It's been quiet.

The Thunder Chronicle has gone quiet, primarily as a result of me getting a job that requires my full time attention.

I haven't been able to get to see Thunder last couple weeks, and I haven't had the time for long match reports.

Next time I head over to Worthing Leisure Centre I'll get back to business.

Early Christmas Prezzie.

Sherrad Prezzie-Blue has officially returned to the Worthing Thunder.
He signalled his return with two big games against Glasgow at home and Cheshire away.

Sherrad had 19 points, 2 assists and 3 steals against the Glasgow Rocks. Statistically he was the strongest player. Unfortunately despite a good game from him, and from the 14 points and 13 rebounds of Shaun Durant, Worthing lost 84-68.
Fundamentally the structure of Worthing's current line-up means we need to have at least three players playing very well to have a chance of winning. Adam Williams, John Nottley and Marlin Capers all had off-nights, and in general Thunder's shooting was very poor. 11/32 from inside the arc and 7/23 just isn't good enough, and it was free throws that appears to have kept us in the match, going 25/27.
Nevertheless, I think this shows good things. When the team has a few full games together I think they will compete with anyone in the league.

Cheshire Jets, even without bigman Matt Schneck, must still be considered one of the best teams in the BBL this season. Thunder lost the close encounter up north 81-75, and Prezzie-Blue produced once again with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Incredably, Jets went through the match and only turned the ball over once. It seems that this was the key difference, as the Thunder matched Jets in scoring and reboudning fairly well.

If Thunder are going to beat Glasgow Rocks on Sunday...

Worthing Thunder take on the Glasgow Rocks on Saturday in a BBL championship game.

Rocks have had a decent start to the season going 4-3, compared to Worthing's record of 1-3 so far. I think it's important to remember, though, that their four wins have all been against four of the weaker teams in the BBL, including a tight contest with Essex Pirates.

In short, Rocks are a decent team, but they are far from unbeatable.

The obvious dangerman is EJ Harrison the veteran guard who joined the Rocks from MK Lions. He's averaging 15 ppg and 4 apg, so not what you can call fantastic numbers, especially on a team that isn't exactly stacked with offensive talent.
6'8'' forward/centre Mike Copeland is the inside threat. He's averaging 18 ppg. 6'6'' American/Greek Nick Livas has been the other main offense player, he has added 15 ppg.
Rocks other main players are 6'4'' French swingman Moses Mubarak, 6'3'' American guard Brice Fantazia, and naturalised player/coach Sterling Davis. They have also just added Australian big-man Michael Kingma who counts as a non-permit player due to the virtue of a Dutch passport.

So what do Thunder need to do if they want to beat Glasgow?

I think the best bet is going inside early. Get it to Nottley and Durant down low and let them go to work, and get Adam Williams and Mansour Mbye to drive in. I say this because Kingma is new to the team and so will not yet be completely comfortable with the defensive plays. Copeland is certainly talented and may well be the best big-man in the match, but he is also highly prone to foul trouble. 6'6'' Sterling Davis is a fantastic player, I remember him from his days as the Bears, but he is a little underized to guard Nottley, and probably doesn't have the athleticism any more to guard Durant.

If Prezzie-Blue is in the Worthing line-up it will improve us both defensively and offensively. But whoever is guarding EJ Harrison needs to keep him in check. Harrison can really put up a lot of points very quickly, and was the catalyst in the Rocks pulling away from Essex Pirates in the fourth quarter last week. Brice Fantazia, on the other hand, shouldn't be too much of an offensive threat and we can let him have his points.

The signing of Kingma could actually work to Worthing's advantage. It's not a big surprise to find that when Sterling Davis plays more minutes, Rocks have a better record. Kingma will take minutes away from Davis, and currently I don't think he will give Thunder as much to worry about.

Adam Williams needs to play big minutes again, he is crucial to our success. Nottley and Durant need to pound the ball inside. Marlin Capers should use his veteran savvy to outmanuevere the less experienced Mubrak and Livas. And a mature performance from Mbye could be the difference for Thunder.

Ralph Bucci, and a look at the quality of British basketball over the last 10 years.

Last weekend saw big news for basketball up in the north of England.
A match in EBL Division 2 was played between Tees Valley Mohawks and Sheffield Arrows, two teams recently demoted from EBL Division 1, the league below the BBL.

It should probably have been a fairly tight encounter, but it wasn't. And the reason for that is almost certainly the return to Teesside of veteran guard Ralph Bucci. Ralph played for the Mohawks a number of years back, marrying a local girl and earning a British passport. His career has taken him to the top league in Greece, one of the best in the world. And at the age of 35 he is back in Britain, playing in a league that is far below his level of ability. The Mohawks blew out the Arrows 122-72, with Bucci scoring a game high 34.

6'4'' Bucci could still play at BBL level. He'd probably start. And he'd probably be better than the majority of the guards.

This perhaps says something a little worrying about the state of the BBL. And a point that can be made by looking at the past.

Let's look at the Teesside Mohawks team from the 2002/2003 season. Just eight years ago. Here's the context, in the form of a pleasant nostalgic anecdote:

I don't remember following the EBL Division 1 (or the NBL, as it was known back then). I was too young to really take an interest in much outside of what the Worthing (nee Brighton) Bears were doing.
But I took a passing interest in the league below the BBL if only because of Worthing Thunder, who I would follow occasionally.

I don't remember much, and researching has been quite fun, but I do remember that Teesside were one of the top teams, and for a while were the very best. I also remember, however, that there was a marked difference between the quality of the NBL and the BBL. In short, Teesside Mohawks, despite being the best the NBL had, couldn't really compete with the BBL teams.

The 02/03 Mohawks team featured American guard EJ Harrison who is currently considered one of the best point guards in the BBL. Ralph Bucci who, as we mentioned, played in the top Greek league last year and was a decent contributor. Steve Pilkington a 6'7'' Australian with a British passport who played in the Aussie second division last year (probably about BBL level). Carl Miller who was a veteran former GB forward international and was still very good. Lijah Perkins a Birmingham born power forward who moved to Finland a couple of years later and was named MVP of their second division (probably not far below current BBL level). Jason Swaine an England international shooting guard with a great 3-point shot. Steve Butler a highly talented local lad who definitely had BBL-level talent (and is currently the Mohawks head coach). James Nicholson a young British guard who was one of the best in the league a couple years later. Big Jon Stonebridge a 6'10'' centre who was always dependable. And a number of others.

The point is, if you transferred this team from the 02/03 NBL to the 10/11 BBL, and I think that, not only would they compete, but they would win a lot of games. The back court of Harrison and Bucci in their prime, a front court of top British talent and a deep, skilled bench. Hell, they'd probably win the BBL.

And as I mentioned earlier, the Mohawks of 02/03, were soundly beaten by the teams of the BBL (as I recall, and my memory is a little hazy and internet sources on such things are pretty few and far between). You could argue that this isn't surprising as the BBL used to allow up to five permit players per team (it was reduced to four, and is currently at three) and traditionally permit players are usually the strongest players on the teams. Nevertheless, you only have to look at the talent involved on that Teesside Mohawks team to realise that the quality of teams in the BBL has declined significantly.

Now I am all for more British players on BBL teams, and certainly I think I would even prefer a league based entirely on British players. The Mersey Tigers have this year managed to recruit a team that is virtually 100% British and they are going to be one of the best teams. As the Tigers have done, I would much rather we see British spending what little money they have on bringing in maybe three highly talented Brits rather than three cheap Americans and a couple of further Europeans.

The Weakest Link

So far this season I have seen a few of the BBL teams, either at the 'Thunderdome' or on the BBL on Sky Sports on Tuesday. I haven't seen them all yet, so we'll have a a follow-up post to this once I have.
Lets take a look at who are the weakest links in the teams I have seen:

Worthing Thunder - I feel bad for giving the Thunder a weakest link. They are an understrength squad doing a difficult job and I think we can expect to see much better from them as the season goes on. Returning coach Gary Smith will hopefully be able to get the best of the players. But right now, the weakest link of the Worthing Thunder is Mansour Mbye. Mansour has a lot of talent, but he needs to be a bit more unselfish and show a bit more heart defensively.

Newcastle Eagles - I've only seen Newcastle on the TV, but from watching them, and from looking at the stats, it's clear that big man Kadiri Richard just isn't doing enough. Brought in as a defensive and rebounding specialist, I just feel that to be at the same level as last year Richard needs to give a lot more inside. The offense certainly isn't geared towards big-men in this incarnation of the Eagles but right now Darius Defoe is the only inside threat, and Newcastle will lose games because of it.

Guildford Heat  - On paper, Guildford have one of the best squads in the league. They should especially be strong inside, veteran Mike Martin and 7'0'' Lithuanian Tomas Janusauskas could really dominate if they were placed next to a skilled and versatile American. But James Porter has not been that. It's difficult to come into the BBL as a rookie and contribute straight away, but Porter has missed an opportunity to carve out a niche as a quiet contributor as the defense is drawn to the bigger names.

Sheffield Sharks - Until he was released, big Brit Richard McNutt would probably have counted as the weak Shark link. But he has been replaced by the excellent powerful forward Olu Babalola. The Sharks have seven very strong players (including player coach Atiba Lyons) but unfortunately the weak link here is depth. Beyond the main seven Sharks have very little, and a couple of injuries would be catastrophic to their (currently fairly reasonable) title chances.

