2010–11 British Basketball League season
| 2010–11 BBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | British Basketball League |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Roll of Honour | |
| BBL champions | Mersey Tigers |
| Play Off's champions | Mersey Tigers |
| BBL Cup champions | Sheffield Sharks |
| BBL Trophy champions | Mersey Tigers |
The 2010–11 BBL season was the 24th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. This season saw the league reduced to 12 teams with the withdrawal of London Capital during the summer and was the first campaign ever to not feature a club from the capital city London.[1]
Unlike previous seasons the
National Indoor Arena
in Birmingham.
Newly rebranded
MVP award
.
Teams
Locations of the 2010–11 BBL teams
| Team | City/Area | Arena | Capacity | Last season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cheshire Jets
|
Chester | Northgate Arena | 1,000 | 4th |
| Essex Pirates | Southend-on-Sea | Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre | 1,100 | 12th |
Glasgow Rocks
|
Glasgow | Kelvin Hall | 1,200 | 3rd |
Guildford Heat
|
Guildford | Surrey Sports Park
|
1,000 | 11th |
| Leicester Riders | Leicester | John Sandford Centre | 800 | 6th |
| Mersey Tigers | Liverpool | Echo Arena
|
7,513 | 5th |
Milton Keynes Lions
|
Milton Keynes | MK Lions Arena | 1,400 | 7th |
| Newcastle Eagles | Newcastle upon Tyne | Sport Central | 3,000 | 1st |
| Plymouth Raiders | Plymouth | Plymouth Pavilions | 1,480 | 10th |
| Sheffield Sharks | Sheffield | English Institute of Sport | 1,200 | 2nd |
| Worcester Wolves | Worcester | University of Worcester | 600 | 9th |
| Worthing Thunder | Worthing | Worthing Leisure Centre | 1,000 | 8th |
Notable occurrences
- After a season-long review which evaluated both the on and off-court performance of the franchise, it was announced prior to the season opening that English Basketball League.[2]
- Following Echo Arena would serve as their home venue for the first eight home games of the season.[3]
- With further delays added to the Milton Keynes Lions sought to solve their on-going venue problems by acquiring a warehouse facility in downtown Milton Keynes to convert into a new home venue. The Lions used a court at Stoke Mandeville until the new facility – MK Lions Arena – opened midway through the season.[4][5]
- Aside from Tigers and Milton Keynes, two other franchises uprooted and moved to new venues for the start of the season. After 15 years of playing out of the Surrey Sports Park after 5 years at the Guildford Spectrum.[7]
- The season started with a differing structure from previous years with the campaign tipping-off with the opening rounds of the BBL Trophy instead of regular season championship games. The decision gained a mixed reaction from coaches, with many of whom using the games as warm-ups for the regular season.[8]
- After several years without television coverage, the League announced on 20 October that a deal had been struck with leading broadcaster Sky Sports to screen one "as live" game a week starting from 2 November, including a live broadcast of the BBL Cup Final.[9]
- The Guildford Heat franchise was put up for sale amid a shortfall of funding, it was revealed in December, with the price of the club valued at just £1.[12][13]
- In a bid to save the Guildford franchise from folding, fans of the club launched a campaign to raise £25,000 in 25 days throughout January.[14]
- It was announced in January 2011 that this season's Trophy Final would be held at New Jersey Nets game being played in March.[15]
- The League announced in January that an agreement had been reached with clothing company Franklin & Marshall to sponsor the BBL Trophy Final, which would be held in March at the O2 Arena as part of the NBA's 'Basketball Week'.[16]
- Sheffield Sharks retained the BBL Cup with a massive 93–66 win over Mersey Tigers in the Final at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on 16 January 2011. Sharks' American import Steve Dagostino scored 35 points and was named as the game's MVP.[17] The game was broadcast live on Sky Sports.[18]
