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2011–12 British Basketball League season

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The 2011–12 BBL season was the 25th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. The season featured 11 teams from across England and Scotland, with Durham Wildcats appearing in their first campaign after election from EBL Division 1.[1] The League did not feature two teams from the previous season; Worthing Thunder had stepped down to the EBL,[2] whilst Essex Pirates withdrew just two weeks prior to the season starting due to the loss of a major sponsor.[3] There was also uncertainty regarding the participation of reigning champions Mersey Tigers, who had to postpone their first game due to off-court problems and operational issues.[4][5]

2011–12 BBL season
LeagueBritish Basketball League
SportBasketball
Roll of Honour
BBL championsNewcastle Eagles
Play Off's championsNewcastle Eagles
BBL Cup championsNewcastle Eagles
BBL Trophy championsNewcastle Eagles
British Basketball League seasons

Newcastle Eagles opened the season with an 85–63 victory over Northern rivals Glasgow Rocks in the BBL Cup, on September 30, 2011. The Championship regular season didn't commence until mid-October, whilst the initial stages of the Trophy and BBL Cup were played out prior to the Championship beginning. Newcastle were victorious in the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy after beating Plymouth Raiders in the finals of both competitions. The Eagles also went on to clinch their 5th BBL Championship after Plymouth lost to Leicester Riders on April 11, setting a new record for the most Championships won in the history of the BBL. Eagles' 5th title beat the previous record of four Championship's held by Kingston Kings from the 1980s and 1990s. The season was wrapped up with Eagles stamping their dominance on the play-offs, defeating Leicester in the Final on May 12, 2012, and going on to win all four titles for the 2011–12 campaign.

Following the season's climax the British Basketball League, along with several other basketball governing bodies, united to form the British Basketball Union, a new organisation created to promote the commercial development of basketball within Great Britain.[6]

Teams

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Locations of the 2011–12 BBL teams
Team City/Area Arena Capacity Last season
Cheshire Jets Chester Northgate Arena 1,000 4th
Durham Wildcats Newton Aycliffe Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre 1,200 New
Glasgow Rocks Glasgow Kelvin Hall 1,200 6th
Guildford Heat Guildford Surrey Sports Park 1,000 7th
Leicester Riders Leicester John Sandford Centre 800 8th
Mersey Tigers Liverpool Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park 450 1st
Milton Keynes Lions Milton Keynes Prestige Homes Arena 1,400 10th
Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Sport Central 3,000 2nd
Plymouth Raiders Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions 1,480 5th
Sheffield Sharks Sheffield English Institute of Sport 1,200 3rd
Worcester Wolves Worcester University of Worcester 600 9th

