The Poujoulat Heat Guildford and PAWS London Capital meet for the first time on Friday as two of the BBL’s youngest clubs look for BBL Championship points.

Both teams slipped down the table last weekend, with Heat now joint second behind in-form Newcastle, and Capital lying ninth.

The Heat lost 91-80 last Friday to Everton, but coach Paul James is looking forward to his side continuing the form they showed to beat Marshall MK Lions 95-79 on Sunday, “It’s another game where we have to impose ourselves or we could face a repeat of what happened at Everton on Friday.  We know that Wes Miller can really shoot, and that we will have to shut him down.  Steve [Bucknall] has got his guys playing really well. They are capable of hanging around and winning the game. They showed that when they beat Sheffield, that’s no mean feat.

“We need to look to build on beating Milton Keynes, and we want to go into the European games in November on a good run.”

Like Everton, London Capital are new to the BBL this season and James was disappointed with his side’s performance against the other rookie team, “Friday was horrible, and I was very disappointed with how we played. We weren’t there for each other as a team, and we just didn’t show up. A few home truths were told after the game, and it obviously worked because Sunday saw us produce our best display of the season. We were physical, we backed each other up, and we played to our strengths. We had Brian [Dux] back, and that was a big boost for us and helped a lot. It was a boost for the team, and if we can continue to play like that, we’ll win more than we lose.”

With his team looking to snap a four-game losing run, Capital’s coach Steve Bucknall knows that they face a tough time at The Spectrum on Friday night, “I know most of their players, and I’ve played against a few of them. They’ve brought some good players in, and they’re probably the toughest team in the league.

“I’m not worried about wins or losses, I want the players to work hard. We made Cheshire work for their victory a couple of weeks ago, but there’s been times where sides haven’t had to work too hard against us.

“It’s a very difficult place to go, but we’ve won in Sheffield, so it’s not impossible.”

Two of the BBL’s form teams clash at the MetroRadio Arena on Friday when the Newcastle Eagles host the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets in the BBL Championship.

Despite looking forward to the game, former Eagles’ point guard and new Jets’ coach TJ Walker know his side have a tough test ahead of them; that is especially so for him as he prepares to go head-to-head with Great Britain’s point guard, “Midge [Richard Midgley] is having a great start to the season. I met him in 2001 when he was the best high school point guard in California, and I knew he would be a success. But they’ve also got the likes of Jeremy [Hyatt], Charles Smith and Lynard Stewart, so they’re dangerous all over the court. And then, of course, there’s Fab [Flournoy], he can cause trouble for us at both ends of the floor.”

Both sides go into the game in good form, with Newcastle topping the table after six straight victories and Jets having won four of their last five games. Walker was delighted after seeing his side win at the Marshall MK Lions on Friday evening before comfortably defeating PAWS London Capital on Sunday, “Winning twice in a weekend is always great, and we played really well in both games. We had a spell of five or six minutes in each game where we were a bit iffy. We almost threw it away at Milton Keynes, and that spell came at the start of the game against London.”

Walker missed that 89-67 victory against Capital with a hamstring injury, but he admitted that the injury may prove beneficial to his side in the long run, “It was a good experience to see the different combinations that we can play, and to watch the game properly and see what the team needs.

“My hamstring’s a lot better, and it was good that I didn’t need to test it on Sunday. I’m hopeful that I’ll be back for the game in Newcastle.”

Walker’s former boss, Eagles’ coach Fab Flournoy, is looking forward to welcoming his old team-mate back to Newcastle, “It looks like he is getting them playing well, he’s got Shawn Myers back and he’s doing good things for them. He’s rejuvenated James Hamilton, and their new shooting guard Jayson Obazuaye is leading the league in scoring.

“Their role players, Richard Murphy and Marc Pratt are doing well. They all know what their role in the team is, and things are falling into place. It reminds me of my first year as a coach, TJ knows the league and he knows our situation, he’ll take the best traits from Newcastle and add stuff of his own. It’s a wonderful opportunity for him, and he’s laying the foundations. Everyone knows that strong foundations lead to a well built house.”

 Kularoos Plymouth Raiders v SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks

“They’ve added Terrance Durham, and with Gaylon Moore they have a good inside presence. Point guard Anthony Martin runs the team well, and DeAntoine Beasley does a good job for them. If we limit those players, we should do well.”
 

PAWS London Capital and Worcester Wolves meet for the first time in the BBL on Sunday as both sides look to put poor performances in their last outings behind them.

