First Hall of Fame inductees revealed

The British Basketball League has confirmed the first class to be inducted to the League’s Hall of Fame at the All-Star Game this Sunday (March 17th) at Copper Box Arena.

Announced in December last year, the British Basketball League Hall of Fame honours and recognises individuals from all eras of the Men’s and Women’s Leagues who have made a significant contribution to the sport in the UK.

The first class of inductees are ten individuals from the following the five categories: Men’s Players, Women’s Players, Coaches, Officials (Referees, Table Officials, Statisticians) and Services to the League (i.e. team managers, members of the media, volunteers etc.)

Alan Cunningham, Drew Sullivan, Pete Scantlebury, Cat Carr, Ta’Yani Clark, Helen Naylor, Kevin Cadle, Dale Aitcheson, Mary Clark and John Atkinson make up the Class of 2024.

Inductees were selected and nominated by a selection committee consisting of Club-elected Directors, a representative from the League Office and two invited members of the media.

The League’s Hall of Fame will initially take place on the League website, and as the League continues to grow over the coming years, plans are in place to have a physical Hall of Fame space at the League office in addition to online.

Men’s Player Inductees:

Alan Cunningham

One of the League’s first superstars, Cunningham won the first-ever Championship title in 1987/88 with Portsmouth and would go on to win at least one piece of silverware in nine of the League’s first 10 seasons with Portsmouth, Glasgow, Kingston, Worthing and London.

He ranks third all-time in trophies won, 21 titles to his name, he also won the quadruple on two occasions in 1989/90 and 1991/92, both with Kingston. Cunningham won League MVP honours in 1988/89 and reached an incredible eight consecutive Playoff Finals – which is still a record to this day.

Andrew Sullivan

An integral part of two of the most dominant dynasties in recent British Basketball League history, Andrew Sullivan’s impact in his illustrious career was indisputable, as a focal cornerstone of both the eruption of Newcastle’s Eagles and the rise of Leicester’s Riders. Winning eight major titles with the Eagles and nine with the Riders, as well as two MVP titles – one with each club – wherever Sullivan went, winning followed

Winning 20 titles during his remarkable career, where he additionally played for Mersey Tigers and London Lions, Sullivan is a three-time treble winner and one-time quadruple winner. The 44-year-old also won 100 caps for Great Britain and captained his country at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, and won a Commonwealth Games bronze medal in 2006.

Peter Scantlebury

Another British Basketball League O.G., ‘Scants’ – as he was more affectionately known to fans of the League – completed 17 seasons of service as a player and was an absolute bucket from start to finish for Sheffield, Sunderland and Thames Valley, retiring as the all-time top scorer in League history.

A five-time Team of the Year member, Scantlebury won nine titles during his time as a player in the League, with an all-time scoring record of 8,324 Championship points.

Stepping into coaching after his playing career, Scantlebury continued to develop his legacy, finally winning a Playoff crown as he led the Sharks to that honour in 2004, before coaching fellow Hall-of-Famer Andrew Sullivan to bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Women’s player inductees:

Cat Carr

A cornerstone of the incredible success the Sevenoaks Suns had during their time, Cat Carr accomplished pretty much everything there was to achieve during her time on British shores.

She is the League’s all-time top-scorer, a two-time League MVP and winner of eight major honours with Sevenoaks, the American guard helped the Suns rise from the lower rungs of the ladder to an unstoppable dynasty that conquered all challengers in the late 2010s.

A fierce, relentless competitor and one of the most dominant players the League has ever seen, Carr brought an incredible career to an end in 2022 having left an indelible mark on the league she called home for almost a decade. She is the League’s all-time top-scorer and ranks inside the top 15 for assists (2nd), steals (8th), rebounds (1st), defensive rebounds (1st) and games played (6th).

Ta’Yani Clark

The other half of one of the most dominant duos in League history alongside fellow Hall-of-Famer, Carr, when these two stepped onto the floor together, they had an aura about them that had many other teams already feeling beaten before opening tip.

