Two Brits, One Orange Ball Podcast

In today's show, we're joined by co-host of the BBL Show, Jay Marriott, a former player and coach in the BBL as well as Hungry and several other areas in Europe and the US. Jay is soon to become part of a new Gloucestershire basketball franchise who have hopes of growing to become a BBL team after securing investment from Gloucester City co-owner Alex Petheram. Alongside Newcastle Eagles great Drew Lasker, Jay started The BBL Show in partnership with the league to bring light to its teams and the many untold stories of its players, coaches and key members.

In today's episode we'll cover the rise of the Knicks and fall of the Bulls and BBL news before being joined by BBL MVP candidate - Geno Crandall of the Leicester Riders. We'll talk about his former team Gonzaga's run in March Madness, his season so far with the Riders who are very close to winning the league title, as well as the upcoming BBL playoffs.

Welcome to part two of episode 17 of the Two Brits, One Orange Ball podcast with Bulls Insider for NBC Sports Chicago, K.C. Johnson. In this second part of the episode, we'll cover Derrick Rose's tenure with the Chicago Bulls, including going into detail about what it was like to cover his many injuries and the split of public opinion about whether he should play or not after being out for nearly a year having torn his ACL in the 2012 playoff match-up against the Sixers. We'll cover Jimmy Butler's fall out with the Chicago Bulls, Luol Deng and what he meant to the Bulls organisation - as well as going deeper into K.C.'s London 2012 experience where he met the late Jimmy Rogers after turning up at Brixton Rec. And finally, we'll speak with K.C. about covering the second Bulls three peat and how reporting on the ground at the time differed from what we were shown in the Last Dance documentary. So let's dive back in to part two.

In this episode, we'll be speaking to K.C Johnson, someone we very much look up to who has spent 19 years reporting on the Bulls for the Chicago Tribune before moving to NBC Sports Chicago in 2019 where he works as a Bulls Insider and co-hosts the Bulls Talk podcast. K.C. has been working for the Bulls since the 80s, reporting on everyone from Jordan to D Rose, Luol, Jimmy Butler and now, as he states in his Twitter bio - Denzel Valentine.

We finally took Alex Owumi's advice and we're very excited to welcome owner and head coach of the London Lions, Vince Macaulay onto the podcast today. In the podcast we'll cover everything from the recent BBL Cup loss to the Newcastle Eagles after being short handed due to six positive covid tests in the Lions camp. The harshness of being kicked out of the FIBA Cup as a result, before diving into the marketing and comms side of things and looking ahead to the rest of the season and beyond for Vince and the Lions.

Mikey Murphy is the New York Knicks Beat Writer for Empire Sports Media, a New York based media outlet. When Empire Sports Media was first created in 2017, it was just an idea. Two years later, they are one of the most read independent blogs in New York, garnering over two million views per month. In this episode we'll talk about the hopes surrounding the Knicks season with the additionals of coach Thibs, draft picks Obi Toppin & Quickley and President Leon Rose. We'll look back at some of the Knicks most historical moments and James will try his best not to make any Knicks digs throughout…

Ian Macleod is in his second year as the Newcastle Eagles head coach, having taken up the helm after Fab Flournoy, the former player/coach of the Eagles left to join Nick Nurse's staff on the Toronto Raptors in 2018. Fab's input helped the Newcastle Eagles become the winningest franchise in BBL history - winning the treble three times since 2005, with star players such as himself, Charles Smith and Darius Defoe. The Eagles record boasts 7 BBL Championships, 6 BBL Playoffs wins, 5 BBL Cup wins and 7 BBL Trophy wins. In addition to this, Fab leads the Eagles in all-time, assists, blocks, rebounds and steals so not a bad mentor to have! When Charles Smith retired in 2016, this left the door open for the newly recruited PG Ramon Fletcher to take the helm for the clubs new era. Coach Macleod was an academy coach with the Eagles for over a decade before being given the chance to become an assistant coach by Fab in 2013, the year before Fletcher came to the team. Macleod had ambitions to become a coach from the age of five, initially in football but this quickly transitioned to basketball. In this podcast, we'll discuss his successful first year campaign, winning the BBL Trophy against the up and coming NBL team, the Solent Kestrels - where he became one of very few coaches to win silverware in his first season. We'll discuss what it's like to build a team in the BBL, where year to year contracts are the norm and take a trip down memory lane to discuss his basketball journey as well as his aspirations for this year's side, who have come out strong in the BBL Cup with a 3-2 record.

