DEFOE’S RESIDENCY CONTINUES

By MVP Staff on August 20, 2020

Darius Defoe is back at Newcastle Eagles for a 17th successive season.

The veteran forward has been present for every one of the club’s 25 trophies in their history, standing alone following the departure of his former coach Fab FlournoyÂ to the Toronto Raptors last summer.

Defoe’s victory in last season’s BBL Trophy Final also ties him with Flournoy as the most decorated player in the BBL who picked up medals at Sheffield and Birmingham before joining Newcastle.

He said: “It’s unbelievable to sign for my 17thÂ season. I feel at home in Newcastle, the fans support and my family being here made this decision an easy one”, he said.

“The Trophy Final was incredible. With everything that was going on in the build-up and the odds that were stacked against us, to come out with the win was amazing and I think you could see that by how emotional I was at the end.”

The 36-year-old has backed the club’s decision to make Ian MacLeod the full-time head coach and also gave a nod of appreciation to MacLeod’s assistant.

He said: “It’s great to see Mac get the opportunity he deserves. There’s not that many first-year coaches out there that can say they have won a trophy in their first season.

“His hard work, dedication and commitment to ensuring we are all accountable was a testament to this.

“Also, a big shout-out to assistant coach Dave Forrester who has supported both the team and myself personally for all these years. His attention to detail and his dedication to us often goes unnoticed, but should never be underestimated.”

Elsewhere, Sheffield Sharks, as they feared, will need to find a new venue for this season after it was confirmed Ponds Forge will not re-open until April 2021 at the earliest.

The Yorkshire outfit have, however, acquired rookie American forward Kipper Nichols out of the University of Illinois.

Sharks coach Atiba Lyons said: “Kipper is a versatile forward that can do a bit of everything. He has the size to be effective in the post but can step out to mid-range or three-point range.

“I think he will help us tremendously on both ends of the floor. Weâ€™re excited to add him to our growing roster.â€

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix