Hoopsfix Podcast - British Basketball with Sam Neter

For Episode 73 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with highly rated Class of 2021 prospect Cameron Hildreth and his father and coach, Danny Hildreth.

Danny is a former BBL professional, having had more than a decade long playing career with Ware Rebels, Brighton Bears, Derby Storm and Worthing Thunder, before stepping into the coaching side of the game, whilst Cameron, a GB junior international, is arguably the best player of his generation, having dominated NBL Division 1 as a 17 year old last season averaging over 20 points per game.

Danny has coached Cameron on at least one team he plays for (whether as assistant or head coach) since he first competed as a nine year old in Under-13 national league, and most recently led them to an undefeated season with Holy Trinity in the ABL.

Cameron has just announced his commitment to ACC school Wake Forest, and is believed to be the first male player to go directly from the UK to a high major program, and one of less than a handful of British guards to ever go high major.

In this hour episode, hear from Cameron and Danny on:

• Cameron’s decision to commit to Wake Forest
• The recruiting process and how it has been affected by COVID-19
• Why Cameron decided to commit early
• Montana State being the first school to offer Cameron and how it happened
• The decision between going to a smaller school or a big school
• Advice for parents weighing up options for their basketball-playing children
• ‘Virtual’ recruiting and how that has looked without being able to go on any visits
• Cultural differences between Americans and British people and the intensity of it all
• Choosing the US college route instead of Europe
• Where the BBL sits in Cam’s plans and why he is not playing in the BBL instead of NBL D1
• The six-year offer Cameron had on the table from London Lions
• What the BBL needs to do to sign young British talent and pull them away from the allure of the US
• Suiting up at the Euroleague adidas Next Generation Tournament and the impact it had on interest
• Foreign recruiters discounting what players do against British competition
• The concerns around COVID-19 wiping out the season and what it could mean for Cam’s development
• British guard development and what has attributed to Cam’s basketball IQ and guard skills
• An analysis of Cam’s strengths and weaknesses
• Why Cam chose to not leave Sussex Storm after his GCSEs for an EABL school, going to Holy Trinity in the ABL
• Cam’s future aspirations and where he wants to be after four years at Wake Forest
• And much, much more!

The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

In Episode 72 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with former Newcastle Eagles assistant coach Dave Forrester, who announced he would be stepping down from the sidelines last week.

Forrester, a criminal defence lawyer by day, has an improbable story that saw him start as a super fan of the club before forging a relationship with Fab Flournoy that eventually saw him take a spot on the bench as assistant coach.

He served over a decade on the sidelines with the league's winningest franchise under Fab, winning 14 trophies, and ending as runners up another 8 times.

Having been involved with British basketball across multiple levels, as a fan, administrator, recruiter, operator, referee, coach and member of the Eagles Community Foundation board, Forrester has a unique holistic perspective on the game which we were able to get into.

In this 1 hour 50 minute episode, hear from Dave on:

• Why he decided to step down from his role as assistant coach with the Eagles
• How he went from fan to assistant coach
• Whether there were any issues gaining the respect of players not having had an extensive coaching background
• His relationship with Fab Flournoy over the years
• The biggest things he learned from working with Flournoy
• The opinions that changed going from the stands to having inside knowledge of the workings of the team
• The number one criticism he sees of the BBL that he believes to be incorrect
• What causes some of the negative perceptions of the BBL
• The need for help and guidance to aid NBL club's development
• What impact the arena has made for Newcastle Eagles
• The biggest leverage points he sees for the growth of British basketball
• Why the North East is not producing more elite talent despite a thriving grassroots
• His take on the Newcastle Eagles using a lot of 'plastic Brits' - non-home grown developed players with access to a British passport
• The impact of COVID-19 on the coming season
• How importance a TV deal is for the future growth of the sport
• His favourite memories from his time on the Eagles bench
• The best player he's coached
• The best players he's seen in the BBL
• Predictions for the coming BBL season
• And much, much more!

The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

For episode 71 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with Tayo Ogedengbe, 12 year BBL veteran, England international and the face of the Surrey Scorchers franchise.