Worcester Wolves - Maybe a little controversial, especially given how well he performed in the second half of last season, but this year point guard Rod Middleton has been the weakest link for the Wolves. He's shooting badly, his assist numbers are down and he appears short on confidence. Rumours say he is carrying a bit of an injury, but Wolves are going to need much more from him if they want to fulfil their potential.

Essex Pirates - This is another difficult one. An argument could probably be made for inexperience, lack of import Americans or no natural point guard or big-men being the weakest link. And while it feels means to single out a player on a team who have been very poor, and at times out of their depth, but Colin Sing has disappointed me. I really felt Sing could have a breakout year at BBL level. He has the pedigree, and his history suggests he has the talent, but my experience of his play was that he was lacking in confidence and looked uncomfortable. I hope he fulfil his potential (although have the odd off-game against Thunder).

That's your lot for now. I'll do the other six when I have seen them.

What do the Thunder need to compete?

Worthing Thunder have had a pretty poor start to the season. Two wins have come at the expense of two of the (arguably) weakest teams, Essex and Plymouth, and there have been some pretty bad performances, notably a heavy loss away to Sheffield.

So what has gone wrong? Let's look at the recruitment process:

Local boy Samuel Cricelli who played his debut professional season last year at Thunder was snapped up by Plymouth Raiders in the off-season. Cricelli, a 6'7'' combo-forward, had a successful college career and was a high point in Thunder's season last year. He was capped by England over the summer and it's a shame Thunder couldn't retain him.

As for the imports, swingman Reggie Bratton signed to an LEB-Silver club in Spain and big-man Kadiri Richard was picked up by BBL giants Newcastle Eagles. Point guard Sherrad Prezzie-Blue moved back to the States, but has recently returned to the Thunder.

Evaldas Zabas, the Lithuanian point guard, returned from last year and was taking most of the weight of scoring, but he has since moved west to Plymouth. Our other Europeans (who don't require a permit) were Latvian forward Janis Ivanofskis and 6'5'' Finland international Ville Makalainen. Makalainen has moved back home and signed for Korisliiga club Honka Espoo Playboys. Ivanovskis doesn't appear to be playing professionally this year.

So lets look at this years squad:

• Veteran American forward Marlin Capers is the only new import and has scored well, even if he is lacking a little in athleticism these days. 

• Bruising big-man Shaun Durant is known for his rebounding skills, and he has been putting them to good use.

• 6'6'' Londoner Mansour Mbye's talent is not in doubt, but at times his decision making is. 

• Rumours have been flying around that Thunder's other big, John Nottley, will be heading State-side as soon he gets a visa to work there, and that will be a blow if he goes. 

• Club captain James Brame has been steady and reliable as ever. 

• Bulgarian Pepe Zafirov show flashes of real talent, followed by stretches of mediocrity and occasional technical-foul-earning outbursts. 

• Welsh guard Adam Williams has impressed, and occasionally looks disheartened when things are going badly. 

A decent set of players, but lets think about what the Thunder need to take this team from being a competitive, but ultimately low ranking team, to a challenger in the play-offs.

Point guard: Thunder need a point guard. At the time of writing, rumours are abound that 5'11'' American Sherrad Prezzie-Blue has been re-signed to replace Zabas. This is a fantastic move, if true, but if not then Thunder need to immediately look for a new guard. We will struggle to pull out close games without a floor general out there.

Athletic power forward: I think Thunder could do with an athletic power forward, to give a bit of variety to the offence inside. So far we have Nottley, something of a finesse centre who gets his points from long range shooting, hooks and on the virtue of usually being the tallest guy on the court. We have Durant, who gets his points from muscling his way inside or from put-backs. We have Zafirov who seems to prefer shooting the three, and isn't really a natural big. If we had a good athletic forward, who likes to hustle in the paint, pick up rebounds and has some decent post moves (think Guildford's Mike Martin or Sheffield's Olu Babalola). Mbye perhaps should be filling this role, but appears to spend much of his time on the perimeter.

Heart: Dan Hildreth had it. Janis Ivanovskis had it. Ville Makalainen had it. So did Kadiri Richard. But this year we seem to be missing a bit of heart. Someone ready to do whatever it takes to win, throw himself on every loose ball, battle on when we're 20 points down. We need to sign a Dru Spinks or a Yorick Williams.

The Miami cHeat: undone by a good point guard?

Boston Celtics. New Orleans Hornets. Utah Jazz.

There are the three teams that have beaten Miami Heat at this early stage in the season. What do they have in common? A top class point guard.

Celtics' Rajon Rondo is currently leading the NBA in assists and has had a superb start to the season. He's not a big scorer, but he excels at getting his team-mates involved. Rondo torched the Heat's defence and had 17 assists on the night.

Hornets win could be attributed to the huge game from big-man Emeka Okafor dominating that little bitch (yes, a highly technical phrase) Chris Bosh in the post. But Chris Paul did a fantastic job too. Again, big on the assists dishing out 19, and Heat didn't have an answer.

46 points from power forward Paul Millsap was the big story in the Heat-Jazz game. But Deron Williams came up big too, adding 21 points and 14 assists.

So what we can see is the Heat can't deal with the combination of a great point guard and a big-man playing well. And they flat out got destroyed by the Celtics.

Not strictly British basketball, I know, but if you want a tenuous link, British forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu plays for New Orleans Hornets, although admittedly he didn't see any minutes against the Heat.

Ogo Adegboye: our point guard of the present and future?

These days GB has a fairly decent youth set up. Running from U15 up to U21 you can usually see the progress of players as they develop their skills and ascend to the top level. I remember going to watch a tournament at Burgess Hill a few years back, and being impressed by the skills of Dan Clark and Matthew Bryan-Amaning.

Now they are fully fledged members of Team GB, with Clark playing an influential role in some of the key victories this summer. But another important name in the farcical Eurobasket qualification tournament, was Ogo Adegboye, and he has really come out of nowhere

A regular at the Midnight Madness event, Ogo was never involved in any of the national youth teams. He was never considered a serious prospect for Team GB. But the experience of the 6'0'' guard at NCAA Division I college St Bonaventure, and a shortage in the back-court catapulted the Nigerian-born Adegboye into the deep-end and the starting line up.

The point guard is such a crucial position at any level of basketball, and it was entrusted to Ogo, who stepped up and delivered highly mature performances for GB, playing an important role in many of the victories.

He's going into his final season of college this year and will no doubt he hoping to add a stellar season to his belt. He should face bigger and better competition for back-court minutes next time. Ben Gordon will be hopefully making his debut, plus the potential return of Jarrett Hart and Mike Lenzly and his young peers Justin Robinson, Devan Bailey, Andrew Lawrence and Devon van Oostrom to contend with.

Team GB: are they eligible?

Steve Nash. Michael Olowokandi. Ndudi Ebi.
These three names are probably the best examples from history.

Nash is a former NBA MVP and still one of the best point guards in the league today.

Olowokandi was the 1998 No.1 draft pick, taken above Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki. He is generally considered to be a "bust", but overall he had a solid NBA career with highs of 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds coming in the 2003/04 season.

Ebi was the no.26 overall pick in 2003 NBA Draft. He is a genuine bust, and his career has been disappointing even in Europe. Nevertheless, he has still played at a high-level, and is probably still young enough to get back to the top level.

So what do Nash, Olowokandi and Ebi have in common?

They were all eligible to play basketball for Great Britain, and they all chose to play for someone else.

Tottenham Hotspur fan Nash was born in South Africa to a Welsh mother and English father. His family moved to Canada when he was 18 months old, but he regularly visited London, where his father was from.
He represented Canada, and while still going strong in the NBA, appears to have retired from international basketball.

Olowokandi who was born in Lagos, Nigeria grew up in Britain. He went to high school in Seaford, about half an hour away from where I live. He represented Nigeria and has now retired from pro basketball.

Ebi is technically still eligible to play for GB. But he appears to consider himself more Nigerian than British.

So, with these three potential Brits missing in action, are there any other dual-nationality possibilities that aren't gracing the current team?

Kelenna Azubuike is the most obvious target. Born in London, he was raised in the US. He would be a massive asset to the wing, where GB are probably weakest at the moment.

Dante Cunningham is having a decent start to the season for Portland Trailblazers. He has worked out with the GB team in the past, and appears to have some British heritage which may allow him to represent GB if he gets a passport.

Big men Chris Ayer and Ross Allsop both represented England this summer, suggesting they are eligible for Great Britain too. Ayer has played in the NBA D-League and is currently under contract in Japan. Allsop is in his final year at Nova Southeastern University in the US. Ayer is the better of the two, but GB is pretty stacked at the power forward and centre positions.

In Europe there are a number of players who haven't played for GB but appear to have a British passport. Darren Phillip, Ugonna Onyekwe in Spain and Andrew Lovedale in France are all forwards who could be used. 6'6'' swingman Dee Ayuba is currently playing in Sweden.

