Past Reviews: September 05; October 05; November 05;

Christmas break, 2005

With so much to do every weekend just keeping up with the results, collating them and producing the tables, there's been less time than I had hoped for to review the weekly action in the EBL.

The mid-season break, then seems an opportune time to look back at the first half of the campaign, and forward to the months ahead.

EBL Division 1 Men

Division One is clearly in the throes of ushering in a new era, as a number of teams vie for superiority following the departure of Plymouth to the BBL, and the decline of Teesside. In a highly competitive division there are no fewer than six teams still in with a realistic chance of taking the title.

The race to fill this power vacuum involves not only some of the well-established teams, but also several relative newcomers ... hardly surprising when you consider that only four of the fourteen clubs were in this Division in the year 2000.

For instance, the current leaders, London United, are only in their third season in Division 1, and as recently as 2001-2 they were still two separate clubs, Ealing Tornados and North London Lords!

With just one League defeat (at Worthing at the beginning of December), and a place in the Trophy semi-finals, United are looking a good bet for silverware this season, and a good measure of their strength is that they held Guildford to double overtime in their BBL Trophy clash ... despite having five regular players missing due to injury or holidays!

Worthing Thunder are one of the more established teams, having been runners-up in the League twice, and having appeared in the Championship Final once, and the Trophy Final five times (with one win), but even they only came into existence in 1999, when the Worthing BBL club moved to Brighton, and the local fans bought the Stevenage franchise and moved it to the town.

Despite having only four of last season's players return (and having lost long-time favourite Gaylon Moore), the Thunder recruited well, and made a good start, led by Americans Alfredo Ott and Jonathan Woods, and English recruits such as Steve Vear, Nic OHarabe and (returned from Nottingham) Rani Malik, they have only lost two games, and are averaging over 100 points per game (with a high of 130 when they became the first team to beat London United!).

In third place in the table is a team which is only in its second season in the division - Worcester Wolves. Having surprised many by their fourth-place finish in their debut season, the Wolves, who had built their success on stability and continuity, found themselves facing the challenge posed by the retirement of Rick Solvason and Josh Cooprider, with the latter switching to a coaching role.

That challenge was made even greater when new American Mark White broke his ankle in training in August, and had to be replaced. Good recruitment, however, brought in Andy Harper as a replacement, while the signing of two Lithuanian players proved a stroke of genius (though Paulius Augulis returned home after only three games). The problems caused to opposing defences by the shooting ability of Valdas Urbonavicius has been matched only by the difficulty he's caused to those reporting scorers on the Voicemail, who have rendered his name variously as "Umbaloos" and, most recently, "Rubelanskis" ... not to mention "Urban...er... thingamybob".

The Wolves topped the table, unbeaten in their first five League starts, until mid-November, when Leopards ended that run (and then had the temerity to deny them a place in the Cup Final). From 5&0 Worcester slumped to 7&3 by mid-December, but they appear to have steadied again, and remain well in the contest for a top-four finish, and are still outside contenders for the League title.

The fourth team sharing top billing, with 16 points, Manchester Magic are virtually elder statesmen in the division, having won their place in the top division during the "clean sheet" reorganisation of 2000.

Manchester's greatest strength is also their biggest (competitive) weakness - that their major source of players is their excellent development programme. No sooner do their best youngsters graduate from their programme than they are off to College in the USA to further their development; either that or they move to College or University elsewhere in the UK, and join a different Senior team!

The result is a constantly revolving merry-go-round of players at Manchester, with Jeff Jones having to rebuild his senior squad every year or two. Inevitably this makes for a slow start to the campaign, and it showed in the Pool stage of the Trophy, but since the beginning of the League campaign the team has gelled, and a good run put them at the top of the table briefly, and with just three defeats they are still in the top four, though their title chances depend on how few matches they lose once the new year starts.

Last season's triple (League, Trophy and Championship) winners, City of Sheffield Arrows, are currently outside the top four, but they are only two points behind, and have two games in hand of both Worcester and Manchester.

