There are more people that care about basketball in the UK than you may think...
Last week, Hoopsfix published Roy Packham’s thoughts on the state of basketball in England in an article titled “The State of the Game”. The article got a lot of great feedback and has stoked a lot of discussion. Duco Van Oostrum, a coach with the Sheffield Junior Sharks program (and father to young ballin’ prospects Devon and Nigel) got in touch with his thoughts, which he then re-wrote in publishable format for Hoopsfix. It provides more interesting reading and topics for discussion. Please take a read and share your thoughts with a comment below the article!-Sam
As a response to Mr Packham’s final rhetorical (?) question, I care. And with me, there are considerable numbers of people who care. One of the great stories of the summer has been Sam Neter’s Back British Basketball campaign, which has done more to bring people in—literally off the streets—than any organisational ‘directive.’ T-shirts, slogans, Kieran Achara’s tea-making, and endless video clips have brought together a new impulse of non-rhetoric driven enthusiasm and a hope for basketball. GB should compare this impact and hard work with what they get back from their own media company.
That I care does not mean that I disagree with many of Mr Packham’s points, based on years of experience and fighting and caring about the game. I have no insights into the financial structures and governmental involvement etc. I do remember being stunned that the Mallin report could just be thrown into the bin and life be continued as normal.
There are also positive developments to report. The GB men’s team relies on UK ‘homegrown’ players and the passport hunting is exaggerated. That most of those players have had a basketball education outside the UK is a different but very important issue. Luol Deng moved from London to the US as did so many others, as soon as they had the opportunity.
The problems are well-known: facilities, coaches, publicity, league structures at all levels, and lack of a basketball culture. The top professional league will always be a separate entity in the 21st century—the Premier League model in football is in place in most professional sports across Europe.
To me, a major obstacle to any progression in basketball has to do with the twin goals of ‘participation’ and ‘competition.’ The focus has very much been on increasing participation and making sure there are sufficient numbers for financial stability. The actual competitions and development of a high quality seems to take second place, always. The youth final fours are used to give young referees and table officials a chance, for example. There are many examples of this disregard for competition (conference teams allowed to playing in play-offs etc).
At the highest competitive level, things fall apart in the UK, and it starts with youth development. Very quickly players (and parents) learn: if you are serious about the sport, get out of the UK as soon as possible. By far the most go to the US. And they will go to any length (and cost) to get there. The Hoopsfix site follows many of these players living ‘the dream’: Finally, an opportunity to be treated as a professional (even though it’s supposedly education, but that’s a different story) and to get recognition for playing basketball at a high level. While we could argue about the reality of ‘dream,’ the reality of the wish to get out of the UK is embedded in UK basketball culture. The stories of players getting to their new practice facility, to the locker room with a name tag about your seat, the TV lounge, and weight room are all too familiar.
I’m not sure the UK can ever compete with that dream and it might be more useful to enable that dream and develop realistic pathways, rather than resist that transition to the US. And there are positive signs. GB have appointed people specifically for this top level development (almost exclusively non-UK citizens) and new national youth team ideas are being developed. There is clear progress in those areas.
However, there must be a seriousness about coaches. The only ones making money out of basketball are officials (and that varies considerably). Please, find a career pathway for ex-players who could have so much to contribute. In the other countries I’ve experience with, this is a natural given and encouraged within the big club structures. Here, it’s mostly parents and enthusiasts who have to learn about basketball, and have no idea how to teach fundamentals in a fun way and to improve the players. This is no fault of those volunteers but it’s just that there’s no one else. Coaching resources are hidden across the country. The big Spanish clubs employ a coach who works individually with the talents at least three times a week. We have many coaches here who could and would do that—Roy Packham probably one of them. All that knowledge and experience is now wasted away. But where will the money come from?
And if a player has reached the ‘dream,’ what happens next? The US route is short-term and a basketball career finishes soon there. This is where the BBL can make a real contribution. Most of the US ex-college athletes struggle with a professional career in Europe (for various reasons). The natural home of these players should be the BBL. But what can the BBL offer? At the moment, salaries are hardly there (not enough to save or develop a ‘post-basketball’ career). It’s a double-bind. In order for the UK professional basketball league to exist, it should start with British basketball players, preferably with a local connection. However, it’s easier to get Americans desperate to keep playing and ‘seeing’ Europe for free.
Once we get UK players becoming the MVP’s of the BBL, we might get the publicity and we might see kids wearing James Jones, or Joseph Baugh t-shirts.
Duco Van Oostrum had a combined basketball and academic career in the US and the Netherlands. He’s been coaching for the Sheffield Junior Sharks since 2002.
You'll probably like these :
Subscribe
Subscribe to Hoopsfix.com and get all the latest news, views and exclusive promotions delivered straight to your inbox.
Follow Us
Join the 8000+ others who follow Hoopsfix and subscribe.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
A lot of people care but feel like putting forth the effort is a waste of time.
A young player in England doesnt dream of playing in the BBL some young players dont even know what the BBL is. If a quality professional league exists in the UK filled with British talent everything will change, And this starts with the state of mind of the GMS and coaches of BBL teams. A British player can grow up in England play and study in America at the college level and struggle to get a contract in the BBL, However an American of lesser talent who played at a lower college level will easily get a BBL contract and get paid alot more JUST BECAUSE HE IS AMERICAN. How can the game of basketball progress if its only so-called professional leacue has no faith in its home grown talent. There is too much talent in the UK for our pro league to be as bad as it is and for the bast players in the BBL to only be American.