- Newcastle's Kadiri Richard was crowned 2011 Slam Dunk Champion, after pipping second-place Stefan Gill (Milton Keynes) to win the annual Slam Dunk Competition on 16 January, at the National Indoor Arena.[19]
- Surrey-based businesswoman Allison Reeve bought out the financially troubled Guildford Heat franchise in January, becoming the League's first female owner,[20] and saving the franchise from 'imminent closure'.[21]
- It was revealed by the media in February that Mersey Tigers had failed to pay wages to players and staff due to ongoing financial difficulties.[22] The club released a statement about the situation, citing loss of two major sponsors and debts from previous ownership as the main reasons for its decision to delay salary payments and to relocate to temporary home venues in Liverpool and Manchester.[23]
- Essex Pirates' 90–94 overtime victory at Worthing Thunder, on 19 February, was their first and only win of the season.[24]
- Mersey Tigers claimed their first Franklin & Marshal Trophy title with an 84–66 victory over Guildford Heat on 5 March, at the O2 Arena in London. Tigers' Andrew Thomson scored a game-high 21 points, whilst Andrew Sullivan was awarded the Final's MVP award.[25]
- The Championship title came down to the final game of the season, played out between Mersey Tigers and Newcastle Eagles at Sport Central on 6 April. The winner of the game would be crowned Champions and after a close contest Mersey claimed their first championship title with an 80–75 victory.[26] Mersey were the first all-British qualified side to win the title in the BBL's 23-year history.[27]
- Following the end of the regular season, Worthing Thunder officials confirmed that, due to financial problems, they would be withdrawing the franchise from the BBL immediately and have entered the English Basketball League for the forthcoming season.[28]
- At the end of the season, long-serving veteran Tony Windless announced his retirement from playing basketball at the age of 41, after a career that saw him play all but two of his 16 professional seasons in the BBL, debuting with London Towers in 1994 and winning every major domestic prize.[29]
- Newcastle's Trey Moore was crowned as the Basketball Journalists Association's (BJA) BBL Player of the Year, despite being ruled out by injury in March. Tony Garbelotto of Mersey Tigers, was awarded Coach of the Year.[30]
- In the annual NIA All-Star Game, the Rest of the World All-Stars ran out 119–115 winners over the Great Britain All-Stars at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham on 30 April. Newcastle's Kadiri Richard, playing for the Rest of the World All-Stars, was awarded the MVP title after scoring 14 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.[31]
- Despite going through most of the season with unpaid wages,[32] Mersey Tigers reached the Play-off Final for the second consecutive year and beat Sheffield Sharks 79–74 to take the BBL Play-off title, their third piece of silverware this season. James Jones was named as the Final's MVP.[33]
BBL Championship (Tier 1)
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mersey Tigers | 33 | 25 | 8 | 0.758 | 50 |
| 2 | Newcastle Eagles | 33 | 24 | 9 | 0.727 | 48 |
| 3 | Sheffield Sharks | 33 | 24 | 9 | 0.727 | 48 |
| 4 | Cheshire Jets |
33 | 20 | 13 | 0.606 | 40 |
| 5 | Plymouth Raiders | 33 | 19 | 14 | 0.576 | 38 |
| 6 | Glasgow Rocks |
33 | 18 | 15 | 0.545 | 36 |
| 7 | Guildford Heat |
33 | 17 | 16 | 0.515 | 34 |
| 8 | Leicester Riders | 33 | 17 | 16 | 0.515 | 34 |
| 9 | Worcester Wolves | 33 | 15 | 18 | 0.455 | 30 |
| 10 | Milton Keynes Lions |
33 | 13 | 20 | 0.394 | 26 |
| 11 | Worthing Thunder | 33 | 5 | 28 | 0.152 | 10 |
| 12 | Essex Pirates | 33 | 1 | 32 | 0.030 | 2 |
| = League winners | |
| = Qualified for the play-offs |
Playoffs
Quarter-finals 1st leg
Quarter-finals 2nd leg
Cheshire Jets won series on aggregate (177–164), as did Mersey Tigers (181–176), Newcastle Eagles (192–180) and Sheffield Sharks
(162–156).Semi-finals 1st leg
Semi-finals 2nd leg
Mersey Tigers won 165–143 on aggregate and Sheffield Sharks won 166–154 on aggregate.