Ogedengbe has been one of the best and most consistent British players in the BBL for a number of years, having made his debut in 2007-8 with London Capital under Steve Bucknall before representing Guildford Heat, Glasgow Rocks, plus a season in France with Calais, London Lions, and then signing with the Surrey Scorchers in 2015/16 as their franchise player, where he has remained since.

His role with Scorchers goes beyond purely on-court as a player, and he is involved in a lot of decision making with the franchise.

In this 90 minute episode, hear from Tayo on:

• His 'brand ambassador' role with the Surrey Scorchers
• The inception of the Surrey Scorchers franchise and the vision for his place with the franchise
• How many years he thinks he has left playing
• What he sees himself doing when he finishes playing
• The change he has seen in the BBL over the decade he has been playing in it
• Areas he would like to see the BBL improve
• His take on the All-Stars Championship
• When he found out last season was going to be cancelled due to COVID-19
• The need for a player's union
• His thoughts on the coming BBL season and the potential impact of COVID-19
• Surrey's training 'bubble' that has seen numerous players compete as lockdown eased
• Joel Freeland and whether we could see him getting involved with the Scorchers
• His relationship with Puma and involvement with other brands
• The commercial development of British basketball
• His early playing days with Ealing Tornadoes
• Winning Midnight Madness and as a result getting a place at Canarias Basketball Academy
• Starting his time in the BBL with London Capital under Steve Bucknall
• Playing under Creon Raftopoulos - initially at Guildford Heat - and their relationship to this day
• Scratching the itch to play abroad and doing a year in France with Calais
• Whether he has any regrets about not spending more time overseas
• His thoughts on the Scorchers' roster this coming season and an overall season preview
• The goals he wants to achieve before retiring
• And much, much more!

The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

For episode 70 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with Delme Herriman, aka Mr Versatility, former England international and 13 year pro.

Herriman, who published his autobiography in 2010 chronicling the details of his life and basketball career, collected 77 caps for England, winning a Bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, alongside a more-than-decade-long professional career that saw him play in Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and the UK.

The 6'6" 'point forward' started games at the 1 through 4 positions, and would regularly stuff the statsheet flirting with triple doubles which earned him the nickname Mr Versatility.

Delme finished his college career at Wright State - where he was a four year starter - second all-time in games played, and third all-time in minutes played, but he lives forever in the memory of Raiders’ fans for hitting ‘The Shot’; the basket which saw WSU’s 71-70 victory over No.25 Ranked Xavier in the 1995 MCC Tournament, with just 1.1 seconds remaining.

In this 1 hour forty minute episode, hear from Delme on:

• How he was first introduced to the game
• The Manchester United basketball programme
• What inspired him to take the game more seriously
• How watching VHS tapes of Steve Bucknall and Karl Brown at college inspired him
• Whether or not he had a natural ability for basketball
• How he ended up getting out to the US through the Rotary International programme
• Whether High School was what he expected it to be
• The difference in mentality between Americans and English players
• Growing up in Widnes compared to Urichsville the town he moved to in the US 
• Having to deal with racism 
• The recruitment process and why he chose Wright State
• The impact that redshirting a year had on allowing him to adapt and improve
• College life and living independently
• Playing in front of 42,000 fans against Indiana in the NCAA tournament in his freshman year
• Hitting 'the shot' to lead WSU to victory over Xavier in the MCC tournament
• Whether or not he believed he had the talent to make the NBA 
• The Bosman ruling 
• Turning pro and his first contract in Italy with Trieste worth $90,000 a year
• Falling out of love with the game
• Returning home to play for the Manchester Giants after turning down a renewal offer from Trieste
• Playing for England and his favourite memories with the national team
• Coach Laszlo Nemeth and his impact
• His time in the Netherlands 
• Winning a championship with Chester in the BBL
• Making the transition to retire from playing
• And much, much more!

The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.

In Episdoe 69 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we speak with Ajou Deng, one of the most talented players to ever come out of the UK.