Roy Owen is a former BBL point guard who most recently played for the Bristol Flyers across seven seasons. He was part of the Flyers team that lifted themselves from division three to reach the top flight league in british basketball, the BBL, alongside Bristol basketball legend Greg Street and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye who went on to play in Division on college for the Bradley Braves. Before his time with the Flyers Roy played at the University of Worcester, having started out in basketball Coventry and Solihull. Along with stars of his Bristol team like Greg Street, Roy became a role model to many young basketball players in Bristol and Worcester and in 2018, he decided to move away from the professional game and into teaching and coaching. Roy still plays for the Bristol Flyers second team and is one of the biggest Lakers fans I know. We'll be catching up with him about the NBA season, his reaction to their championship team and delve into his journey in basketball from Coventry to the BBL and his ongoing journey in coaching.

Before he left for Chicago, Joe was well-known as one of the leaders in digital content production in the British Basketball League during his seven+ years at the Leicester Riders - producing everything from graphics to photography and videography. Earlier this year, he left the UK to join one of the most widely renowned organisations in sports in the Chicago Bulls as Manager of Digital Content. Joe's journey in basketball started as a player, where he progressed to a point where he was playing for the Loughborough University 1st team and exploring scholarship options in the United States. At this point he was very self aware of his ability and prospects and felt that a full-time career as a player was not the direction he wanted to pursue - instead deciding to work in operations for the Leicester Riders. We pick up with Joe to see how his year has been in what must have been a whirlwind; working on the All-Star game in Chicago in his second week on the job with the Bulls, dealing with the fallout of the league shutting down in the mist of the coronavirus outbreak and what his work life has morphed into under these new and unique conditions. We get his thoughts on everything from the player movement in the BBL to the London Lions chances in the Basketball Champions League, how he balanced roles with Loughborough University, Deng Camp, FIBA 3x3 and his goals for his role in digital content for the Chicago Bulls.

In the second part of episode 11 with Alex Owumi, we talk about how Alex narrowly lost out on being drafted by the Boston Celtics and delve further into to his decision to leave Georgetown, a move which almost led him to playing with GB great - Pops Mensah Bonsu at GW. Alex talks to us about how his experience of horrific racial discrimination with his team in Macedonia led him to signing with Al-Nasr a team owned by Colonel Gaddafi. He speaks candidly about extremely harrowing experiences in Libya, when the Libyan Civil War broke out - which if you're sensitive to traumatic events, I'd advise you give this episode a miss. Finally Alex concludes the episode by speaking further about his tenure in the BBL and his plans to turn his book, Qaddafi's Point Guard into a film. And much, much more!

Alex Owumi is a former professional basketball player that is most widely known as the author of Qaddafi's Point Guard, a book he co-wrote chronicling his experiences in Libya, playing for a team owned by Colonel Gaddafi just before the outbreak of the Libyan Civil War in 2011. In part one of this interview we speak with Alex about: - His thoughts on the NBA bubble - Why he decided to retire from playing the NBL Div 1 this year - His thoughts on the prospects of young English talent, Cam Hildreth - His plans to get Toronto Raptors coach, Nick Nurse to a coaching camp in the UK And much more!

In this second part of episode 10 we delve further into Sam's thoughts on the current status of the BBL, GB Basketball, his stand out moments since starting Hoopsfix in 2010 and future aspirations for the brand. In this second part of episode 10, Sam reveals his ambitions to own a BBL franchise, his thoughts on the very controversial decision from Basketball England to reject GB great, Pop Mensah-Bonsu's application to their board on the grounds he wasn't qualified, despite being a GM for Capital City Go-GO of the NBA G League. As well his general thoughts on the Deng and Pops podcast and his slight frustrations with the British Basketball community when it comes to supporting the growth of the British game. And much, much more!

