DJ
Rookie
Posts: 24
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Post by DJ on Jun 14, 2018 18:29:49 GMT
Congrats to Nick - a lot of older BBL fans just got a new NBA team to follow Makes me nostalgic for the late 90s BBL - it may have been unsustainable but it sure was fun What's the chances of Chris Finch making the final step up too? Seeing them face each other as NBA head coaches would be surreal I’m 23 and I used to go down to Brighton for most home games when I was a kid! Two memories are high fiving Wilbur Johnson, and watching a paparazzi’s camera getting squashed in an automatic door trying to follow Dennis rodman info the building 😂. |
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Post by Solly on Jun 14, 2018 20:13:12 GMT
49pts from Randy Duck!
Agree that Finchy, (always chuckled that Chris Finch or Finchy was also a character in the Office around that time), had to work harder for his rosters than the goldenchildesque Nurse.
Yes Donewald was quite something - I remember sitting near him in the crowd at Derby when he was serving one of his many sideline bans and being quite offended by his potty mouth. He also had colour in his 👗. Uniball sponsored the Trophy for a time and I recall a newspaper pic featuring him in a dayglow blazer and possibly also dayglow locks.
Derby have a lot of links to all this as the Raptors GM also played for them at Motorways - I miss that place, used to create a hell of an atmosphere - one year Derby were the 8 seed and managed to see off the top seeded Thames Valley.
Also seem to recall some sort of brawl there with I think Tim Lascelles brandishing part of an advertising hoarding!
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Post by SamH on Jun 14, 2018 22:46:42 GMT
I concur on the Cholet game. I think while any team going out of business is a shame, its happened to a lot of franchises in the BBL. So you have to say, for all the amazing experiences we got (winning the league, the ULEB games, Rodman experience, etc) would you trade that for having been a run of the mill franchise doing nothing special for those years and quite possibly being put out to pasture once Nick decided to move back to the States anyway? Or perhaps it would have carried on and continued to be mediocre at best. Maybe to have had the chance to experience what we did was better even if it didn't go on for as long? Remember this was a fan base absolutely starved of any success or relevance since the mid 90s and it hadn't been a fun ride.
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vikkimoo
Rookie
Posts: 36 
Favourite Team: Sheffield Sharks
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Post by vikkimoo on Jun 15, 2018 12:39:10 GMT
Incredible that Nurse is now an NBA head coach. Chris Finch cannot be far behind. Great credit to both of them. Come a long way since those BBL days...recall them going up against each other in those great Sharks v Giants battles. Some amazing players and rivalry. When I say the standard has dropped off you only have to look at those teams Sharks - Travis Conlan, Terrell Myers, Matt Gaudio/Pete Scants, Will Johnson, Todd Cauthorn Bench Iain McKinney, Richard Windle, Mike Payne Giants - John White, Tony Holley, Tony Dorsey, Makeba Perry, Ronnie Baker, Bench Kevin St Kitts etc The nip and tuck battle for the title that year was somehting else. Finch was always wathcing the Giants games scouting and Nurse vice versa. He used to sit in the upper tier of the Sheffield Arena for games in a baseball cap trying tok be disguised! Then recall more Nurse v Finch battles a few years later when he was in Brighton - recall us beating the Bears to win the league as Lynard blocked a shot at the buzzer to preserve a 2 point lead at a packed Ponds Forge - there were people standing all over the place; behind the baskets and at the top of the stand. Then a court invasion on the win! Sharks - Rob Yanders, Nate Reinking, Jerry Williams, Justin Phoenix, Lynard Stewart. Bench Scants, Mckinney, Payne, Bridge Bears - Randy Duck, Ralph Blalock, Sterling Davis, Rico Alderson Wilbur Johnson; Bench Michael Brown etc Incredible teams really. Used to hate Nurse in all those rivalries - he was an arrogant so and so and smug with it but admired him as a coach even if he did seem to have biggest budget wherever he went. Finch's team always relied mainly on British talent and US players out of college (some stayed albeit) where as Nurse used to just sign players from the other teams - best of BBL players. The squad he got at Manchester was basically all the players signed away from all the other teams and was hard to see how they afforded it - well they did not as they went bust a few years later. So sweet when we used to beat Nurse's teams. Remember us beating another fairly decent Brighton team by about 40 in a one off play off game at Ponds Forge and Nurse getting ejected. Do not seem to have rivalry anymore like this. Miss characters like Finch, Nurse, Donewald etc Sharkball, was that the year when Justin Phoenix got so fed up of Rico Alderson (as we all did) that he just chinned him and they both got ejected? I've been a Sharks fan for 20 years now and apart from THAT game against Manchester (you all know the one!), I think that is probably my favourite moment!!! Also congratulations to Nick Nurse, I did love whenever we played any of his teams... |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2018 12:40:38 GMT
Yep. **** or bust is the way forward. Who needs stability?
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Post by pablocheeks12 on Jun 16, 2018 19:34:12 GMT
I was there! Had a season ticket, which became irrelevant, as all the European teas that visited just took over the Brighton Centre.
Great coach, did some development work for him at the Bears and can see why he's head coach for the Raps. He often sets the plays out of a time out. He invented a training game as well didnt he? Where he introduced minus scores for long 2 point shots and various gimmicks like that.
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Post by seasider on Jun 16, 2018 21:31:26 GMT
The Cholet game was at the Triangle wasn't it? I think that Nick believed that "if you build it, they will come" but unfortunately not enough did come which was a great shame as that ULEB season was cracking.