Standing 6'11" with a 7'4" wingspan, Deng - the older brother of NBA and GB star Luol - had a skillset ahead of his time, being able to face up and handle the ball on the perimeter, ending up one of the most heralded prospects to ever land at UConn.

Growing up through a devastating civil war in Sudan, him and his family fled to Egypt where he picked up a basketball for the first time under the tutelage of 7'7" Sudanese NBA star Manute Bol.

From there, his family were granted asylum to England, where he played for Brixton Topcats for a year and a half under Jimmy Rogers before attracting the attention of UConn, committing early and making the move to St Thomas More High School in the US for two seasons, where he averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks a game.

He was named a Parade All American Third team in 1998, before joining UConn in the 98-99 season, where, led by future NBA players Richard Hamilton and Khalid El Amin, they won a national championship although Ajou was stuck to practicing only due to being academically ineligible.

The level of hype around him was unprecedented, Khalid El Amin called him the best player on their roster that year in a Sports Illustrated feature spread, as he was named the Big East preseason rookie of the year.

Battling through foot injuries in college and with minutes hard to come by, Deng announced he was transferring from UConn in his Sophomore year, ending up at Fairfield for his final two years at college whilst still having foot issues.

Having been told by a doctor he should never play again, a year out rehabbing after college saw him sign his first pro contract with Nick Nurse's Brighton Bears in the BBL, where he would go on to have a five year pro career predominantly in the UK along with a season in Slovakia, before hanging them up after the 2008-9 season.

He now works full time for the Luol Deng Foundation.

Note: Ajou joined us on the call from Uganda where the internet connection wasn't always the strongest, we have edited most of the drops out where possible, but there are still moments where it gets a little choppy - stick with it and it gets stronger as the call goes on!

In this 90 minute episode, hear from Ajou on:

• How he first started playing basketball in Egypt under Manute Bol
• The provision for basketball in Egypt and the environment he was playing in
• Watching old VHS tapes of the NBA and cultivating his love for the game
• Arriving in the UK, being turned down by Crystal Palace and ending up at Brixton
• The culture shock of the UK
• His first impressions of the legendary Jimmy Rogers
• Standout players in the British basketball landscape as he was coming up
• The Brixton - Hackney rivalry with Joe White's teams and Andrew Sullivan
• How Tony Hanson - a UConn legend then coaching in the UK - was the first to put Jim Calhoun and the UConn programme on to Ajou
• Heading to St Thomas More Prep school under Jere Quinn and how instrumental that was to his development
• The players he was looking up to for his own skill development
• Transitioning from the UK to the US and the physicality and athleticism
• Coming back in the summers to play in Rough and Ready
• His first year at UConn and having to sit out, practising only
• The '99 squad winning the national championship but not being able to play
• The Sports Illustrated article where Khalid El Amin said he was the best player on the team
• Whether he felt pressure of the expectations placed upon him
• Playing through a foot injury and having to take painkillers daily to practice
• Trying to focus on basketball with the civil war going on in Sudan and seeing it as an opportunity to inspire and represent other South Sudanese
• The decision to transfer 5 or so games into his Sophomore season at UConn
• Why he chose to go to Fairfield
• His goal to make the NBA
• Whether he has any regrets about his college career
• Taking a year to rehab his injury having been told by a doctor to never play again
• Turning pro and signing with Brighton Bears under Nick Nurse
• His memories of Nick Nurse as a coach
• His time in Scotland and Guildford
• Going into Europe with the Guildford Heat
• What kept him going despite the repetitive foot injuries
• His experiences playing in Slovakia
• Why he chose to retire when he did
• His role with the Luol Deng Foundation since retiring
• Seeing Luol coming through as a youngster and what he has gone on to do with his career
• Advice he would give to younger players aspiring to play pro
• And much, much more!

The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.

For Episode 68 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with top GB prospect Holly Winterburn who recently announced her decision to return from the US and sign in Leicester on a three-year deal.

Winterburn, 19, is one of the most talented junior players to ever come out of the UK, having spent her freshman season at top ranked Oregon where she won a Pac-12 regular season and tournament championship, playing alongside three teammates who would be selected in the top 10 of the 2020 WNBA draft.