Wolves come into the game on the back of a mixed weekend having picked up their first win of the season last Saturday evening, defeating Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 92-85, before losing 98-86 at fellow strugglers Team Birmingham Panthers the following day.

The mixed results left player-coach Skouson Harker a frustrated man, “We played well on Saturday, but on Sunday we just didn’t do it. They played an up-tempo game, we tried to match them, but we couldn’t do it. Danny Sandell had a career night, he finished with 38 points, and everything he shot went in.

“They hadn’t played the day before, and they took advantage of that by wearing us down. It’s going to be another long weekend, and hopefully we can at least split it. Both games will be a test, and I’ll be happy if we can duplicate last weekend and get another win.”

Harker has some experience of playing with a couple of the Capital squad, “I played with Santa Ataha at Birmingham Bullets, and Pierre Henry-Fontaine went on tour to China with us, so I know what they bring to the team. They have lots of young talent, and they’ve picked up a couple of results. We need to control Wes Miller, if he gets in our half he is capable of scoring.”

Having lost to the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders and BiG Storage Cheshire Jets last weekend, Capital’s coach Steve Bucknall admitted that his rookie team are finding the physical demands of the BBL tough going, “We’re beaten up as a team and the games over the weekend showed what we don’t have, which is big bodies and depth. Teams have been playing what I call “big ball” on us and using their power and size to wear us down.

“Sam Bradley from Nashville, Tennessee is joining us and he’ll help, but the other players need to get in the weight room and build up their strength.”

Bucknall is keen to end his side’s poor home form, which has seen them lose all three home games since joining the BBL, “We haven’t won at home yet, and we need to start doing that. At the moment I’m looking at Friday’s game in Guildford, and hoping that the Worcester match will take care of itself.”

BBL new-boys Everton Tigers and PAWS London Capital meet at Greenbank Academy on Friday evening as the Merseyside team look to celebrate their first home game of the season with a victory.

“It’s our first home game, and we want to put on a good show,” said coach Henry Mooney.  “We need to win the home games and pinch a few on the road. Obviously we are looking to win the league, but that should get us into the top four, and a home draw in the play-offs – then anything is possible. We want to play our best basketball in March and April, but first of all we need to win against London on Friday.

“I think we have the team to beat them. We will cause them match-up problems in the paint.  We have two strong powerful guys inside, and if we get that right we should win the game.  It’s a tough start for Capital after making the step up, I’m sure Steve had a limited budget.”

Tigers will be hoping that Calvin Davis is fit after suffering a groin injury during the warm up in Saturday’s loss at Plymouth.  The former BBL all-star is expected to have treatment throughout the week, with Everton likely to make a game-day decision as to whether he plays.

Capital had a mixed weekend as they picked up their first BBL victory – shocking league leaders Sheffield Sharks 95-94 in overtime – before losing at home to BiG Storage Cheshire Jets on Saturday evening.

Coach Steve Bucknall admitted to having mixed emotions about the two games, “It was great to win in Sheffield.  We played well, and the guys got what they deserved.  We put a lot of hard work in both during the game and during practice throughout the week. We played well defensively and we got the breaks at the end. We made some good decisions down the stretch, took the right shots and played well as a team.

“We looked tired against Jets on Saturday, we only had eight players including an 18-year-old, so I was using a seven-man rotation and everyone played a lot of minutes.  I told the players they should be able to cope with two games in as many days, and they should be able to bounce back after a game on Friday. 

“Often the second game is the most important in a weekend, and we should have built on the win in Sheffield.  I’m sure the players did want to win, but there were times we didn’t look like it.  We didn’t show the same desire as we did on Friday, and when you give a team a 20 point start before you start playing, you aren’t going to win. It was very disappointing.”

Although Bucknall knows what to expect against an Everton side with several veteran players in it, including his former Leicester Riders team-mate David Aliu, he is concentrating on his own team, “I’m far more concerned about our team.  They have some decent players, but at the moment I’m not concerned about them.  I need to be comfortable with what we are delivering. As the week progresses, I’ll take a closer look at Everton.”

BBL Championship leaders Sheffield Sharks will be looking to continue their fine start to the season when they host Marshall MK Lions on Friday evening.

Both teams suffered their first defeat of the campaign last week, with Sharks falling to a shock overtime loss at home against PAWS London Capital, before bouncing back to defeat league champions Poujoulat Heat Guildford the following day, while Lions went down in a thriller against the Heat on Friday.

