Rickey McGill made his Sheffield debut with just over a minute left in the first quarter against Cheshire. The Sharks trailed 11–15. On his first possession, he assisted a Jamell Anderson three. On the next, he picked off a pass and fed Scott Lindsey in transition. Two plays, two scores—just like that, Sheffield led.
Then came the second quarter, and everything clicked. The ball zipped. The cuts were sharp. The rhythm was clean. When McGill checked out near the half, it was 49–35—a rapid 18-point swing. It was a glimpse of this team at their most fluent: cohesive, dangerous, and a level above.
McGill had been brought in to cover for Rodney Chatman III, whose MVP-level start had been derailed by injury. But even without him, this was the most talented roster in the league. Donovan Clay, the SLB’s most versatile big, could do everything—screen, switch, score, defend. Prentiss Nixon hit tough shots from anywhere. The depth was almost unfair. Drake Jeffries and Jordan Ratinho never stopped moving, never stopped shooting. Jacob Groves—the most scalable player in the league—looked ready for a bigger stage.
This team had answers everywhere. And when it clicked, they looked unstoppable. The third quarter against Cheshire was just as dominant—they moved with confidence, pressured the ball, killed them in transition. They entered the fourth up 72–54.
Then it unravelled. The ball stuck. Cheshire surged. A 20-point cushion dissolved into a nervous finish. Sheffield missed free throws, blew rotations, and nearly gave it away. They won, 87–85—but what lingered wasn’t the result. It was the collapse.
That game became a metaphor. A team with too much talent to ignore—and too much volatility to trust. They could win it all or come apart. Sometimes both in the same night.
Win Streak
That Cheshire game came during an 11-game win streak—a stretch built on pressure and control. They forced turnovers, crashed the boards, and punished mistakes. But by the end of the Championship season, the cracks had started to show.
| Stat | During Streak | After Streak |
|---|---|---|
| Free Throw Rate | 30.8% | 29.8% |
| Fast Break PTS | 12.3 | 9.9 |
| Opp TO | 14.9 | 12.9 |
| Opp Paint PTS | 33.3 | 37.8 |
| Opp 3P% | 32.0% | 34.4% |
| REB% | 51.8% | 49.1% |
They got to the line less and couldn’t force enough in transition to compensate. Defensively, the paint opened up and opposition shooters found space. It wasn’t just one statistic that showed the decline, it was across the board.
Moments and Margins
In the SLB Cup Final, Sheffield trailed Surrey by two at halftime. Then Prentiss Nixon caught fire—16 third-quarter points without a miss—and the game flipped. One quarter. One scorer. One trophy. A snapshot of this team at full power.
In the play-off semi-final, Rickey McGill looked unstoppable in the first leg against Leicester. Sheffield left that game with a 10-point cushion. But they coughed up the lead in the first quarter of the second leg and went on to collapse in overtime. The volatility that won them silverware cost them a shot at more. The margins were thin. The identity never changed. But the outcomes did.
Almost Beautiful
Atiba Lyons built something real this year. But it came in fragments—quarters, not games. Sheffield finished with a Cup title and a top-three league record, but were never quite the finished product. They had the pieces. They had the moments. But cohesion never arrived in full.
Now comes the next chapter. This summer, Sheffield will enter The Basketball Tournament—a $1 million, winner-takes-all showcase in the US. Next season, they’re aiming for Europe. The ENBL, FIBA Europe Cup, even EuroCup are on the table.
The talent is there. The ambition is real. The cohesion still needs to travel with them. But the direction? That’s already set.
