The UK Basketball Hub

Leicester Riders guard Deanne Hayward has been crowned Molten WBBL Player of the Month. The Scot was part of the Riders team that had a perfect November. Hayward has been on fire with 18 points per game returning 60% from the field and was second in the WBBL from behind the three-point line. She was also the best free-throw shooter and recorded 3.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. Riders’ coach Krumesh Patel was also named the Molten WBBL Coach of the Month.

Worcester Wolves head coach Paul James has praised former GB captain Drew Sullivan following his retirement from the game. Sullivan - who made over 100 appearances for his country - announced his decision earlier this year. He led a team to victory one more time yesterday with London beating the World 89-84 in his testimonial. Paul James coach of the Worcester Wolves, has come up against Sullivan as a coach a number of times over the years and says he has a lasting legacy on the British game. James said: "I think he has been phenomenal for the British game, the ultimate professional. I haven't really had the pleasure to work with Drew, but to see the way he handled himself on and off the court, you could see he was very serious about his basketball and his success has happened because of that. "He's won many championships and for sure he has been a real leader on and off the court, for anybody that has worked with him. "It's sad to see such a...

GB basketball legend and former captain Drew Sullivan has retired from the sport of basketball. The two time MVP and the Great Britain Olympic Captain has announced his retirement from basketball as one of the most successful player in BBL history.  Sullivan played in over 300 BBL games in his 12 seasons of play in the BBL as well as time in Europe throughout his career. He said:  “I have been playing basketball for over two decades, “I have had an amazing time representing my county, some amazing clubs and playing here [Leicester] for the five seasons but today I am announcing my retirement. “It is bitter sweet as I enjoy playing here for this club so much but it has to happen at some stage and the time is right and I look forward to starting the next chapter of my life.  “There have been some amazing moments, representing Great Britain at the Olympics and play in London a stone’s throw from where I grew up with family and friends able to w...

Jelson Homes have agreed to extend their sponsorship of the Leicester Riders into a seventh season, as the BBL Champions start the countdown to the new season, which will tip off at home to Birmingham Knights in just over a week.   Jelson Homes’ sponsorship of the Riders has coincided with their most consistent form in their long history, culminating last season in Rider’s first ever league Championship, along with wins in the BBL Cup and the BBL Playoff Final. Managing Director Robert Jelley of Jelson Homes said, “We are absolutely delighted to extend our partnership with the Riders, who are an enormous asset to the city and county.  "We have seen continued progress in the development of the club, both on and off the court, and we are proud to have played our part." "What gives us greatest satisfaction is the tremendous work Riders do in schools and with youth groups, inspiring young people in all our communities to play sport and adopt a healthy life style. ...

         V The Wolves and the Riders have both got off to convincing starts in the BBL with the both teams facing 'new' opposition in the Birmingham Knights and Surrey United respectively. The Wolves managed a massive 117-60 win away in Surrey while the Riders crushed the Knights 90-56 at the John Sandford Centre. The Worcester Wolves recently moved into a brand new arena and will be playing their first BBL game in the arena in Friday's showdown. Colin Taylor, the press officer for Worcester is looking forward to the clash against last seasons BBL champions. He said: "This will be the biggest crowd for a basketball game in Worcester ever, and they can play a big part." "We have a nice rivalry with Leicester in terms of location, but the way the team has come together, we can have a rivalry in terms of ability as well." "It would be a big statement to beat them, we see ourselves as a team wh...

The Leicester Riders were by far and away the best team and biggest success in the BBL during the 2012-13 season. The Riders managed to finish top of the BBL ladder with three defeats in total, also winning the BBL Cup and Play-offs while losing in the BBL Trophy Final. Rob Paternostro is the mastermind behind the triumph, and the Riders head coach isn't sure what next season will bring. He said: "You go into every season with a little bit of unknown, you have to become familiar with new players and familiar with teams who have a lot of new players." "The BBL is difficult to predict until your team has played and until you have seen other teams play as you don't know how the players will adapt." "This season is wide open and that is a nice thing for the league and the good thing about the BBL, many teams will have a change of personality and high hopes." Paternostro was tight-lipped when it came to his prediction for the new season but...

