BBL Jets

BBL: JetsJames Hamilton: Interview

Head Coach Paul Smith reflects on the season

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Match Reports Including:Jets vs Newcastle Eagles

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Contents

Welcometothismonth’sissueofBBL:magazine,asyoucanalreadytellwearefocussingontheChesh-ireJets.EachmonthwillseeadifferetteamfromtheBritishBas-ketballLegaueinthespotlightwithnews,interviewsandreportsfromyourlocalteam. Inthismonth’sissuewehaveaninterviewwithJetslegendandcaptainJamesHamilton,matchreportsfromtheJetsgamesagainstLeicesterRiders,NewcastleEaglesandEssexPirates.WealsohaveanupcloseandpersonalinterviewwithHeadCoachPaulSmithandaquickfireroundwithShawnMyers. WiththeJetsfinishingfourthintheleagueandbeinginvolvedintwocupfinalsthisseason,theyhavehadanoutstandingfewmonths. Nextistheplayoffquarterfi-nalagainsttheirfierceNorthWestrivals,Evertontigers.ItwillnodoubtbeaterrificencounterandyouwillnotwanttomissoutastheJetswelcomebackTreyMoore. AttendingthegamesattheNorthgateArenahasbeenarealpleasure,thefansareacredittotheteamandtheatmosphereisalwayselectric. NexttimewewillbelookingattheNewcastleEaglesandfocus-sigonaterrificseasonfortheBBLChampions.

ChrisHeskethEditor

MatchReports

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9

10

VSRIDERS

VSEAGLES

VSPIRATES

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InterviewWithATrueJetsLegend...onpages4&5...JamesHamil-tontalksex-clusivelytoBBL:mag

Page6...PaulSmithgivesushisthoughtsontheseasonandhowheandtheJetscanimproveonaimpressivereturntoform.

Page7...Quick-FireroundwithShawnMyers,ontheseasonandhisteam-mates

May2010

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JamesHamiltonhasbe-comesynonymouswiththeCheshireJetsandhasforgedandoutstandingca-reersincehismoveovertoEnglandin1996.The37-year-oldveterancan’tbelieveheisstillplay-ingathisagebuthehasbeenanimportantpartoftheJetssuccessthisseason.“Ineverexpectedtoreach37andstillbecompetingbutIamgladthatIam.”Itisdefinitelyafairreflec-

tiontocallhimaJetsleg-end,hehaswoneverythingwiththisclub,beenthroughthebadtimesandhisworkinthecommunityisun-matched.“Iwouldsayitisafairassessment.Itisagreathonourtobeclassedasalegend,Ihavebeenhereaverylongtime,andIthinkI’mthelongestservingAmericanatanEnglishclub.

Ihavewoneverythingwiththisclub,it’slikefamilytome.”Hemadehisdebutbackin1999andsincethenhashadthreestintsattheclub.IaskedhimwhatmadehimcometoplayBasketballinEngland.“IhadsomefriendsinLon-donandwhenIvisitedIre-allylikedit,soIdecidedto

“Ihavewoneverythingwiththisclub,it’slikefamilytome.”

May2010

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James Hamilton:comeandplaymybasket-balloverhere.”HeplayedforWorthingThunderbe-foreJetsandthenhadastintinEurope.Hamilton’stalentwasanobviousgiftandhisfam-ilyplayedabigpartinhimstartingup,“IwasaboutsixwhenIfirststartedtoplay,mydadandmytwobroth-ersalsoplayed,soitrunsinthefamily.AsIgotolderIbecamealottallerthantheotherkidsmyage,whichhelped,andIjustdevelopedalltheskillsandnoticedIhadatalent.”JamesnowhasafamilyoverhereinEnglandandhassetuphishomehere.“Itisverynicehere,Chesterisalovelyplace,unfortunatelytheweatheristerriblebutmyfamilyishereandIloveit.”Heexplainstomehowhelivesandactivelifeandthatsportisaverybigpassionofhis.“Iliketogobowling,play-ingtennis,traininginthegymandIenjoygoinghorseriding.IdoplaygolfbutI’mnotverygoodatit.(laughs).”ThisseasonhasseentheJetsreturntogreatformandHamiltonhasbeenamajorinfluenceintheteamreachingtwofinals,finish-ingfourthintheleagueandsettingupaquarterfinalplay-offwithEvertonTigers.“YehIamveryhappywithhowtheseasonhasgonethistimearound,especiallythefirstthreequartersof

