Wikipedia

2006–07 British Basketball League season

The 2006–07 BBL season, the 20th since its establishment of the British Basketball League, started on 29 September 2006 when reigning champions Newcastle Eagles began with an 85–83 loss away to Sheffield Sharks.

2006–07 BBL season
LeagueBritish Basketball League
SportBasketball
Roll of Honour
BBL championsGuildford Heat
Play-off's championsNewcastle Eagles
BBL Cup championsGuildford Heat
BBL Trophy championsPlymouth Raiders
British Basketball League seasons

Ten teams took to the field this season, including two new franchises to the BBL, London United and the Worcester Wolves, who both moved up from the English Basketball League during summer 2006.[1] The new additions were brought in after three teams withdrew from the League before the start of the season. Brighton Bears and London Towers both decided to "park" their respective franchises and take a one-year break[2][3][4] whilst Birmingham Bullets also decided to sit out due to a lack of suitable home venues available[5] and have since gone into liquidation.[6]

Teams

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Locations of the 2006–07 BBL teams
Team City/Area Arena Capacity Last season
Chester Jets Chester Northgate Arena 1,000 7th
Guildford Heat Guildford Guildford Spectrum 1,100 5th
Leicester Riders Leicester John Sanford Centre 800 6th
London United London SPACe 600 New
Milton Keynes Lions Milton Keynes Bletchley Centre 800 10th
Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Metro Radio Arena 6,500 1st
Plymouth Raiders Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions 1,480 9th
Scottish Rocks Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000 2nd
Sheffield Sharks Sheffield English Institute of Sport 1,200 3rd
Worcester Wolves Worcester University of Worcester 600 New

Notable occurrences

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  • Following on from Brighton and Birmingham's decision to withdraw from the league, London Towers announced they were to be the third, and most high-profile team to sit out the upcoming season.[7]
  • London United and Worcester Wolves were both elected from the English Basketball League to replace the three departed teams, and to keep franchises in the major markets of London and the Midlands.[8]
  • A£2.5 million sponsorship deal was agreed on 22 September 2006, between the BBL and national broadcaster MKTV, including primetime TV coverage of 40 live games per season,[9] high-profile sponsorship and a National Community Development Programme.
  • Molten, the world's leading manufacturer of inflatable sports balls, signed a ball sponsorship with the BBL worth £150,000 prior to the season opening. The new GG7 ball was unveiled on 25 September as the official match ball for the next three seasons.
  • New league franchise Worcester Wolves record their first ever BBL win on 7 October, an 82–79 home victory against Chester Jets.
  • The BBL Cup final took place at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham on 7 January 2007, and saw Guildford Heat claim their first Championship since foundation 18 months previous, with an 81–78 win against Scottish Rocks. The game was the first ever BBL match to be broadcast live over the internet, reaching a potentially worldwide audience.
  • Plymouth Raiders also won their first silverware since stepping-up to the BBL, with a 74–65 win in the BBL Trophy final against holders Newcastle Eagles on 4 March. Held at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena, the game was the first to be broadcast live on national television in over four years, as part of the sponsorship agreement with MKTV.
  • Leicester Riders guard, and former Los Angeles Lakers star Steve Bucknall, as well as Guildford star Chad McKnight both test positive for marijuana and are each handed a three-month suspension. However, the story only comes to public attention several months later.[10]
  • Chester Jets owner and head coach Mike Burton announced prior to their season finale that he would be retiring from the franchise at the end of the season. Burton's announcement, after 19 years at the helm, put serious doubts of the clubs' future.[11]
  • Despite leading the League for most of the season, Guildford's one point 90–91 loss away to Scottish Rocks on 1 April, ensured that the title race went down to the wire, and only a final day 114–85 win at home to Chester Jets on 8 April guaranteed the 2007 League crown would belong to the Heat.
  • Newcastle, playing in front of their home fans at the Metro Radio Arena on 29 April, were victorious against a resilient Scottish Rocks in the climax to the BBL Finals Weekend and the BBL season, as they claimed their third consecutive Playoff Championship with a 95–82 win.

