2009–10 British Basketball League season

2009–10 BBL season British Basketball League Basketball Roll of Honour BBL Newcastle Eagles Play Off's Everton Tigers BBL Cup Sheffield Sharks BBL Trophy Newcastle Eagles List of British Basketball League seasons British Basketball League 2008–09 2010–11 The 2009–10 BBL season of the British Basketball League (BBL) was the 23rd season since the league's establishment in 1987. The regular season commenced on 25 September 2009, when Milton Keynes Lions claimed the first win of the season with a 94–81 victory in the opening game against Worcester Wolves. A total of 13 teams took to the court including new start-up franchise Essex Pirates, which was founded by Great Britain Under 20s coach Tim Lewis, and a newly rebranded Rocks team carrying the name of the city of Glasgow instead of their previous Scottish Rocks title. The League Championship came down to the final game of the season and was only claimed by Newcastle Eagles after Sheffield Sharks lost their last game, 97–95, to Worthing Thunder. Thunder's Evaldas Zabas' basket four seconds from the end meant that Newcastle had won the League even before taking to the court the following day. Everton Tigers concluded the season with victory in the play-offs despite being the lowest seed in all of their Play-off encounters. An 80–72 win against Glasgow in the final gave Tigers their first ever Play-off title, only two years after its foundation in 2007. Teams United Kingdom right 250 Locations of the 2009–10 BBL teams United Kingdom 53.196 -2.890 Jets bottom United Kingdom 51.553 0.737 Pirates bottom United Kingdom 53.385 -2.930 Tigers left United Kingdom 55.868494 -4.294044 Rocks left United Kingdom 51.24844 -0.56288 Heat left United Kingdom 52.62973 -1.13897 Riders right United Kingdom 51.54016 -0.23282 Capital left United Kingdom 51.997121 -0.723289 Lions right United Kingdom 54.963889 -1.623333 Eagles bottom United Kingdom 50.368889 -4.15 Raiders right United Kingdom 53.398333 -1.424444 Sharks right United Kingdom 52.19123 -2.222231 Wolves left United Kingdom 50.8163 -0.4982 Thunder left TeamCity/AreaArenaCapacityLast season Cheshire Jets Chester Northgate Arena 1,000 8th Essex Pirates Southend-on-Sea Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre 1,100 New Everton Tigers Liverpool Echo Arena & Greenbank Sports Academy 7,513 600 2nd Glasgow Rocks Glasgow Kelvin Hall 1,200 7th Guildford Heat Guildford Guildford Spectrum 1,100 4th Leicester Riders Leicester John Sandford Centre 800 3rd London Capital London Capital City Academy 300 12th Milton Keynes Lions Milton Keynes Bletchley Centre & Middleton Hall (thecentre:mk) 800 1,500 9th Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Metro Radio Arena 6,500 1st Plymouth Raiders Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions 1,480 5th Sheffield Sharks Sheffield English Institute of Sport 1,200 6th Worcester Wolves Worcester University of Worcester 600 10th Worthing Thunder Worthing Worthing Leisure Centre 1,000 11th Notable occurrences Essex Pirates were the latest addition to the BBL, bringing the number of teams up to 13 in total for the season. Paul Alton Hoop hope plan for Southend? http://www.echo-news.co.uk/sport/4349347.Hoop_hope_plan_for_Southend_/ 2009 2009-11-18 The Echo Due to a sponsorship agreement with Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Rocks rebranded as the Glasgow Rocks to support its hometown.Matthew Leslie Scottish Rocks transform into Glasgow Rocks ahead of new season http://www.theglaswegian.co.uk/glasgow-sport/glasgow-rocks/2009/08/17/scottish-rocks-transform-into-glasgow-rocks-ahead-of-new-season-102692-21603135/ 2009-11-30 The Glaswegian 2009 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20091213165744/http://www.theglaswegian.co.uk/glasgow-sport/glasgow-rocks/2009/08/17/scottish-rocks-transform-into-glasgow-rocks-ahead-of-new-season-102692-21603135/ 2009-12-13 In early November the Worcester Wolves franchise was thrown into turmoil after a Coach Chuck Evans' team talk lead to a much publicised racism row Michael Reeves Wolves Torn Apart in Racism Row http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/local/4793678.Black_coach___s_angry_views_destroy_basketball_team/ 