it,I’vebeenhurtforthelastfewweeksbuttheyoungerguyssteppedinandhavedoneamagnificentjob.”ThequarterfinalwiththeTigersisaneagerlyantici-patedtieanditwillbein-terestingwhichNorthWestclubcomesoutontopbutHamiltonbelievesthattheJetswillhavetoomuchfortheiropponents.“There’snodoubtinmymind,wehaveabetterteamindividuallyandwehaveafullsquadforthefirsttimeinawhile,soIthinkwewillbetoogoodforthemespe-ciallyathome.”TheJetsfaithfulalwaysturnoutintheirdrovesandcre-ateabuzzingatmosphere

fortheplayerstoenjoy.“Fansarefans,wehavesomeamazingones,thetypethatturnupeveryweekifweareplayingwellornotandwealsohavethefansthatturnupwhenwe’rewinning.TheJetsfaithfulareamazing.”Hamiltonhasnothoughtsofhanginguphissneakersjustyetandishopingtobeapartoftheteamforan-otherseasonyet.“IdoseemyselfgoingintocoachingafterIhavefin-ishedmyplayingcareer,IcanteachwhatIhavelearntandpassonallmyknowl-edgebutthatwon’tbejustyet.”

A true legend still going strong! Chris Hesketh meets up with the Cheshire Jets Superstar.

May2010

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Iturneduptothetrainingsessioningreatanticipa-tionandIwasalsoabitnervous,asIdidn’treallyknowwhereIwas.BlaconHighSchooliswheretheJetstrainduringtheweekandtheyturnedupbangon8pm.IintroducedmyselftoCoachPaulSmithandhein-troducedmetotheplayersandtheywereagreatbunchofguys,whichsettledmynervesstraightaway.Astheteamstartingrun-ningthroughtheirwarmuproutineatookthechancetospeaktoPaul.How do you rate the over-all performance of the team this season?“Ithasbeenverygood,wearejustmissingapieceof

silverwaretocapitoff,wehavehadsomeseriousinju-riesthisseasonwhichhasmadeittoughbutfourthspotandtwofinalsisacredittotheteam.”Are you happy with what you have achieved?“Ithasbeenanimprove-mentonthelastfewsea-sons,soitcanonlybeapositivesign,overallIamhappy.”Coachjumpsupfromtheseatbesidemeandin-structstheplayerstostarttheirstretchesbeforethetrainingsessionbecomesmorevigorous.How did the team take the two final defeats?“It’salwaystoughtoloseafinal,nevermindtwobutwehaveagreatteamspirit

here.Theguysrespondedreallywelltobothdefeatsandwedidn’thavetimetodwellonthembecausewehadleaguegamescomingstraightafter.”What can you improve on next season?“Ithinkweneedabitmoresizeintheteam,alegiti-matecentreandweneedtoimproveonourdefensiveside.Thedefenceiswhatwinsthetitlesandthetro-phies.”Will you be bringing in new players?“Mymindisfocussedontheplayerswehavegotandworkingwiththem,butiftherightpersonbecomesavailablethenwewillstarttolookintoit.”Pauljumpsupagainandthistimehedoesn’tcomebackforawhile,ashehasajobtodowiththeplay-ersbeforetheweekendsbigclashattheNorthgateArena.EvertonTigersareintownonceagainfortheplayoffquarterfinalandtheybringwiththemformerJetTreyMoore.Can you win the playoffs?“Yehdefinitely,wehavealothealthiersquadnowandareinreallygoodformoflate.Itwillbetoughthoughandifwelosethisonewe’reoutjustlikethat.”What are your aims for next season?“Wewanttobecompetingfortheleagueupuntilthelastfewweeksatleastandhopefullywecangrabatro-phyaswell.”TheJetsplayerspartwaysafteraveryintensetrainingsessionandPaulSmithgoeshomeinaconfidentmood.

Chris Hesketh pays Paul Smith a visit at training

May2010

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ShawnMyersisthesubjectofthisweeksquickfireroundandhereiswhathehadtosayafterfivemin-uteswithChrisHesketh.Have you personally had a good season?“YehIthinkIhaveper-formedinalotofgamesbutitistheteamthatde-servescredit,everyplayersteppeduptotheplatewhenwehadinjuries.”What was your best per-formance of the season?“Ithinkitwouldhavetobethetrophyfinal,Iplayedreallywellinthatgameinparticularbutunfortunatelywelost.”How hard was it to lose the two finals?“Itisalwaysdifficult,youstarttothink‘wherearewegoingwrong?’butwehadtherestoftheseasontogetonwith,sowecouldn’tdwellonthepast.”Can you win a trophy next season and push for the title?“Definitely,wecanupsetsomepeople,wehaveaverygoodteamanditisdefinite-lydoable.”Are you looking forward to next season?“Iftheydecidetohavemeback(laughs)butIamlook-ingforwardtoit.”How do you think the team will do in the playoffs?“Wehavetotakeitonegameatatime,andEvertonisthefirstgame.”