The Arrows are another of the relative newcomers to the top flight. Just six years ago, while Manchester were winning Division 2, and promotion to the new Conference, Derbyshire Arrows, as they then were, finished last in Division 3. However, the capture of Garnet Gayle from NBL3 Champions Doncaster helped the Arrows to gain a place in the new Division 2 (the equivalent of today's EBL3) in the League re-organisation, and they proceeded to win that division and Div 1 in successive seasons, and only the lack of an adequate court (despite having moved to Chesterfield) prevented them from moving into the Conference. That had to wait until they won NBL1 again the following season, and, with a move to Sheffield's English Institute of Sport, they were accepted into the Conference - which, just to keep everyone confused, was promptly renamed EBL Division 1!

Slowing their momentum fractionally it took them two years to win the title there, but there is no doubt that last season they were the top team in the EBL. Three key players left in the Summer, though, and while the most high-profile was guard Ryan Patton, it strikes me that the loss of Todd Cauthorn (back to Sharks) and Mike Payne (retired) has hurt them more.

Garnet Gayle continues to be an excellent motivator of his team (as well as intimidator of the opposition ... not to mention the officials), and Adrian Anderson gives them a high-flying presence on the boards, and they have a solid core of English players, including newcomers James Sutton, Guy Renton and (most recently) David Passmore. What has kept them well in contention, though, has been the scoring form of new guard Noah Brown, who has only twice failed to score over 30 points this season. Despite Brown's scoring exploits, I'm not convinced that he's as good an all-round player as Patton, and with he and fellow-American Tucker Kain often hitting 70% of the team's points, I feel that the Arrows are vulnerable against the top teams this season.

Another team to have made major changes are Reading Rockets, another of the relative newcomers to be mounting a challenge. The Rockets have been so successful recently that it's difficult to still think of them as new arrivals, but the fact is that this is only their ninth season in the League - and only four of those were spent in rising to the top division! Last season's Cup Winners were very disappointed not to have retained their title, when they lost the Final in December, but they are still very handily placed in the League, and are now the only undefeated team in EBL1, four points behind the leaders with three games in hand.

They attributed their Cup Final defeat partly to the loss of Tomas Kersis through injury, and it will be interesting to see whether their League form also suffers from the continued absence of the Lithuanian. With players of the calibre of EJ Harrisson, Peder Madsen and Paul Tonkovich they still look nailed-on for another top-four finish, and are still likely to be in the final shake-up for the title.

One of the well-established teams, Coventry Crusaders, are level with Reading on points, but have played (and lost) four games more. Saved from relegation by the expansion of EBL1 to 14 teams, the Crusaders looked set for another season of struggle, following the loss of four key players during and after last season. Inspired recruitment, however, brought in Jeremiah Hamlett, Sam Oatman and Marcin Twierdzinski, and the scoring of these three has made a huge contribution to their mid-table respectability. They are well off the pace for a top four finish, but look good for a re-appearance in the play-offs.

Also in mid-table are the erratic Essex & Herts Leopards, who can raise their game for the big occasion (as they showed by lifting the National Cup), but seem to have more difficulty finding consistency in the League.

The Leopards are either a very new team, or a very long-established one, depending on your viewpoint. Last season I still though of them as the successors to Ware Rebels, whose franchise they took over, but this year they no longer play any matches at Ware's old home of Wodson Park, and are based purely in Essex, at Brentwood and Goresbrook, and I now tend to view them as wither a totally new outfit, or (as they probably consider themselves) as successors to the old Leopards.

They have an excellent squad, with key English players such as Steve Ogunjimi and Errol Seaman, but the key to their recent success appears to have been the acquisition of guard Demetrice Williams. They may be off the pace at the moment, but if they can string together a run of good results they could still challenge for a top four finish.

Just as there are six teams involved in a close contest at the top of the table, so there are six others engaged in a no-less intense tussle at the other end, with just one or two victories apiece.

Currently leading the pack are Kingston Wildcats, who have a relatively stable squad, with mainly English players. Australian Nathan Selsby is proving their go-to player as they bid to avoid a third successive finish in the bottom two.

Solent Stars also have just two victories, and have slipped badly with eight defeats since the euphoria of winning their first two games! A leading BBL team in the 1980s, Solent have been in the top EBL (or NBL) division since 1992, with just one season in Division 2, and were NBL1 Champions as recently as 1999. Most of their energy these days goes into their massive development programme, which involves successful teams at every age-group, and sees them also running a second senior team, in EBL3 (as well as a top-division Women's team). This laudable policy has nonetheless resulted in a weakening of the division 1 team, and for the last two seasons they have only finished outside the bottom two on results' count-back against Kingston.

