POPULARITY
This week's Road Trip take the boys down to the Southeast to visit the enigmatic, recently retired, Head Coach and owner of the Worthing Thunder, Zaire Taylor! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bblshow/support
Worthing thunder v Solent kestrels, march 7, 21 from Worthing's perspective
For Episode 92 we sit down with Chris Mayes, Technical Director of BC Triple Threat in Haarlem in Holland.Mayes, who grew up on the South East coast near Worthing, started out playing before turning his eye to coaching between Worthing and Solent Kestrels under the tutelage of the legendary Jimmy GuymonWhilst trying to build his experience at a camp in the US, he was told he would need a degree to be able to permanently relocate across the channel so returned to the UK to take an assistant role with Worthing Thunder, whilst doing an undergraduate degree in Coaching Science at the University of Chichester.However, in late 2004 he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, having to undergo surgery and requiring a period of recovery but it gave him an opportunity to reflect and decide coaching was the path he wanted to pursue seriously.After getting his undergrad, he moved to Worcester for an MSc in Coaching Science whilst assisting with the BBL side, before feeling that for him to progress like he wanted, he would need to leave the UK. He dropped out of his masters and in 2010 took an unpaid job (food and board only) at Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain. After five years at CBA (he did end up taking a salary!) working with some of the top prospects in Europe, he moved on, having now worked in Belgium with Pepinster-Verviers, Liege Basket and Leuven Bears (where he was interim Head Coach for a period), Netherlands (New Heroes Den Bosch), and Spain (CB TerrAlfàs), in roles split between Assistant Coach with the pro side and youth development roles. Mayes has now spent over a decade on the continent in unstable conditions in pursuit of a career in the sport he loves.Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:32 Interview start02:40 The situation with COVID-19 in the Netherlands04:22 Chris' role as Technical Director with BC TTT06:33 The structure of BC TTT09:53 Comparing the levels of junior talent in Holland to the UK12:04 Mayes' first exposure to basketball and why he decided to pursue coaching18:03 Getting his undergrad in coaching science and whether it has helped with his coaching20:22 Why chose not to pursue the US route in the end 23:36 Dropping out of his masters at Worcester24:27 What he was unable to get in the UK which led him to want to go abroad26:54 Why he wanted to go overseas28:56 The process of going abroad and landing a role with CBA32:30 The early years of Canarias Basketball Academy34:07 His roles and responsibilities at Canarias Basketball Academy36:07 How often he was coming back to the UK when at CBA38:21 The realities of day to day life at CBA42:23 Some of the most talented players he worked with 45:46 The Sports Illustrated article in 2016 alleging potential underhanded dealings at CBA 48:47 Why he decided to leave CBA51:05 Moving to Belgium with Pepinster-Verviers52:43 The differences going from elite youth to elite pros56:38 Player development becoming team development 58:48 Whether his focus is around youth development or coaching at pro level1:01:38 Believing development comes from top to bottom 1:08:34 Working with the Armenian national team1:12:42 Moving to rival Belgium club Liege1:14:27 His time with Leuven Bears in Belgium, becoming interim Head Coach1:16:56 The lack of stability in basketball coaching1:20:41 Whether the instability of coaching is sustainable1:23:09 If there is frustration with the British game for not allowing him to be able to develop at home1:28:58 Best British junior player he's ever seen1:30:27 The best coach he's worked with1:31:22 His favourite basketball memory1:32:09 Whether we are going to see a return of Makem Takem podcast1:32:58 Where Mayes wants to be in 3-5 years The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.You can support Hoopsfix's work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
For Episode 73 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with highly rated Class of 2021 prospect Cameron Hildreth and his father and coach, Danny Hildreth.Danny is a former BBL professional, having had more than a decade long playing career with Ware Rebels, Brighton Bears, Derby Storm and Worthing Thunder, before stepping into the coaching side of the game, whilst Cameron, a GB junior international, is arguably the best player of his generation, having dominated NBL Division 1 as a 17 year old last season averaging over 20 points per game.Danny has coached Cameron on at least one team he plays for (whether as assistant or head coach) since he first competed as a nine year old in Under-13 national league, and most recently led them to an undefeated season with Holy Trinity in the ABL.Cameron has just announced his commitment to ACC school Wake Forest, and is believed to be the first male player to go directly from the UK to a high major program, and one of less than a handful of British guards to ever go high major.In this hour episode, hear from Cameron and Danny on: Cameron's decision to commit to Wake Forest The recruiting process and how it has been affected by COVID-19 Why Cameron decided to commit early Montana State being the first school to offer Cameron and how it happened The decision between going to a smaller school or a big school Advice for parents weighing up options for their basketball-playing children ‘Virtual' recruiting and how that has looked without being able to go on any visits Cultural differences between Americans and British people and the intensity of it all Choosing the US college route instead of Europe Where the BBL sits in Cam's plans and why he is not playing in the BBL instead of NBL D1 The six-year offer Cameron had on the table from London Lions What the BBL needs to do to sign young British talent and pull them away from the allure of the US Suiting up at the Euroleague adidas Next Generation Tournament and the impact it had on interest Foreign recruiters discounting what players do against British competition The concerns around COVID-19 wiping out the season and what it could mean for Cam's development British guard development and what has attributed to Cam's basketball IQ and guard skills An analysis of Cam's strengths and weaknesses Why Cam chose to not leave Sussex Storm after his GCSEs for an EABL school, going to Holy Trinity in the ABL Cam's future aspirations and where he wants to be after four years at Wake Forest And much, much more! The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
