices were being heard
- Luol asking GB to be a part of his camp and them not ever getting involved
- How Pops got rejected from an application to be on the Basketball England board for not being qualified
- What Jimmy Rogers taught Luol Deng about life
- Joe White's training regime with Pops
- Luol's frustration with the cost of facility-hire in London
- How they both want to see British basketball grow
- The process of hiring an agent
- Pops being regularly recognised as football player Yaya Toure
- Facing off against Team USA in Manchester, and what happened when they saw Kobe out the night before the game
- What they would do to build British basketball
- What their workout regimes looked like as pros
- Experiences at the London 2012 Olympics and being in the Olympic Village
- The sacrifices they have made for the game
- And much, much more!
Follow @LuolDeng9 and @PopsMBonsu on Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix's work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
Whilst the world is locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, two British basketball stars, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, have been recording a series of live discussions, hosted on Instagram Live, and with their permission we are reposting to the Hoopsfix Podcast feed.
In Episode 5, aired on April 10th 2020, they did a part two on life in the pros, predominantly answering questions from fans.
Here from the pair on:
- Pops dealing with being cut from teams and how much it hurt in his early career
- How Pops was protesting the NBA when first getting to Italy, refusing to wear any NBA branded clothing
- Luol processing being traded and how much it hurt after feeling he had given so much to Chicago
- Luol Deng addressing the racist situation with the Atlanta Hawks' Danny Ferry and how he approached it
- Advice they would have for someone trying to get their young children into basketball
- The role of mentorship and who has provided guidance to both Luol and Pops
- Pops' experience in the G-League and how he got called up by the Bulls and almost played with Luol
- Both of their experience of racism playing in Europe
- The mismanagement of Luol's spinal tap by medical staff and how it put his life in jeopardy
- How Chicago gave Luol two days to accept a contract offer mid-season, he didn't want to be rushed into it (having tried to re-sign in the off-season prior to the season) and ended up getting traded
- What happened with Luol with the LA Lakers, who had originally said they wanted to be a playoff team when he signed before they changed direction to tank
- Luol staying professional in LA, working out and staying ready despite being stuck to the bench
- Pops being released from Toronto and what he had tweeted on the night he could become a free agent
- Pops' situation in Russia with CSKA Moscow - where it was the most money he had earned as a professional athlete - who wouldn't play him consistent minutes or release him to NBA teams
- If any situations in their careers had caused them to want to quit basketball
- What they did in their careers to look after their bodies and perform optimally
- The time Luol's Bulls matched up with Pops' Raptors, and Pops went off - unfortunately Lu wasn't playing
- And much, much more!
Follow @LuolDeng9 and @PopsMBonsu on Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix's work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
Whilst the world is locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, two British basketball stars, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, have been publishing a series of live discussions, hosted on Instagram Live which we have been granted permission to post on the the Hoopsfix podcast feed.
In Episode 4, aired on April 8th 2020, they discussed turning pro, the draft, and playing in the NBA and Europe.
Hear from the pair on:
- Pops making the decision on whether to declare for the draft after his Junior year and the conversation he had with Luol
- Pops not wanting to have a draft party but it ending up being over 40 people there
- The pain of going undrafted for Pops, hearing his mum cried and using that as a motivator
- Pops being able to sign with the Dallas Mavericks after a strong NBA Summer League performance
- The role Amadou Gallo Fall has played in many African players' basketball experience
- Luol going into the draft being projected top 3, having been initially projected top 20 straight out of High School
- Being in the green room, and with all of the trades happening on draft night, Luol finding out he was dropping down
- Being selected with the 7th pick by the Phoenix Suns, and having the feeling he has made it
- Luol getting a call to find out he had been traded to Chicago but having to do interviews where the press didn't know yet so running with it
- What happened when Pops got his first NBA pay cheque - a $30,000 sum from the Mavericks and going straight to the mall
- Learning to be more financially diligent throughout their pro careers
- How quickly things had changed for 19 year old Luol; not being able to afford to go to the cinema the night before being drafted
- How Luol was so paranoid about going broke, he was eating his pre-game meal from Subway to save money in his rookie year
- The sense of gratitude Luol has always had from his humble beginnings
- Pops finding out he was cut from the Dallas Mavericks, two minutes before his contract was guaranteed
- Pops learning to embrace his journeyman role and recognising the impact it has had on who he is as a person
- Luol having ten years in Chicago, having not lived anywhere for more than 5 years prior to that
- Deng finding out he was being traded to Cleveland, just after realising where he was in the all-time record boards of the Bulls
- Luol taking a long time to adapt to being traded, and always looking back at what Chicago were doing and thinking what could have been
- Luol settling instantly in Miami, embracing a family atmosphere and feeling more like he was home
- Pops discussing the difference between the NBA and Europe
- Pops' experiences in Italy after being cut from Dallas, and being jumped by fans
- Dealing with injuries; Luol's wrist surgery, and Pops' more than 11 surgeries through his career
- Luol Deng choosing to the Africa t-shirt at the NBA All-Star game, despite it being against league rules
- The impact of being from Africa on their NBA careers
- And much, much more!
Follow @LuolDeng9 and @PopsMBonsu on Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix's work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, two British basketball stars, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, set up a series of live discussions, hosted on Instagram Live which we are now reposting with permission on the Hoopsfix podcast feed.