Final
30 April 2011
4.00pm GMT |
| Mersey Tigers | 79–74 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Scoring by quarter: 23–17, 19–18, 12–13, 25–26 | ||
Pts: Tafari Toney 19, James Jones (MVP) 15, Nate Reinking 12, David Aliu 11, Andrew Thomson 8, Jamal Williams 8, Perry Lawson 3, Andrew Sullivan 1 , 4Rebs: Tafari Toney, 13 Asts: Andrew Thomson |
Pts: Mike Tuck/Atiba Lyons , 2 | |
National Indoor Arena , Birmingham |
EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bristol Academy Flyers
|
18 | 15 | 3 | 0.833 | 30 |
| 2 | London Leopards | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0.778 | 28 |
| 3 | Reading Rockets | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0.667 | 24 |
| 4 | Leeds Carnegie | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0.556 | 20 |
| 5 | Brixton TopCats | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0.444 | 16 |
| 6 | Manchester Magic | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0.389 | 14 |
| 7 | Durham Wildcats | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0.389 | 14 |
| 8 | Derby Trailblazers | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0.333 | 12 |
| 9 | Leicester Warriors | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0.333 | 12 |
| 10 | PAWS London Capital | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0.278 | 10 |
| 11 | Coventry Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 |
| = League winners | |
| = Qualified for the play-offs |
EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradford Dragons | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0.850 | 34 |
| 2 | Tees Valley Mohawks | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0.800 | 32 |
| 3 | Medway Park Crusaders
|
20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 4 | Westminster Warriors | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 5 | Hemel Storm | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0.600 | 24 |
| 6 | London United | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0.550 | 22 |
| 7 | Eastside Eagles | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0.550 | 22 |
| 8 | Team Northumbria | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 9 | Mansfield Giants | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0.300 | 12 |
| 10 | City of Sheffield Arrows
|
20 | 2 | 18 | 0.100 | 4 |
| 11 | Birmingham A's
|
20 | 1 | 19 | 0.050 | 2 |
| = League winners | |
| = Qualified for the play-offs |
BBL Cup
1st round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals 1st leg
Semi-finals 2nd leg
Mersey Tigers win 204–182 on aggregate and Sheffield Sharks won 204–165 on aggregate.
Final
16 January 2011
3.30pm GMT |
| Mersey Tigers | 66–93 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Scoring by quarter: 10–20, 15–31, 21–23, 20–19 | ||
Pts: David Aliu 21, Drew Sullivan 17, Andrew Thomson 9, Jamal Williams 8, Tafari Toney 7, Sam Bogucki 2, James Jones 2 , 2Rebs: Andrew Thomson, 8 Asts: Andrew Sullivan/Perry Lawson |
Pts: Steve Dagostino 35, Mike Tuck 18, Olu Babalola 14, Paul Williams 8, Marcus Stout 7, Ryan Patton 5, Atiba Lyons 4, Adrian Anderson 2 Rebs: Olu Babalola, 5 Asts: Olu Babalola, 4 | |
National Indoor Arena , Birmingham |
Franklin & Marshall Trophy
Group stage
|
Group 1
Group 3
|
Group 2
Group 4
|
Semi-finals 1st leg
Semi-finals 2nd leg
Guildford Heat win 172–159 on aggregate and Mersey Tigers
won 204–182 on aggregate.Final
5 March 2011
1.30pm GMT |
Guildford Heat |
66–84 | Mersey Tigers |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–20, 19–16, 8–29, 21–19 | ||
Pts: Carlos Medlock 18, Julius Joseph 14, Michael Martin 10, Ralph Hegamin 9, Martelle Mclemore 9, Tayo Ogedegebe 4, Dean Williams 2 , 4Rebs: Tomas Janusauskas, 5 Asts: Carlos Medlock |
Pts: Andrew Thomson 21, Andrew Sullivan 16, Tafari Toney 13, Nate Reinking 12, David Aliu 10, James Jones 8, Jamal Williams 3, Perry Lawson 1 Rebs: Tafari Toney, 9 Asts: Andrew Sullivan, 8 | |
O2 Arena , London |
NIA All-Star Game
30 April 2011
1.30pm GMT |
| Great Britain All-Stars | 115–119 | Rest of the World All-Stars |
National Indoor Arena , Birmingham |
Statistics leaders
| Category | Player | Stat |
|---|---|---|
Points per game |
 Trey Moore (Newcastle Eagles) |
23.0 |
| Rebounds per game | Cheshire Jets ) |
10.2 |
| Assists per game | Trey Moore (Newcastle Eagles) |
6.1 |
| Steals per game | Milton Keynes Lions ) |
2.8 |
| Blocks per game |  Kadiri Richard (Newcastle Eagles) |
1.36 |
Monthly awards
| Month | Coach | Player |
|---|---|---|
| October |  Tony Garbelotto (Mersey Tigers) |