BBL Championship (Tier 1)

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Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L % Pts
1 Guildford Heat 36 29 7 0.806 58
2 Sheffield Sharks 36 28 8 0.778 56
3 Newcastle Eagles 36 25 11 0.694 50
4 Scottish Rocks 36 22 14 0.611 44
5 Plymouth Raiders 36 20 16 0.556 40
6 Milton Keynes Lions 36 18 18 0.500 36
7 Leicester Riders 36 13 23 0.361 26
8 London United 36 11 25 0.306 22
9 Chester Jets 36 10 26 0.278 20
10 Worcester Wolves 36 4 32 0.111 8
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

Playoffs

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
1 Guildford Heat 71
8 London United 68
1 Guildford Heat 71
4 Scottish Rocks 78
4 Scottish Rocks 83
5 Plymouth Raiders 77
4 Scottish Rocks 82
3 Newcastle Eagles 95
2 Sheffield Sharks 89
7 Leicester Riders 71
2 Sheffield Sharks 73
3 Newcastle Eagles 83
3 Newcastle Eagles 110
6 Milton Keynes Lions 84

Quarter-finals

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15 April 2007
Scottish Rocks 83–77 Plymouth Raiders

Semi-finals

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Third-place game

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Final

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29 April 2007
Newcastle Eagles 95–82 Scottish Rocks
Scoring by quarter: 30–23, 17–21, 23–17, 25–21
Pts: Olu Babalola 23, Tony Dorsey 18, Andrew Bridge 17, Shawan Robinson 16, Fab Flournoy 8, Jeremy Hyatt 6, Darius Defoe 5 Pts: Robert Yanders 26, Sterling Davis 16, Maurice Hampton 16, Moritz Wohlers 10, Chris Anrin 5, Gareth Murray 4, Julius Joseph 4

National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

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Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L % Pts
1 Worthing Thunder 22 21 1 0.955 42
2 Reading Rockets 22 19 3 0.864 38
3 Manchester Magic 22 17 5 0.773 34
4 London Leopards 22 13 9 0.591 26
5 PAWS London Capital 22 13 9 0.591 26
6 West Hertfordshire Warriors 22 11 11 0.500 22
7 City of Sheffield Arrows 22 11 11 0.500 22
8 Solent Stars 22 7 15 0.318 14
9 Coventry Crusaders 22 6 16 0.273 12
10 King's Lynn Fury 22 5 17 0.227 10
11 Teesside Mohawks 22 5 17 0.227 10
12 Northampton Neptunes 22 4 18 0.182 8
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

National League Division 2 (Tier 3)

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Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L % Pts
1 Derby Trailblazers 22 19 3 0.864 38
2 Bristol Academy Flyers 22 19 3 0.864 38
3 Taunton Tigers 22 15 7 0.682 30
4 Team Northumbria 22 14 8 0.636 28
5 Newi Nets 22 12 10 0.545 24
6 Leicester Warriors 22 11 11 0.500 22
7 Birmingham Aston Athletics 22 11 11 0.500 22
8 Tamar Valley Cannons 22 10 12 0.455 20
9 Kent Crusaders 22 7 15 0.318 14
10 Plymouth Raiders II 22 6 16 0.273 12
11 Mansfield Express 22 5 17 0.227 10
12 Liverpool 22 3 19 0.136 6
= League winners
= Qualified for the play-offs

BBL Cup

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This season's edition of the BBL Cup saw the two lowest seeds from the previous season's League rankings face off with the BBL's two newest additions – London United and Worcester Wolves – in the first round. As expected, the experience of Milton Keynes and Plymouth paid off and both teams advanced to the quarter-finals to join the rest of their league rivals in the last eight. In the clash of the round, eventual winners Guildford Heat saw off the Plymouth Raiders in a tie dominated by the shooting of Chad McKnight, who posted 39 points for the Heat.

The Semi-finals saw the league's four strongest teams drawn against each other, but while Guildford easily dispatched the visiting Sheffield Sharks, the Cup holders Newcastle Eagles, were defeated by the Scottish Rocks, where Rocks' Robert Yanders netted a game-high 23 points.