In Episode 67 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with former BBL, NBL and England Head Coach, Dave Titmuss, aka Coach T.Titmuss has spent over 50 years on the sidelines of British basketball, starting out as a 22 year old before working his way up to the highest levels of the game experiencing success at every level, with 15 national titles, a Paralympic World Cup gold medal, a World Wheelchair Basketball Championship silver medal, a Paralympic bronze medal, two Coach of the Year awards and two Paralympic sport Coach of the Year awards.Starting in 1970 with St Albans Phoenix, Titmuss went on to the Hemel Lakers, the side that ultimately became Ovaltine Hemel Hempstead in National League Division 1 in the late 70s and early 80s, competing in the Korac Cup in Europe. From there he spent time with Tigers Juniors in Hemel, Brunel in Division 1, before joining Thames Valley Tigers in the BBL.He then developed the Ware Rebels junior programme, experiencing his first undefeated season, and before joining the Reading Rockets in NBL D1 where they had a historic quadruple-winning undefeated season in 2008-09.Whilst with Reading, he served as Head Coach and Performance Director of Great Britain's Paralympic squad for eight years, coaching GB to fourth place at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, a Silver Medal at the 2002 World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, Bronze at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, and Gold at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester.He went on to a season in the BBL with Worthing Thunder, before rounding out his career with Hemel Storm from 2010-2019.Titmuss has dedicated a large amount of his time coaching coaches, and is now mentoring whist enjoying retirement.In this 1 hour 39 minute episode, hear from Coach T on: His first exposure to basketball and making the switch from football How he ended up coaching his first session and falling in love with it in his early twenties His process for developing his coaching skills Coaching in the burgeoning national league with Hemel Lakers The professionalisation of the Hemel club within a 7-year time frame becoming Ovaltine Hemel Hempstead and competing in Europe Why basketball more 'mainstream' in the late early 80s, and how big of a role tv played The level of American player teams were able to recruit to play in England in that era How much of a role having British talent at home plays in the development of the game Hemel running their own lottery in the south of the country which helped the club turnover upwards of £1.5million (incorrectly labelled as £5m in the pod) His role at Hemel encompassing a lot more than just coaching, specifically the commercial side of the club Formulating his own coaching philosophy and style Recruiting players that fit the style you want to play versus building a philosophy around the roster make up His three years coaching the England Senior Men First experience coaching in the BBL with Thames Valley Tigers from 1990-1994 Building the Ware Rebels junior programme and it cementing his beliefs around youth development Coaching the England Juniors including a coming up Drew Sullivan Becoming involved with the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association and taking the reigns of their GB Senior Men squad Competing in multiple Paralympics, a world championship and experiencing the highest levels of the game His undefeated season with the Reading Rockets in NBL D1 in 2008-09 winning the quadruple A year in the BBL with Worthing Thunder in 2009-10 the following year Rounding out his career on the sidelines with Hemel Storm Mentoring coaches now to pass on his knowledge What he would do if he was tasked with improving the quality and quantity of coaches in the UK And much, much more! The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.You can support Hoopsfix's work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.
Worthing Thunder guard Ishmael Fontaine tells Basketball England's Mark Jones his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter protests, his experiences of racism, his career highlights in Germany and a return to British basketball with Thunder.
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
Peej and Fion collaborate for their first ever episode of "Next Man Up" and chat basketball philanthropy, Love Island and Glen Rice Jr. with special guest Alex Owumi. Owumi is currently playing point guard for the Worthing Thunder and is author of the celebrated book "Qaddafi's Point Guard" which follows his time playing in Libya during the national uprising. Alongside "Qaddifis Point Guard" he has also written several fiction novels such as "The Man in Forest Hills". We would love to thank Alex for giving his time to talk to us, Be sure to check out his work!
Darren Paul is joined by NBL expert Chris Hughes of Rebound(https://reboundbasketballblog.wordpress.com/) and Ishmael Fontaine of the Worthing Thunder to break down the 2019-20 season of the Men's NBL Division 1. We go through every team, and give our picks for our final four and regular season champions as well as talking over some of the biggest stories in English and British Basketball. Music: Ryan Little – Damage. CC/BY
Darren Paul is joined by Worthing Thunder's Ishmael Fontaine in an entertaining and wide ranging interview. In part two of two Ishmael talks about his experiences of playing in AAU, goes to bat for the British basketball League, what Worthing Thunder are doing to prove Vince Macaulay wrong, BBL chat, NBA chat, shower Joe Pinchin with love and touch on Darren Paul's favourite topic; the Fast and Furious franchise. Photo Credit: Graham Hodges Music: Ryan Little – Damage. CC/BY
Snippet of the Ishmael Fontaine interview of the Worthing Thunder. Discussing the upcoming clash between the two London Teams.
In this edition of the MVP Cast, we're joined by the chief operations officer of the Euroleague, Ed Scott, who tells us about his path from helping out at Worthing Thunder to being the most influential Brit in global basketball, why Chelsea and Manchester United might be good fits for the competition, and the vast gulf between the BBL and the continent's best.
In Episode 32 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we got the chance to sit down with Great Britain and Real Betis guard Luke Nelson. The Worthing Thunder and Reading Rockets product has just turned professional in Spain's ACB after a successful college career at UC Irvine which culminated in him ending up being named the Big […]