Take a look at the 10 most populous cities in the UK, and you'll find that only 3 have a team competing in the BBL this season (and 2 of them are disputable). Glasgow Rocks and Sheffield Sharks (respectively numbers 3 and 7 on the list) are the certainly good examples, while Liverpool-based Mersey Tigers have found themselves in grave financial difficulties early in the season and might not even be able to field a team this year, despite being the reigning BBL champions.
The other seven go unrepresented, and they are pretty big names. Cardiff, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, and yes, even London. And the league includes teams from Durham, Milton Keynes, Chester and Worcester.
The main issue appears to be sustainability. All the London franchises went bust a few years back, they have been joined by the Manchester Giants (once one of the league's biggest success stories) and two separate Birmingham teams.
So why can't the UK's biggest cities sustain basketball franchises? There are an awful lot of basketball fans in London, so surely filling a venue seating perhaps 2,000 people shouldn't be that difficult. But time and time again the BBL has proved that it is.
If the BBL is to succeed and prosper it needs more high profile events. I remember, as a Brighton Bears fan, a particularly sickening event in the BBL in which the Bears produced probably the media event of the decade for the league by signing Dennis Rodman for a few games.
Rodman played for the Bears and the rules were slightly contravened. Bears won a match against Guildford, and the win was subsequently over-turned and the Bears were fined. Utterly short-sighted by the BBL, punishing a team for helping basketball gain popularity nationwide.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Vinnie Darpino signs for Thunder
Worthing Thunder have added 5'9'' American point guard Vinnie Darpino to their roster. Darpino holds an Italian passport, and therefore counts as a European player. From YouTube videos he looks like an offensive-minded shooter/scorer who should be very exciting to watch.
Thunder's back-court now looks pretty decent; with a starting combo of Darpino and American shooting guard Chris Talley backed up by team captain James Brame. A genuine point guard next to him should allow Talley's sharpshooting to thrive in Worthing's offense, leaving plenty of holes in the defence for Courtney Small to drive through.
I'd still like to see Worthing sign an extra player, probably a big. But I think Darpino solidifies the lineup and will hopefully solve quite a few of the issues.
Thunder's back-court now looks pretty decent; with a starting combo of Darpino and American shooting guard Chris Talley backed up by team captain James Brame. A genuine point guard next to him should allow Talley's sharpshooting to thrive in Worthing's offense, leaving plenty of holes in the defence for Courtney Small to drive through.
I'd still like to see Worthing sign an extra player, probably a big. But I think Darpino solidifies the lineup and will hopefully solve quite a few of the issues.
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Worthing 75 - 79 Brixton Topcats
It was a disappointing night for the Thunder on Saturday, as they lost in close run affair with the Brixton Topcats. A late rally even gave Worthing a three point lead in the final quarter, but some shoddy decision making and lacklusture passing proved to be their ultimate un-doing.
The Thunder started poorly missing a number of open threes and turning the ball over. Courtney Small missed three (yes, three!) fast break dunks that could have been easily finished off as lay-ups. Worthing seemed to struggle to work the ball inside, and would often settle for outside shots, eventually connecting on just 5 from their 27 attempts from downtown.
A couple of strange refereeing decisions including a technical foul, and an apparent unsportsmanlike foul on James Brame, increased both the Thunder's frustration and Brixton's lead. Thunder seemed to be their own worst enemies, often throwing a sloppy pass or jacking up a tough shot, just as they were beginning to go on a run, which would inevitably lead to a fast break from the Topcats.
Things were looking bad in the third quarter, with Courtney Small in foul trouble and Francesco Amato on the bench, the Topcats stretched their lead to double figures. But Thunder finally got their act together in the fourth and despite still needlessly throwing the ball away on a few occasions, they managed to give themselves a 73-70 lead. In the last minute or so the Thunder slipped back into their old ways, turning the ball over, and taking ill-advised shots (including a bizarre panicked, long-range three from James Brame when the Thunder were down 2. It was as if the shot clock was at the last second and he thought he just had to throw the shot up). In the end the Topcats didn't win the match; the Thunder lost it.
Brixton played as expected; like a typical London team. The defense was constantly pressurising the ball-handlers, and Worthing's lack of a natural point guard became apparent. The Topcats ran double-teams and traps and forced the Thunder into a final tally of 18 turnovers.
The Topcats were led by a triangle offence; the aggressive drives of 6'4'' forward Sam Toluwase, the slashing and shooting of Arturo Noha-Pascual, and the inside presence of big Tom Adorian. These three combined for 66 of the Topcats 79 points, with Toluwase leading the way on 26.
Worthing were once again reliant on their main six, and it was slightly worrying that Courtney Small, and his 18-point performance, laced though it was with errors, was by far Thunder's most effective player.