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retsek
6th Man
Global moderator
Posts: 449
Favourite Team: Sheffield Sharks
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Post by retsek on Jun 18, 2018 12:49:01 GMT
Incredible that Nurse is now an NBA head coach. Chris Finch cannot be far behind. Great credit to both of them. Come a long way since those BBL days...recall them going up against each other in those great Sharks v Giants battles. Some amazing players and rivalry. When I say the standard has dropped off you only have to look at those teams Sharks - Travis Conlan, Terrell Myers, Matt Gaudio/Pete Scants, Will Johnson, Todd Cauthorn Bench Iain McKinney, Richard Windle, Mike Payne Giants - John White, Tony Holley, Tony Dorsey, Makeba Perry, Ronnie Baker, Bench Kevin St Kitts etc The nip and tuck battle for the title that year was somehting else. Finch was always wathcing the Giants games scouting and Nurse vice versa. He used to sit in the upper tier of the Sheffield Arena for games in a baseball cap trying tok be disguised! Then recall more Nurse v Finch battles a few years later when he was in Brighton - recall us beating the Bears to win the league as Lynard blocked a shot at the buzzer to preserve a 2 point lead at a packed Ponds Forge - there were people standing all over the place; behind the baskets and at the top of the stand. Then a court invasion on the win! Sharks - Rob Yanders, Nate Reinking, Jerry Williams, Justin Phoenix, Lynard Stewart. Bench Scants, Mckinney, Payne, Bridge Bears - Randy Duck, Ralph Blalock, Sterling Davis, Rico Alderson Wilbur Johnson; Bench Michael Brown etc Incredible teams really. Used to hate Nurse in all those rivalries - he was an arrogant so and so and smug with it but admired him as a coach even if he did seem to have biggest budget wherever he went. Finch's team always relied mainly on British talent and US players out of college (some stayed albeit) where as Nurse used to just sign players from the other teams - best of BBL players. The squad he got at Manchester was basically all the players signed away from all the other teams and was hard to see how they afforded it - well they did not as they went bust a few years later. So sweet when we used to beat Nurse's teams. Remember us beating another fairly decent Brighton team by about 40 in a one off play off game at Ponds Forge and Nurse getting ejected. Do not seem to have rivalry anymore like this. Miss characters like Finch, Nurse, Donewald etc Dammit, you beat me to it! Proof if proof were still needed that the '99 season was the absolute, unquestionable pinnacle of British basketball, not just in terms of the unparalleled title race, but because you had a future NBA head coach vs a future NBA assistant coach in the top 2 league spots. We truly will never see the like again. I couldn't stand Nurse either (although those comedy disguises were something to see, I'm glad someone else still remembers them!), I always thought he was just given a cheque book and left to sign established talent, whereas Chris had to go out and found the Myres, Gaudio's and Conlan's. |
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retsek
6th Man
Global moderator
Posts: 449
Favourite Team: Sheffield Sharks
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Post by retsek on Jun 18, 2018 12:53:01 GMT
Incredible that Nurse is now an NBA head coach. Chris Finch cannot be far behind. Great credit to both of them. Come a long way since those BBL days...recall them going up against each other in those great Sharks v Giants battles. Some amazing players and rivalry. When I say the standard has dropped off you only have to look at those teams Sharks - Travis Conlan, Terrell Myers, Matt Gaudio/Pete Scants, Will Johnson, Todd Cauthorn Bench Iain McKinney, Richard Windle, Mike Payne Giants - John White, Tony Holley, Tony Dorsey, Makeba Perry, Ronnie Baker, Bench Kevin St Kitts etc The nip and tuck battle for the title that year was somehting else. Finch was always wathcing the Giants games scouting and Nurse vice versa. He used to sit in the upper tier of the Sheffield Arena for games in a baseball cap trying tok be disguised! Then recall more Nurse v Finch battles a few years later when he was in Brighton - recall us beating the Bears to win the league as Lynard blocked a shot at the buzzer to preserve a 2 point lead at a packed Ponds Forge - there were people standing all over the place; behind the baskets and at the top of the stand. Then a court invasion on the win! Sharks - Rob Yanders, Nate Reinking, Jerry Williams, Justin Phoenix, Lynard Stewart. Bench Scants, Mckinney, Payne, Bridge Bears - Randy Duck, Ralph Blalock, Sterling Davis, Rico Alderson Wilbur Johnson; Bench Michael Brown etc Incredible teams really. Used to hate Nurse in all those rivalries - he was an arrogant so and so and smug with it but admired him as a coach even if he did seem to have biggest budget wherever he went. Finch's team always relied mainly on British talent and US players out of college (some stayed albeit) where as Nurse used to just sign players from the other teams - best of BBL players. The squad he got at Manchester was basically all the players signed away from all the other teams and was hard to see how they afforded it - well they did not as they went bust a few years later. So sweet when we used to beat Nurse's teams. Remember us beating another fairly decent Brighton team by about 40 in a one off play off game at Ponds Forge and Nurse getting ejected. Do not seem to have rivalry anymore like this. Miss characters like Finch, Nurse, Donewald etc Sharkball, was that the year when Justin Phoenix got so fed up of Rico Alderson (as we all did) that he just chinned him and they both got ejected? Yes it was  One of my all time favourite Sharks moments, along with that game against Brighton at the arena (the same year I think, we played them 7 times that season and went 7-0) where the coach went mental at Mike Shaft and took his microphone off him and dismantled it, so then Shaft just picked up another mike from the table and carried on, good times indeed! |
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Post by interestedridersfan on Jun 19, 2018 7:03:15 GMT
Sharkball, was that the year when Justin Phoenix got so fed up of Rico Alderson (as we all did) that he just chinned him and they both got ejected? Yes it was One of my all time favourite Sharks moments, along with that game against Brighton at the arena (the same year I think, we played them 7 times that season and went 7-0) where the coach went mental at Mike Shaft and took his microphone off him and dismantled it, so then Shaft just picked up another mike from the table and carried on, good times indeed! Brilliant!! |
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