In Episode 3, aired on April 6th 2020, they discussed their college experiences - Luol at Duke with Coach K and Pops Mensah-Bonsu at George Washington, with a lot of great stories about the recruitment and March Madness.
Hear from the duo on:
- The rapid rise of Luol's career from making the decision to take basketball seriously at 13, to consider jumping to the NBA straight out of High School 5 years later
- How Luol was considering schools from his last 5 of Duke, Virginia, Indiana, Fairfield, and Missouri.
- A workout Pops had with his brother, Kojo, after his Junior year where he saw all the holes in his game
- Living in an era before the widespread proliferation of mobile phones
- The impact Pops' older brother Kojo had on guiding him through his career
- The goals Pops set for himself and how he went about achieving them
- When Pops first heard someone ask him if he's coming back to school and realised the NBA is within reach
- How the two had the same goals just very different paths to get there
- The recruitment process and the amount of attention Luol was receiving
- Luol being recruited by every school with private jets, except for Duke
- How Luol and Charlie Villanueva were originally plotting to go to Indiana together and Luol only went to visit Duke because of his father
- Pops last five schools were GW, La Salle, St Joes, Cleveland State and Boston College
- How Luol ended up being the number 2 player in the country and all over Slam Magazine
- Why Luol was determined to not just be a good junior player and having a one-track mind to make it
- Pops having to balance getting a degree whilst preparing for a professional career
- The advice Luol gave Pops when he was considering the NBA draft
- Staying grounded whilst getting endless attention
- Luol's Final Four run in the NCAA Tournament in his Freshman year
- How Luol was initially planning on returning to school for his Sophomore year, it getting back to the coaching staff, only to change his mind and have to tell them he was declaring for the NBA
- A member of the GW coaching staff finding out Pops was close with Luol and trying to get him to persuade Lu to come to GW
- The first time their parents saw them play basketball
- Whether it's harder to stay humble nowadays for young basketball prospects because of social media
- Humbling experiences they both had in the NBA
- And much, much, more!
Follow @LuolDeng9 and @PopsMBonsu on Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
You can support Hoopsfix's work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
With the world locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, two British basketball stars, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, set up a series of live discussions, hosted on Instagram Live, and with permission from their team we are hosting them on the Hoopsfix Podcast.
In Episode 2, aired on April 3rd 2020, they discussed their transition from the UK to the US, going to their respective high schools and how they adapted.
Hear from Luol and Pops on:
- How Pops attended The Hun School of Princeton in NJ, originally not to play basketball
- Why Luol made the jump to the US at 14 years old to attend Blair Academy
- The mental preparation and mental mind-switch that occurred heading to the US
- The crushing blow Pops suffered to find out he was on the Junior Varsity team
- Adjusting from state school in London to some of the most prestigious and wealthiest high schools in the US
- Luol had never used a laptop or computer before getting to the States
- How Luol ended up forgetting his basketball shoes when moving to the US
- Luol's mindset in trying to prove himself and being on a mission to make it
- Turning negatives into positives
- How Deng tore up his first practice at Blair and was told by Coach Joe Mantegna he had a chance of making the NBA
- The story of what happened when Pops and Luol met in the High Jump while competing in track & field
- How Pops had more interest and offers to compete in High Jump at college than basketball
- Why Pops ended up following the basketball route
- The impact on Luol of having a coach who cared about him so much
- Luol getting the keys to the gym at Blair for 6am workouts
- Charlie Villanueva joining Luol at Blair Academy, and then their team starting to get a lot of national recognition
- The talk of Luol and Charlie skipping college to go straight to the NBA
- How Pops used Luol's success as motivation to work on his own game
- What motivated both of them to pursue basketball, and trying to change their lives
- How social media has impacted high school basketball now
- The number of kids coming over to the US and getting in the wrong situation
- And much, much, more!
Follow @LuolDeng9 and @PopsMBonsu on Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
Whilst the world is locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, two British basketball stars, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, set up a series of live discussions, hosted on Instagram Live. We hit their team up to ask if they would be happy for us to record and publish online and we got the green light!
In Episode 1, aired on April 1st 2020, they discussed the early stages of their basketball careers where they both started in England's capital, London, with a lot of legendary stories of Luol at Brixton Topcats with Jimmy Rogers and Pops Mensah-Bonsu in Hackney with Joe White.
Hear from Luol and Pops on:
- What made them decide to start an Instagram live show
- Whereabouts in London they grew up
- Endless banter about their favourite football teams - Luol's Arsenal and Pops' Tottenham
- The impact sport had on their upbringing and trying to fit in
- Why Luol was called Michael Deng growing up
- When Luol switched back from Michael to Luol after getting to Blair Academy in the US
- How and why Pops ended up telling people his name was Dwayne
- The era of London basketball they grew up in and the competition
- Pops first time seeing basketball was the WICB tournament at Crystal Palace
- What drove them as teenagers and their mindsets
- Pops learning the game under Joe White
- Luol coming up under Jimmy Rogers and the Brixton Topcats community
- The moment Luol Deng realised he had a shot at making it
- Sneaking into Brixton Rec for workouts
- The mindset shift that happened in Pops Mensah-Bonsu working out with Luol up close
- A message to young basketball players in the UK who are trying to make it
- How great of a junior player Richard Midgley was
- The legendary Rough & Ready tournament held at Brixton Rec to showcase British talent
- The North London vs South London rivalry
- A 55-point loss that Luol Deng's Brixton side had in Brighton as a youngster that was a turning point for him
- The importance of garnering respect from their British peers growing up
- And much, much, more!