From the 26th August 2013 The UK Basketball Hub brings you: 'THE BIG BBL PREVIEW!' We will be speaking to someone from every team, trying to cover all angles as the new BBL season starts in a month or so! The Birmingham Knights are new to the BBL, how are they shaping up? The London Lions moved to the Copper Box, are they moving into the big leagues now? The Durham Wildcats and Surrey Heat have changed coach, good or bad move? The Newcastle Eagles want to be back on top, can they do it? Will the Leicester Riders defend their crown? Will Glasgow Rocks or Plymouth Raiders push for the play-off crown? Can Cheshire or Manchester get a play-off spot this time around? Will the Sharks win another BBL Trophy? So many questions and we'll try to give you the answers! Here are our confirmed interviewees: 26th August: Birmingham Knights player Martyn Gayle, coach Paul Douglas 27th August: Birmingham Knights owner Jo Aldridge and Durham Wildcats' Richard Warburton...

The BBL season has come to a close with the Leicester Riders securing the play-off win to the league and cup victories. On the last day of the league season it was a battle between two clubs, two cities for the right to face the Leicester Riders and clinch the final play-off spot. Manchester Giants hosting the London Lions in a clash for 8th place in the BBL. Two big cities who wanted one spot. The London Lions had moved from Milton Keynes at the start of the season and were hoping to build up a fan-base as in the 2013/14 season they would be using the Olympic Copper Box. The Manchester Giants were back in the BBL after a few years out of the premiere league of British basketball. These two big city franchises have the opportunity to attract a large following and become two of the key players in the future of the BBL. The Lions are of course moving to the biggest arena in the BBL so could feasibly attract large crowds and make more money than any of their BBL opponen...

Who will make it to Wembley Arena? The 28th April 2013 will see the top two teams in the BBL League collide in the BBL play-off final at Wembley Arena as the Leicester Riders and Newcastle Eagles clash! Newcastle beat Leicester in the 2012 play-off final 71-62 at the NIA to complete a clean sweep of the BBL's trophies with Charles Smith being named the games MVP. This year the tides have turned. Leicester have already claimed the BBL regular league season and the BBL Cup at the expense of the Eagles while surprisingly losing the BBL Trophy final to the Sheffield Sharks. The Journey The Leicester Riders finished 10 points better off than Newcastle Eagles as they topped the BBL League standings with only three defeats to the Eagles eight. Newcastle finished second in the BBL League standings with three of the eight defeats coming against Leicester. Leicester faced the London Lions in the first round of the play-offs, following the Lions win against the Manchester Gi...

Leicester Riders became the first team to secure a semi-final spot in the 2012/13 play-offs with a double win against London Lions. Riders who have already secured the BBL Title and BBL Trophy are looking to add a play-off success to their trophy haul. The Riders won 73 - 61 against the Lions following the two-legged clash between the 1st and 8th seeds in the BBL championship. Anthony Rowe top scored in Leicester hitting 24 with team-mate Drew Sullivan getting 23 of his own. That gave the Riders a 12 point lead on the night and a 14 point aggregate lead - with an overall 143-129 win. Riders managed a 2 point victory at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre winning 70-68 in front of a capacity crowd with Jay Couisnard hitting 17 to lead the Riders' scoring. They would face a swift turn-around with the second leg of the play-off being the day after at the John Sandford Centre. Riders win 73-61 and advance to the semi-final next weekend!!! #BBLplayoffs #riderup ...

The 2012/13 BBL league season is coming to a close with the Leicester Riders closing in on the BBL crown and top seeding in the play-offs. The BBL Trophy and BBL Cup have both been decided going to the Riders and Sheffield Sharks respectively in a season which has seen London and Manchester join the league. But who has been the stand out player in the BBL League, Trophy and Cup? And who has been the top coach? Well the UK Basketball Hub want you to vote who you think is the top player and coach on our pole! We have decided on three managers and ten players who you can vote for which are as follows: The Players Andrew Sullivan (Leicester Riders) Jay Couisnard (Leicester Riders) Chez Marks (Cheshire Pheonix) Matthew Schneck (Plymouth Raiders) BJ Holmes (Sheffield Sharks) Joe Chapman (Newcastle Eagles) Charles Smith (Newcastle Eagles) Chavis Holmes (Surrey Heat) Orlan Jackman (London Lions) Alex Owumni (Worcester Wolves) - Kareem Maddox is someone who has been sugges...