Sharks’ coach Pete Scantlebury seemed more disappointed with the loss against London than pleased with the win against Heat, “I was very disappointed with the loss against London.  To give them credit, they played hard, but we should have closed the game out.  We were 20 points up at one stage, and ahead by seven with a minute to go.  We just didn’t take care of the basketball.

“We played a lot better on Saturday, but in a way it made Friday even more disappointing as we should be 5-0 at the moment.  We were a lot better down the stretch, and we made the big plays.  If we’d have won on Friday we might not have won at Guildford, but we lost the league by losing at Worcester last season, and I hope it doesn’t come back to haunt us.”

Scantlebury is looking for a repeat of the performance against the Heat as his side face a Milton Keynes team who have also only lost once in the league this season, “They are the same squad as last season, but they’ve added Yorick Williams to the mix and that makes them a lot deeper.  Like Guildford they are another experienced side, and we need to play as well as we did on Saturday.  We need to take care of Shawn Jamison on the inside, and as well as Yorick we need to watch Tony Windless on the outside as he hurt us last season.”

One change on the Sharks roster for this weekend’s game is that Perry Lawson’s short-term deal with the club has now come to an end, and Scantlebury is sad to see the former England international leave the club,  “It’s a shame to lose Perry, but he was only signed until Anthony [Vigil] came in. Financially we just can’t do it, and to be fair if Anthony had been here since the beginning of the season, we’d never have signed Perry.”

With Dru Spinks and Robert Youngblood only playing a minute each in the loss against Guildford, and Ronnie Baker sitting out the whole game, Lions’ coach Vince Macaulay will be hoping for a fully fit squad when they travel to Sheffield.

“I expect them to be a tough team to play against on their own court,” said Macaulay. “It’s no surprise that Pete has put together a good team.  In Alto Virgil they have a tremendous player, and we know what he did for Jets last season.  They’ve brought Steve Parillon back into the league, and he showed last week against Capital that he’s someone we need to look out for.  We know all about their shot blocking ability, and I’m expecting it to be a real humdinger.”

Team Birmingham Panthers will be looking to pick up their first ever BBL victory on Saturday when they host the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets.

Jets collected their first victory of the season on Saturday with a comfortable win at PAWS London Capital, and coach TJ Walker was a delighted man following the game, “We played well, and we’re starting to gel together as a team.  Jayson Obazuaye had a good game, and Richard Murphy is starting to come around and figure what I want him to do, both offensively and defensively.

“Everyone else just played solid, and we deserved the W. It was nice to get the monkey off our back.”

With Jets also facing a home game against league champions Guildford Heat on Sunday, Walker recognises that his side will face a tough time, “It’s a big weekend for us, and it’s a an opportunity to get back to .500. That’s our goal, but the first thing we have to do is take care of Birmingham, there’s no point going in there thinking about the Heat game.  I know Nigel’s down on players, but he’s going to get his Americans in at some point.  I will never take any game for granted, and we will always respect the other team. We have to go in there, and do what we need to do. We certainly aren’t at the level where we can look down on teams, we need to take the game seriously.”

Player-coach Walker will face his nemesis, Rob Paternostro, when the teams meet on Saturday, and he’s looking forward to matching up with the veteran point guard, “I love to hate Rob when we’re playing against each other.  He’s a great guy, but he’s been pestering me for years.  I can see why people hate playing against him, but I know what he brings; he’s a vet and he brings leadership to their team.”

With Jets having gained their first victory of the season, Lloyd is expecting a tough game, “They’ve just beaten London Capital, who’d beaten Sheffield the day before, so you could say we’re playing the hottest team in the country!  Their guard, Jayson Obazuaye is scoring in bunches, so he will be a real threat.  TJ has got them all playing together. He was court leader when he was with Newcastle, and he’ll bring that to them. Both he and James Hamilton are winners and have had success in this country, so they bring that mentality to their team and that’s the pedigree they have.”

Two sides that won their last games meet at the John Sandford Centre on Saturday when the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders host Newcastle Eagles.

