2006–07 British Basketball League season explained

2006–07 BBL season
League:	British Basketball League
Sport:	Basketball
Playoffs:	Roll of Honour
Conf1:	BBL
Conf1 Champ:	Guildford Heat
Conf2:	Play-off's
Conf2 Champ:	Newcastle Eagles
Conf3:	BBL Cup
Conf3 Champ:	Guildford Heat
Conf4:	BBL Trophy
Conf4 Champ:	Plymouth Raiders
Seasonslist:	List of British Basketball League seasons
Seasonslistnames:	British Basketball League
Prevseason Year:	2005–06
Nextseason Year:	2007–08

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.

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

width=25%	Team	width=19%	City/Area	width=29%	Arena	width=12%	Capacity	width=15%	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

• 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)

Final standings

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

Final

National League Division 1 (Tier 2)

Final standings

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)

Final standings

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

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.

Final

BBL Trophy

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

Northern Group 1

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percent
1.Newcastle Eagles	6	3	3	0	1.000
2.Scottish Rocks	4	3	2	1	0.666
3.Edinburgh Kings	2	3	1	2	0.333
4.Troon Tornadoes	0	3	0	3	0.000

Southern Group 1

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percent
1.Leicester Riders	4	3	2	1	0.666
2.London United	4	3	2	1	0.666
3.Milton Keynes Lions	4	3	2	1	0.666
4.London Leopards	0	3	0	3	0.000

Northern Group 2

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percent
1.Sheffield Sharks	6	3	3	0	1.000
2.Chester Jets	2	3	1	2	0.333
3.Coventry Crusaders	2	3	1	2	0.333
4.Worcester Wolves	2	3	1	2	0.333

Southern Group 2

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percent
1.Plymouth Raiders	6	3	3	0	1.000
2.Guildford Heat	4	3	2	1	0.666
3.Worthing Thunder	2	3	1	2	0.333
4.Reading Rockets	0	3	0	3	0.000

Final

Statistics leaders

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

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

• Most Valuable Player: Brian Dux (Guildford Heat) and Jeff Bonds (Sheffield Sharks)
• Coach of the Year: Paul James (Guildford Heat)
• All-Star First Team:
  • Jeff Bonds (Sheffield Sharks)
  • Brian Dux (Guildford Heat)
  • Mike Martin (Guildford Heat)
  • Carlton Aaron (Plymouth Raiders)
  • Robert Yanders (Scottish Rocks)
• All-Star Second Team:
  • Blake Shelton (Sheffield Sharks)
  • Jazwyn Cowan (Chester Jets)
  • Sterling Davis (Scottish Rocks)
  • Tarick Johnson (London United)
  • Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles)

Notes and References

1. News: Andrew Shields . Towards 2012 . 2006 . 9 November 2010 . Time Out . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120112004038/http://www.timeout.com/london/sport/features/2158/Basketball-towards_2012.html . 12 January 2012 . dmy .
2. News: Rob Dugdale . Towers owner to suspend franchise for new season . 24 March 2007 . The Guardian . London . 31 July 2006.
3. News: Andrew Shields . Towards 2012 . 2006 . 9 November 2010 . Time Out . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120112004038/http://www.timeout.com/london/sport/features/2158/Basketball-towards_2012.html . 12 January 2012 . dmy .
4. Web site: Archived copy . 9 November 2010 . 1 January 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110101110402/http://www.brightonbears.com/ . dead .
5. News: BBC Sport . Birmingham will miss BBL season . 9 November 2010 . BBC . 26 July 2006.
6. News: BBC Stoke and Staffordshire . Team Birmingham Bullets basketball club move to Fenton . 9 November 2010 . BBC . 7 January 2010.
7. News: Rob Dugdale . Towers owner to suspend franchise for new season . 24 March 2007 . The Guardian . London . 31 July 2006.
8. News: Andrew Shields . Towards 2012 . 2006 . 9 November 2010 . Time Out . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120112004038/http://www.timeout.com/london/sport/features/2158/Basketball-towards_2012.html . 12 January 2012 . dmy .
9. News: BBC . BBL signs up with new broadcaster . 9 April 2007 . BBC Sport . 21 September 2006 .
10. News: Richard Taylor . BBL kept in the dark on positive drug test . 24 March 2007 . The Independent . London . 24 March 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181403/http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article2388307.ece . 30 September 2007 .
11. News: Richard Taylor . Jets' future in doubt after Burton quits . 7 April 2007 . The Independent . London . 7 April 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181024/http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article2430098.ece . 30 September 2007 .