2009 2010-03-23 Worcester News https://web.archive.org/web/20100226221209/http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/local/4793678.Black_coach___s_angry_views_destroy_basketball_team/ 2010-02-26 dead Michael Reeves Pupils Ask for Sporting Gesture to Save Stars http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.droitwichadvertiser.co.uk/resources/images/1134479/%3Ftype%3Ddisplay&imgrefurl=http://www.droitwichadvertiser.co.uk/worcester_news/4804029.Pupils_ask_for_sporting_gesture_to_save_stars/&h=215&w=310&sz=16&tbnid=uXqoU_Ogh55kFM:&tbnh=81&tbnw=117&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSkouson%2BHarker&usg=__wTO1UET9EdIVxS7-n9gglVmbR2c=&ei=JYCqS8zYIY_kNdXYsK8B&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=7&ct=image&ved=0CBMQ9QEwBg 2009 2010-03-23 Worcester News resulting in his resignation and the discipling and sacking of six players following a team strike. Michael Reeves Wolves in turmoil: Six sacked and Evans quits http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/sport/wolves/4765635.Wolves_in_turmoil__Six_sacked_and_Evans_quits/ 2009-12-01 Worcester News 2009 Michael Reeves Harker facing Wolves disciplinary meeting http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/sport/wolves/4766605.Harker_facing_Wolves_disciplinary_meeting/ 2010-03-20 Worcester News 2009 In response to this the League agreed to postpone Wolves' following five games until later dates, plus in accordance with the league's rules, the franchise had been fined an undisclosed amount. BBL Statement – Worcester Wolves http://www.bbl.org.uk/?bbl-statement-worcester-wolves,384 2009-12-01 British Basketball League 2009 Paul James marked his return to the League in December when he was appointed as Coach of the new-look Worcester Wolves, succeeding Chuck Evans. Michael Reeves Wolves snap up former England coach http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/sport/4780522.Wolves_snap_up_former_England_coach/ 2009-12-07 Worcester Wolves 2009 Following the scheduled demolition of the Bletchley Centre and delayed construction of their new venue, Milton Keynes Lions sought the use of an unusual facility as their home arena by renting floor space in thecentre:mk shopping mall. Middleton Hall played host to its first game on 12 January against Essex Pirates and would host a further nine games throughout the season. Lions roar into Middleton Hall http://www.businessmk.co.uk/news/cat/1/art/654/Lions-roar-into-Middleton-Hall.html 2010-11-02 BusinessMK 2009 Milton Keynes Lions forward Guy Dupuy was crowned winner of the 2010 BBL Slam Dunk contest on 17 January, beating Kadiri Richard in the final round. Mike Shaft Here comes the joy – The weekend http://www.mikeshaft.com/08CupFinaBlog%20pt2.html 2010-11-03 MikeShaft.com 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100131013655/http://www.mikeshaft.com/08CupFinaBlog%20pt2.html 2010-01-31 dead Cheshire Jets guard John Simpson failed an Anti-doping drugs test it was announced on 29 March, testing positive for marijuana. The player subsequently had his contract terminated by the club with immediate effect. Cheshire Jets guard John Simpson fails drugs test https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/basketball/8593042.stm 2010-11-02 BBC Sport March 29, 2010 BBL Championship (Tier 1) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1Newcastle Eagles363150.861622Sheffield Sharks363060.833603Glasgow Rocks3623130.638464Cheshire Jets3622140.611445Everton Tigers3621150.583426Leicester Riders3621150.583427Milton Keynes Lions3618180.500368Worthing Thunder3618180.500369Worcester Wolves3618180.5003610Plymouth Raiders3611250.3052211Guildford Heat3611250.3052212Essex Pirates367290.1941413London Capital363330.0836 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs Playoffs Quarter-finals #eee 23 April 2010 Newcastle Eagles 102 74 Worthing Thunder Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne 23 April 2010 Sheffield Sharks 104 93 Milton Keynes Lions English Institute of Sport, Sheffield #eee 25 April 2010 Glasgow Rocks 88 86 Leicester Riders Kelvin Hall, Glasgow 25 April 2010 Cheshire Jets 79 94 Everton