Notable occurrences

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  • Durham Wildcats were the newest additions to the BBL, having been elected to join from EBL Division 1.[1]
  • Pre-season transfer speculation centred around the possibility of Los Angeles Lakers star Ron Artest signing for Cheshire Jets during the NBA lockout, after announcing on his Twitter account that he was in discussions with the club,[7] who had reportedly offered him shares in the franchise.[8] Other reports also linked Artest to Glasgow Rocks.[9]
  • After ten years at Cheshire Jets, Paul Smith stepped down from his position as Head Coach prior to the season opening, leaving Assistant John Lavery to take the reins.[10]
  • The Mersey Tigers franchise changed ownership following Liverpool-based businessman Steve Brookfield's acquisition from former owner Gary Townsend, who set up the club in 2007.[11]
  • Essex Pirates officially withdrew from the BBL on September 16, just two weeks before the start of the season.[3] The loss of a major sponsor was a major factor, and it was revealed the owners even looked at relocating to Crystal Palace NSC Arena in London before the decision was made to disband.[12]
  • Mersey Tigers were forced to postpone their first game of the season amid fears of the franchise's imminent collapse.[13] Off-court problems and operational issues were later cited as the reason for postponement, but the franchise eventually fielded a team and resumed play the following week.[4][5]
  • A sell-out 1,200 crowd at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre saw Durham play host to their first BBL game, losing 66–88 to local rivals Newcastle Eagles.[14]
  • An incident between Guildford Heat's Martelle McLemore and Plymouth Raiders mascot Foxy during a game on October 22 was the subject of a League inquiry after the mascot entered the court and pulled McLemore's shorts down during a break in play.[15][16][17] Following the league's inquiry, Plymouth Raiders were given a "small fine" whilst McLemore was awarded with 5 penalty points for his involvement by pushing the Raiders mascot.[18][19]
  • Glasgow Rocks' veteran player-coach Sterling Davis reached two personal milestones in October, making his 1000th BBL Championship free-throw and 5000th point scored.[20]
  • After a 12-game losing streak, Guildford Heat finally recorded their first win of the season on December 16, with an 82–76 victory away to current Champions Mersey Tigers.[21]
  • Nathan Schall, of Milton Keynes Lions, was the winner of the Kickz.co.uk Slam Dunk Contest 2012 which took place on January 15, prior to the BBL Cup Final.
  • Newcastle Eagles collected their first piece of silverware for the season on January 15, 2012, with a 115–94 victory over Plymouth Raiders in the BBL Cup final at the National Indoor Arena. Newcastle's Charles Smith set a new BBL Cup Final record by posting a 39 points, whilst Newcastle also broke the previous record of 103 for points scored.[22]
  • Leicester Riders announced in January that their point guard Flinder Boyd had decided to leave the club with immediate effect "in order to pursue interests way from basketball."[23] It was reported in March that the Great Britain international has officially retired from playing, just months before Team GB's Olympic Games tournament.[24]
  • Newcastle Eagles scooped their second title of the season with another victory over Plymouth Raiders in the BBL Trophy final. The Eagles won the Trophy with a 184–177 aggregate victory in the two-game series, winning the second leg 96–80 at Sport Central on March 24.[25]
  • With title-challengers Plymouth Raiders losing 96–72 away to Leicester Riders on April 11, the Championship trophy returned to Newcastle Eagles, becoming the Northeastern club's third title of the season.[26] The trophy was presented to the Eagles at Sport Central on April 14 at their home game with Mersey Tigers, but celebrations were dampened as Eagles were unexpectedly defeated 74–82 by Mersey.[27]
  • Due to the unsuitability of the John Sandford Centre venue for television broadcasting,[28] Leicester Riders were forced to switch venues for their Play-off homes games from their usual home to their former home at the Sports Centre on the campus of Loughborough University.[29]
  • Newcastle Eagles completed a 'clean sweep' of titles by claiming the Play-off crown with a 71–62 victory over Leicester Riders in the Grand Final at the National Indoor Arena, on 12 May. Newcastle's Charles Smith was awarded the Final's MVP, scoring 21 points.[30]
  • Following the conclusion of the season, the BBL entered into a joint venture with other basketball governing bodies to establish the British Basketball Union (BBU), a new organisation created to promote the commercial development of basketball within Great Britain.[6]
  • After four seasons in charge of Mersey Tigers, Head Coach Tony Garbelotto left the club at the end of the season to coach German Pro A team Heidelberg.[31]

BBL Championship (Tier 1)

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Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L % Pts
1 Newcastle Eagles 30 23 7 0.766 46
2 Leicester Riders 30 22 8 0.733 44
3 Worcester Wolves 30 22 8 0.733 44
4 Plymouth Raiders 30 21 9 0.700 42
5 Glasgow Rocks 30 16 14 0.533 32
6 Cheshire Jets 30 13 17 0.433 26
7 Sheffield Sharks 30 13 17 0.433 26
8 Guildford Heat 30 12 18 0.400 24
9 Milton Keynes Lions 30 10 20 0.333 20
10 Mersey Tigers 30 10 20 0.333 20
11 Durham Wildcats 30 3 27 0.100 6
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Playoffs