Follow @LuolDeng9 and @PopsMBonsu on Instagram.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
For Episode 51 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with Ipswich Basketball’s Nick Drane to talk about the stellar work he has done building a local club and developing home grown talent.
Having started playing with Colchester as a junior player, Drane was in his early twenties when he got his first job in basketball development in Suffolk which put him on a path that led to the resurgence of Ipswich basketball club.
Ipswich is now one of the most successful clubs in the country, having experienced success at almost every level both male and female, whilst having sent players to play collegiately in the US, and onward to successful professional careers. Most impressively, Ipswich thrives off locally developed talent, relying on no external recruitment.
In this 1 hour and 45 minute episode, hear from Nick on:
- How he first started playing at school and in the back garden against his older brothers
- His first introduction to national league through the Colchester programme and Mark Lloyd
- Going to Canada on a scholarship and why he left
- His return from Canada and getting a job in basketball development
- The impact Mark Lloyd had on his career
- The personal satisfaction he gets out of coaching basketball
- His early involvement with Ipswich Tomcats (now Ipswich basketball club)
- How important it is to work with local schools to build basketball in an area
- Why the first goal when working with young players is for them to have fun
- Building a basketball club from the bottom up
- What he would do if tasked with developing more elite level talent in the UK
- The importance of personalities of coaches with younger players
- The importance of local role models
- The upside of being from a smaller rural town
- Getting local press coverage
- Raising sponsorship
- The importance of facilities and whether or not the club is limited by a small gym
- Whether Ipswich has BBL and WBBL aspirations
- Reflecting on the women’s successful undefeated 2018 campaign
- The current state of women’s basketball in the UK
- The differences between coaching boys and girls
- Finding big kids and turning them into basketball players
- Programmes holding onto players
- Academies basketball in the UK
- His experiences with the national teams
- Why he’s not cut out to be an assistant coach
- The future of Ipswich Basketball Club
- And much, much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide!
The post Turning a Small Town of 120,000 Into a Hub of Basketball Talent – With Nick Drane – Ep. 51 appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.
For Episode 50 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we take a trip down memory lane with Greg Tanner the man behind the legendary website Streetball.co.uk.
Streetball.co.uk was the epicentre of British basketball and global streetball culture in the early 2000’s, doing over a million impressions a month whilst putting the UK on the map with a variety of mixtapes and clips of streetball highlights.
Tanner, now living in Dubai working as an executive TV producer, spent his 20s running the site, which was originally set up as a passion project, helping to make household names out of a selection of top British hoopers.
After winding down Streetball.co.uk, he set up Basketball 24/7, and then went into print with MVP Magazine, not to mention working at the London 2012 Olympics as a basketball expert, along with hosting basketball-related events for Nike, the EuroLeague and adidas.
In this 90 minute episode, hear from Greg on:
- How he first got into basketball through a school friend introducing him to NBA Jam on TV presented by Alton Byrd in the early 90s
- His creative background and getting into building websites, for his own personal interest and amusement
- How his job in television as a producer gave him access to editing suites in the days before mass-market home editing software was really available
- How he had zero expectations of Streetball.co.uk growing into anything big and it was just a personal passion project
- The moment he realised Streetball.co.uk had an audience and it was a ‘thing’
- How a shout out from Rough & Ready after Stuart Tanner showed out at their trials first put the site on the map
- The way people would play up to the camera when they would see him with his camera
- How at it’s peak in 2003-04 the website was doing over a million impressions and 100,000 visitors a month from a global audience
- The other streetball websites that were on the scene at the time including VC-backed HoopsTV, the Notic, Streetballaz, streetballzone.tk and Streetball Xtreme
- The influence of streetball culture in that era following Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury getting drafted along with the and1 mixtapes
- How Pontel VHS tapes played a role in Greg and other basketball fans in the UK getting access to video footage
- The potential blowback for promoting highlights/streetball instead of the fundamentals
- Being threatened for posting highlights of the players’ getting victimised
- How big summer basketball was during the early 2000’s compared to now
- The involvement of corporates/brands with basketball in that era
- Why he quit his job to go freelance so he could work between Streetball.co.uk and TV news producing work
- Selecting players to represent Streetball.co.uk and the faces of the website
- Taking travelling teams to tournaments UK wide
- The balance between capturing highlights but also winning
- His personal favourite streetball.co.uk moments
- The Street All-Stars events and what made him do them
- The shammgod move and why Streetball.co.uk could be responsible for bringing it to the world’s attention
- Why he brought Streetball.co.uk to a close
- The transition of Streetball.co.uk into Basketball 24/7 and why that happened
- His life after SBUK and the other basketball related projects he was able to get involved with
- Any regrets he has about the Streetball.co.uk days
- Being a basketball expert for the in-arena experience at the London 2012 Olympics
- His thoughts on the potential for the London 2012 Olympics to help facilitate British basketball’s growth
- Media coverage of basketball in the UK and how it compares now to then
- The importance of mainstream TV coverage to grow interest in basketball in the UK
- The backstory of Fadeaway Magazine which soon evolved into MVP magazine
- The legacy of streetball.co.uk
- And much, much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide!