In only their second season since establishment, Guildford's success story continued when they scooped their first piece of silverware with an 82–79 victory in the Cup Final against the Rocks. Heat's star guard Brian Dux was named as MVP scoring 21 points on the way to victory.

First round

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Quarter-finals

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12 November 2006
Scottish Rocks 84–79 Chester Jets

Semi-finals

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10 December 2006
Scottish Rocks 94–69 Newcastle Eagles

Final

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7 January 2007
Guildford Heat 82–79 Scottish Rocks
Scoring by quarter: 16–27, 26–9, 15–7, 25–36
Pts: Brian Dux 21, Chad McKnight 20, Dean Williams 10, Dan Wardrope 7, Mike Martin 7, Rod Wellington 7, Daniel Gilbert 6, Chris Brown 3 Pts: Sterling Davis 21, Maurice Hampton 19, Rob Yanders 18, Julius Joseph 9, Moritz Wohlers 7, Hugo Sterk 4

BBL Trophy

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Due to the lack of teams competing in this season's Championship, the BBL Trophy featured all 10 BBL teams plus six invited teams, four from the English Basketball League (Coventry Crusaders, London Leopards, Reading Rockets and Worthing Thunder) and two from the Scottish Basketball League (Edinburgh Kings and Troon Tornadoes). The First round saw all 16 teams divided into four regionalised groups with the top finishing team advancing to the Semi-finals.

Group stage

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Semi-finals

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Final

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4 March 2007
Newcastle Eagles 65–74 Plymouth Raiders
Scoring by quarter: 18–21, 17–19, 10–18, 20–16
Pts: Tony Dorsey 20, Shawan Robinson 15, Fab Flournoy 12, Olu Babalola 11, TJ Walker 3, Darius Defoe 2 Pts: Carlton Aaron 25, Gaylon Moore 17, Gavin Love 11, Andrew Lasker 10, DeAntoine Beasley 8, Allister Gall 3

Statistics leaders

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Category Player Stat
Points per game   Jazwyn Cowan (Chester Jets) 23.07
Rebounds per game   Carlton Aaron (Plymouth Raiders) 12.43
Assists per game   TJ Walker (Newcastle Eagles) 5.86
Steals per game   Maurice Hampton (Scottish Rocks) 2.86
Blocks per game   Andrew Alleyne (Leicester Riders) 1.36
Field goal percentage   Darius Defoe (Newcastle Eagles) 60.00%
Free throw percentage   Dan Wardrope (Guildford Heat) 86.19%
Three-point field goal percentage     Hugo Sterk (Scottish Rocks) 44.00%

Monthly awards

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Month Coach Player
October   Tom Hancock (Milton Keynes Lions)     Tony Windless (Milton Keynes Lions)
November   Peter Scantlebury MBE (Sheffield Sharks)   Carlton Aaron (Plymouth Raiders)
December   Paul James (Guildford Heat)   Jazwyn Cowan (Chester Jets)
January     Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles)   Jeff Bonds (Sheffield Sharks)
February   Peter Scantlebury MBE (Sheffield Sharks)   Tarick Johnson (London United)
March   Thorsten Leibenath (Scottish Rocks)   Daniel Gilbert (Guildford Heat)

Seasonal awards

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References

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  1. ^ Andrew Shields (2006). "Towards 2012". Time Out. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  2. ^ Rob Dugdale (31 July 2006). "Towers owner to suspend franchise for new season". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  3. ^ Andrew Shields (2006). "Towards 2012". Time Out. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ BBC Sport (26 July 2006). "Birmingham will miss BBL season". BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  6. ^ BBC Stoke and Staffordshire (7 January 2010). "Team Birmingham Bullets basketball club move to Fenton". BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  7. ^ Rob Dugdale (31 July 2006). "Towers owner to suspend franchise for new season". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  8. ^ Andrew Shields (2006). "Towards 2012". Time Out. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  9. ^ BBC (21 September 2006). "BBL signs up with new broadcaster". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
  10. ^ Richard Taylor (24 March 2007). "BBL kept in the dark on positive drug test". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  11. ^ Richard Taylor (7 April 2007). "Jets' future in doubt after Burton quits". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
Preceded by BBL seasons
2006–07 		Succeeded by
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