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
             
1 Newcastle Eagles 93 74 167
8 Guildford Heat 56 69 125
1 Newcastle Eagles 89 79 168
6 Cheshire Jets 99 64 163
3 Worcester Wolves 80 77 157
6 Cheshire Jets 80 87 167
1 Newcastle Eagles 71
2 Leicester Riders 62
2 Leicester Riders 92 90 182
7 Sheffield Sharks 76 65 141
2 Leicester Riders 76 97 173
5 Glasgow Rocks 77 72 149
4 Plymouth Raiders 84 60 144
5 Glasgow Rocks 79 80 159

Quarter-finals

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(1) Newcastle Eagles vs. (8) Guildford Heat

April 29, 2012
Guildford Heat 69–74 Newcastle Eagles
Newcastle wins on aggregate, 167–125

(2) Leicester Riders vs. (7) Sheffield Sharks

April 29, 2012
Leicester Riders 90–65 Sheffield Sharks
Leicester wins on aggregate, 182–141

(3) Worcester Wolves vs. (6) Cheshire Jets

April 29, 2012
Cheshire Jets 87–77 Worcester Wolves
Cheshire wins on aggregate, 167–157

(4) Plymouth Raiders vs. (5) Glasgow Rocks

April 29, 2012
Glasgow Rocks 80–60 Plymouth Raiders
Glasgow wins on aggregate, 159–144
Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

Semi-finals

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(1) Newcastle Eagles vs. (6) Cheshire Jets

May 6, 2012
Cheshire Jets 64–79 Newcastle Eagles
Newcastle wins on aggregate, 168–163

(2) Leicester Riders vs. (5) Glasgow Rocks

May 4, 2012
Glasgow Rocks 77–76 Leicester Riders
Kelvin Hall, Glasgow
May 6, 2012
Leicester Riders 97–72 Glasgow Rocks
Leicester wins on aggregate, 173–149

Final

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May 12, 2012
4.00pm GMT
Newcastle Eagles 71–62 Leicester Riders
Scoring by quarter: 12–21, 19–10, 25–18, 15–13
Pts: Charles Smith 21, Paul Gause 13, Darius Defoe 10, Joe Chapman 10. Andy Thomson 9, Fab Flournoy 8
Rebs: Fabulous Flournoy, 13
Asts: Charles Smith/Fabulous Flournoy, 4		 Pts: Andrew Sullivan 18, Ayron Hardy 12, Bradd Wierzbicki 11, Brett Royster 6, Cameron Rundles 4, Barry Lamble 4, Reece Haggith 3, Jamell Anderson 2, Yorick Williams 2
Rebs: Ayron Hardy, 12
Asts: Ayron Hardy, 7

EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

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Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L % Pts
1 London Leopards 24 20 4 0.833 40
2 Bristol Academy Flyers 24 18 6 0.750 36
3 Derby Trailblazers 24 16 8 0.667 32
4 Worthing Thunder 24 16 8 0.667 32
5 Bradford Dragons 24 15 9 0.625 30
6 Leicester Warriors 24 15 9 0.625 30
7 Reading Rockets 24 14 10 0.583 28
8 Medway Park Crusaders 24 12 12 0.500 24
9 Brixton TopCats 24 11 13 0.458 22
10 Leeds Carnegie 24 10 14 0.417 20
11 Tees Valley Mohawks 24 4 20 0.167 8
12 Westminster Warriors 24 3 21 0.125 6
13 PAWS London Capital 24 2 22 0.083 4
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

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Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L % Pts
1 Team Northumbria 20 18 2 0.900 36
2 Hemel Storm 20 16 4 0.800 32
3 Glamorgan Gladiators 20 14 6 0.700 28
4 Birmingham Mets 20 12 8 0.600 24
5 Team Solent 20 11 9 0.550 22
6 Derbyshire Arrows 20 10 10 0.500 20
7 Eastside Eagles 20 9 11 0.450 18
8 London Westside 20 9 11 0.450 18
9 Mansfield Giants 20 6 14 0.300 12
10 London United 20 3 17 0.150 6
11 Birmingham A's 20 2 18 0.100 4
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

