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