What is the best thing about playing for the Jets?“TheJetsislikeafamily,itisgreat,playingthegamesandtrainingbecomeslikehome.”What do you think of the fans?“Theyarethebestfansever,ourfansarewinnersandtheygiveoffawinningmentalitywhichisgoodfortheteam.”Who trains hardest in the team?“Wealltrainashardaseachother,weallcometotrain-ingwiththesamementality

andwegive100%everyday.”Is there anyone who is par-ticularly lazy in training?“NoIdon’tthinkso,thisisateamanditisacollectiveeffort.”Do you get much spare time outside of basketball?“Weonlytrainfortwohoursaday,sowealwayshavetimetoourselvesandtogotothepubforlunchandthingslikethat.”Who is the funniest mem-ber of the team?“Weallhaveourmoments,wekeepmoraleupbyjok-ingwitheachother.”

Chris Hesketh grills Jets veteran Shawn Myers in the quick-fire round

May2010

Match ReportVS

Jets flying high after winTheCheshireJetsputinaspiritedperformanceagainstLeicesterRiderstomovewithintwopointsoffourth,winning91-82inathrillingencounter.TheRiderscameintothegameabovetheJetsintheleagueanditwastheywhoseizedtheearlyinitiative,althoughCalvinDavisstart-edoffsuperblywithahugeleaptorejecttheRidersfirstattempt.Thescoreswerelockedat11allafterthefirstfiveminutesbutafterthattheRiderstookcontrolwitha14pointtosixpointstandwhichsetthemupwithacomfortableearlyadvan-tage.17-25.ThesecondperiodsawacompletelydifferentJetsteamturnup,theRiderseightpointadvantagesoonvanishedastheJetspiledonthepressure.Afreeflowingcounterattackinsti-gatedbyPaulPetersonwasemphaticallyfinsihedoffbyColinO’ReillyandSte-venGayleaddedthreemorepointswithsuperblongrangeeffort.TheJetswereclarlyintheascendencyandRidersCoachRobPaternostroletitgetthebetterofhimas

hegotveryagitatedonthetouchline.A29pointtoa11standfortheJetsgavethema10pointleadtogettakeintothebreak.46-36.ThethirdquarterstartedwithasensationalthreepointerontheshotclockbuzzerbyO’Reillyandhefolloweditupwithanothersensationaltwopointsaftertwistinghiswaypastthedefence.ShawnMyerstypifiedtheJetsdefence,shuttingouttheRidersandreleasingPetersonforanotherfastpacedcounterattackwhichwastoomuchfortheRiderstodealwith.TheJetsendedthethirdpe-riodwithaverycomfortable14pointadvantage,lead-ing63-49.AnotherangrymomentforRidersCoachPaternostroearnedhimnothingbutridiculefromtheJetsfaithful.Thefinal10minutesstartedwithtwofantasticthreepointersfromtheJets,firstO’ReillysunkfromdistanceandthenMyersfollowedup.Theleadstretchedoutto19pointsafteranotherimpres-sivescoringdisplayfromtheJets.TheRidersweren’tinanymoodongivingthegameup

andhitbackverystronglyreducingthedeficittojustsixpoints.TheJetskepttheircoolandrantheclockdownimpressivelytoholdonforthewin.ColinO’Reilly(Jets)leadbothteamswithanimpres-sive28pointspersonalinanoutstandingdisplay,PaulPetersonalsohelpedoutwith19points.TheRid-erstopscorerwasBraddWierzbickiwith26pointspersonal.

03/04/10

ColinO’ReillywasontopscoringformfortheJetswith28points.

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ByChrisHesketh

May2010

Match ReportVS

Eagles dent Fourth Place Bid 11/04/10TheCheshireJetswerelook-ingtobouncebackfroma12pointdefeatatthehandsoftheirlocalrivalstheEvertonTigerswhoarealsovyingforahomeplayoffspot.Thehometeamgameintothegameneedingawintoboosttheirplay-offaspira-tionsbuttheNewcastleEa-glesoutclassedtheiroppo-nentstokeepthepressureonSheffieldSharksatthetopoftheBBL.TheEagleseventuallywonthegame93-85afteraspir-itedfightbackfromtheJetslateoninthefourthquar-ter.ItwastheJetswhostartedthegamequickerandColinO’Reillystartedthe13-2pushearlyonwithagreatthreepointeroutwide.TheEaglesneverseemedworriedandbeganclawingtheirwaybackastheJetsseemedtostepoffthegasanderrorsstartedtocreepintotheirplay.A2-15standfortheEaglessawthemedgethefirst10minutes15-17,andtheJetsneededtokeepintouchtohaveanychanceatall.TheJetsdidn’tturnupinthesecondquarter,someappallingfinishingfrom

