Tag: Manchester Basketball
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Harder to Ignore
The SLB started the season unrecognised, in dispute with its governing body, missing the referees from the previous season, and with a FIBA taskforce hanging over the sport. However fragile it all felt, the ball still went up in the air. Room for Ambition The SLB Operating Rules were published at the start of the…
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Close Enough to Hurt
A year ago, Manchester looked like a good team in search of a club. This season, the investment, the European push and Kaiyem Cleary’s return made it easier to see what Manchester were trying to be. Manchester reached the SLB Cup Final and the ENBL final in the same season. The team was good enough…
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What Should an SLB Club Be?
When Bristol Flyers were founded, the ambition was bigger than simply putting a professional team on the floor. Speaking on The Bristol Flyers Podcast last season about the club’s early days, former director of basketball Danny James made clear that the idea was there from the start. We set out a platform for what basketball…
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SLB Cup Final Preview
The Great Britain Men’s long list for the most recent FIBA World Cup qualifiers included 20 names. Five were from London Lions. Two were from Manchester Basketball. Only one other Super League Basketball player made the squad — Bristol Flyers guard Jonathan Brown. London and Manchester have both spent the season competing in Europe with…
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Matt Nicholson’s Defensive Footprint
Manchester’s numbers with Matt Nicholson on the floor tell a story that is both encouraging and frustrating. When he plays, opponents’ shot selection shifts away from the rim and towards less efficient areas of the floor. And yet the overall defensive impact remains modest. The shape of possessions changes, but the scoreboard barely does. This…
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Funds Can’t Play Basketball
The day after the NBA brought a regular-season game to the O2, a different room in London hosted a different kind of audience. 250 invite-only guests gathered at the Raffles Hotel for private briefings on the NBA’s plans for Europe. In one sense, the event worked. Not because a league was announced, or because clubs…
