The realities of running a WBBL franchise – with Len Busch – Ep. 115

For episode 115 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Sevenoaks Suns coach and co-founder Len Busch.

The Suns, one of the most successful WBBL franchises and at the forefront of youth female basketball development pulled out of the top-flight this off-season due to ‘untenable’ costs.

In this hour long episode we go in depth with Len on the behind the scenes running of the club, and why financially it did not make sense for the Suns to continue.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
02:20 Interview start
02:31 Len’s background & how he ended up in England
07:40 When the Sevenoaks Suns was founded
08:44 His initial reaction to how basketball was in England compared to the US
10:35 What he thought about the level and structure of basketball in England
14:16 The ambition when setting up the Suns
18:22 How junior basketball has changed
21:15 The biggest challenges for girls basketball in England
24:15 The goal of setting up a senior women’s programme
25:41 The financial modeling for the Sevenoaks Suns WBBL franchise
29:23 Whether he can see himself bringing back the WBBL franchise
33:03 What the lessons are from the Sevenoaks Suns WBBL franchise
35:14 Growing the senior team first before the junior programme was built out
36:15 The attempts to get a venue built
39:30 How much a re-financed London Lions franchise impacted his decision to shut down the Suns WBBL side
44:10 Whether he feels the league is moving in the right direction
46:19 Whether he feels the league is professionalising
46:55 If there is any regret he won’t be involved with the WBBL this season
48:13 Reaching out to companies for sponsorship
52:27 The vision for the club now
54:38 Why the U18 girls age group is so challenging
57:19 What he would do to grow the base of girls playing
1:00:15 His favourite memory with the WBBL club
1:01:41 Favourite player to coach
1:02:18 Best junior player he’s seen play
1:02:43 Best individual performance he’s ever witnessed

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