Trey Moore (Newcastle Eagles)
|
| November | Guildford Heat ) |
Andrew Sullivan (Mersey Tigers)
|
| December | Gavin Love (Plymouth Raiders) |
Chez Marks (Plymouth Raiders)
|
| January | Glasgow Rocks ) |
Trey Moore (Newcastle Eagles)
|
| February |  Rob Paternostro (Leicester Riders) |
Milton Keynes Lions )
|
| March | Tony Garbelotto (Mersey Tigers) |
Reggie Jackson (Newcastle Eagles)
|
Seasonal awards
- Cheshire Jets)
- Molten Coach of the Year:[35] Tony Garbelotto (Mersey Tigers)
- Team of the Year:[36]
- Trey Moore (Newcastle Eagles)
- Cheshire Jets)
- Charles Smith (Newcastle Eagles)
- Cheshire Jets)
- Andrew Sullivan (Mersey Tigers)
- Defensive Team of the Year:[37]
- Reggie Jackson (Newcastle Eagles)
- Milton Keynes Lions)
- Andrew Sullivan (Mersey Tigers)
- Kadiri Richard (Newcastle Eagles)
- Tafari Toney (Mersey Tigers)
- British Team of the Year:[38]
References
- ^ "PAWS London Capital booted out of the BBL". Hoopsfix.com. 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ "PAWS London Capital booted out of the BBL". Hoopsfix.com. 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ James Pearce (2010). "Tony Garbelotto is relishing a new era for Mersey Tigers". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ BBC (9 September 2010). "Milton Keynes Lions set for warehouse home". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ BBL (2010). "Lions find new den". BBL.org.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ Mark Douglas (2010). "Newcastle Eagles fly to a new nest". Newcastle Journal. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ "Heat move to Surrey Sports Park". Surrey Sports Park. 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ Mark Woods (2010). "Early tip-off leaves coaches cold". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ Sam Neter (2010). "BBL confirms deal with Sky Sports". Hoopsfix. Archived from the original on 25 October 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ Mark Woods (2010). "Cheshire's Schneck banned after dope test". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ Alec Doyle (2011). "Cheshire Jet's Matt Schneck determined to return a better player than before as ban runs out". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2010). "Guildford Heat up for sale". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Chris Dyke (2010). "Cash injection plea to save Guildford Heat". GetSurrey. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Heat not ready to flame out". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Trophy final to switch to O2 Arena". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ "Franklin & Marshall Sponsor the BBL Trophy Final at the O2 Arena". BBL. 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Sharks claw Tigers to retain Cup". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Sam Neter (2010). "BBL confirms deal with Sky Sports". Hoopsfix. Archived from the original on 25 October 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ "KD crowned Dunk champion". BBL. 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Chris Dyke (2011). "Guildford Heat saved by local businesswoman". GetSurrey. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Colm Heaney (2011). "BBL team appeals for funds". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Reality bites as Mersey hit troubled waters". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ "Statement from the club". Mersey Tigers. 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ "Worthing Thunder 90–94 Essex Pirates (OT)". BBL. 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Rob Dugdale (2011). "Guildford Heat 66–84 Mersey Tigers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Mersey Tigers survive epic to take BBL title". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ BBC (2011). "Mersey Tigers win BBL Championship title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Worthing Thunder confirm BBL exit". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Leicester's Blunt, Windless call time". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Eagles' Trey Moore heads honours list". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Mersey reign supreme". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Mersey Tigers intent on final glorious hurrah". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Mersey reign supreme". MVP 24–7. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ "Home Page".
- ^ "Home Page".
- ^ "Home Page".
- ^ "Home Page".
- ^ "Home Page".