BBL Cup

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1st round

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October 29, 2011
Leicester Riders 102–67 Milton Keynes Lions
John Sandford Centre, Leicester
October 30, 2011
Glasgow Rocks 78–60 Edinburgh Kings
Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

Quarter-finals

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November 11, 2011
Mersey Tigers 62–91 Worcester Wolves
Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park, Liverpool

Semi-finals

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Leicester Riders vs. Newcastle Eagles

November 26, 2011
Leicester Riders 90–90 Newcastle Eagles
John Sandford Centre, Leicester
December 2, 2011
Newcastle Eagles 71–63 Leicester Riders
Newcastle wins on aggregate, 161–153

Plymouth Raiders vs. Worcester Wolves

December 11, 2011
Plymouth Raiders 82–89 Worcester Wolves
Plymouth wins on aggregate, 193–172

Final

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January 15, 2012
3.45pm GMT
Newcastle Eagles 115–94 Plymouth Raiders
Scoring by quarter: 35–26, 28–26, 31–28, 21–20
Pts: Charles Smith 39, Paul Gause 24, Andrew Bridge 16, Joe Chapman 15, Andrew Thomson 13, Darius Defoe 4, Fabulous Flournoy 4
Rebs: Fabulous Flournoy/Andrew Thomson, 7
Asts: Fabulous Flournoy, 5		 Pts: Lehmon Colbert 25, Jeremy Bell 23, Anthony Rowe 20, Anthony Martin 13, Paul Williams 10, James Jones 3
Rebs: Lehmon Colbert/Anthony Rowe, 8
Asts: Anthony Martin, 6

BBL Trophy

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Group stage

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Semi-finals

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Newcastle Eagles vs. Sheffield Sharks

February 10, 2012
Newcastle Eagles 104–84 Sheffield Sharks
Newcastle wins on aggregate, 220–168

Milton Keynes Lions vs. Plymouth Raiders

February 5, 2012
Plymouth Raiders 107–99 (OT) Milton Keynes Lions
Plymouth wins on aggregate, 188–186

Final

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First Leg
March 18, 2012
3.45pm GMT
Plymouth Raiders 97–88 Newcastle Eagles
Scoring by quarter: 22–12, 19–12, 22–32, 34–20
Pts: Michael Ojo 22, Jeremy Bell 21, Paul Williams 14, James Jones 14, Lehmon Colbert 13, Anthony Rowe 8 Jamal Williams 3, Anthony Martin 2
Rebs: Paul Williams, 18		 Pts: Charles Smith 21, Andrew Thomson 16, Joe Chapman 14, Darius Defoe 12, Fab Flournoy 11, Paul Gause 10, Andrew Bridge 4
Rebs: Fabulous Flournoy, 8
Second Leg
March 23, 2012
7.30pm GMT
Newcastle Eagles 96–80 Plymouth Raiders
Scoring by quarter: 18–23, 37–23, 16–22, 25–17
Pts: Paul Gause 19, Andrew Thomson 17, Charles Smith 16, Joe Chapman 16, Darius Defoe 14, Fab Flournoy 8, Andrew Bridge 6
Rebs: Andrew Thomson, 11		 Pts: Jeremy Bell 29, Lehmon Colbert 13, Paul Williams 13, James Jones 11, Michael Ojo 7, Anthony Rowe 4, Jamal Williams 3
Rebs: Paul Williams, 15
Newcastle wins on aggregate, 184–177