Their good start this season faltered when 6'8" Paul Davies became "unavailable" (which I suspect is spin for "refused to play"), and Aurtralian import Marcus Ch'ng has now been released. Although they have a good, solid English contingent of players, they look set to continue to struggle unless they can bring in at least one import to pose a genuine threat to opposition teams.

The third team with two victories is PAWS London Capitals, who are another of the newcomers, in only their second season in the top flight. Previously known as North-West London, until their promotion in 2003, the Capitals have an excellent English squad, with Ibrahim Gariba the outstanding player; American Jesse McCue, originally signed to boost the younger players in their EBL3 team, now appears to have become a fixture in the first team squad.

Two recent wins have lifted the Capitals off the foot of the table, but it is noticeable that several of their narrow defeats have occurred when Gariba (who is keen to play as often as possible, to boost his playing record for entry to American College) has also played an earlier game for the second team - sometimes at a different venue!

Newly-promoted Kings Lynn Fury have not struggled as badly as some had feared, although they have just one victory so far. They have a good organisation, and a stable squad, but have found the step up to the top division to be a big one, especially without any import players. Their only import, earlier in the season, was coach Dan Taylor, previously assistant coach of Atlanta Hawks in the NBA, but he has left (I suspect he found it difficult to come to terms with the part-time nature of the game here) and James Bamfield has reverted to the player-coach role he has filled so successfully in the past.

Their hard work in taking top-flight basketball to East Anglia for the first time deserves some reward, and February will be a massive month for them, when they have three home games, and two away fixtures, against fellow-members of the bottom six. If they are to escape the bottom two they will need to make the most of those fixtures.

Surprise strugglers this year are the Teesside Mohawks, recent winners of three League titles, four Championships and five (consecutive) National Trophies. The Mohawks are very much in a transition phase, with a young, and developing squad, eight of whom are new this season, but with just a single victory so far they need to begin to put together some consistent performances if they are not to face the almost-unthinkable prospect of dropping down a division.

At the foot of the table, Nottingham Knights' amazing successes of the past two seasons (successive Division 3 and Division 2 titles, along with the Patron's Cup and Division 2 Championship) are rapidly fading into distant memory. A close-knit, family-run club, the Knights' biggest problem appears to be holding onto players. Having lost five of last year's squad during the close-season (with the biggest blow being Sam Attah's move to College in California), Nottingham have seen the departure this season of two short-stay Americans, and two English players (including the influential Dave Passmore).

They still have a solid core of players such as Bud Johnston, Tristan Lawson and Williamz Omope, with excellent new recruits Stefan Gill, Anthony Haase and Abraham Traore, while player-coach Mike Griffith brings much needed focus and stability when he takes the court. The team's work ethic is second to none, but if they are to avoid slipping back whence they came they need to avoid the frequent absence of key players, and to begin to build a support-base at their new Trent University venue - and that will only come if they begin to string together a few victories. 

The current standard in Division 1 makes me wonder whether we can yet support a 14 team League, and cruel though it may seem, I would favour dropping three teams at the end of the season, while promoting just one. It won't happen, though.

EBL Division 2 Men

If the top of Division 1 is congested, then Division 2 is the most competitive of all the Divisions, with five teams having three defeats, and three others four. The leadership of the division appears to change hands on a weekly basis.

Leading the table into the New Year are Derby Trailblazers, who have brought a welcome return of basketball to the Moorways Centre, following their promotion last season, after winning Division 3 North.  

West Herts Warriors finished third in this division last season (their best position ever), and were among the clear pre-season favourites for this season's title, after declining promotion. They have overcome the departure of Christiaan ter Steege, and, having recently recruited the vastly experienced Neil McElduff as Assistant Coach, they are well-placed to continue their title-challenge after the break.

Northampton Neptunes are relative old-stagers in this division, in their third season back after playing in NBL2 (EBL3) for three years after taking over the old Northampton '89ers franchise in 2000. The return, to his home town, of Ross Carlton, together with the acquisition of Simon Taylor (from Colchester) towards the end of last season, has added to the proven scoring ability of Mark Spatcher and Joe Reynoso, and there will be a clear pointer to the second half of the season when the Neptunes host West Herts in their first post-Christmas game.