If Carr was the unstoppable force for that incredible Suns dynasty, then seven time title winner Clark was the immovable object. Capable of locking up any player defensively, no matter their position or skillset, the American was a juggernaut for both the Suns and Northumbria during her time in the League and walked away from the game with a super seven titles to show for her efforts, as well as a number of individual honours.She ranks in the top 20 for steals (6th), assists (8th), scoring (19th), rebounds (2nd), steals per game (13th), assists per game (19th) and rebounds per game (19th)

Helen Naylor

Dropping 30 points to win the first-ever Playoff Final MVP in the showpiece event of the League’s inaugural season, Naylor made a huge impact from the moment the Women’s League was founded to the day she retired at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Involved with the Sheffield Hatters since her teenage years, Naylor was a prolific scorer and ranks only behind Carr currently in all-time Championship points.

Winning six major honours in total, including at least one of all five of the competitions up for grabs during her time in the League, Naylor was an all-action forward with incredible longevity, finishing her career ranking inside the top 20 all-time for a whopping 10 statistical categories.

Coach Inductees:

Kevin Cadle

Second all-time in titles won, the hugely respected and revered American coached almost 500 games in the League, with a staggering overall record of 397 wins, 97 losses and two ties, holding the greatest win percentage in League history.

Cadle won each of the four major titles five apiece and oversaw a jaw-dropping period of dominance at the helm of Glasgow and Kingston between 1988 and 1992, when he masterminded a stellar run which collected 14 out of the 15 pieces of silverware on offer in that spell, and four of his eventual five Coach of the Year awards as well.

During the same period, he took Kingston to the Quarter-Final Round of the Champions Cup – the equivalent of the modern-day EuroLeague. As well as calling the plays at Falkirk, Manchester and London Towers during his illustrious club career, Cadle also coached the England, Scotland and Great Britain teams – as well as several League All-Star Games.

The League’s monthly coaching award, the Molten Kevin Cadle Coach of the Month, was also named in his honour following his passing in October 2017.

Officials Inductees

Dale Aitcheson

A well-known face to basketball fans, players and coaches across the country, Dale Aitcheson has been one of the top referees in British basketball for over 20 years and was active in the League from the 1990s to the late 2010s.

In May 2000, Aitcheson became the first black English referee to receive FIBA certification, successfully completing the FIBA exam clinic whilst earning plaudits from the panel of assessors for his ability. As well as officiating in the League, Aitcheson also held the title of officiating supervisor for both Leagues in the past, giving vital mentorship and guidance to the next generation of officials.

The Nottingham native has officiated more British Basketball League Finals than anyone else. With 19 appearances and counting (eight Playoff Finals, Four Cup Finals and seven Trophy Finals), he continues to be incredibly well-respected across the sport.

Mary Clark

Mary Clark acted as a table official for over 30 years from the 1970s to the 2000s at all levels of British basketball and was a vital advocate for aspiring future officials before her passing in 2005.

Introduced to officiating in a way so many can relate to, as her partner at the time was a player and the game he was taking part in needed a table official, Clark learnt the ropes quickly and would later go on to be instrumental in improving education standards and opportunities for young officials wanting to get involved in the game.

Basketball England named their annual Services to Officiating award after Clark following her passing, and her induction into the League’s Hall of Fame continues the memory of a wonderful legacy in the game.

Services to the League Inductee

John Atkinson

Once the leading British basketball historian and one of the most prominent guardians of the game in this country, Atkinson – or ‘Statkinson’ as he was affectionately known – sadly passed away just under two years ago, but his legacy lives on every day thanks to the incredible historical records and statistics that he worked tirelessly to maintain.

Recognising the lack of archived data that was stored regarding the game’s history in this country, Atkinson took it upon himself in the 1990s to work with a small group of like-minded people and collate information about the national team programmes, as well as the British Basketball League and other leagues in this country.

John had been involved with British Basketball for just over half a century and in his final years he worked tirelessly to establish the National Basketball Heritage Centre at the University of Worcester, where he took it upon himself to ensure the sport was left in a better place than how he found it.