Tigers Northgate Arena, Chester Semi-finals 1st leg #eee 30 April 2010 Sheffield Sharks 93 90 Glasgow Rocks English Institute of Sport, Sheffield 30 April 2010 Everton Tigers 95 79 Newcastle Eagles Greenbank Sports Academy, Liverpool Semi-finals 2nd leg #eee 1 May 2010 Newcastle Eagles 79 95 Everton Tigers Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne 2 May 2010 Glasgow Rocks 74 65 Sheffield Sharks Kelvin Hall, Glasgow Everton Tigers win 190-158 on aggregate and Glasgow Rocks won 164-158 on aggregate. Final #eee 8 May 2010 6.00pm GMT Report Glasgow Rocks 72 80 9-23 19-22 25-11 19-24 Everton Tigers Robert Yanders 15, Jessie Sapp 14, Mike Copeland 14, Sterling Davis 11, Gareth Murray 8, Michael Crowell 8, Steve Parillon 2 Trey Moore 22, Kevin Bell 18, James Jones 15, Olu Babalola 11, Andrew Thomson 8, Jerome Gumbs 4, Chris Haslam 2 National Indoor Arena, Birmingham EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Derby Trailblazers 22 17 5 0.773342 Manchester Magic 22 16 6 0.72732 3 Leeds Carnegie 22 16 6 0.72732 4 Bristol Academy Flyers 22 16 6 0.72732 5 Leicester Warriors 22 13 9 0.59126 6 London Mets 22 12 10 0.54524 7 Reading Rockets 22 12 10 0.54524 8 Taunton Tigers 22 12 10 0.54524 9 London Leopards 22 6 16 0.27312 10 Coventry Crusaders 22 5 17 0.22710 11 Tees Valley Mohawks 22 4 18 0.182812 City of Sheffield Arrows 22 3 19 0.1366 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3) Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Durham Wildcats 20 18 2 0.900362 Brixton TopCats 20 15 5 0.75030 3 Mansfield Giants 20 14 6 0.70028 4 Edmonton Storm 20 13 7 0.65026 5 Westminster Warriors 20 12 8 0.60024 6 Medway Park Crusaders 20 9 11 0.45018 7 Birmingham A's 20 8 12 0.40016 8 Glyndwr Nets 20 8 12 0.40016 9 Team Northumbria 20 8 12 0.40016 10 Plymouth Marjon Cannons 20 3 17 0.1506 11 University of Birmingham 20 2 18 0.1004 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs BBL Cup Due to the odd number of teams competing in the BBL Cup – 13 in total – the knockout tournament was structured with the Quarter-finals round featuring the winners of the five First round ties plus three teams given byes. The teams given bye's through the first round were the top-three placed teams from the 2008–09 season league campaign – Everton Tigers, Leicester Riders and Newcastle Eagles. First round #eee 16 October 2009 Milton Keynes Lions 79 75 Guildford Heat Bletchley Centre, Milton Keynes 17 October 2009 Essex Pirates 71 78 Worcester Wolves Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre, Southend #eee 17 October 2009 Plymouth Raiders 85 80 London Capital Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth 17 October 2009 Worthing Thunder 92 93 Sheffield Sharks Worthing Leisure Centre, Worthing #eee 25 October 2009 Glasgow Rocks 73 78 Cheshire Jets Northgate Arena, Chester Quarter-finals #eee 7 November 2009 Leicester Riders 96 87 Worcester Wolves John Sandford Centre, Leicester 7 November 2009 Plymouth Raiders 95 101 Milton Keynes Lions Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth #eee 8 November 2009 Cheshire Jets 64 61 Newcastle Eagles Northgate Arena, Chester 20 November 2009 Sheffield Sharks 99 90 Everton Tigers English Institute of Sport, Sheffield Semi-finals 1st leg #eee 27 November 2009 Milton Keynes Lions 88 84 Cheshire Jets Bletchley Centre, Milton Keynes 11 December 2009 Sheffield Sharks 86 74 Leicester Riders English Institute of Sport, Sheffield Semi-finals 2nd leg #eee 6 December 2009 Cheshire Jets 83 71 Milton Keynes Lions Northgate Arena, Chester 12 December 2009 Leicester Riders 78 81 Sheffield Sharks John Sanford Centre, Leicester Cheshire Jets won 167-159 on aggregate and Sheffield Sharks won 167-152 on aggregate. Final #eee 17 January 2010 3.30pm GMT Report Cheshire Jets 86 89 18-22 17-26 13-16 38-25 Sheffield Sharks James Hamilton 24, Chez Marks 22, Steven Gayle 11, Colin O'Reilly 11, Jerrah Young 9, Paul Peterson 7, Shawn Myers 2 Mike Cook 19, Ryan Patton 17, Michael Tuck 15, Tafari Toney 13, Atiba Lyons 8, Perry Lawson 7, Todd Cauthorn 6, Matthew Gorman 4 National Indoor Arena, Birmingham BBL Trophy For the 2009–10 season the Trophy saw a revamp in its format with the removal of the initial