There aren't very many guards though. Lindsay Tait (New Zealand) and Artur Drozdov (Poland) apparently have GB passports but have represented other countries. The story is the same for Australian Daryl Corletto, who has been invited to GB camps in the past. Although Lee Jeka who has been playing in Germany may be a possibility.

Riders sign Harris

Leicester Riders have announced the signing of American forward Joseph Harris. The 6'5'' forward is a graduate of Coastal Carolina University in which his best season as a junior saw him average 15 points and 11 rebounds per game. Last year with fewer minutes his stats only dropped slightly to 14 points and 10 rebounds, still excellent production.

He is clearly highly talented, although perhaps a little undersized in terms of filling in for Anthony Simpson. If Harris' paperwork is completed he will play for the Riders against the Guildford Heat this weekend.

Missere rejoins the Riders

6'8'' forward Phil Missere has signed for the Leicester Riders to fill their void of big-guys.
Technically Missere, who holds a European passport, was brought back as a temporary replacement for injured English big-man Andrew Bennett. But he now also has to fill in for American power forward Anthony Simpson, who left for a contract in Korea.


Bennett is expected back sometime after the Christmas break, and it is unclear whether Missere will remain at the club once he returns. Riders coach Rob Paternostro is also looking for an import player to replace Simpson. Although it is unlikely, even if a deal is signed, that paperwork will be completed for Riders next game at home against Guildford.

Worthing Thunder 95 - 92 Essex Pirates (OT)

Worthing Thunder bagged their first win of these season as they truimphed in a thrilling overtime victory over the Essex Pirates 95-92.

Adam Williams was the difference maker for Thunder. He had 18 points, including arguably the game winning basket, and the Thunder looked much better with him on the floor. John Nottley also had a big game with 18 points and 9 rebounds, and Shaun Durant added a double-double of 13 points and 11 boards.
Essex returnee Taner Adu scored 31, almost carrying his team to victory.

Pirates had the right gameplan early on, really hassling Thunder so they could not get into any type of rhythm. Thunder sometimes stuggled to get the ball up the court and gave the ball away plenty of times. Worthing's lack of a genuine point guard was very apparent, but the return of Sherrad Prezzie-Blue should really help this team compete.
When Thunder were down 14 I thought they were out of it, but they showed fantastic character with a run that was inspired by the play of Adam Williams, who was my MVP for the night.
Pirates couldn't contain Durant and Nottley downlow, so it was a little frustrating that too often Thunder settled for drives or long shots. Mbye and Capers, in particular, missed quite a few shots (although they worked tirelessly defensively, and did make some big shots during Thunder's run in the third)

I felt a bit sorry for Essex by the end because they did work very hard, although in the end I always felt that Thunder's superior experience would pull them through. They really relied on Taner Adu. He was their go-to-guy whenever they needed points, and duly delivered especially in the first half.
Felt like they could do with a couple of genuine big guys as Sturt really looked dangerous from deep, but despite working hard, is not a natural big. The match was probably theirs for the taking in the third, and perhaps lacked a killer instinct.

It was a messy game, with lots of turnovers and sloppy play. Nevertheless, it was thrilling towards the end with the lead changing hands all the time in the final quarter and overtime. The refereeing was a bit odd, inconsistency seemed to be the key word. Questionable calls on travelling and fouls, admittedly I think a lot went in favour of Thunder.

Worthing Thunder

Adam Williams - sparked Thunder's comeback and was the key player for Thunder. He really came up big at the end, and I feel he was as important to Worthing as Adu was to Essex. 8 out of 10

John Nottley - did a good job inside again, was surprised to read the stats and see he had 18 points, he certainly scored them quietly. 7

Marlin Capers - also quiet, but scored steadily. Looked out of sorts in the first half and the energetic Pirates defense pushed him out of his comfort zone, but came back strong in the second half. 6

Mansour Mbye - missed a few open threes early on and seemed very wasteful in possession. To his credit he was very important in containing Essex in the final part of the match and hit some massive free throws. 6

Shaun Durant - great on the boards and scored efficiently inside. Felt he should have been fed the ball a little more than he was, but his double-double made him probably our 2nd best player on the night. 8

James Brame - did his best at the point but didn't look comfortable. He defended hard. 5

Pepe Zafirov - did okay as a backup for the big guys, but fouled out. 5

Gareth Laws - seemed a good veteran presence, but didn't see a lot of time. 6

Dominic Baker - thought he did a decent job with the time given to him and didn't look out of his depth. 6

Essex Pirates

Taner Adu - really was their most important player and if they had won he would have deserved credit for the victory. Seemed like he was being asked to do too much though, seemed to be relied on as the point guard and the go-to scorer. 8

Adrien Sturt - anchored Pirates defense inside, when he fouled out they couldn't stop the Thunder bigs. Has a nice shooting touch from deep and punished us a few times for leaving him open. 7

Jamell Anderson - young, athletic and enthuasiastic but really lacked killer instinct. Scored well, though, and played some good D. 7

Samuel Toluwase - undersized, but strong and aggressive, worked hard for his points. Fouled out. 5

Daniel Briglia - looked okay, but nothing special. Didn't appear to have any weapons. 5

Colin Sing - expected to see better from him. Didn't look very confident and passed up a few open shots. 4

Zach Gachette - has potential, but probably isn't ready for big minutes at BBL level. 5

Tom Woods - ineffectual. 5

Youngblood leaves Lions

In an interesting development, veteran power forward Robert Youngblood has left the Milton Keynes Lions and an alternative veteran has been drafted in. 6'6'' Trinadadian/British naturalised forward Shawn Myers joins the Lions after a number of seasons at the Cheshire Jets.

Controversy surrounds this signing, but the Lions have indicated that Youngblood's leaving was on "mutual consent". I'd be surprised if the 6'7'' power forward doesn't reappear either in the BBL or EBL.

Myers is a former BBL All-star, and whilst the Lions have let go the oldest player in the league (Youngblood, 41) they have replaced him with a player 3 months younger!

Thunder win a trophy game, then lose a championship game ... and Zabas.

Worthing Thunder, spurred by a fantastic peformance from Marlin Capers, logged their first win of the season as they triumphed 92-79 over the Plymouth Raiders. Capers had 28 points from an 11/17 shooting performance and was backed up by double-doubles from Durant and Nottley plus a great game and 21 points from Mansour Mbye.
This win came without star guard Evaldas Zabas who was suspiciously absent.

The next day, Thunder travelled north to Cheshire, where they lost to the Jets 74-67. It was a close game, with Thunder working hard to draw level in the final quarter, but in the end the deeper Jets had a little too much. Capers once again impressed, dropping 31 points, nearly half of Worthing's total. Another decent double-double performance from Nottley was useful, but Mbye was woeful, missing all 12 of his shots and turning over the ball 7 times.

Worthing also received the news that Evaldas Zabas had submitted a request to transfer to another BBL side. The side turned out to be the conquered Plymouth Raiders who have released England international Taner Adu.

A couple of new signings

Two BBL clubs appear to be on the verge of some new signings: Essex Pirates, who certainly look like they need it, and Mersey Tigers, who certainly look like they don't.

The Pirates are rumoured to have picked up 6'10'' naturalised Australian forward/centre Adrien Sturt. The 24-year-old will add some much needed height to the Essex frontcourt, as so far they have been relying on young athletic forwards Sam Toluwase, Colin Sing, Jamell Anderson and Myles Hesson who are all undersized.

Pirates are missing a number of signings for the start of their season, including returning 6'9'' bigman Alan Metcalfe. The new signings yet to make their debuts include Americans Mike Mokeski, 6'9'' and Turner King 6'3'', and 6'8'' Brit Kene Anusionwu.

Once they have these players in place, Essex could be much more of a challenge than we have seen so far.

Mersey Tigers have also made the decision to bring in reinforcements as high scoring guard/forward Jerome Gumbs looks set to return. The 6'5'' swingman is from the US Virgin Islands, but also has a British passport. He played very well for the Tigers last season and makes this strong Mersey side even deeper. To me, Tigers look one guard away from dominating the BBL this season.

Missing In Action?

So here's my top 5 list of British basketball players that aren't signed to BBL teams this season. I should add that there could be perfectly decent reasons why these players don't have teams, I'm just surprised, as I would have thought they would be in demand as skilled British players.

Dru Spinks
6'5'' hardworking guard/forward. Dru has been the heart of Milton Keynes for so many years now, it was a big surprise when he wasn't re-signed this season. It was an even bigger surprise that another team hasn't jumped at the chance to get a great defender, savvy veteran and consummate team player.

James Noel
Returned to Plymouth last season after nursing an injury. Skilled British bigmen are pretty rare, and Noel is certainly skilled enough to warrant a place.

Daniel Sandell
It was only a few years back that Dan Sandell dropped 38 points in a BBL game for (an admittedly very poor) Birmingham Panthers. He's a consistant performer still, and could probably be a good scorer in this league given good minutes. I think he deserves a place.

Ali Gall
Sharpshooter had a good number of seasons at Plymouth and is a rare kind of role player in this league. He'll do a good job as a spot-up shooter whenever needed, but he is also capable of exploding for game changing scoring runs.

Darren Mills
Another talented swingman who's been around the BBL for a long time. Based in London these days, so perhaps the lack of a London BBL team is the deciding factor, but I'm sure there is space for him on a team close to London?