It is a game that Riders’ coach Martin Ford is looking forward to – but with some trepidation, “It’s going to be a tough challenge, and it will show us where we are compared to the rest of the league.  Without a doubt, over the last four or five years, Newcastle have been the team to beat.  They are there or thereabouts in all of the competitions as well as doing all the things they do off the court. They are the ideal template for what I want us to achieve as a club. They’ve worked well in schools and in the community, which has helped them bring the crowds in, and the increase in revenue has meant that they can develop the club on and off the court. They treat the players well, and we’ll be looking at this game not only from a playing point of view, but I’ll be asking Fab [Flournoy] about the little things that we are trying to do.”

Ford sees Eagles’ big man Olu Babalola and point guard Richard Midgley as the key players for Flournoy’s team, “Midgley had a fantastic summer with Great Britain, and is without a doubt a quality player.  But Babalola’s sheer size and presence is going to give us our biggest headache over the weekend.  We just don’t have anyone who can match up with him size-wise.  We’re athletic, but lightweight in comparison. He’s a great player, and he would be a success in any programme.  They are both solid players, and they will be key to Eagles’ success this season.”

Having gone 12 days without a game, this is Eagles’ second match in a run of four in seven days, but coach Fab Flournoy is not complaining about the schedule, “It was a big break for us. We’d only played one game per week before then, and it was a bit strange to then have 12 days off.  I’m delighted that we did have a rest, but we now need to get back into game rhythm.  We’ve worked hard in practice to replicate back-to-back situations, but the only way you really get used to it, is to do it. It’s tough playing in consecutive nights, because teams play different styles, and you could face a side who are strong on the inside one night, then play a team who play on the perimeter the following night.”

With the John Sandford Centre a notoriously difficult place to play, Flournoy expects a tough trip, “We’re playing at three of the toughest places in the league to visit in the space of five days.  Playing at Leicester is a huge test, they are a tough team at home and to be honest we always seem to lose out first visit there each season. 

“With Martin Ford coaching there, they will be well prepared and it’s up to us to go there and play tough defence and show some poise.  I’m not sure what system he’ll use, but they’ll be well prepared.  Martin will focus on what they are going to do, rather than what we do.

“Chad McKnight is a good signing, he has a lot of energy and plays hard.  We know what he brings, and he has some good players around him.  They are one of the toughest teams to face on their own court, and it’s a difficult place for three-point shooters.  The key is how well we play defensively.”

Worcester Wolves will be striving to end two losing runs when they entertain the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks on Saturday.

The club are looking for their first win under new coach Skouson Harker, having lost their opening two games this season, and will also be aiming for their first ever win against the Rocks.

Rocks’ new player-coach Sterling Davis enters the game with a little uncertainty as he prepares to clash with a Worcester team that bears little resemblance to that which his side beat on four occassions last season, “They are a whole new team, and because of where we are based I haven’t been able to see them play yet this season.  At this stage it’s about us doing the right things, rather than worrying about the opposition.”

In common with the home-town Wolves, Rocks have had a quiet start to the season, with only two games in the first three weeks, and influential point guard Rob Yanders is looking forward to a week where they will play three times, “Most teams have played more than us.  We’ve only had two games, so it’s been difficult to get doing.  We lost at Sheffield, but were a lot better against Cheshire, so we’re trying to make progress.”

Rocks enjoyed a four game sweep in the BBL Championship last season as Worcester struggled in their debut season in the top flight. Their first meeting, on Guy Fawkes Night, proved to be very one-sided as 23 points from Yanders helped his team to a massive 40-point win, 109-69.

Rocks’ first trip to Worcester proved to be equally enjoyable for the Scottish side as they romped to a 93-62 win, and Wolves suffered another 31-point loss when they hosted the Braehead team in late March – losing 90-59. The teams also met on the final day of the season in a game of little significance to either side, and 26 points from Julius Joseph helped Rocks complete the sweep with a 94-83 home win.

While Heat have arguably the deepest roster in the BBL, one of the key match-ups will be between point guard Walker and his Heat counterpart Brian Dux. The Jets’ play-caller has a lot of respect for last season’s Molten Player of the Year, “Brian’s a great point guard, and if I wasn’t playing I would want either him of Rocks’ Rob Yanders in my side. You can see his pedigree by all the things he won last season.  We need to control him, keep him quiet, and stop him getting off.  When he gets going he can hurt you, not just by scoring, but by doing all the other things. He can run the show even without putting up the points, and we need to keep him under control.” 

Heat coach Paul James is looking to put the defeat against Sheffield behind him as his team make the trip to Cheshire, “Cheshire’s always a tough place to play.  They picked up their win last week which will give them confidence.  TJ [Walker] is still a quality player, and he’s getting used to the role as a player-coach.  We have to get over the disappointment of losing against Sheffield and getting back to our winning ways.”

