Interview: BBL AT LOW EBB, SAYS EX-DIRECTOR (David Low)

Rocks' desperation to be given - and i do mean given, tbey certainly haven't won it - the title is truly pathetic.

Im not even sure what percentage of rocks fans are in support of this? The spoken majority/miority certainly are against it which is ironic with the launch of the new OSC aim to reconnect with the fanbase and franchise. I always take what low says with a pinch of salt.

There's at least one glaring mistake in that article

There was NO generous bailout to rugby league from the government at all

It was a loan

And that's based on Rugby League having a financial model for the future that will allow the league to pay back the loan (they hope)

Basically BBL need a donation or grant to survive

And will need to join the queue of countless other causes (sporting and charity and community) that will all need the same

We've got clubs futures at stake and the league future at stake at the same time

And it's an indoor sport which makes it even harder to social distance players and fans alike long term let alone short term




So it's going to be a hard sell

I'm expecting pro basketball in UK will have to go into hibernation for a while

And then see who wants to start things up again in the future and see who's got any money to spend or sponsors to back them

If the club's got money now - what would they actually be able to do with it other than pay old bills?

To be honest I couldnt give a toss about who is awarded the league this year.

My main concern is the long term survival of the BBL, and when/if it returns !!

Hard times ahead for all of us ... for sure !! ... be well, be safe and take care

IF the league did fold then how do we replace it to better benefit the wider basketball community, I've never been a fan of the pretentious, closed shop, franchise system.

I think we need a new National league encompassing all 4 corners of the UK,

A 12 team top tier playing Home & Away for 22 games, followed by a playoff involving the top 8 teams. Bottom team gets automatically relegated with the 11th placed team in a 2 legged playoff to try and save themselves.

2nd tier of 16 teams playing 30 games, 1 automatically promoted with teams placed 2nd to 10th entering a playoff to decide who plays the 11th placed Top tier team.

Below that you'd have the RDL's or Regional Development Leagues, basically it would be 4 leagues based on England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland

The RDL wouldn't have any promotion to the 2nd tier, it'd be more like a football league that isn't incorporated into the league pyramid such as those leagues of Guernsey & Jersey which are affiliated to the FA but aren't part of the English league pyramid.

The RDL's focus would strictly be on developing players who'd then be ready to take the step up to the 2nd tier.

As far as foreign players go it'd be like

Top tier - 5 but only 3 on the court at any time
2nd tier - 3 but only 2 on the court at any time
RDL - No imports allowed

There'd also be an FA Cup style 32 team competition

The 28 teams from Top & 2nd tiers with 4 spots reserved for RDL sides, for the first season the teams would be from the capital city of each country, so London, Edinburgh, Cardiff & Belfast. After the teams to compete in the season after would be the champions of each RDL. Plus to help the draw be as near competitive as possible, the 4 RDL teams would be drawn against each other with the winners then playing whoever, think of it like the Qualifying Round of the FA Cup

Don, I'm not sure how viable your second tier is with 16 clubs. There's only ten D1 clubs you'd even consider putting in a competition that had automatic promotion to the top flight, and that's including Loughborough who'd have to break their link with Riders. Are their six clubs in the rest of the UK who could afford to play in such a competition. For a Scottish club that would be five weekends away in England for double headers, that's a lot of cash. Would this even appeal to a side from Northern Ireland? Only Belfast Star compete in the Irish Super League, an it would be a huge financial outlay to play in a glorified Division One. Wales has never got close to sustaining a decent NBL side. Cardiff were boom & bust, Glamorgan pottered around in D2 for a while before packing up.

I'd like to see a BBL II, but I'd look for quality rather than quantity with an emphasis of achieving proper standards before automatic promotion to the top flight. While the semi-pro sides are in a competition run by BE that level of the game will not progress.

Ice hockey is an all Ireland sport too but Belfast has a team in both the Elite League for their senior team and a junior team that plays in the Scottish set up.

There's and English team playing in the Scottish football league system, there's Welsh teams playing in the English Football system.  Having an Irish or Northern Irish team in UK basketball system isn't outside the realms of possibility, if there was a market and will for it to happen.  

What team was it? t31020

Berwick

I've been looking into this, and should the FIBA Basketball Champions League return for the 2020/21 season and the BBL not, I can't find anything to suggest a BBL team couldn't participate using their invite from the previous season.
For example, just because it's topical, when 777 Partners recently took over ownership of London Lions they stated they'd like to see Lions playing in the FIBA Basketball Champions League 'next season'. So if the BBL didn't happen in 2020/21 but the FIBA Basketball Champions League did, then I can't see why Lions couldn't play in that. 

I'm not saying that'll happen, or that it'll make financial sense to do so, but I can't see any rules preventing it.