The role universities have to play within British basketball – with Matt Newby – Ep. 84

For Episode 84 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with Worcester Wolves Head Coach Matt Newby.

Having been coaching for over 21 years, Newby, is one of the few coaches to have won titles at NBL Division 4, Division 3, Division 2, Division 1 and BBL levels following his BBL Cup title in January with Worcester. He has won no less than 14 national titles across Senior competitions, from National League, to BUCS and the BBL.

He built a programme from the bottom up, taking the Leeds Carnegie programme from the lower rungs of the national leagues through to a BBL franchise, the Leeds Force, which was in the top flight from 2014-2018.

Coach Newby had a difficult departure from the Force, and after two years out from the pros returned last season at the helm of the Worcester Wolves.

In this 1 hour and 40 minute podcast, we go into his new life at Worcester, dissect the journey of Leeds Carnegie through the national leagues to the BBL and look at the role of educational institutions like universities and their role within British basketball.

Time stamps:

00:00 Intro
3:03 Interview start
3:07 How he sees this season going with COVID
4:01 Whether Worcester are in a better situation than some clubs because of the university partnership
5:12 Worcester’s roster this season and where the imports are
6:12 Whether he’s surprised with how well Worcester have been competing without their imports
7:14 Transitioning from Leeds to Worcester
9:01 The differences between his role in Leeds and Worcester
11:46 Reflecting on his cup title with Worcester
13:21 How high he would put the Cup title on his resumé
15:07 Matching up with Andreas in the Cup Final, his old NBL rival
16:51 How much of a blow it was for Worcester that the season was cut short due to COVID
18:26 His start in basketball and made him first get involved
26:35 Going to the US for 8-10 years every Summer
28:15 Covering his costs to go to the US
29:10 What the US was doing for his coaching development that he wasn’t getting in the UK
31:40 Whether young coaches now have more resource to improve their coaching
33:53 You’ve got to pay your dues to get a head coaching role
36:17 The importance of man-management and not just XS and Os
38:34 When recruiting a player how important is the connection the coach has with them
41:00 His involvement with York Vikings
41:44 Whether he was full time coaching from the moment he left uni
42:41 Implementing a scaled out schools coaching program
44:34 His coaching role with the council
45:43 How he first got involved with Leeds Met university
48:29 Why a university looks at sport and wants to focus on it
50:22 The timelines and aspirations of the plan for the university programme
52:18 The success of the programme through the national league and why it worked
56:11 The double-edged sword of being backed by a university
58:42 How BUCS and university basketball has changed over the last decade or so
1:02:53 How much of an opportunity BUCS basketball has to be a bigger part of the British basketball ecosystem
1:06:12 How the BBL opportunity in Leeds first arose
1:08:01 Losing the university backing of the BBL franchise shortly before the entry into the league
1:09:40 Why the decided to push forward with the franchise despite losing the full backing of the university
1:11:00 Whether he would advise himself back then not to enter the BBL
1:12:22 Picking up 9 wins in his first BBL season and whether that exceeded expectations
1:14:14 The differences between running an NBL Division 1 program and a BBL franchise
1:15:48 Whether he thinks the BBL franchise committee should have not let Leeds enter
1:16:27 Making the playoffs in Leeds’ second BBL season

1:18:42 The resources Leeds had in comparison to other BBL franchises
1:19:41 His final year with the club before departing
1:20:51 What ultimately led to the breakdown of the club
1:22:33 How hard it was having to leave the club he helped build up from the bottom
1:24:53 Whether he wanted to have another crack at a BBL franchise in Leeds after they withdrew from the league
1:26:18 What he was doing during his two years out from the pros
1:27:06 His thoughts when he was saw the Worcester position advertised
1:28:16 The lack of stability around coaching roles
1:29:22 best British junior player he’s ever seen
1:31:07 Favourite player he’s coached
1:32:21 His coaching role models and inspirations
1:34:47 Favourite basketball memory
1:34:24 Where he wants to be in 3-5 years

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