Heat were without the influential Dux in their loss last week, and James his hoping that he is fit to return for the game in Cheshire, “We could have played Brian on Saturday, but we didn’t want to risk tearing it (hamstring) completely.  We were looking at the long term, and we need to be able to win without him.”  

With Heat collecting their first BBL title and Jets failing to reach the play-offs, it’s no surprise that Paul James’ side won all four meetings between the teams last season. Twenty-one points from Chad McKnight helped Heat to a 90-72 away win in October, before Heat won their home encounter 76-62 in February. Jets’ final two games of the season were against Guildford, and their 104-79 away loss and 102-81 home defeat ended the north west side’s play-off dreams.

Two sides that had contrasting fortunes last weekend meet at the Northgate Arena on Sunday when the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets host the Poujoulat Heat Guildford. 

While Jets were picking up their first victory of the season last Saturday – winning at PAWS London Capital – Heat had a mixed weekend as they won at the Marshall MK Lions before losing at home against Sheffield Sharks. 

Jets’ player-coach TJ Walker knows that Heat will want to bounce back quickly from that defeat, “It will be tough, they have only one game over the weekend, and we have to play at Birmingham on Saturday.  They have a lot of bodies to throw at us, and I need to try to get people some rest on Saturday.  They are coming into the game off a loss, and they’ll want to bounce back from that quickly.”

Marshall MK Lions host the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks at Bletchley on Sunday in a clash between two sides who have each suffered only one league defeat this season. 

Lions suffered their first loss of the season last Friday when they were edged out 106-100 by league champions Poujoulat Heat Guildford, and coach Vince Macaulay was disappointed with the defeat, “I thought it was a very interesting game, I figured that had we been allowed to play in the last two or three minutes we would have come back and won the game.  I thought we were slightly harshly treated there, but we’re happy with the way things are and we’re ready for the next time we meet them.” 

A key moment in the action saw Kevin Griffin called for an unsportsmanlike foul on Brian Dux, and Macaulay was puzzled by the decision, “When the referee hidden away behind the guy makes the call and the one nearest the play doesn’t you wonder how they can call an unsportsmanlike. It was shame and it spoilt a good game. I thought it was a very high quality game, and I thought we had worn them out, but Brian Dux and Tony Dorsey really stepped up for them and won the game in the last quarter.” 

Macaulay knows that Rocks will provide another difficult test for his veteran side, “They’ve added the Danish international, Bilal Clarance, but they’ve lost Hugo Sterk and Chris Annin, so they are slightly less deep.  But I know they are looking for Gareth Murray to step up.  He’s a tremendous talent, and it’s good to see another young British guy getting the opportunity to play.  Sterling will take time to adjust to being a player-coach, but he has the bonus of continuity in his squad.  At point guard he has Rob Yanders, and he’s as good a court leader as you’ll find in the BBL.” 

The four games between the two sides last season resulted in a 2-2 tie, with each side winning one at home and one away.  Rocks’ player-coach Sterling Davis expects another close game this week, “They are a tough side to play with a lot of depth.  They’ve kept the same side together, and added Yorick Williams, so we’ll have to play well to win there.”

Two of the clubs who finished the 2006/7 season with silverware in their trophy cabinets meet at the Plymouth Pavilions on Sunday when BBL Trophy holders Kularoos Plymouth Raiders face play-off winners Newcastle Eagles.  

With Eagles having started the season with a narrow loss against league champions the Poujoulat Heat Guildford and a win against newcomers PAWS London Capital, Raiders’ coach Gary Stronach knows his team face a difficult test on Sunday, “Newcastle are a tough team.  You always know they are going to be defensively strong with Fab as a coach, and Richard Midgley definitely brings something extra to them.  They’ve got veteran players like Jeremy Hyatt and Lynard Stewart, and they have a lot of depth.” 

Stronach is pleased with the contribution his bench players have made this season, and believes that the depth Raiders have will prove to be a bonus as the season progresses, “It makes it more difficult to coach because I’m always trying to find minutes for everyone, but we’re definitely better for having 12 guys at practice, and when we are missing someone like Gaylon (Moore) we have people who can step in.  I’ve told the players that some nights I might only run six guys, and other nights there will be nine or ten in the rotation.  It’s a team game, and as long as we win games everyone should be happy.” 