Level with these three are Leicester Warriors, whose success is based very much on their away form, having won only 1 of 3 matches at home, but 5 of 6 on the road! If player/coach Drew Barrett can get his charges to perform on their home court they will continue to pose a potent threat.

The fifth team with three defeats are Liverpool (the only team in the entire league without a nickname), who are the most experienced team in this Division, having been there since 1992, apart from one season in Division 1 and one in Division 3. Postponements leave them four points off the pace, and they will need to win their two games in hand to stay firmly in contention. They have, however, lost all three of the four games (two at home and one away) against rival title-contenders, and, without a game on the first weekend of 2006, they may find that fixture congestion hampers their push for the top.

Last season's runners-up, Mansfield Express, are in fifth place, but only two points off the leaders. They still have the majority of the team which ran Nottingham so close last season, and the signing of David Watts (ex-SNC), who played in Belgium last year, gave them a huge boost. They have still not recovered fully, though, from the loss of scoring sensation Drew DeMuth, who broke his foot before last season's play-offs, and their only success against the four teams above them was at Northampton in early December. Realistically they could do with a top-class import player before they meet any of their title rivals in the second half of the season.

Tamar Valley Cannons finished last season in last place, and were only reprieved from relegation when Solent II declined promotion from division 3. This time, however, they find themselves level with Mansfield, and still in contention for a top-four finish, having already won one more game than in the whole of the previous campaign. This has been achieved despite the loss of captain Matt Peard to Plymouth II. Myron Riley's move in the opposite direction has proved an astute signing, as has that of Deng Deng, while newcomer Joe Macleod and recent signing Masai Zebe-Chaka have enhanced the Cannons' firepower. They have yet to beat any of the other teams in the top seven, however, and they have a tough start to 2006, when they visit Leicester and thenhost the difficult local derby against Plymouth, if they are to maintain aspirations of breaking into the top four.

The final team in the top eight, with just four defeats, are newly-promoted Aston Athletics, but they have played a game less than most of the teams above them, and have an even 4&4 record. With home victories over Northampton and Mansfield they have shown that they can be highly competitive, but if they are to challenge for more than a mere play-off place they need greater consistence, and they still have to visit four of the top five inn the second half of the season; they must make the most of their visit to Bath on the first weekend.

Having lost Simon Taylor to Northampton, and their financial support from the football club, Colchester United may have been expected to struggle this season. However, Julian Keeling and Leroy Manhertz continue to keep the points stacking up, and the signing of Nick Wookey, from Bath, has helped to compensate for the loss of Taylor. Having beaten West Herts at home, and Derby away, they should be better placed, but lack of consistency has left them outside the play-off places, with just three wins. Eight of their remaining fourteen fixtures are at home, and if they can pick up a result on the first weekend, when they visit NEWI, they should still be well placed to mount a play-off challenge.

Plymouth Raiders II took the Division 3 West title last season, but they have had a considerable number of personnel changes, with many of the new players being (I suspect) graduates from their highly successful development programme. A key recruit has been Jean Wakenena, from Hackney, but I suspect that their competitiveness will depend on whether Jamie Burchell and Anthony Rowe (both of whom also play for Raiders' first team) are available. It's noticable that their home record is good (including victories over Leicester and Northampton), but they have only won once on the road. They begin the year with two games which will point the way for the rest of their campaign - at home to Derby followed by the short trip (within the city) to Tamar.

Also with just three victories from nine starts are Team Bath Romans, who were in EBL1 just two seasons ago. Now, however, they find themselves locked together with Colchester and Plymouth in the tussle to either break into the play-offs ... or avoid the prospect of a drop into Division Three! Having lost several players in the close-season, the Romans are clearly in a rebuilding phase, and they will be looking forward to playing in the new facility at Bath University ... especially as they have lost all five of their home matches so far (though they did take Northampton to overtime). Those five defeats, however, included four against teams in the top six, and they will be looking to make a good start to the new year when they host Aston on the first weekend.

Newly promoted NEWI Nets find themselves marooned at the foot of the table, four points adrift of the teams above them, after winning just once before Christmas. That victory, though, was a resounding 92 - 56 success at home to Plymouth, and they must look for that kind of form as they begin 2006 by playing host to Colchester. Defeat in that match would leave them contemplating the very real possibility of an early return to Division 3.

EBL Division 3 Men