Lightning strikes twice as Heat beat Thunder again

A hardworking performance from the Worthing Thunder wasn't enough for them to stave off victory, as the Guildford Heat took last nights BBL Trophy game 86-67. Lithanian guard Evaldas Zabas was once again the most important player for Thunder, he finished with 17 points.

The first quarter was fairly erratic, the teams traded baskets with Heat briefly pulling into a small lead. Some great defending from inside duo Shaun Durant and John Nottley kept Thunder close. Bulgarian Pepe Zafirov also impressed with a fine spin move down low.

In the second Thunder looked a much better team. It was here we saw the quality of little Lithuanian Evaldas Zabas who scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half. The Heat had no answer for him as Schneider, McLemore and even the usually reliable Julius Joseph all fell victim to his superior moves. Thunder pulled themselves ahead, and actually built a decent 7-point lead before a 3-pointer from Schneider ended the half.

After half-time things started to fall to pieces for the West Sussex outfit. As the Heat began guarding Zabas out of the match. With Zabas' creavity gone Worthing looked out of ideas. John Nottley consistantly settled for long range efforts, of which he missed a lot. Perhaps this was just an off shooting night for him, as he was open for those shots and I remember him as having a nice shooting touch.

Durant and Mbye especially were too often forcing things, and in the end it was just simple good defence and sensible offense that allowed Guildford to pull away. Zafirov was ejected not too long after and after that there was no way back for Thunder.

Worthing threatened to go on a run, but this was stifled by a very poor call of charging into what was both a moving screen and inside the key (NOTE: although to be fair I thought the referees were good in general, probably favouring Thunder in the first half). Tiredness appeared to affect the undermanned Thunder as the clock ran down they could not lift themselves.

A good win for the Heat and a frustrating result for the Thunder as once again limited numbers appeared to be the key to the loss.

Player Review

Thunder

Evaldas Zabas - in the first half he looked a level above anyone else on the court, with some fine driving moves he breezed past every defender. When he was off the court Thunder looked a bit lost. 8 out of 10

John Nottley - had a good double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds, but looked far more effective when he was aggressive. Too often settled for long shots. 7

Mansour Mbye - quite regularly disrupted Worthing's offence by jacking up an ill-advised shot or driving too early in the possession. Has an plenty of talent and strength, but needs to get his teammates more involved. Tried to be a go-to-guy but it didn't work. 5

Shaun Durant - really worked hard on the glass pulled down 10 rebouds. Had a decent couple of post-moves, but turned the ball over a few times looking for a foul that didn't happen. Defended well. 6

James Brame - dependable and consistant. Found himself playing point guard sometimes, while his talents would have been put to better use elsewhere. 6

Pepe Zafirov - came up with some big threes during Thunder's run in the second. Looked useful and intune with the offense but felt he would benefit more coming on as a back-up. Was ejected in the third. 6

Marlin Capers - veteran American who hasn't played professionally for a while. Looked a little rusty and noticably out-of-sync with the offence. Will do better once he's had more time with the team, I'm sure, but last night he was poor. 4

Dominic Baker - local born guard (NOTE: who I have played against. Yay) showed promise. Had one nice drive to the basket, and looked good when he played with confidence. 6

Guildford Heat

Martelle McLemore - solid performance from the American, although it was noticable that he never took over the game like BBL Americans from the past might have. Had 17 points. 8

Mike Martin - still very good into his 30's. Quietly racked up points and rebounds and worked hard for Heat defensively. 8

David Schneider - missed a few threes early on, but contributed big in Heat's third quarter revival. Wasn't quite as much of a point guard as I had thought. 6

Julius Joseph - dependable veteran, Heat rotated quite often and had a lot of depth. Felt he would have contributed more with a few more minutes. 7

Tomas Janusauskas - big Lithanian was a handful for Thunder's big men. Looks a good non-permit pick up for the Heat. 7

James Porter - the weakest of Heat's Americans, and one of the weaker players on the court. Missed an easy dunk. 4

Tayo Ogedengbe - looked good. Athletic, defended well, should be a dependable starter. 8

Dean Williams - another good veteran presence for the Heat. 6

Lekan Popoola - weakest player on the court, including the kids. Every defensive play he was beaten off the dribble or fouled. Have seen better from him though, so was just an off day. 3

Oscar Ociepa & Richard Green - got a couple minutes at the end, but didn't do anything. 5

Team GB - What could be possible?

This summer the national basketball team of Great Britain (Team GB) dominated their qualification group and won a place at the next Eurobasket Championships to be held next year in Lithuania. It was a hugely impressive display (although rendered pointless by FIBA changing the structure of the tournament meaning all but 1 of the teams in the qualification round are now in the championship, but I digress) by a clearly very talented team.



Deng is GB's main man.

 6'9'' Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng was the star, of course, averaging a superb 22.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game. These are fantastic statistics, but beyond the numbers Deng really was the key factor in GB's success, he made the big shots and came up with stunning plays exactly when we needed them. A true class above anyone else in the tournament.

So with Deng as our catalyst can Team GB make an impression at the next Eurobasket? Let's examine Deng's supporting cast and, in one case, potential co-star.



Gordon with his GB shirt.



The man I speak of is Ben Gordon. Gordon is a 6'3'' guard who currently plays for NBA's Detroit Pistons. He was born in London but has spent the majority of his life in America. However, Gordon has pledged his alleigance to the Union Flag and is expected to represent GB next summer and at the London 2012 Olympics too. In Gordon, Team GB has a second NBA megastar, something very few national teams can boast.

So with Deng and Gordon leading the way for Britain who else is set to shine for their country? 6'9'' power forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu is a sure bet. Pops is a rebounding machine. At the qualifiers he averaged 13.5 rebounds per game. To give you an idea of what a fantastic achievement this was, 7'0'' Orlando Magic centre Marcin Gortat, considered a strong rebounder at NBA level, also played at the tournament. In virtually identical minutes for Poland, Gortat managed 8.9 rebounds per game. Pops puts 100% heart into every GB performance doing everything that's

asked of him, and doing it well.

Lets not forget that when Team GB qualified (and qualified well) this summer, they did so without three key big men. Veterans Andy Betts and Robert Archibald pulled out with injuries, while former first round NBA draft pick Joel Freeland felt he needed to concentrate on his club career over the summer. All three of these guys have a lot to offer Team GB, especially young Freeland who is establishing himself as an excellent player in the Spanish ACB, probably the world's best league outside the NBA. Daniel Clark was available this summer, and really proved his worth with some terrific performances. Current team captain Andrew Sullivan, playing in the UK for Mersey Tigers this year, is a tireless worker and still has plenty to give this GB team.



Sharpshooter Reinking is a key scorer.



GB has always been considered much stronger at the forward than at the guard. Ben Gordon will go along way to remedy that problem, but certainly there is not the same level of depth. Naturalised veteran Nate Reinking provided some excellent scoring relief for Deng and Mensah-Bonsu averaging 14.5 points per game. Reinking is 36 now, going on 37 in December, but refuses to be written-off, if anything getting better with age. GB has talent coming through the ranks of the US college system. Ogo Adegboye and Justin Robisnon both contributed at the qualifiers, in particular pure point guard Adegboye impressed with unexpected maturity and savvy. GB mainstays Jarrett Hart and Mike Lenzley were absent, though, and the national side will be a better team when they return.

Now that is the foundation for a very strong team that GB can put forward for the next couple of years. But there are some wildcards too. Britain-born New York Knicks shooting guard Kelenna Azubuike has been unable to qualify for the national team as he doesn't currently have a UK passport. If, and it is a Yao-Ming-sized if, Azubuike can be accepted as a British citizen he would be a massive asset with his shooting and strong defence.

 There is another NBA player who could potentially qualify for GB. Portland Trailblazers forward Dante Cunningham appears to have some British lineage. In the same position as Azubuike, Cunningham lacks the necessary British passport, and barring some decent development might well be unlikely to break significant minutes into the rotation anyway.

Plymouth Raiders - Team Preview

Plymouth Raiders

Point Guard: Raiders had one of the best British point guards in the league last year. Anthony Martin averaged 7.3 assists per game, one of the league leaders. Martin has swapped Britain for Denmark, though, and despite promising early recruitment Raiders now look probably the weakest team at the 1.

Raiders initally signed England international Matthew Guymon who looks a good prospect and could certainly develop into a decent player. But deep into Raiders' pre-season, Guymon pulled out for personal reasons, moving closer to home and signing for EBL side Reading Rockets.

Guymon is difficult to replace as Raiders have already signed three permit players, and there isn't really a glut of BBL level point guards around in the UK. Instead Plymouth now rely on stop-gap solutions including 6'3'' shooting guard/small forward Taner Adu who has good ball-handling skills but not the court vision of a true point. Adu will play the majority of the minutes here and as a player deserves more than the grade I will give for point guard, but he is out of position and would contribute more with a proper playmaker.

Guards Cody Toppert and Brian McKenzie will back-up the point until coach Gavin Love makes the decision to bring someone else in. On Raiders current performances it's clear that even if Guymon was still around, Plymouth would need more.