While Raiders face only one game over the weekend, Sunday’s trip to the West Country is the second half of a double-header for Newcastle, and Eagles’ coach Fab Flournoy is ready for a tough game, “It doesn’t get any easier for us,” he admitted. “Gary’s team have got better every year, and I haven’t got a bad word to say for the whole organisation.  I can’t say enough about him and his guys, he’s kept the same core of players together throughout their time in the BBL, with Drew Lasker, DeAntoine Beasley and Gaylon Moore. He’s got Terrance Durham back, and a lot of his young players are now coming through. 

“It’s going to be tough for us, and like Saturday’s trip to Leicester, we often lose our first game of the season down there. A lot of it will be a mental rather than physical battle.  It will come down to how smart we are, whether we play enough defence and if we can stop them scoring easy baskets.” 

The game will see a repeat of last season’s BBL Trophy final, which saw Raiders win 74-65 at Newcastle’s MetroRadio Arena.  It was the Raiders’ first ever triumph in the competition and their first piece of silverware in Britain’s top flight. 

In contrast to that final victory, it was Eagles who had the better of the results in the four BBL Championship meetings between the sides, winning three of them.

One of the foremost rivalries in British basketball is renewed on Wednesday evening at the Brahead Arena as the BBL's two northernmost teams, who have clashed in each of the last two BBL Championship Playoff finals, meet for the first time this season.

The SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks and the Newcastle Eagles last encountered each other in last season's showpiece finale, with the Eagles securing their third successive Playoff crown courtesy of a 95-82 win. British star Olu Babalola was named MVP with an impressive 23 points and 7 rebounds.

In all, the teams met on seven occasions last season - including games in all three knockout competitions. Eagles had also knocked Rocks out of the BBL Trophy with a key 86-78 group stage victory, but the Glasgow-based side gained revenge a week later with a 94-69 hammering in the BBL Cup semi-final as point-guard Rob Yanders scored a game-high 23 with 8 assists and 8 boards. Rocks had the better of the league meetings, winning the series 3-1.

This week's meeting is a game that Newcastle player-coach Fab Flourony can't wait to play, "Rocks are a tough team, and they are even harder to play at home. We've built up a real derby rivalry with them over the last two seasons especially. We always fight it out in the League and Trophy and our paths normally cross in the Cup as well. They are always tough games, and Wednesday won't be any different; one thing you can guarantee is that it will come down to the last minute and probably the last shot."

With the teams scheduled to meet each other at least five times during this campaign, the 2007/8 season promises to be no different, and Rocks' coach Sterling Davis is set to take charge of his first such derby game, "We played them a lot last season, and hopefully it won't be quite as many this year. We know about most of their key players, but they've added Richard Midgley which changes things around a bit."

After ten days without a game, Davis admits that he doesn't know how the break will affect his team, "It could work either way for us, we've given the players some rest, and we've used the time to work on some things. We finished with a good win, and it would have been nice to keep the momentum going."

With Rocks retaining most of last year's squad, Flournoy knows plenty about the team his Eagles will face, "Rob Yanders is one of the best point guards in the league, he controls the game well and gives them a really solid foundation. Sterling [Davis] is a great force inside, and can also step outside. He's running the same system as last year, and he'll get better as a coach as the season goes on. He'll learn when to make subs, when to take time-outs and when the defence needs adjusting. It does take time to adjust to being a player-coach.

"Julius Joseph is one of the biggest talents in English basketball, and by bringing back Maurice Hampton and Moritz Wohlers, they have kept last season's team together and they are a well rounded unit. Gareth Murray is playing really well for them this season, and I think it's going to be a breakout year for him."

The teams are currently neck-and-neck in the BBL Championship table, as each has started the season with one win and one loss. The Rocks come into it after a 102-64 demolition of the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets at the Brahead Arena ten days prior; the Eagles also won their last game, 107-84 against PAWS London Capital.

The game tips-off at 7.30pm and tickets are available online at the link below. For further information contact the Rocks on 0141 886 2383.

Bucknall has not had the chance to see the Sharks play yet this season, but is very familiar with Sheffield coach Pete Scantlebury having played for him when he coached the 2006 Commonwealth Games team, “I know Pete very well, and we can expect a certain type of team from him. It’s like facing Fab [Flournoy – the Newcastle coach] last week, I know the kind of systems they will run and what they are trying to do.”