In the first episode of a two part series, we catch up with Hoopsfix.com Founder, Sam Neter - covering his playing years, early days of Hoopsfix.com and his expertise in basketball related marketing and communications. - 00:00 - 13:00: Intro, NBA, Knicks and Bulls news - 13:00 - 15.13: BBL News Update - 15.13 - 16:57: Sam Neter Intro - - 16:57 - 26:46: Sam Neter on how he's adjusted to life in quarantine and having left a job working for FIBA in Switzerland - 26:46 - 29:27: Sam Neter on his working schedule starting at 4am - 29:27 - 32:20: Sam's work at Cut The Net - Sports Marketing Agency - 32:20 - 33:47: What his Saas platform - Mason does - 33:47 - 35:32: Covid-19s impact on sport and basketball specifically - 35:32 - 45:23 Sam's introduction to basketball - call with Sussex Storm - 45:23 - 54:19 Starting Ball Don't Brawl & reminiscing about the Back British Basketball campaign to help generate support for the GB Basketball Teams for the London 2012 Olympics - 54:19 - 55:35: Ben Gordon's GB tenure - 55:35 - 58:49: Sam's Inspiration for starting Hoopsfix.com - 58:49 - 1:03:07: Getting blowback from those on the wrong end of highlights -1:03:07 - x :Hoopsfix and its efforts in building a basketball culture in the UK, contributions to Hoopsfix from Bradley Gains - 1:x - 1:11:35: How Sam monetised Hoopsfix in the early years and how that compares to now 1:11:35 - 1:16:31: How he's attracted direct sponsors to support Hoopsfix 1:16:31 - 1:23:39: Sam's thoughts on how we could use data to support basketball in the UK 1:23:39 - 1:29:27: Basketball coverage in the UK and why TV and traditional media coverage, couple with a digital marketing plan is vital to growth. 1:29:27 - END What was the impact of Ovie and the exposure he brought to the game from his time on Love Island. Part two will be released later this week, covering the founding of Hoopsfix, Sam's thoughts on: - The current GB Basketball setup - Reaction to his BBL Roundtable episode features various owners from British Basketball Clubs. - How much it means to him to be embraced by the British Basketball community - Sam's ambitions to become a BBL franchise owner - Reacting to Vince Macaulay's valuation of a BBL club at £1.2m - His thoughts on the Luol Deng and Pops Mensa Bonsu podcast series - His reaction to the news that Basketball England rejected Pops' application to become a board member via email - His highlight moments of working on Hoopsfix - His highlight moments of the Hoopsfix All-Star Classic And much more!

In episode nine, we are joined by Pat Boylan, radio host, sideline reporter and broadcaster for the Indiana Pacers, as well as play-by-play for the Indiana Fever. We discuss: - How Pat has been dealing with the restrictions of lockdown when creating content for the Pacers and Fever -We discuss the potential NBA return and how the Pacers would potentially benefit as a younger team - We talk about all things Indiana Fever, from the drafting of Lauren Cox from Baylor University at three in the WNBA draft, to GM Tamika Catchings and her new young core - Pat reveals his thoughts on The Last Dance docuseries and speaks about his favourite memories of Reggie Miller - How Pat first got into commentary at a young age and what set his mind on pursuing this as a career. - We discuss his experiences as the play-by-play for the Indiana Fever and his opportunities to fill in for Chris Denerey for the Pacers games against the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks - Pat and James reminisce on their experiences reporting on the London 2012 Olympics, including attending the practice of Team USA - Pat reveals his thoughts on the Paul George trade and gives us his thoughts on the top 5 players and best team for the Pacers in the last 20 years

Episode eight is now live! In this final episode of The Last Dance series, we discuss our thoughts on the finale of the docuseries, how it will change the perception of Michael Jordan and, with its rising viewership figures, how it will impact basketball's popularity across the globe. - The final eight minutes of magic concluding the ten part docuseries - Scottie's comments that Krause deserves the title of ‘the greatest GM ever' - Should Phil Jackson and the 98 Chicago Bulls have been re-signed by Jerry Reinsdorf and Jerry Krause? - Reaction to Jerry Reinsdorf's comments on rebuilding at the end of the 98 season - Our picks for the next docuseries if we could choose any current NBA player of the past two decades - Our favourite moments of episode nine and ten - Why Michael Jordan's allure and consequential inspiration of millions of new basketball fans across the world impacts his legacy as the greatest of all time.

For this week's interview we interview Josh Bett international commentator who freelances for organisations such as FIBA and the Basketball Champions League on a freelance basis. Josh is a former England junior who competed in the European championships. He came up in the British system and went on to play in NCAA Div III in the US, before having to take a break from the game after experiencing a devastating injury. He went on to pick up a basketball again at the University of Worcester, playing for the second team, before becoming a PE teacher and freelance basketball commentator. In this podcast we discuss: - Josh reveals his inspiration from SB Nation to create historical videos of BBL franchises, which has been widely applauded from the league and its fanbase. - We discuss his basketball journey and reflect on this playing days growing up in the UK, moving to the US to play in NCAA Div III and USCAA, before returning to play for the University of Worcester - How he moved into commentary and went on to work for the Basketball Champions League, FIBA and the BBL franchise, the London Royals. - His favourite BBL player of all time and what his thoughts are on the recent announcement that will allow four American players to play for a single team (up from three) - What it was like to meet and play in front of Michael Jordan in his youth. - How growing up with a father that had not only played but coached in the BBL affected his development as a basketball player. - How his somewhat unique schooling journey affected his love of basketball.