Young Liam Mitchell once again impressed, although his defence was occasionally prone to over-aggressiveness, perhaps in an attempt to match the rough style of play employed by the South Londoners.
Captain James Brame, riled by some poor refereeing decisions, had a quiet and inconsequential night.
Greek big-mam Frankie Amato, is as strong as an ox and matched up well with Adorian, who scored the majority of his points with Amato sat on the bench. The Thunder didn't get the ball inside enough, were you feel Amato could have scored well.
American guard Chris Talley is yet to impress me in either of his performances I've seen. He can certainly shoot the ball (even though he was badly off today) but he's not a playmaker and can't create his own shot. In my humble opinion he doesn't give enough that an import guard should be looking to do.
Super-athletic Marcus Tullis had some nice blocks, and seemed to have a decent touch inside. Unfortunately my praise for him ends here. He never imposed himself on the game, despite being by far the most athletic big on the court. Too many of his points came from put-back layups. He attempted high risk moves and flashly passes constantly, even when he had failed to pull off previous ones. He forced a couple of threes beyond his range. It's still early in the season, but he needs to step up his game quickly and start playing to his strengths.
Okolie Ugbana and Dominic Baker played a small role, but were largely ineffectual.
It might be too early to judge, but I feel that Thunder need a couple more competant players who can give solid minutes, including a genuine point guard and a big. Either that, or the Americans need to start taking over the game in a way that only Canadian/Brit Courtney Small appears to be capable of so far.
The Thunder started poorly missing a number of open threes and turning the ball over. Courtney Small missed three (yes, three!) fast break dunks that could have been easily finished off as lay-ups. Worthing seemed to struggle to work the ball inside, and would often settle for outside shots, eventually connecting on just 5 from their 27 attempts from downtown.
A couple of strange refereeing decisions including a technical foul, and an apparent unsportsmanlike foul on James Brame, increased both the Thunder's frustration and Brixton's lead. Thunder seemed to be their own worst enemies, often throwing a sloppy pass or jacking up a tough shot, just as they were beginning to go on a run, which would inevitably lead to a fast break from the Topcats.
Things were looking bad in the third quarter, with Courtney Small in foul trouble and Francesco Amato on the bench, the Topcats stretched their lead to double figures. But Thunder finally got their act together in the fourth and despite still needlessly throwing the ball away on a few occasions, they managed to give themselves a 73-70 lead. In the last minute or so the Thunder slipped back into their old ways, turning the ball over, and taking ill-advised shots (including a bizarre panicked, long-range three from James Brame when the Thunder were down 2. It was as if the shot clock was at the last second and he thought he just had to throw the shot up). In the end the Topcats didn't win the match; the Thunder lost it.
Brixton played as expected; like a typical London team. The defense was constantly pressurising the ball-handlers, and Worthing's lack of a natural point guard became apparent. The Topcats ran double-teams and traps and forced the Thunder into a final tally of 18 turnovers.
The Topcats were led by a triangle offence; the aggressive drives of 6'4'' forward Sam Toluwase, the slashing and shooting of Arturo Noha-Pascual, and the inside presence of big Tom Adorian. These three combined for 66 of the Topcats 79 points, with Toluwase leading the way on 26.
Worthing were once again reliant on their main six, and it was slightly worrying that Courtney Small, and his 18-point performance, laced though it was with errors, was by far Thunder's most effective player.
Young Liam Mitchell once again impressed, although his defence was occasionally prone to over-aggressiveness, perhaps in an attempt to match the rough style of play employed by the South Londoners.
Captain James Brame, riled by some poor refereeing decisions, had a quiet and inconsequential night.
Greek big-mam Frankie Amato, is as strong as an ox and matched up well with Adorian, who scored the majority of his points with Amato sat on the bench. The Thunder didn't get the ball inside enough, were you feel Amato could have scored well.
American guard Chris Talley is yet to impress me in either of his performances I've seen. He can certainly shoot the ball (even though he was badly off today) but he's not a playmaker and can't create his own shot. In my humble opinion he doesn't give enough that an import guard should be looking to do.
Super-athletic Marcus Tullis had some nice blocks, and seemed to have a decent touch inside. Unfortunately my praise for him ends here. He never imposed himself on the game, despite being by far the most athletic big on the court. Too many of his points came from put-back layups. He attempted high risk moves and flashly passes constantly, even when he had failed to pull off previous ones. He forced a couple of threes beyond his range. It's still early in the season, but he needs to step up his game quickly and start playing to his strengths.
Okolie Ugbana and Dominic Baker played a small role, but were largely ineffectual.
It might be too early to judge, but I feel that Thunder need a couple more competant players who can give solid minutes, including a genuine point guard and a big. Either that, or the Americans need to start taking over the game in a way that only Canadian/Brit Courtney Small appears to be capable of so far.
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