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.

Saturday 1st October - Worthing Thunder vs Brixton Topcats

On Saturday at The ThunderDome (or Worthing Leisure Centre, to give its less-glamorous-but-technically-correct title) will host a match between the home town Worthing Thunder and one of London's finest and most well known clubs; the Brixton Topcats.

The Topcats are famous for having developing the youthful talents of current GB internationals Luol Deng, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Justin Robinson and Ogo Adegboye. Fortunately for the Thunder none of these 4 will be making an appearance on court, but the Topcats are likely to put out a strong side, brimming with the kind of confidence and aggression that is synonymous with London basketball.

With the Essex Pirates pulling out of the BBL, 6'4'' athletic forward Samuel Toluwase has moved back to his home hardwood of London. His raucous dunks and flashy style will serve as a talisman for the Topcats. However, there is no doubt that on paper Worthing will have the pick of the talent. Brixton are unlikely to field import players, relying wholly on locals.

The Topcats might lack "star power" as much, but Brixton are a stereotypical London team, and they are guaranteed to play defense with endless energy and enthusiasm making up for any gaps in talent. They wont punish Thunder from the outside, but they will be muscular and athletic, and Worthing will have to match their intensity from the tip-off.

Big men Tom Adorian and Laurie Lewis will be a force inside, and it will be up to Amato and Tullis to work their hardest and stop them. Ultimate I think Thunder's guards should have the better of the Topcats', but this will depend on who is on Brixton's teamsheet at the start of the game. 6'2'' veteran Marcus Knight was a Brixton player last season, and is consistently one of the best British players outside of the BBL. If he plays on Saturday, the Thunder will have really have to work hard.

Welcome to the 2011-2012 Season

The Thunder Chronicle tailed off completely last season when I got a job. This year I'm planning on doing a much better job.

Worthing have taken the step of moving from the BBL (Britain's professional basketball league) to EBL1, the top tier of the semi-professional leagues below. This seems to be a wise move for now, as the Thunder where getting thumped pretty badly last season, so a step down to re-group and re-evaluate seems a good idea.


I watched the first pre-season game, a close affair with understrength BBL side Guildford Heat, which Worthing won 100-87. But I missed the first game of the season proper; another win, this time against Bristol Academy Flyers.

From now on I should make most of the home games and might even catch an away fixture or two. We shall see.

Shortly I will complete a roster preview for the season. Then a preview for Worthing's next home game against Brixton Topcats.

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.