Grade: D+

Shooting Guard: Raiders have plenty of depth here, in fact if Guymon was still around the depth would be a bit scary. Aside from the aforementioned Adu Raider have signed 6'4'' American swingman Brian McKenzie and American/German shooter Cody Toppert.

Two highly contrasting styles: McKenzie is more of a powerful, athletic player bruising his to the hoop, whilst Toppert is primarily a shooter who can really punish a team if he gets hot. Together they make an intruiging combination especially if a point guard capable of setting them up is brought in.

Experiencd Toppert led German third division side BG Illertal with 18.9 ppg last term and should be a dependable scorer replacing erratic Englishman Ali Gall. McKenzie is fresh out of Providence College in America, where he was known as a lock-down defender and a pure athlete.

Jay Marriott is a better player than he has shown at BBL level. He has proved that, if given the minutes, he can contribute well, but once again Raiders appear to have too much swingman depth for him to see much more time.

Grade: B+

Small Forward: Samuel Cricelli was probably the highlight of Worthing Thunder's last year. He averaged 11 points and 6.8 rebounds playing out-of-position for much of the season. At Plymouth he has the opportunity to move to his more natural small forward, where he can come into his own as a strong defender and a skilled shooter.

He's a difficult match-up for most teams, especially considering the variety of back ups here. McKenzie and forward Lehmon Colbert will get the majority of the reserve minutes, although there may be a chance for Marriott to force his way into meaningful court-time.

Grade: B

Power Forward: 6'6'' American Lehmon Colbert would be somewhat undersized in Europe, but at BBL level he will be fine at the 4. Athletic and strong, Colbert has so far shown to be Plymouth's best player this season. New out of NCAA college Jacksonville, Colbert had 12 ppg and 7 rpg last season, and should be a dominant force inside.

Cricelli will also get minutes at the 4 when Raiders go small (hmmm, Cricelli is taller than Colbert...), likewise Anthony Rowe when they go big.

Grade: B

Centre: 6'8'' Anthony Rowe was a Plymouth junior who took his skills stateside and has returned a highly skilled player. He pulled down an impresive 8.6 rebounds per game last year and added 12.3 points. Admitedly, I haven't seen Rowe since he was much younger. I recall him as being slight but having long arms and a decent touch inside. It will be interesting to see how he has progressed.

Sharing time with Rowe is American Otis Polk. Polk is a big bruiser who has been criticised for his lack of athleticism and speed. He has certainly made a slow start to the season, showing only glimpses of promise, but Raiders have a rich history of powerfully built big-men. Terrance Durham and Carlton Aaron are two of the most memorable imports from their past. If Polk can live up to their standard he wont be shrort for minutes.

Grade: B+

Key Additions: I'm a big fan of free-scorer Taner Adu. He is such a great offensive threat, but would undoubtedly serve Raiders much better without the pressure of being the only player capable of playing the point.

Key Losses: I've said it before, but Raiders need a point guard more desperately than anything else. Anthony Martin would have been perfect, but they'll need to look elsewhere.

Full Roster:

Taner Adu 6'3'' SG/PG/SF
Jamie Burchell 6'5'' SF
Lehmon Colbert 6'6'' PF
Sam Cricelli 6'7'' SF/PF
Jay Marriott 6'5'' SG/SF
Brian McKenzie 6'4'' SG
Otis Polk 6'9'' C
Anthony Rowe 6'8'' PF/C
Cody Toppert 6'4'' SG

Mersey Tigers - Team Preview

The Tigers, who currently have not fulfilled a criteria which would allow them to sign import players, feel a little bit like a work-in-progress. In BBL terms, though, that work is the Sistine Chapel. 


Point Guard: I remember when Perry Lawson first joined the BBL. The 6'2'' playmaker was considered to have perhaps the highest potential for any young British guard who didn't take his skills Stateside. He's been around the BBL for a while now, with spells at Newcastle and Sheffield, and appears to have stepped up very well to starting this year.


Ideally, perhaps, Lawson would not be starting. GB star Nate Reinking had been picked up in the hope he would stay for at least a little while, but before he could make his debut he jetted off to a big contract in Turkey. For the moment this leaves the Tigers a little short staffed at the point. James Jones will get some minutes here, and young guards Sam Bogucki and Max Casanove might temp as back-ups until someone new is brought in.


If Tigers were to find a starting point guard, Lawson would certainly become the most talented back-up in the league, but for now, starting on his own, he could do with some help.


Grade: C+


Shooting Guard: 6'4'' guard James Jones narrowly missed out on a place on the GB side that qualified for next year's Eurobasket tournment, and from his early play this season you can see what he could have offered. Dropping 17 points, 4 assists and 6 rebounds in the first BBL championship game of the season, Jones is going to be a handful for every team this year.


The son of Manchester head-coach Jeff, and brother of Worcester guard Callum, he honed his skills in the American college system before joining the ranks of the Guildford Heat a couple of seasons back. For the Tigers last year he averaged 14 ppg and will no doubt he hoping to improve on this, and get back in contention for a GB squad place.


Behind Jones this season are 6'3'' Brit Sam Bogucki and Frenchman Max Casanove. Neither are particularly likely to play big minutes, and with the current breakdown of the squad, small forwards Aliu and Williams are more likely to fill in back-up minutes here when a big lineup is on the floor.


Grade: B


Small Forward: David Aliu is one of the best players that Liverpool has ever produced. Impressive Midnight Madness appearances championed Aliu's skills as the 6'6'' forward became known for his powerful inside play and fantastic fundamentals. Aliu can hurt you in a lot of ways offensively, and his force of will make him a good defensive presence. He didn't play last season, however, and may well need some time to shake off the rust.


Short-term Jet Jamal Williams has joined the Tigers primarily simply as an extra player to take the strain off the current team. I don't know an awful lot about him except that he is a Canadian with a British passport who averaged decent statistics in the Canadian college system. Whether he can be a force in the BBL is yet to be determined.


Grade: B


Power Forward: Having a former BBL MVP on your team is rare. A former BBL MVP who is British is virtually unheard of. But that's exactly what the Tigers have in Andrew Sullivan. A spell at the Eagles at the end of last season, and a key-role in the GB qualifying campaign over the summer prove that Sullivan is at the top of his game. He can dominate at this level, and alongside old master Tony Garbelotto the Tigers have a very dangerous team.


Good depth at the centre position and inside play of Aliu means Sullivan won't be missing a good back-up.


Grade: A


Centre: Coming off a stellar season at Sheffield, Tafari Toney was another player who came close to forcing his way into the GB team. Talented, athletic and powerful, Toney is tough to stop inside. He averaged the near double-double of 17 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last term. Known as "Tap", Toney's play inside with Sullivan is likely to be the highlight of this top-heavy team.


Being the closest BBL team to Manchester afford Mersey a unique oppurtunity. They can poach the top players from Manchester's highly successful youth programme who often venture to the abroad to develop themselves. One of the key players on that list is Andy Thomson. The 6'10'' forward/centre is capped by England and has that classic inside-outside European game which makes him such a difficult match up for the import big men, especially when he plays next to the powerful inside presence of Sullivan or Toney.


Injury or foul trouble is the only thing that can take Tigers' title of strongest inside combination.


Grade: A


Key Additions: Most of the starting line-up is new, but Andrew Sullivan is a level above almost any player in the BBL.


Key Losses: The back-court is, for the moment at least, significantly weaker. Star US guards Trey Moore and Kevin Bell have gone, and only Perry Lawson has been brought in.


Full Roster:


David Aliu 6'6'' SF/PF
Sam Bogucki 6'3'' SG
Max Casanove 6'3'' SG
James Jones 6'4'' SG/PG
Perry Lawson 6'2'' PG
Andrew Sullivan 6'8'' PF
Tap Toney 6'9'' PF/C
Andy Thomson 6'10'' PF/C

Jets: Williams OUT, Murray IN. Tigers: Williams IN

6'5'' Canadian/British forward Jamal Williams has swapped Chester for Liverpool, whilst the Jets have picked up 6'7'' Scottish combo-forward Gareth Murray to replace him.

Williams certainly didn't last long at the Jets; whether this is due to a lack of talent or other factors is yet to be seen, but all we know is practically the minute he was dropped by Cheshire, the Tigers, who have yet to fill a criteria which would allow them to sign full import players, picked him up.

Jets signing Gareth Murray has slightly scuppered my planned blog of "Top 5 British Players Who Haven't Signed To A BBL Team This Season". He was high on the list, so now I've had to come up with another one (watch this space).

There is no doubting Murray's talent, he has been a mainstay at the Glasgow Rocks and a hero for the Scottish men's national team for a number of years. He's just entering the prime of his career too, and there's no doubt he could do a great job for the Jets. He averaged 10.7 points and 4 rebounds per game for the BBL's only Scottish franchise last year. He can stretch the defense with his good long range shooting, and is a bit of a tweener forward, capable of filling in at both positions.

Williams, I would imagine, will be more of a bench player given at the Tigers given that he apparently failed to prove his worth to an inferior Jets team. It might well even be doubtful he survives the full season, but I am eager for him to prove me wrong.

Guildford Heat 79 - 76 Worthing Thunder

Once again a great performance from Lithuanian point guard Evaldas Zabas was not enough to lift the Thunder above a shaky Guildford Heat. Zabas contributed 27 points and 5 rebounds including an impressive 9/12 from the free throw line, but the only other Thunder player to reach double-figures was debutant John Nottley who added 17 points and 15 rebounds indicating his quality for the season ahead.