The Sheffield Sharks shocked the current BBL leaders Leicester Riders in the BBL Trophy Final. Sheffield came out 71-69 winners at a packed Glasgow Rock's Emirates Arena to lift the second trophy of the season. The Sharks who are battling for the play-offs in the league managed the win against a Leicester side who had lost only three games in all competitions and the Sharks were without Micah Williams who will miss the rest of the season with an injury. But Atiba Lyons' side picked up the deserved victory with a brilliant defensive display and dominant first-half. The Sharks started well with BJ Holmes superb throughout scoring five from seven 3-points shots made as the Sharks looked impressive. At one point the Sharks ha a twelve point lead but Jay Cousinard helped the Leicester Riders claw the game back. The Riders have lost three times in the BBL Trophy final to a deficit of 71 points. They had managed to come through a tough semi-final against Worcester Wolves wh...

The Newcastle Eagles started the weekend strongly with a win against basement club Mersey Tigers who continue their season-long losing streak. The Eagles winning 100-57 on Merseyside to close the gap to the Leicester Riders who were on BBL Trophy duty. Meanwhile on Sunday the Glasgow Rocks picked up a win at home to the Durham Wildcats to move into third place with player-coach Sterling Davis aiming for the top four . Glasgow winning 88-66, The Wildcats can still make the play-offs in a tight battle for 8th. The London Lions made it three wins on the bounce and saw the debut of Rod Brown as they beat BBL Trophy finalists Sheffield Sharks. Lions picked up the 86-78 victory in Crystal Palace to give them a good shot of making the play-offs with the team currently in 7th. Surrey Heat went level with the Worcester Wolves with a 87-78 win against Cheshire Phoenix. Phoenix remain level on points with the Manchester Giants and Sheffield Sharks with the Sharks having multiple games in h...

Sheffield Sharks will meet Leicester Riders in the BBL Trophy final following respective wins against Cheshire Phoenix and Worcester Wolves. The Sharks managed a double victory of Phoenix with an away 74-60 victory followed up with a 102-74 thrashing at the EIS, giving them a 176-134 aggregate score. Leicester meanwhile managed to win away in Worcester with an 82-73 victory to seemingly give them a massive chance of progression to the final. However the Wolves would comeout fighting at the John Sandford but come just short of an amazing comeback, winning 68-66 on the night but losing by seven overall (148-141), allowing Leicester to compete for their second trophy of the season . The two sides met in the cup semi-final with Leicester Riders winning both the away leg (90-70) and the home leg (75-45). Leicester Riders also beat the Sharks 71-55 in Sheffield on the first day of the BBL season and have only lost two BBL games this season. The two teams will meet just FOUR ...

The BBL continued this weekend with games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and there was a shock or two to be had. Newcastle Eagles started the weekend top of the BBL ladder but suffered a shock defeat to Cheshire Phoenix on Friday. The loss makes it two defeats in a row following the BBL Trophy loss to the Worcester Wolves and gave Leicester Riders the chance to move up to the top with a two point lead. Leicester played the Manchester Giants on Saturday and sent a message to their ladder rivals with an impressive 84-59 victory. Both teams also had a Sunday game with Newcastle beating Plymouth Raiders 79-96 but the Riders would also win against Cheshire Phoenix to stay two points ahead. In the other weekend games, the Sheffield Sharks scored a victory over the Manchester Giants and the Mersey Tiger's losing streak continued with a loss to the Worcester Wolves on the Friday evening. The Wolves would defeat London Lions a day later after two periods of overtime to give the...

The Newcastle Eagles and Leicester Riders lead the way in the British Basketball League with 34 points and only four defeats between them. Both teams have played 19 games and Newcastle averaging a better scoring record. Leicester have beaten the Eagles twice this season once in the BBL and once in the Cup final to take the first silverware of the season. Glasgow Rocks represent Scotland in the BBL and they are third in the division four points off of the two leaders. They are closely followed by Surrey Heat and the Plymouth Raiders who both have games in hand on the Rocks. The Final three play-off spots (the top eight teams) are taken currently (15th Feb) by Worcester Wolves, London Lions and Sheffield Sharks. The Sharks are level on points with the Manchester Giants, Cheshire Pheonix and the Durham Wildcats  but have played two games less than them three teams. Mersey Tigers prop-up the BBL with no victories thus far losing 22 of the 22 they have played. You can view ...