Statistics leaders

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Category Player Stat
Points per game   Demarius Bolds (Milton Keynes Lions) 23.9
Rebounds per game   Daniel Northern (Milton Keynes Lions) 12.3
Assists per game   Adam Brown (Cheshire Jets) 5.0
Steals per game   Demarius Bolds (Milton Keynes Lions) 2.8
Blocks per game   Bill Cole (Cheshire Jets) 2.3

Monthly awards

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Month Coach Player
October     Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles)   Ayron Hardy (Leicester Riders)
November     Rob Paternostro (Leicester Riders)   Mychal Green (Glasgow Rocks)
December   Gavin Love (Plymouth Raiders)   Richie Gordon (Worcester Wolves)
January     Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles)     Charles Smith (Newcastle Eagles)
February     Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles)   Tommy Freeman (Worcester Wolves)
March   Gavin Love (Plymouth Raiders)   Ayron Hardy (Leicester Riders)
April   John Lavery (Cheshire Jets)   Ayron Hardy (Leicester Riders)

Seasonal awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Durham Wildcats join British Basketball League". BBC Sport. 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  2. ^ "Worthing Thunder to drop into English Basketball League". BBC Sport. 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Essex Pirates". BBL. 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Mark Woods (2011). "Sullivan exit addes to Mersey woes". MVP 24–7. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Mark Woods (2011). "Mersey back in the game". MVP 24–7. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  6. ^ a b "New basketball Union looks to create Olympic legacy". BBLfans.com. 2012. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  7. ^ "Ron Artest to play for Cheshire Jets". Los Angeles Times. 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  8. ^ "Cheshire Jets official: Team has offered Ron Artest a stake". Los Angeles Times. 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  9. ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Rocks join Jets in race for Ron Artest". MVP 24–7. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  10. ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Lavery to coach Jets as Smith steps down". MVP 24–7. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  11. ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Mersey have new owner". MVP 24–7. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  12. ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Only way is out for Essex". MVP 24–7. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  13. ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Mersey put on hold as talks continue". MVP 24–7. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  14. ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Durham defeated on BBL debut". MVP 24–7. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  15. ^ Mark Woods (2011). "Not so Foxy move lands Plymouth in jam?". MVP 24–7. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  16. ^ "Plymouth Raiders mascot Foxy investigated for pulling down opponent's shorts". The Herald (Plymouth). 2011. Archived from the original on November 27, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  17. ^ "Raiders mascot causes on-court controversy". BBLfans.com. 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  18. ^ "Plymouth fined for mascot incident". BBLfans.com. 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  19. ^ "Plymouth Raiders are fined for not controlling mascot". BBC Sport. 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  20. ^ "Davis ticks off the milestones". BBLfans.com. 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  21. ^ "Guildford end drought in Champions backyard". BBLfans.com. 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  22. ^ "Newcastle win BBL Cup Final". BBLfans.com. 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  23. ^ "Boyd announces Leicester exit". BBLfans.com. 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  24. ^ Mark Woods (2012). "No londer Boyd, Flinder quits". MVP 24–7. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  25. ^ "Newcastle win BBL Trophy, play-off boost for Mersey". BBLfans.com. 2012. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  26. ^ "Newcastle are the BBL Champions after Plymouth's defeat". BBLfans.com. 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  27. ^ "Mersey Tigers spoil Newcastle's BBL Championship crowning". BBLfans.com. 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  28. ^ "Riders head to Loughborough for Play-offs". Soar Magazine. 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  29. ^ "Riders return to Loughborough for basketball play-offs". Loughborough University. 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  30. ^ Nick Moore (2012). "Newcastle Eagles complete clean sweep". HoopsFix.com. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  31. ^ "Garbelotto quits Tigers". BBLfans.com. 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  32. ^ "Joe Chapman wins Molten BBL MVP award". BBL.org.uk. 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  33. ^ "Flournoy wins Molten Coach of the Year award". BBL.org.uk. 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  34. ^ a b c "BBL Team of the Year 2012". BBL.org.uk. 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
Preceded by BBL seasons
2011–12 		Succeeded by
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