It's notable that the Thunder played without key guards James Brame and Adam Williams, and also foul trouble for 6'9'' big-man Shaun Durant meant Worthing were a little shorted handed in the second half. Forward Mansour Mbye did a lot of the little things, adding 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists, but his poor shooting, especially from the charity stripe prevented him from being a key factor.

Guildford are very deep, something that can be a bit of a hinderance at times on a BBL team, and this shows up a little in the statistics. As the saying goes: "too many cooks spoil the broth", and if we translate this into basketball we get "too many players means that the players don't get to play enough time together to reach a good level of team chemistry on the floor".

Statistically, at least, it was a good game for Mike Martin, who scored 21 points, adding 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Julius Joseph put up 20, and Americans Martelle McLemore and David Schneider added 12 and 10 respectively. A dissapointing performance from veteran Dean Williams who, given 14 minutes, managed nothing but 1 missed field goal attempt, and 1 turn-over. Big-men James Porter and Tomas Janusauskas were a bit of a non-factor, really, with Nottley being the pick of the 6'10''+ players.

Zabas appears to be playing the role of a free-scorer rather than a natural point guard, and this shows up with his single assist in nearly 39 minutes of running the team. I won't be able to make a fair assessment of the Thunder until I see them next week, but it seems to me that if Durant and Nottley can contribute and play together, and have a full compliment of guards available they could really be a handful for the Raiders team.

Worcester Wolves - Team Preview

Worcester Wolves

Point Guard: Last year was a strange season for the Wolves. Halfway through an uninspiring season coach Chuck Evans left the team over a racism row which led to most of the players resigning. Veteran England coach Paul James was drafted in, and one of his first signings was American point guard Rod Middleton. It will certainly be good news to Wolves fans that he has returned.

The 6'3'' Middleton was a key part of the quickly put-together line up that pushed very hard for a playoff place, missing out by the narrowest of margins. He led the Wolves in points (19.6), assists (4.5) and steals (2.7), and was noted for his hard-working defense and flashy passes.

Middleton is a great player, but the Wolves don't have very much in the way of a solid back-up. Shooting guard Kastytis Normantas will get some time here, as will young Brit Luke Sanders.

Grade: B

Shooting Guard: The Wolves have two pretty decent options at the shooting guard with the aforementioned 6'3'' Lithanian Normantas likely to command the majority of minutes early in the season. "Special K" averaged 13 ppg last year on a truly superb 69.4% shooting. If he can do similar this season he is going to be one of the most efficient offensive players in the league.

Wolves picked up a young English talent in the off-season in Callum Jones. The brother of GB international James, Callum came through the ranks of the highly succesful Manchester academy before spending four years at Pace University in America. He comes from great basketball stock; aside from his brother, his father Jeff is the current head coach of Manchester Magic and the mastermind behind their success at junior and EBL level.

If Callum can come close to the level of James, then he certainly has a lot to give to the Wolves this season, and coach Paul James might be just the man to get it out of him.

Grade: B+

Small Forward: When Paul James joined Worcester last season his first move was to sign up one of his former players. Daniel Gilbert was a key player in the Guildford Heat's ill-fated ULEB Cup run, and was clearly one of James' favourites. Last season he averaged 18.4 ppg and was a highly consistant performer. It could be argued that he is more of a natural shooting guard than small forward, but he proved last year he is a highly capable 3.

The only real back-up here is John Stoukas, a 6'6'' 19-year-old Greek youth international. Stoukas appears to have an awful lot of talent, and if coach James can mould him, he will have a role to play as a defensive stopper and providing spark minutes off the bench. However, Stoukas is young and inexperienced, and backing up the 3 might be a little too much for him early on.

Grade: B

Power Forward: Dave Watts should probably have made the jump to BBL last year. Instead he dominated the EBL last season, picking up the Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player Of The Year awards. The skinny 6'9'' Watts is a scoring threat both inside and out, and a very difficult defensive match-up because of his size and quickness. Gaining some England caps over the summer can only have improved his confidence, and he will no doubt he looking to make the same kind of impact at this level as he has with the Manchester Magic last year.

The Wolves have about as close as you get in the BBL to an embarrasment of riches in terms of bigmen. Behind Watts is experienced Canadian/Lithuanian Aleksas Zimnickas who has played in Ireland, Switzerland and most recently in Iceland averaging 19 points and 8 rebounds per game last year. Zimnickas attended the University of Hartford, a highly reputable team, and could turn out to be an excellent addition to this Worcester team.

The Wolves have also retained young 6'7'' Lithuanian Pavolis Tamulynas who will probably only see minutes in the case of foul trouble or injuries.

Grade: A-

Centre: Two strong power forwards usually means no real centre at this level, but the Wolves have impressively signed two further bigmen capable of logging good minutes. 6'8'' American Justin Dobbins is fresh out Eastern Michigan University were he had an excellent college career, averaging 12 ppg and 5.9 rpg in his final year. Obviosly it will be difficult to tell until he plays together with the Worcester franchise, but if Dobbins can reach his potential, opposing defences will have a lot to deal with trying to stop him, Watts and Zimnackas inside.

Martynas Versinskas, a 6'9'' Lithanian completes the Wolves compliment of players. Versinskas is a bit of a wild-card having not played professionaly for a couple of seasons, but should settle in nicely on a team with plenty of size and Lithanians to show him the ropes.

Grade: B

Key Additions: Baltic big-men Zimnackas and Versinskas are likely to be the tipping point for Wolves being a good side, and one challenging at the business end of the table.

Key Losses: Fan-favourite Frenchman Harry Disy will not be returning. Disy was a great player for the Wolves last year, although he has been replaced well.

Full Roster:

Justin Dobbins 6'8'' PF/C
Danny Gilbert 6'5'' SF/SG
Callum Jones 6'5'' SG
Rod Middleton 6'3'' PG
Kastytis Normantas 6'3'' SG/PG
Luke Sanders 6'1'' PG
John Stoukas 6'6'' SF
Pavolis Tamulynas 6'7'' PF
Martynas Versinskas 6'9'' C
Dave Watts 6'9'' PF/C
Aleksas Zimnackas 6'8'' PF/C

Essex Pirates - Team Preview

I should note that Essex Pirates are probably the most difficult team for me to review. I have never seen them play, and in fact I have only ever seen one of their players. I am not, therefore, in an ideal position. Much of this will be guesswork based on what I have read, watched on video and equated from statistics

Essex Pirates

Point Guard: 6'1'' guard Andre Ellis has been somewhat under the radar. He showed his talent in the first game of the season, scoring 15 points in just 22 minutes of game time, which an efficient 6/11 shooting. When the full Essex lineup is available, however, I doubt Ellis will play particularly big minutes at the point, although he has proved he will be a very capable back-up.

The majority of the minutes will likely go to Turner King, 6'3'' American combo guard fresh out of Hampden-Syndey College in the US. King averaged 17 points and 6 rebounds, and was relied upon more as a scorer than a point. His role on the Pirates is likely to be a little different, as the Southend outfit's glut of wings leaves open minutes at the 1.

Grade: B

Shooting Guard: I'm not convinced the Pirates play a particularly standard type of game. They have a high of very young, very athletic wing players, all capable of shooting, driving but with very little BBL experience.

The exception is Marcus Knight. Knight is a 6'2'' shooting guard who can play some time at the point. He has always been a big name associated with London basketball, and is always a stellar performer at Midnight Madness. Knight can do a good job at BBL level; he averaged 12 ppg last year on just 20 minutes of play.

6'4'' Sam Toluwase is a high flyer who joint top-scored for the Pirates in their first home game. Toluwase had some big games for the Pirates last year including a 22 point, 9 rebound performance inspiring a win over the Guildford Heat. He players bigger than his height due to his great strength and athleticism, and will be looked on to be a solid performer if the Pirates are to push for the playoffs.

When Ellis is playing point, import King may well get some time here and the Pirates have so much young British talent such as Josh Pape and Calum Nicol, there are bound to be plenty of takers for minutes.

Grade: B-

Small Forward: Colin Sing got his first England cap over the summer. He's 6'5'' and more of a shooting guard in a natural basketball line up, but he is athletic and quick enough to play the 3. Sing might well be hoping to have something of a break-out season. He has the potential to be a very good British player in this league, and if he can force himself into big minutes he could be an important factor in the Pirates season.

However, midlander Myles Hesson should challenge Sing for those minutes. 6'5'' Hesson played last season in the England EBL2, effectively the third division in British basketball) for the Birmingham Aces. He played for the England U20 international team this summer, and impressed. In Pirates first game he proved himself to be an effective player at this level, joint top-scoring (17) with Toluwase, adding 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Like Sing he is athletic and strong. It will be fascinating to see the progression of these two young players.

Grade: B

Power Forward: Alan Metcalfe had an excellent colliegette career at Vanderbilt University. 6'9'' and a wide-frame, Metcalfe was the cornerstone of the Pirates inside presence. Metcalfe is quick for his size and can shoot from all over the place. He averaged 7.3 ppg and 5.1 rpg last year, and is an important experienced player in a pretty young line up.

