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.