I think mr van oostrum makes a brilliant point about the bbl and the comment underneath it makes what I’m going to say sound genius. Why would any player that is brought up in england and plays say from u14s all the way up to u18s then decide to join a bbl squad where they see very few people their own age playing or getting paid. I would like to know if there is a player in the bbl under the age of 25 and british making money? I don’t mean £50 a week I mean enough money not to need another job. I think we will find the answer to that is zero!
Living the dream is about doing what we love which is the game but also about being financially stable, unfortunately if your under 25 and british you just can’t live that dream in the bbl. This is the main reason most players finish playing basketball after u18s or just decide to play for local teams in d1 through to d4. Ironically some players earn more money in d1 then they would ever earn in the bbl.
I want to mention some of the success stories because they are products of england basketball system. David “tin tin” Watts(worcester) he has spent many years playing in d1 and up in notts and this season finally got his chance in the top league. Taner Adu (plymouth) his name has been mentioned in bbl teams of week often and he was a uk all star. Stefan Gill( MK) last seasons d1 league MVP, been playing amazing for manchester the last 3 or so years. These players should be the faces of the bbl as they are the home grown talent that young kids can meet and feel they are the same and have the same chance of making it. It is strange that all these players were 25 before it was worth them leaving d1 contracts to join the bbl.
Don’t get me wrong there the players mentioned above are all very high level games that could get jobs in europe so we are lucky they are playing in the bbl. But I have been fortunate to have played against these guys for years in d1 and they were as talented then as they are now. There are lots of really talented players, giving them the chance is what the bbl needs to do, not just having them on your roster but playing them. Essex have started it, the only way for the league to become more british is for the other teams to have some faith. Then maybe all the talent won’t leave
Check out the Newcastle Eagles roster….3 players all under the age of 25 and getting the wages and treatment like true proffesionals should. This may sound supprising but there’s even kids out there that are aspiring to become BBL players! The tipping point of a Basketball epidemic is about to happen!
Several interesting and well made points by Roy and Duco.
Of course the BBL must have promotion/relegation instead of the present status quo looking after their own interests. National League started in England in the early 70′s but really took off a few years later when Division 2 was introduced. The standard improved massively over this period because every club had to improve or go down. Second division teams with ambition had a real shot at the big time and some grabbed that opportunity. Was this just coincidence? Also interesting that at that time playing overseas was simply unheard off. Again coincidence? Perhaps Roy’s point that BBL clubs must attach to Junior programmes has legs but the present “in name only” associations are not enough.
Unfortunately a lot of kids now do want to “live the dream” without realising that they are unlikely to ever play top class basketball when/if they return home. Most are not good enough and have been given false expectations. Of course there are exceptions but as the saying goes not the rule.
What we lack is a genuine path for U18s to achieve the goal of BBL or equivalent in a reasonable time frame. Very few are mature or strong enough to compete in their first year out of junior ball. Another 2 or 3 years growing and progress is required. Perhaps BBL/NBL (I don’t think it matters what it is called) should have an EBL feeder club but cost is the issue. BBL clubs are struggling to survive without additional burden.
Joe smo has a view that players are paid because they are American. Cannot agree with that, BBL clubs want the best players avilable for the least cost irrespective of nationality. In fact EU citizens have an advantage over US guys because of the passport holder rules. The truth is the pool of US players at the required standared is massive, not so UK players. Maybe Jones and Baugh will show kids it is a possibility.
Until we change the mindset that US is best, which it most certainly is not, we will not retain the cream of UK junior talent. This has to be the priority. Look at football as an example, every Premiership and most Championship clubs have an academy with access to more players than the entire squads playing U18 Junior Premier league. If lucky perhaps one of those boys will be good enough to play Professional Football yet we expect a low number of 18 year old basketball players to produce high numbers of professional standard players. Not achievable.
I believe that the bbl needs to be used by young players as a stepping stool to progress there careers further. So just as at the essex pirates where 9 players are young brits under 25. Some of these go to uni at the same time and i believe this is the correct way to progress players so maybe they dont earn lots of mon ey but they can gain a degree whilst earning some money to keep them ticking over. This is the correct way to get players progressing until the bbl gets known as a stronger league throughout Europe.
The comments made here are all very valid and, cover far too many points for a simple comment!!
If the standard of basketball is to improve, there must be, in my opinion at least, an almost complete and radical overhaul of how basketball is administered and organized within the country.
The Mallin Report, gave an extremely accurate assement of English basketball, based on research and interviews of a huge number of people involved in the game at a grass roots level. Nevertheless I have a letter from one of the senior officials of the EB that suggests the Mallin Report should have been assigned to the wastepaper basket.
I have reason to believe that the EB as a Governing Body could be viewed in a better light by other Govening Bodies and the various Government organizations. (It does not have a great reputation for attending development meetings for example. )
I have sent many players to America, of whom one has played for Los Angeles Lakers, but, of all the players I have sent, he is the only one who “made it”. Very fortunately, he is now back in England and giving a tremendous amount back to the game. I am not sure just how many players who go to the States come back and “give” something back to the English game. Of course I realise that there are many factors that prevent some players from doing this.
It is difficult to know where one woud start to improve the state of the game; clubs, coaches, officials, the EB? I have been extremely critical of the Governing Body for almost all of my many years coaching in England and perhaps my biggest disappointment was that when basketball was at its peak in the late 70′s and 80′s and clubs were playing on a par with other European clubs, the Governing Body did not take advantage.
At present there is almost no “career path” for young players. Going to America is therefore a dream of many. However, going to America is full of pitfalls and possible disappointments that many youngsters either do not understand or simply ignore in their desire to “play in the NBA”
As I said in my article, there is TREMENDOUS youth talent in England,(and the youth is where we have to start) but it is just not being given the “service” it justifies, and demands.
I know very well that there are many people who do really care about the game, I am just not sure how many of these are in a position to effect change.