Challenging Metcalfe for minutes is another young player and England U20 international. Jamell Anderson is 6'7'' and will be hoping to progress into big minutes for the Essex team. He could well also get time at the small forward. Unfortunately neither Metcalfe or even a potential reaching Anderson will be a genuine force for the Pirates inside, and this is something they are still lacking.

Former Solent youth Tom Wood may get a few minutes here too.

Grade: C

Centre: Essex have added 6'9'' American Mike Mokeski, the son GB assistant coach and former NBA player Paul Mokeski. Mike is a decent player, but probably not up to the same level as many BBL import players, and will be more of a rotation player than a starter outright. He has plenty of the skills that Essex need, though, not least of which being height.

Kene Anusionwu, a 6'8'' forward/centre will compete with Mokeski for minutes here. He is a defensive talent known for his flashy shot-blocking skills, and 4 years at college in America have prepared him to join this join Essex team and hopefully sure them up on the inside.

In this guard orientated Essex line-up, former Guildford Heat bigman Metcalfe may well play a lot of minutes here alongside some of the younger players, but if anything is certain about the Pirates this season, it is that playing time will be ultra-competetive, and they will be a lot of fun to watch.

Grade: C

Key Additions: Pirates first ever Americans Turner King and Mike Mokeski need to play well if this Southend-based team are going to have any success, although the progression of new Brit's Anusionwu, Hesson and Ellis may be more interesting.

Key Losses: In England international guard Taner Adu, naturalised big-man Randy George and Spanish forward Pablo Rodriguez were the Pirates three top scorers last year, and none will be returning.

Full Roster:

Jamell Anderson 6'7'' PF/SF
Kene Anusionwu 6'8'' PF/C
Andre Ellis 6'1'' PG
Myles Hesson 6'5'' SG/SF
Turner King 6'3'' PG/SG
Alan Metcalfe 6'9'' PF/C
Mike Mokeski 6'9'' C/PF
Colin Sing 6'5'' SG/SF
Sam Toluwase 6'4'' SF/SG
Tom Wood 6'6'' PF/SF

Cheshire Jets - Team Preview

Cheshire Jets

Point Guard: The Cheshire Jets are the only team who played two games on the first weekend of the season, and as such we have been able to see the most of them. From what it appears so far, the point guard is their strongest position. 6'1'' American Jeremy Bell had 27 points and 7 rebounds in the first game, and followed it up with a 20 point, 3 rebound and 3 assist performance in the second, both losses.

Bell appears to be more of a scorer than a natural point, much like skilled Englishman Steven Gayle who will play big minutes too. Gayle is an offensive spark-plug, and can rack up a lot of points very quickly with his lightning drives and excellent shooting stroke. He is currently the Jets second leading scorer behind Bell, although they will need this to change if they are to have any success this season.

Grade: B+

Shooting Guard: Discounting that Bell and Gayle will probably play a lot of minutes together, the probable starting shooting guard will be one of the 3 small forwards they have on the roster. For eloquence sake, we'll argue American Quemont Greer as the shooting guard.

Greer actually joins the Jets as a replacement for power forward 6'9'' Chris Commons who failed to get a visa to play in England. Smaller, and probably more a wing player anyway Greer is not a post player and will get the majority of his points outside of the key. Greer has played in the NBA D-League in the past and certainly has talent, but whether or not he can fit in to this new-look Jets team is yet to be determined.

6'2'' Brit Phillip Brandreth has been known in the past as the Jet's "human victory cigar". He's a better player now and a great inspiration for young players in Chester, but it's unlikely he will ever make much of a meaningful contribution to the Jets stat sheet. He's there more as a community coach who is active on the roster, similar to the now-rather-fat sharpshooter Richard Murphy, whose role these days is confined to sitting in the corner and waiting until he's open to shoot a three.

Grade: C+

Small Forward: Colin O'Reilly was a revelation last season. The 6'7'' Ireland international averaged 14 points and 6 rebounds per game, and was a huge performer in some of the Jets bigger wins of the season. He is probably the most important returnee because of the retirement of the long-serving Shawn Myers.

O'Reilly is a bit of a tweener, having the skills for both the forward positions, and may even be more of a power forward. It is likely that the season wars on and the aging Calvin Davis can sustain less minutes O'Reilly will become the starting power forward, leaving the three open to Jamal Williams.

Williams is a 6'5'' Canadian with a British passport. He averaged 13.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in an MVP season for Regina University in Canada. Williams development could be very important for the long-term success of the team.

Grade: B-

Power Forward: Calvin Davis was once one of the premier big-men in the BBL. Knee injuries and general aging has left the 33 year old less of a force, but he is still a highly skilled and professional player with a lot left to give.

He averaged 7.3 ppg and 4.6 rpg in fairly limited minutes last season, but could certainly be expected to play a little more after the confirmation that Chris Commons would be replaced by the smaller Quemont Greer and veteran James Hamilton would not return (at the least for the moment) due to off-court troubles. Davis is a naturalised American, not taking up a permit spot and his ability will be useful for the depth of the Jets at the 4, but I doubt he will start for the whole season.

As we've established O'Reilly will likely end up starting here full time, and Greer will play some minutes too, Jets have enough depth to keep them going at the 4.

Grade: B-

Centre: Matt Schneck came highly rated out of Cloud State University having been named in the All-American team of NCAA Division II leading his team to a Final Four run in his final year. Schneck averaged a highly impressive 18.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per contest. If he can replicate that kind of production in the BBL, Cheshire will be more than a handful inside.

The problem comes if Schneck is unimpressive, as the Jets have no-one to fall back on apart from the experience Davis who will be counted on for minutes at the 4.

Grade: B

Key Additions: Jeremy Bell looks to be a terrific signing, and if he can keep up this level of play the Jets have one of the best scoring point's in the league.

Key Losses: Veterans James Hamilton and Shawn Myers have gone and leave a tough-to-fill void in the Jets depth chart.

Full Roster:

Jeremy Bell 6'1'' PG
Stephen Gayle 5'10'' PG/SG
Colin O'Reilly 6'7'' PF/SF
Calvin Davis 6'8'' PF/C
Richard Murphy 6'0'' SG
Jamal Williams 6'5'' SF
Phil Brandreth 6'2'' SG/SF
Matt Schneck 6'9'' C
Quemont Greer 6'7'' SF/SG/PF

Newcastle Eagles - Team Preview

Newcastle Eagles

Point Guard: It's an interesting situation at the point for the Eagles. The Tyneside outfit has two stellar permit guards this year in Joe Chapman, last years leading scorer, and former BBL MVP Trey Moore, who has returned to the Eagles for a second stint. Neither of them, however, are particularly adept at running the point.
However, it is most likely that the savvy Moore will take the role, so until I find out different we will say that Moore will play the majority of the minutes here.

I remember Moore as a skilled scorer and a committed defender, but being disappointed by his occasional lack of sportmanship; you could argue this as simply a will and desire to win, and he does win often. Moore prooved his is still an excellent player last season, leading the Everton Tigers with over 20 ppg, and coming up big in the Tigers thrilling BBL Playoff Final win were he dropped a game-high 22.

Moore isn't a natural point, though and this could prove to be a weakness against the very good teams. On the bench, however, there is Barbadian national point guard Andre Lockhart. There is a great history of Barbadian players in the BBL, including Brighton Bears and Milton Keynes legend Andrew Alleyne, and if Lockhart can prove to be as useful he is a brilliant addition. For the moment, I believe the Eagles are too deep to start Lockhart, but he could turn into a brilliant pick-up for the future.

Young English prospect Aaron Neilson will probably get some time here too. He has never disgraced himself in an Eagles uniform, and continues to be a smart, hard working understudy. Eagles player-coach Fab Flournoy often gives himself minutes at the point too, so the Eagles have a variety of options.

Grade: B+

Shooting Guard: To say that the Eagles are stacked at the shooting guard is a bit of an understatement. Even if you take one of Moore or Chapman out of the equation because the majority of their minutes will be at the point, you still have one of the absolute best 2-guards in the league, backed up by Andrew Bridge, one of the best British players in the BBL.

The 6'5'' Bridge averaged a fraction under 10 points per game along with 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists; good numbers on a deep BBL championship winning team. Bridge has been with the Eagles since 2002 and has always been a reliable and sensible performer, doing what's best for the team. Bridge is still likely to play big minutes due to coach Flournoy's wing-oreintated game style.

The star at the shooting guard, however, is going to be Joe Chapman. Chapman was the standout player in last year's brilliant season and can light up the scoreboard. He is a genuine star in this league, although the acquisition of Moore could make him have to work harder to be the primary point of the Eagle's offence.

Coach Fab Flournoy's natural position these days is probably the 2-guard. Fab still has a lot to offer this team on the court with his tireless, never-say-die-defence and officient offence. He will get some time here.

Grade: A

Small Forward: We can assume that a lot of the time between the three smallers positions will be split between Moore, Chapman, Bridge, Lockhart and Flournoy. But there is another player certain to play big minutes once again on the Eagles wing. 6'6'' naturalised American Charles Smith is BBL veteran and at this point, practically part of the Eagles furniture. Smith is a great shooter, averaging nearly 50% from the floor, and 40% from downtown, and was Eagles second highest averaging scorer last season, contributing over 17 ppg. Smith is getting older, but doesn't yet show signs of slowing down; he is still more than capable of getting the job done.