Two Brits, One Orange Ball hosts review episode seven and eight of the new Michael Jordan documentary, The Last Dance - released in the UK earlier today. - Reaction to the revelations about Jordan's father's death, how he coped with it and the media coverage around that time - Thoughts on what led Jordan to retirement in the 93-94 season - Jordan's tenure as a baseball player for the Birmingham Barons - Was Jordan's win at all costs mentally the right approach and detrimental to his teammates? - Should we view Scottie Pippen in a different light due to his actions against the Knicks, refusing to come on the court? - Thoughts on Jordan's ability to bounce back from adversity and his hell bent desire to win - Jordan's return to basketball culminating in championship success against the Seattle Sonics on father's day

This weekend we'll be talking to Solent Kestrels guard and National Cup MVP Brendan Okoronkwo. - Reaction to going toe to toe with the Newcastle Eagles, the most successful BBL franchise in the British Basketball League Trophy Final - What was it like playing against BBL vets in two-time MVP Ramon Fletcher and renowned vet Darius Defoe - What it was like to go undefeated, 22-0 in Basketball England Division One - Pulling off one of the biggest upsets in BBL history by beating last season's league champions, London Lions in the Trophy first round, before beating south-coast NBL rivals Worthing Thunder, Brendan's former club - THAT first leg of the BBL Trophy semi-finals against the Bristol Flyers - What first attracted him to the sport of basketball and why he'd choose to support the Philadelphia 76ers

Two Brits, One Orange Ball hosts review episode three and four of the new Michael Jordan documentary, The Last Dance - released in the UK earlier today. - Dennis Rodman's career and transition from a member of the Detroit Piston's bad boys to one of the best teams of all time in the Bulls. Closely managed by Phil Jackson, MJ and Pip. - Insights in trials and tribulations of early years of MJ - Who is the modern Day Dennis Rodman? - How do you think Miami Lebron would have dealt with the Detroit Pistons? - Reaction to Kraus being portrayed more favourably - Reaction to news that K C Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, formerly of Chicago Tribune (29 years) great reporter and the go to for Bulls news - will be sharing select excerpts from Jerry Krause's unpublished and unfinished memoir. - Thoughts on Michael's continued resentment of Isiah. - Our thoughts on the first two episodes

Two Brits, One Orange Ball hosts discuss news of the British Basketball League's financial struggles, new front offices and trade rumours for the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls. Upcoming interview in the new few weeks: - Brendan Okoronkwo, shooting guard of the Solent Kestrels that made its way to the finals of the BBL Trophy and dominated EBL div 1, going undefeated. - Pat Boylan - Indiana Pacers Radio Host/Sideline Reporter Play-by-Play Announcer - Indiana Fever at Pacers Sports & Entertainment. - Josh Bett - International commentator, freelancing for outlets such as FIBA and the Basketball Champions League - who has been putting some great content on the history of BBL teams recently.

Two Brits, One Orange Ball hosts review episode one and two of the new Michael Jordan documentary, The Last Dance - released in the UK earlier today.- Should we feel bad for Scottie Pippen and the way unfortunate circumstances led to his disillusion...

James Jeffrey and Mark Littlewood are British Basketball fans. They're here to talk about how their love of the game started and how they discovered basketball in a UK sports media market which is dominated by football, rugby and cricket. In this pilot episode of Two Brits, Orange Orange Ball, the guys discuss: - How they first discovered basketball and how, faced with furlough for an unknown period amid the outbreak of the coronavirus in the UK - they decided to start this podcast (after two and a half years of talking about it!) - Why they fell in love with their respective teams, the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks - Anticipation for the new ESPN Michael Jordan documentary - Thoughts on the current status of their franchises - Why this is the most optimistic time to be a Chicago Bulls fan - The Arturas Karnisovas addition to the Bulls front office and the end of the GarPax era - The top 5 Bulls and Knicks players from the past decade