group stages in favour of a straight knockout tournament. All 13 members of the BBL were included plus three invitees from Division One of the English Basketball League, namely London Leopards, Manchester Magic and Reading Rockets. First round #eee 9 January 2010 Leicester Riders 72 74 Guildford Heat John Sandford Centre, Leicester 10 January 2010 Glasgow Rocks 69 60 Sheffield Sharks Kelvin Hall, Glasgow #eee 12 January 2010 Milton Keynes Lions 95 73 Essex Pirates Middleton Hall (thecentre:mk), Milton Keynes 17 January 2010 Manchester Magic 72 109 Worthing Thunder Amaechi Centre, Manchester #eee 20 January 2010 Plymouth Raiders 83 85 Worcester Wolves Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth 23 January 2010 London Capital 62 106 Everton Tigers Capital City Academy, London #eee 31 January 2010 Cheshire Jets 99 57 London Leopards Northgate Arena, Chester 10 February 2010 Reading Rockets 60 102 Newcastle Eagles Rivermead Leisure Complex, Reading Quarter-finals #eee 2 February 2010 Milton Keynes Lions 85 71 Worcester Wolves Middleton Hall (thecentre:mk), Milton Keynes 11 February 2010 Glasgow Rocks 87 88 Everton Tigers Kelvin Hall, Glasgow #eee 14 January 2010 Worthing Thunder 86 96 Newcastle Eagles Worthing Leisure Centre, Worthing 17 February 2010 Guildford Heat 72 79 Cheshire Jets Guildford Spectrum, Guildford Semi-finals 1st leg #eee 28 February 2010 Newcastle Eagles 89 85 Everton Tigers Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne 5 March 2010 Milton Keynes Lions 80 79 Cheshire Jets Middleton Hall (thecentre:mk), Milton Keynes Semi-finals 2nd leg #eee 5 March 2010 Everton Tigers 91 96 Newcastle Eagles Greenbank Sports Academy, Liverpool 14 March 2010 Cheshire Jets 102 68 Milton Keynes Lions Northgate Arena, Chester Newcastle Eagles won 185-176 on aggregate and Cheshire Jets won 181-148 on aggregate. Final #eee 21 March 2010 3.00pm GMT Report Newcastle Eagles 111 95 24-15 35-27 25-21 22-32 Cheshire Jets Charles Smith 27, Joe Chapman 21, Darius Defoe 21, Andrew Sullivan 17, Reggie Jackson 10, Andrew Bridge 7, Fab Flournoy 5, Lynard Stewart 2 Charles Smith, 9 Shawn Myers 28, Colin O'Reilly 18, Steven Gayle 14, Chez Marks 14, Paul Peterson 7, Jerrah Young 6, Calvin Davis 4, John Simpson 4 Shawn Myers, 14 Guildford Spectrum, Guildford All-Star Game #eee 9 May 2010 3.00pm GMT Great Britain All-Stars 94 110 25-26 31-21 17-29 21-34 Rest of the World All-Stars Tafari Toney, 23 Mike Cook, 31 National Indoor Arena, Birmingham Statistics leaders CategoryPlayerStatPoints per gameUSA Mike Cook (Sheffield Sharks) 26.8Rebounds per game USA Jason Johnson (Leicester Riders) 10.9Assists per game UK Anthony Martin (Plymouth Raiders) 7.3Steals per game USA Roderick Middleton (Worcester Wolves) 2.7Blocks per game USA Liberia Kadiri Richard (Worthing Thunder) 2.3 Monthly awards MonthCoachPlayerOctober UK Vince Macaulay (Milton Keynes Lions) USA Tack Minor (Leicester Riders)November USA UK Atiba Lyons (Sheffield Sharks) USA Mike Cook (Sheffield Sharks)December UK Tony Garbelotto (Everton Tigers) USA Mike Cook (Sheffield Sharks)January USA UK Atiba Lyons (Sheffield Sharks) USA Reggie Bratton (Worthing Thunder)February USA UK Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles) USA UK Tafari Toney (Sheffield Sharks)March USA UK Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles) USA Jason Johnson (Leicester Riders) Seasonal awards Most Valuable Player: Mike Cook (Sheffield Sharks) Coach of the Year: Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles) Team of the Year: Robert Yanders (Glasgow Rocks) Mike Cook (Sheffield Sharks) Charles Smith (Newcastle Eagles) Jason Johnson (Leicester Riders) Tafari Toney (Sheffield Sharks) Defensive Team of the Year: Reggie Jackson (Newcastle Eagles) Jessie Sapp (Glasgow Rocks) Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles) Andrew Sullivan (Newcastle Eagles) Tafari Toney (Sheffield Sharks) British Team of the Year: Perry Lawson (Sheffield Sharks) James Jones (Everton Tigers) Olu Babalola (Everton Tigers) Andrew Sullivan (Newcastle Eagles) Tafari Toney (Sheffield Sharks) References 2 2008–09 season 2010–11 season BBL seasons 2009–10 Category:British Basketball League seasons 1 British