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.
Showing posts with label Guildford Heat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guildford Heat. Show all posts
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Monday, 4 October 2010
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
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
Sunday, 26 September 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, 16 September 2010
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
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
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