The post The Story of Streetball.co.uk – With Greg Tanner – Ep. 50 appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.
For Episode 49 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with one of the greatest shooters to ever come out of England, Sam Stiller.
Stiller had a pro career that spanned over two decades both domestically and in Israel, whilst also representing England and Great Britain internationally.
After retiring from playing eventually got into coaching, where he helped take NASSA from Division 4 to Division 1 from 2010-2013, whilst picking up three consecutive Coach of the Year Awards, and then picking up another one in 2016-17 with London Westside.
Stiller has since moved to Israel, where he has resided for the past two or so years to be closer to his kids and is currently eyeing a return back to the UK. A ‘gym rat’, Stiller can still be found in gyms working on his game!
Note: there is part of the podcast (at around the 1 hour mark) where Sam discusses dropping 52 at Rough & Ready. After seeking clarification since the recording, it turns out it was actually at the Hosana Pro-Am, not Rough & Ready.
In this hour and a half episode, hear from Sam Stiller on:
- Why he currently lives in Israel and is planning on returning to live in the UK
- How he would describe his game
- Being a gym rat and where he got his work ethic from
- Trying to make the transition to full time coaching
- How the Harlem Globetrotters first inspired him into playing ball
- His early start at Quintin Kynaston school
- The importance of the YMCA gym in Tottenham Court road
- His first England call up at 15 years old, playing for the U19s at the famous Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim
- Playing against a young side featuring Arvydas Sabonis and losing by 69
- Playing with Pete Scantlebury
- The flash to his game and show-boating
- Turning pro around 18 years old and playing with the men
- Not going to the US on scholarship for college but the role playing in the States in the summer had on his game
- Summer scrimmages in LA with Norm Nixon, Reggie Miller, and Clyde Drexler
- Cross-court shooting competitions with Kiki Vandeweghe
- The current state of the BBL and how it compares to his day
- His favourite players growing up and how he would follow the NBA before the internet
- The lay of the land of Division 1 in the early 80s
- Competing in Europe with the famed Kingston side in the early 90s
- His memories of playing for the legendary coach Kevin Cadle
- How he got offers in Israel off the back of Kingston’s European campaign and made the switch to abroad
- Why he believes he could still drop points in the BBL to this day
- Playing in the Maccabiah Games for GB and beating USA
- Legendary games at North London College
- Playing with Alton Byrd
- Players he would put in a British basketball Hall of Fame
- And much, much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide!
The post Becoming One of the Greatest British Shooters of All Time – With Sam Stiller – Ep. 49 appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.
In Episode 48 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Roger Hosannah, co-founder of the legendary Rough & Ready tournament and British sportswear brand Hosana.
Rough and Ready is up there amongst the most prominent basketball tournaments to ever take place in the UK. Running from 1996-2003 in Brixton, it featured two age categories, Under-19 and Under-25, pitting East, West, North and South against each other in a showcase of young British talent.
It became one of the hottest basketball properties in Europe, with the likes of adidas and Nike bidding to be major sponsors, and has become iconic in the history of basketball in England.
Meanwhile, Hosana Sportswear was the UK basketball brand through the late 90’s and early 00’s built off the back of an extensive portfolio of events and what would now be known as ‘influencer marketing’.
Building to a peak of almost half a million pounds a year in turnover, whilst being stocked in the likes of Foot Locker and worn by all of the top British stars of the era, Hosana impacted British basketball culture like no clothing brand ever had, or has done since.
In this episode hear from Roger on:
- His playing background growing up
- Why he left a well paid job as a buyer for the Burton group to set up his own thing
- How the death of his best friend proved to be a key inflection point in his life
- Teaming up with Matthew Ryder for the inception of Rough and Ready in 1996
- How Rough and Ready became one of the hottest basketball events in Europe
- His highlights from the Rough and Ready tournament
- How big Rough and Ready became, leading to a bidding war between Nike and adidas
- Balancing keeping the authenticity of the event whilst dealing with an influx of corporate money
- Leaving Rough and Ready and why he chose to step away
- Setting up the Hosana brand, coming up with the name and identity
- How he used product placement and events to grow the brand
- Why getting hold of the licensing rights to US colleges and MLB was key in the growth of the business
- His events portfolio; Baller Evenings, Ballers in Brighton, Battle of the Boards, and HoopFest
- How his retail background helped him source quality gear and focus on premium
- Whether he thinks there is a market for a bespoke British basketball brand now
- Being anti-establishment and facing issues with the administration
- Why he wound down operations
- His new company, Sixtysix8, and his plans for it
- And much, much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide!
The post Building British Basketball Brand Hosana – With Roger Hosannah – Ep. 48 appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.
In Episode 47 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with British basketball legend Joel Moore, one of the greatest guards to ever come out of the UK.
A two times Commonwealth Gold medallist, Moore had a professional career that spanned from 1982 where he began with Crystal Palace as a junior – and suited up for the England men at 17 years old – and ended in 1995, having played predominantly in the National League and BBL for the likes of the aforementioned Crystal Palace, Portsmouth, Kingston, Glasgow, Hemel, and London Towers, along with one season in Germany’s Bundesliga with Stuttgart in 1992-93.