So with Chapman, Moore and Flournoy all likely to recieve minutes backing up this position. There might not be an awful lot of time left for young combo-forward protege Jamie Glen. The 6'7'' product of the highly succesful Manchester Magic junior programme has proven himself at times last season, and can be a decent player for the Eagles.

Grade: B+

Power Forward: Darius Defoe is listed at 6'9'' in most BBL/Eagles publications, and this is a little optimistic, he is certainly closer to 6'7''. Nevertheless he is an excellent British player, averaging 10 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last year. With bigger minutes Defoe could be a genuine inside force, but this is not really Fab's style of player, and for the forseeable future at the Eagles, Defoe will have to live producing on limited minutes.

If Flournoy will put his faith in his younger players (something he has been critisized in the past for not doing) Jamie Glen might see some time here backing up Defoe. It's more likely, however, that we will see 4 wing players and a big for the majority of the Eagles minutes with Smith and Bridge filling in as the height.

Grade: B-

Centre: A former Worthing Thunder player sits at the centre position for the Eagles. Kadiri Richard is nothing if not a defensive beast. He led the league in blocks last season, averaging 2.3 blocks per game, and was a force on the glass, pulling down 8.5 boards each outing. However, Richard is not a great scorer, averaging a modest 9.5 points in big minutes as Thunder's primary inside threat. He gets most of his points from put-backs and lay ups, and lacks the post-game you would want from a traditional centre.

This isn't too much of a problem; Eagles have plenty of firepower elsewhere and will not go wanting for points on Richard's account. The problem is that Richard has replaced Lynard Stewart, a beloved Eagles big-man who has been a massive part of the team for so long. This line up will not be the same without Stewart, and whilst I am a big fan of Kadiri for his heart and dedication to defence, I don't know if he is the ideal replacement.

Aside from Defoe, there is exactly zero depth here, but due to the Eagles style this shouldn't be a problem.

Grade: B-

Key Additions: The return of Trey Moore is massive for the Tynesiders, he and Chapman will combine to be one of the most devastating back-courts in the league.

Key Losses: With the aforementioned Stewart gone, I feel the Eagles made a big mistake in not putting their full effort into re-signing GB big-man Andrew Sullivan. The Eagles are much weaker in the front court this season.

Full Roster:

Andrew Bridge 6'5'' SG/SF
Joe Chapman 6'4'' SG
Darius Defoe 6'9'' PF/C
Fab Flournoy 6'4'' SG/SF/PG
Jamie Glen 6'7'' SF/PF
Andre Lockhart 6'1'' PG
Trey Moore 6'4'' SG/PG
Aaron Neilson 6'0'' PG
Kadiri Richard 6'8'' C
Charles Smith 6'6'' SF

Plymouth Raiders 79 - 77 Worthing Thunder

31 from Evaldas Zabas was not enough to save a depleted team losing the first game of their season; a trophy match away at Plymouth. Missing 2 starters (not to mention the 3 potential Americans who are still yet to be offcially mentioned), Worthing put up a spirited performance keeping it close and even having the lead for portions of the 4th quarter. When Zabas fouled out late in the game, however, the Radiers had a little too much, and some strong play from England international Taner Adu saw them through.

I wasn't at the game, but the statistics reveal that veteran Shoreham-born guard James Brame played out of his skin, scoring 14 points on 6/9 shooting, he also added 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a phonomenal 5 steals.

Zabas was the primary scorer for Thunder, and shot very well from inside the ark, going 10/14, but was less than impressive from 3-point-land, hitting just 2/12. Nevertheless, it was a huge performance for the young Lithuanian, but in the end it was not enough.

Big-man Shaun Durant had a mixed game, scoring 17 points and adding 11 rebounds, but his production could not be called efficient, especially for a centre, going 6 from 14 from the field; not awful, but room for improvement, and it was a similar story for Mansour Mbye who clearly took up the challenge of starting, and added 12 points, again on unimpressive shooting.

The low point for the game was Pepe Zafirov, starting in place of the abscent John Nottley. Zafirov appears to be out of his depth at BBL level, shooting just 1/8 including all 5 three point shots missed, and also fouling out.

Young Sussex guard Dominic Baker (who I have played against, yay) and former streetballer and London stalwart Gareth Laws were non-factors, although they played bravely out of position, and doing unusual jobs.

It was a brave performance, and special credit must go to stand-in head coach Alan Sweetman-Hicks, long-time Thunder assistant coach who certainly got the best out of Brame, and rallied the team close to an upset over a team who have been training together for much longer than the Thunder.

Raiders appear to be weak this year, and without a genuine point they will struggle to beat most teams. I would say that a full Thunder team would probably have beaten them on the day, as, aside from Lehmon Colbert, their new Americans appeared ineffectual.

Guildford Heat - Team Preview

Guildford Heat

Point Guard: If there was something missing from last year's Guildford Heat team it was a pure point guard. Aaron Drakeford was more of a scoring point, and whilst he put up decent numbers, he wasn't the kind of guy you'd want to construct a basketball team around. His replacement, David Schneider just might be.

The 6'3'' guard is a graduate of William & Mary College, a prestigious institution, where he was named team MVP in his final year averaging 15.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 2.9 apg. Schneider is known as a big-game performer and a knock-down three point shooter, averaging 34% from behind the ark.

Lekan Popoola is behind Schneider. The 6'1'' guard has been around the BBL for a long time, and should be a valuable asset in the Heat line up. Last season Popoola was plagued by injury, but now he is back to full fitness he is about as good a back up as you will find in the BBL.

Grade: A-

Shooting Guard: This year the Heat have three highly capable players who have the ability to play both the shooting guard and small forward position. The most likely start is new American Martelle McLemore. This athletic 6'5'' swingman is a skilled scorer and a lock-down defender.

Whilst Brit's Tayo Ogedengbe and Julius Joseph will compete for minutes here too, their primary position is likely to be the small forward, so backing up the 2 guard position will be returning Heat fan-favourite Dean Williams.

The 6'4'' Williams leant his experience to BBL upstarts Essex Pirates last season, but he has now returned to the Heat. Averaging nearly 15 minutes per game at the Pirates, Williams was able to have some big games, but minutes are likely to be scarcer on this more talented Heat team. Expect Williams to provide no more than occasional relief, and veteran leadership.

Grade: B

Small Forward: The is a lot of competition at the 3 for Guildford. On one side we have the experienced former GB international Julius Joseph, who at 35, averaged 18 points per game last season, proving he still has formidable talent. On the other side is Tayo Ogedengbe, a newly capped England international whose career is on the rise. Ogedengbe averaged 12.5 ppg last year, but really came into his own in the second half of the season, averaging close to 19 ppg over the last 10 games.

Perhaps we can expect McLemore, Joseph and Ogedengbe to share these two positions quite fairly, providing enough minutes and more than enough trouble for opposing defences.

Grade: B+

Power Forward: 6'7'' Mike Martin had troubles with injury last season, but now he has returned to prove he is a force in this league. Martin's crocked season ended with him averaging 18.4 ppg and 6.7 rpg over 14 games. If he is able to replicate that kind of production and stay healthy, the Heat are looking at being one of the strongest forces in the BBL.

Martin's age and injuries last season, however, suggest the Heat might have to be prepared to expect his production to be smaller, perhaps than it has been. Even if Martin is back to his best, Heat have still taken a risk in failing to acquire a decent back-up should his niggling injuries play a part this season. American big-man James Porter can spend some time at the power forward, however, and the Heat have depth at the centre.

Grade: B-

Centre: Aforementioned American James Porter is a 6'10'' powerhouse who finished his college education with North Carolina A&T, posting stats of 4 points and 6 rebounds per game at a high level of play. Porter is a great physical presence, both athletic and strong and should link up with Martin, creating a good tandem of inside players for the Heat.

Providing competition for Porter will be the enormous Lithuanian Tomas Janusauskas who averaged impressive statistics on the now defunct London Capital team from last season. Janusauskas was a highlight on a very weak Capital team, and the 7 footer's 18.4 ppg and 9.8 rpg were more a product of the lack of talent around him rather than a genuine dominance of the court. Nevertheless, Janusauskas can do a great job for the Heat, challenging for the big minutes and pushing Porter and Martin to their best play.

Grade: B+

Key Additions: New point David Schneider's success is the key to Heat's season. The quality and depth of this team suggests they shoud be challenging for honours this year.

Key Losses: Player/coach Chad McKnight is a key loss here, not especially because he was a great coach, or even a great player, but going into a new season with a brand new coach with no BBL experience could be the weak point in this team.

Full Roster:

Tomas Janusauskas 7'0'' C
Julius Joseph 6'5'' SF/SG
Mike Martin 6'7'' PF
Martelle McLemore 6'5'' SG/SF
James Porter 6'10'' C/PF
Oskar Ociepa 6'4'' SG/SF
Tayo Ogedengbe 6'6'' SF
Lekan Popoola 6'1'' PG
David Schneider 6'3'' PG
Dean Williams 6'4'' SG