closerangeanddodgyde-fendingweretheirdownfall.TheEaglesdefencedealtwitheverythingtheJetsthrewatthemandscoredoneverycounterattack.TheJetsfanshadnothingtogetexcitedaboutandwerequietthroughoutthesecondperiodandtheJetsplayerslookedlostonthecourt,un-abletoscoremanypoints.Atimeoutat23-35didn’tinspiretheplayersandathalftimetheyweredownby14,Eaglesleading33-47.TheJetsstillcouldn’tgetafirmholdofthegameandwerestillleakingpointseve-rytimetheEaglesattacked.TheEagles’JoeChapmanwasstillbeinggiventoomuchtimeandspacetoline

uphisshotsandhepun-ishedtheJetswith8from13threepointattempts.At54-73attheendofthethirdtherewasnorealhopeoftheJetsevengettingclosetotheEaglesplayingliketheyhadbeenfor20minutes.TheJetscameoutandsur-prisedeveryoneincludingtheEaglesandgottowithinsixpointsneartheendbuttheyhadleftthecomebacktoolateandlostthegame.TheEagleswereimpressivethroughoutChapmanleadthemwith24pointsper-sonal,itwasJerrahYoung,ChezMarksandColinO’ReillywhokepttheJetsscoresflowingwith26,25and24respectively.

TheJetsstruggledallnightwithbreakingthroughtheNewcastlerearguard,butbattledbackhardinthefinalquarter

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ByChrisHesketh

May2010

Match Report

18/04/10Jets Seal Home Play-offTheJetscameintothisgamewithtwowinsoverPlymouthRaiders,102-105OT,andLondonCapital,57-85,inmidweek.ThismeanstheJetswillnowfacetheirNorthWestrivals,EvertonTigers,intheplayoffquarterfinalsattheNorthgateArenainwhat

promisestobeathrillingencounter.TheEssexPiratesprovidedthelasttestoftheseasonfortheJetsanditprovedtobenothingbutatrainingsessionforthehometeam.TheJetscruisedtoa99-62victory,whichdelightedthehomefans.CalvinDavisprovidedtheJetsearlysparkwithtwothreepointersinquicksuc-cessionanditwasevidentthePirateswereinforatoughride.ChezMarksalsohitthreetriplesintheopening10minutesasthehometeamtookafirmgripofthegame.Thefirstquarterendedwitha13pointgap,27-14.ThesecondquarterbroughtmuchofthesamefromtheJetsastheybegantopushtheiradvantagefurther.PaulPetersonwasinspira-tionalinalltheJetsbuildupplay,passingthePiratestodeathattimesanditwasstartingtolooklikeexhibi-tionstufffromthehometeam.Markshittwomoretriplesinhis10-pointcontributiontoanother27pointhaulfortheJets.54-32athalftime.Theendresultwasinevi-

tableandthesecondhalfwasjustaboutconcentra-tion.TheJetscameoutanddominatedtheplayagain,andwithPetersoninthemoodtheywerepickingthePiratesoffatwill.ColinO’ReillystartedtofindhisrangeinthethirdquarterashesunktwofromoutsidethearcastheJetskeptthescoretickingover.ItwasalsoagreatdefensivedisplayfromtheJets,regu-larlydenyingthePiratesanytimeorspace.Marksscoredsomesuperbbasketsduringthegame,withacouplerightonthebuzzerattheendofthethird.75-51.Themarginbetweenthetwoteamsreacheditspeakat40pointsinthefourthquarter,PhilBrandrethcameoffthebenchtoscoresixpoints.ThegamewaswrappedupbyaStevenGaylebasketbutintruthithadbeenoversincethefirstquarter.ChezMarkswasthetopscorerinthegamewith28pointspersonal.SamuelToluwasetopscoredforthePirateswith18pointsper-sonal.Petersonprovidedthemostassistsofthenightwitheightinagreatdisplay.

VS

PaulPetersonwasinscintalat-ingformashepassedthePiratesdefenceoffthecourt.

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ByChrisHesketh

May2010

Next Month...

...Newcastle Eagleswww.bblmag.com Page 11BBL:Jets May2010

An Interview with Great British Captain Andrew Sullivan

Joe Chapman pops into the office for a chat

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SATURDAY 8th MAY 2010NIA BIRMINGHAM

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