He finished with 71 caps for his country, 43 for England and 28 for GB, and is regularly brought up in conversations when people talk about the top British guards of all time.
In this 1 hour and 40 minute conversation, hear from Joel on:
- Being an under-appreciated and under-recognised legend of the domestic game
- How he first started playing basketball at around 6 years old
- His training regime as a youngster and playing outdoors a lot
- Joining the legendary Crystal Palace programme
- Getting to play against Alton Byrd and his memories of practice
- Constantly failing to making the England Junior National teams
- Being cut from the Under-19 England team only to be picked up by the Seniors and go to his first Commonwealth games
- Winning two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games
- Averaging 50 a game for his school, including a 92 point game in which he fouled out of
- Battles with Sam Stiller, being the top two guards from London at that time
- How playing against Seniors aided his development as a junior
- Being a two-way player, being a standout defensively and offensively
- His competitive mindset and love for the game
- Going to the States on scholarship before leaving early to return to England
- His biggest regret from his playing days
- Playing against Drazen Petrovic
- The money he could earn playing in the BBL and why it was a more attractive option than Europe
- His £15,000 cash sponsorship deal with Adidas
- Averaging 24 a game in the BBL, and why he could have averaged more if scoring was all he wanted to do
- England being finishing sixth in Europe in the late ’80s after the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament
- Teaming up with Steve Bucknall in Germany to become what were thought to be the first English teammates playing overseas together; playing as imports, taking American spots
- Whether or not he could have played in the NBA
- Some other legends of the British game he would like to see in a Hall of Fame
- The important of basketball IQ and why he thinks it is missing from the British game
- And much, much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide!
The post Winning Two Commonwealth Games Gold Medals – With Joel Moore – Ep. 47 appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.
In the latest episode of the Hoopsfix podcast we sit down with British basketball commentator Dan Routledge, one of the foremost experts on the domestic game.
Routledge has been a commentator for over two decades, covering the BBL, GB and other international basketball for Sky Sports, Eurosport, ITV, Channel 4, ESPN, NBA TV, and many more.
He has closely covered the entire evolution of the British Basketball League, and is arguably the most knowledgable person around the domestic pro league.
A stats man, he has a spreadsheet tracking system which gives him unique insight into player and team milestones and statistical nuggets that he regularly shares on his Twitter, @dan_routledge.
In this 1 hour and 40 minute episode, hear from Dan on:
- How he first ended up as a PA announcer as a teenager
- His first broadcast gig on radio
- Making the transition into TV
- The prep that goes into commentating a game
- The worst game he’s ever had to cover
- Doing the play by play versus doing the color
- The keys to being good at play-by-play
- Whether or not BBL franchises have taken seriously enough the hiring of their commentators
- The importance of reviewing his performances
- His favourite call of his career
- The funding debate and how basketball/sport is funded in the UK
- the drop out rate of players when they finish school at 18
- The importance of facilities to help basketball grow
- How difficult it is to sell game tickets in the British basketball market
- Whether he thinks domestic league success is more important than National Team success for the growth of basketball
- The challenge non-traditional british sports have in cutting through the media
- The missed opportunity of the London 2012 Olympics
- Why he thinks it’s good for British basketball that a lot of our top talent plays abroad
- The impact having British stars in the league this season has had
- What BBL teams need to do to become more commercially viable
- How he covers the BBL so closely
- Whether he thinks basketball in the UK can ever reach its mystical potential
- The political in-fighting of the sport
- His spreadsheets and stat-tracking, and how the backend works
- His favourite ever BBL player
- The best player to ever play in the BBL
- The one game he would show to a potential fan to sell them on the BBL
- And much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide!
The post Becoming the Top British Basketball Commentator – With Dan Routledge – Ep. 46 appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.
For Episode 45 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with British basketball researcher Jeff Skinner who has recently completed his masters dissertation on basketball funding in England and its impact on the sport’s development.
The dissertation, which you can read in full here, is 94 pages of pure gold for anyone interested in basketball’s history in England, especially around funding, both from public and private sources.
A former accountant, Skinner now helps run his own local league club, the Aztecs, in Berkshire and helps out with Bracknell Cobras, and has spent the past year of his life going above and beyond to go in-depth the topic, putting together one of the best pieces of British basketball related research I’ve read.
In this 1 hour and 20 minute episode, hear from Jeff on:
- His background and local club, the Aztecs in Berkshire
- How the opportunity to do a masters in the history of sport came about
- Why he chose to focus on basketball and how he came upon the final topic of funding’s impact on the sport’s development
- How shocked he was to find out just how many people play basketball in England
- The most interesting things he discovered whilst doing his research
- What has helped and restricted basketball’s growth over the years
- How basketball compares to other sports with regards to funding
- Why basketball has struggled to be able to get public funding
- The administration’s governance failures over the years
- The attraction of basketball to commercial sponsors back in the day
- The Outdoor Basketball Initiative that tipped off in 1995 and impact it had
- Why being able to more accurately measure participation helps basketball’s cause
- Not having people in high ranking leadership/government positions hurting the sport
- Why increasing Basketball England’s membership fee might be one of the easiest ways to raise more money
- The importance of television
- The inception of the BBL as a breakaway league from the NBL
- The NTL TV deal for the BBL and its potential to change the game before going bust
- Why the sport needs to sort out its political in-fighting
- Why he believes being represented as Great Britain is the correct choice moving forward and how important National Team success is
- Why more money needs to be put into participation as opposed to elite sport/potential medal success, along with changing the definition of success
- The organisations that were helpful with his research, and the ones who weren’t
- And much, much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide!
