Developing basketball in Birmingham – with Paul Douglas aka Dougie – Ep. 76

For episode 76 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with 13 year pro and 20-year coach Paul Douglas, aka Dougie.

Dougie, originally a Birmingham Bullet junior, played all his years in the UK, predominantly in the North East, across Gateshead, Vikings, Sunderland Saints, Sunderland Scorpions, Newcastle Comets and Newcastle Eagles.

Having represented England at U15, U17 and U18 levels, he received his first call up to the Senior team in 1993, and when he retired from playing in 1997 was 7th all-time in BBL 3-point shooting.

As a coach, he has won 13 national championships, assisted England U16s between 2000-2003, and was involved with two attempts to revitalise pro basketball in Birmingham – as an assistant with the Panthers in 2006-07, and at the helm of the Birmingham Knights in 2013-14.

In this 1 hour 50 minute episode, hear from Dougie on:

• Why he decided to leave Aston Manor Academy to focus on his own projects
• What his plans are for his own projects
• The state of Birmingham basketball
• How not having a pro club in Birmingham hurts the rest of the game
• Whether he knows of any talks around bringing a BBL franchise to Birmingham
• Where the Birmingham Knights went wrong and the biggest learnings
• The Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and whether he believes it will have an impact
• How he first started playing
• Getting cut from Birmingham Bullets and it being the driver to pursue basketball as a career
• How good Steve Bucknall was
• His standout years as a pro
• His favourite memories from his playing days
• Being one of the early coaches at basketball academies in the UK at both Newcastle and Middlesborough
• The success his Middlesborough academy side had, being one of the early junior sides to play in senior competition
• The Nike Milfield Camps and adidas ABC camps that used to take place in the UK
• Being a co-founder of UK Elite and what they were trying to do with it from 2009-11
• Best player he has coached
• The top British player he has played with or against
• And much, much more!

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