The post How Funding Has Influenced the Development of Basketball in England – With Jeff Skinner – Ep. 45 appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.
For episode 44 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with London City Royals’ Ashley Hamilton, who has signed in the BBL this season for the first time after spending his career overseas in Europe.
It completes a full circle for Hamilton, growing up in South London and starting his career with the London Towers as an Under-16 at Crystal Palace. Now, fifteen years later, he suits up on the same floor as a professional with the league’s newest franchise.
The 6’7″ Great Britain Senior cap left the UK for High School as a Sophomore, before heading to Spain with Canarias Basketball Academy. Ultimately, he signed with NCAA Division 1 school Loyola Marymount University, before turning pro and having played in Italy, Greece, Ukraine, Spain and now the UK.
In this 1 hour 50 minute episode, hear from Ashley on:
- What made him decide to sign with London City Royals this season
- How it feels to be playing back home in the BBL
- Whether or not he feels the Royals overhyped their entrance into the league
- How his rehab is going from his wrist surgery and how it feels
- What he thinks of the level of the BBL and the league as a whole so far
- Why he first got into basketball, making the switch from football
- His memories of the London Towers programme as an Under-16
- Playing England Under-18s as a younger player
- The most talented English players he has played against and seen
- Making the switch from the UK to the US to Lawrence Academy for his Sophomore year
- Returning to Europe from the US to go to Spain with Gran Canaria and ultimately Canarias Basketball Academy
- His memories of Spain, with both Ryan Richards and Joel Freeland
- Being recruited by US colleges, and why he signed with LMU
- The impact streetball.co.uk had on his early years
- Why he was convinced Dallas were going to draft him
- The NBA Summer League experience in Las Vegas
- Turning pro and his first professional contract where he chose Italy over Poland
- What he has learned playing in Europe
- Advice he has for younger players that want to turn pro
- And much, much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide!
The post Returning Home to the BBL – With Ashley Hamilton – Ep. 44 appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.
For Episode 43 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sat down with former BBL Head Coach and co-founder of the now-defunct Basketball Coaches Association, Mark Dunning.
Dunning coached in the BBL with Bracknell, London Towers, Hemel Hempstead and Brighton Bears, along with time at Crystal Palace, Brunel Uxbridge and Brixton prior to the BBL coming into existence.
Having been at the forefront of coach development in the UK, Dunning served as President and Secretary of the Basketball Coaches Association (BCAUK), running/attending countless clinics and events, and authoring coaching books and documents.
In this two hour episode, hear from Mark on:
- How he first got into basketball, reflecting on his early playing days at school
- Making the switch into wanting to become a coach
- Why he always wanted to be a professional Senior coach, as opposed to working with juniors
- His memories of the league and player from the NBL in the late 70s and early 80s
- London being a hotbed of junior talent with the likes of Crystal Palace, East London Royals, North London, Clissold Park School and Avenue producing players
- Michael Jordan’s visit to Brixton in 1985
- The legendary Philips WICB Championship that used to take place at Crystal Palace
- The importance of coaches having to pay their dues before getting a head coaching gig
- Building a network of coaches both in the UK and overseas
- Learning how to become a better coach before the internet
- The founding of the BCA UK and why it was set up
- Why he is currently not involved with basketball at a high level
- What he would make his priorities if he was in charge of improving coaching in the UK
- His fatigue with what he feels are the federations producing documents and strategies without any action
- Trying to help the federations but getting little response
- And much, much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide!
The post Improving Basketball Coaching in the UK – With Mark Dunning – Ep. 43 appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.
For Episode 42 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Jackson Gibbons, the Director of Basketball at City of London Academy and Chairman of Southwark Pride.
A former player at Westminster Warriors and Brixton Topcats, Gibbons ended up in coaching, starting with the Westminster Warriors, where he had an undefeated season and won an Under-18 National title in 2010, before setting up the City of London Academy basketball programme – which is also a part of Southwark Pride programme – in 2012.
In what is a relatively short period of time, CoLA/Southwark has had a lot of success, winning a number of National titles (including the same group of girls winning the Under-18 Playoffs title, Under-18 Cup, WEABL, Division 1 Women Playoffs, and Women’s National Cup in 2017) and placing numerous players in the USA on scholarship.
Perhaps more impressive than the team and individual success the club has had, is the culture and community that has been built around the programme.
In this 1 hour and 40 minute episode, hear from Jackson on:
- How he first got into basketball, after his first love was football
- Aspiring to play in the BBL as a youngster and the players he looked up to
- His memories of the legendary Rough & Ready tournament
- Partnering with Nhamo Shire on the operations side of Midnight Madness
- Setting up the City of London Academy programme
- How he spoke to Barking Abbey to get a blueprint of a basketball academy
- How he has built a basketball culture within the school and club
- Working with a school and getting the school on side
- The differences between coaching boys and girls
- His philosophies and values on coaching and mentoring young people
- Building a network of coaches in the US
- Supporting players to get scholarships to the states
- The importance of players going to the right place when going to the US
- Some of the individual success stories of players that he has coached
- Why he feels kids need to start playing younger
- His hopes for the future
- And much, much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide!
The post How to Build a Basketball Culture – With Jackson Gibbons – Ep. 42 appeared first on Hoopsfix.com.
In Episode 41 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we got the chance to sit down with Great Britain star Azania Stewart ahead of the most recent qualifying window where Stewart gained her 100th cap as she has decided to step away from the game – which she revealed to us in this interview. The 29 year […]
For Episode 40 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with reigning British Basketball League (BBL) MVP, London Lions and GB guard Justin Robinson. Robinson is one of Jimmy Rogers’ protégés out of the heralded Brixton Topcats programme, and one of the greatest players of his generation. Having left the UK at 16 to attend […]
In Episode 39 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with former British Basketball Federation (BBF) Chairman, Ed Warner, in our brand new studio. Warner was at the helm of the BBF for seven weeks, before resigning along with six other independent directors, following a ‘hostile takeover’ of the BBF by the Home Country Associations, […]
It brings us great honour to mark the return of the Hoopsfix Podcast with a very special episode with Jimmy Rogers, that we are publishing posthumously following his passing last month after a six month battle with cancer. Rogers is one of the forefathers of the British game, helping found the Brixton Topcats in 1984 […]
For episode 37 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with the UK’s leading basketball journalist, Mark Woods. Woods has been covering the game for close to three decades, initially with one of the earliest sites covering British basketball, his very own Britball.com, along with becoming a regular contributor in a number of leading national […]
For Episode 36 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we got the chance to sit down with the Chief Operating Officer of the BBL, Andy Webb. Webb has been working for the BBL for over 23 years, having been involved in what many consider its ‘heyday’ in the 90’s, before the low point in the early 2000’s, […]
For episode 35 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with London Lions owner and CEO Vince Macaulay. Vince has been involved with British basketball since the ’70s when he started playing as a 16 year old. An aspiring filmmaker, there were no early signs that he would end up in club ownership, until he […]
For episode 34 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, Joe Forber (pictured above, centre), one of the founders of the Manchester Magic programme, took some time to sit down and talk about his story and career so far. Joe Forber, originally a teacher, got involved with hoops decades ago before helping found Manchester Magic in 1997. The […]
Former Great Britain guard and 10-year pro Flinder Boyd joins us for Episode 33 of the Hoopsfix Podcast to focus on how he’s found the transition to retirement and his time with the Great Britain programme. Boyd, now a writer for the likes of Bleacher Report, spoke openly and candidly about his basketball career and […]
In Episode 32 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we got the chance to sit down with Great Britain and Real Betis guard Luke Nelson. The Worthing Thunder and Reading Rockets product has just turned professional in Spain’s ACB after a successful college career at UC Irvine which culminated in him ending up being named the Big […]
For episode 31 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with British basketball legend Julius Joseph to talk his playing career. The 6’4″ forward graduated from NCAA Division II school Georgia College & State University in the year 2000, where he had led one of the most successful teams in the program’s history, reaching the Elite […]
For episode 30 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with John Atkinson (pictured above, right), aka Statkinson one of the only British basketball historians and the most highly regarded statistician in the country. Atkinson has been involved with the game for well over 40 years, initially with the legendary Crystal Palace programme, before going […]
After a nine month break, the Hoopsfix podcast finally returns, as we got the chance to sit down with Great Britain Senior Men and Glasgow Rocks Head Coach Tony Garbelotto. With GB in training camp at Leicester this weekend ahead of their FIBA World Cup Qualifier this weekend, it seems like perfect timing to release […]
It’s been a long time coming, but for episode 28 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sat down with Basketball England CEO, Stewart Kellett. Kellett has been in the position for a little over a year now, but we’ve heard very little from him in terms of what is going on behind the scenes and how […]
After a mini-hiatus over the Christmas/New Year break, the Hoopsfix podcast is back as we sit down with 15 year pro and former England/Great Britain Senior International, Martin Henlan. The Birmingham-born big man had an impressive basketball career, beginning with West Bromwich Kestrels, before a stand-out 4 years at Virginia Commonwealth University and then returning […]
Great Britain and Koroivos guard Devon Van Oostrum took the time to sit down with us for Episode 26 of the Hoopsfix Podcast. The 1993 born point guard has been one of Great Britain’s brightest talents in the time Hoopsfix has existed, and also one of the most exciting players to watch with mixtapes amassing tens […]
For our quarter century episode of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sat down GB and UCAM Murcia forward Ovie Soko. Soko is in the midst of an impressive season in Spain, competing in both the ACB and Eurocup, and is another of the most talented players to come out of England in recent years. In this […]
He’s been requested multiple times, so we were happy to be able to get Great Britain and Gravelines star Myles Hesson on for Episode 24 of the Hoopsfix Podcast. Jumping on a call from France, where he is in the middle of the season with Pro A and FIBA Europe Cup side BCM Gravelines Dunkerque, […]
For this week’s episode of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we got the chance to sit down with Great Britain Senior International and Bourges Basket star, Jo Leedham. Currently in her fourth year in France with Euroleague Women side Bourge Basket, the GB Olympian and NCAA Division 2 all time leading scorer is fresh off last week’s […]
In this week’s episode of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sat down with England junior international and Angelico Biello’s Carl Wheatle. The 1998 born guard/forward departed the UK in 2013 to sign a junior contract with the Italian club, having only been playing basketball for two years; fast forward three years later and he is playing in […]
After Kevin Routledge said the coaching was crucial to push the Leicester Riders forward, it was suggested that we get a top coach on the podcast to talk coaching across the UK, which is exactly what we did! In episode 21 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we spoke with James Vear, a member of the GB […]
For episode 20 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Leicester Riders’ Chairman Kevin Routledge. Routledge, who is also a former BBL Chairman, has been around the British game for four decades and has a lot of rare and valuable insight into the sport. Following on from last week’s episode with Newcastle Eagles’ Paul […]
Newcastle Eagles’ Managing Director Paul Blake has long been a figurehead for British basketball. The former BBL Chairman has been at the helm of Newcastle Eagles, the most successful club in British Basketball League history, since 1999 and seen/experienced everything British basketball has to offer over the past two decades. In this episode, hear Paul’s thoughts […]
In Episode 18 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with GB forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning, who is currently playing for Rizing Fukuoka in Japan’s B League D3. The 6’9″ athletic forward has been one of the UK’s leading performers overseas since graduating from Washington in 2011, winning multiple Championships as a pro (Argentina in 2016, […]
We’ve got another member of the Eurobasket 2017 qualifying GB squad this week, as lefty guard Ben Mockford joined us for a little over an hour to discuss his hoops career to date. Hailing from the South East Coast, and now playing in Spain for Palma in LEB Gold, Mockford tuned in over Skype (there […]
Fresh off the Eurobasket 2017 qualifiers, Kieron Achara returns to the Hoopsfix Podcast for Part 2 of his incredible basketball journey (check out Part 1 here). In Part 1, we only got as far as talking his college career and didn’t get the chance to touch upon any of Kieron’s professional experiences, and that was […]
In the latest episode of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we have the third member of the London 2012 Olympic GB squad to take to the airwaves, as we sat down with Scotland’s finest, Kieron Achara. Achara continues to be a loyal GB player, suiting up this season for Glasgow Rocks in the BBL following signing a […]
For Episode 13 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we got the opportunity to sit down with British Basketball Federation (BBF) Chairman, Nick Humby. Having come into the post on January 1st 2016, Humby has spent his time spearheading the new vision and strategy document ‘Transforming Basketball in Britain Together‘ that was released last week, which aims […]
The Hoopsfix Podcast is back, and for Episode 12 we have a good one, as we got the chance to sit down with recently retired GB star Pops Mensah-Bonsu. Mensah-Bonsu, who most recently played for AEK Athens in Greece, hung up his boots last week after a 9 year pro career to don a shirt […]
Episode 11 of the Hoopsfix Podcast saw us sit down with English basketball legend Steve Nelson, a former England senior international and 15 year career pro.
For Episode 10 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we got to sit down with British point guard legend Junior Williams!
It’s been long overdue, but Episode 9 of the Hoopsfix Podcast has dropped, and we’ve got a good one! Sitting down with British basketball legend Steve Bucknall, one of the most successful British players ever, most famous for his stint with the Lakers in the 1989-90 season right in the middle of the ‘Showtime’ era. […]
We’ve already released 10 things we learned from our conversation with Basketball England CEO, Huw Morgan, last week and now, here is the full podcast interview. We’ve upped the production levels a little bit, and invested in a professional intro (let me know what you think!), but it’s the content of this one that you’ll […]
While in St Kitts & Nevis this week with Midnight Madness, I took the opportunity to sit down with its founder and CEO, Nhamo Shire. Reach & Teach is the umbrella organisation for Midnight Madness, the UK’s biggest summer basketball programme, as well as running the London School of Basketball – the largest CBL in […]
Mark Clark will be a familiar name with many British basketball fans. The Director of the GB Regional Institute, Barking Abbey in East London, former GB and England Senior Women’s Head Coach, and father to GB Senior players Dan Clark and Ella Clark (among other things; he also commentates on the EuroLeague & for FIBA, […]
Great Britain captain, Drew Sullivan, might just be the most recognisable face in the country when it comes to British basketball. Having played a large part of his career in England, sandwiched around stints in Spain and Russia amongst other places, he is one of the most successful players of his generation, captaining the GB […]
The Hoopsfix Podcast is back! In this episode we got the chance to sit down with the main man, British basketball legend, John Amaechi, to talk hoops. John is someone, I feel, who is greatly misunderstood by the British basketball community and also hugely under-appreciated for the successful career he did have. Rather than talk […]
The Hoopsfix Podcast returns for Episode 3, with BBL Commercial Director, David Leyden Dunbar. The BBL has taken huge steps forward commercially in the past 12 months, and it is no surprise it coincides with Leyden Dunbar’s full time appointment. In this episode, hear from David on: How his position came about and his background […]
It has been a long time since the first ever Hoopsfix podcast episode, and finally, after a good 6 months, here is Episode 2! Unfortunately, the production values are still lacking a little bit and require fine tuning (Ed’s audio is a little quiet, so you may need to turn it up), but I will […]
I’ve been toying with the idea of a podcast for a while, so when I asked on Twitter, and on Facebook and got such an overwhelmingly positive response, I thought it was time to jump straight in! I’ve always been one to just take action and get started instead of wasting time making sure everything […]