Her decision to play in the UK over the options she had in the US is unprecedented, and represents a huge opportunity for the domestic game.

The 5'11" guard has represented the England/GB junior national teams for six straight summers, from U16 through to U20 level, making two European Championship All-Tournament teams.

Before heading to the US, she shone in the WBBL, winning two Young Player of the Year Awards, and making the WBBL All-British team, whilst dominating at the junior level winning a WEABL championship and MVP, along with MVP in the inaugural Hoopsfix All-Star Classic U19 Women's game.

In this 1 hour 20 minute episode, hear from Holly on:

• How she first got into basketball at school
• Playing a number of different sports such as a football
• Getting selected for the England U15 development squad and realising she could be good
• Her role models and inspirations as a young teenager
• Disconnect between younger players and the GB senior players
• Whether playing with older players at such a young age helped with her maturity off-court
• Her first practice with Leicester's WBBL side as a 15 year old
• Advice she would give for younger players to cultivate self belief and confidence
• The challenge of tuning out other people's opinions
• When the college coaches came knocking
• What it means to represent her country and why she has suited up for the national team for six straight summers
• Playing her best basketball with GB in the summer
• Preparation time for the junior national teams
• Her lack of call up to the GB Senior Women's team yet
• Weighing up options and making the decision which school in the US to go to
• Her three visits and the recruitment process
• The level of provision at Oregon
• The struggle with playing time
• Her first basket at Oregon against the USA Senior Women's national team
• Winning the Pac-12 regular season and tournament title
• Missing out on March Madness
• Making the decision to transfer to UC Davis
• Deciding to return home to sign with Leicester and the role the pandemic had
• The importance of her happiness off the floor to be happy on it
• Whether or not her goal is still to play professionally abroad in the long term
• Her aim to help grow the profile of the WBBL and domestic game
• Working with younger players
• And much, much, more! 

The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.

In Episode 67 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with former BBL, NBL and England Head Coach, Dave Titmuss, aka Coach T.

Titmuss has spent over 50 years on the sidelines of British basketball, starting out as a 22 year old before working his way up to the highest levels of the game experiencing success at every level, with 15 national titles, a Paralympic World Cup gold medal, a World Wheelchair Basketball Championship silver medal, a Paralympic bronze medal, two Coach of the Year awards and two Paralympic sport Coach of the Year awards.

Starting in 1970 with St Albans Phoenix, Titmuss went on to the Hemel Lakers, the side that ultimately became Ovaltine Hemel Hempstead in National League Division 1 in the late 70s and early 80s, competing in the Korac Cup in Europe. 

From there he spent time with Tigers Juniors in Hemel, Brunel in Division 1, before joining Thames Valley Tigers in the BBL.

He then developed the Ware Rebels junior programme, experiencing his first undefeated season, and before joining the Reading Rockets in NBL D1 where they had a historic quadruple-winning undefeated season in 2008-09.

Whilst with Reading, he served as Head Coach and Performance Director of Great Britain's Paralympic squad for eight years, coaching GB to fourth place at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, a Silver Medal at the 2002 World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, Bronze at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, and Gold at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester.

He went on to a season in the BBL with Worthing Thunder, before rounding out his career with Hemel Storm from 2010-2019.

Titmuss has dedicated a large amount of his time coaching coaches, and is now mentoring whist enjoying retirement.

In this 1 hour 39 minute episode, hear from Coach T on:

• His first exposure to basketball and making the switch from football
• How he ended up coaching his first session and falling in love with it in his early twenties
• His process for developing his coaching skills
• Coaching in the burgeoning national league with Hemel Lakers
• The professionalisation of the Hemel club within a 7-year time frame becoming Ovaltine Hemel Hempstead and competing in Europe
• Why basketball more 'mainstream' in the late early 80s, and how big of a role tv played
• The level of American player teams were able to recruit to play in England in that era
• How much of a role having British talent at home plays in the development of the game
• Hemel running their own lottery in the south of the country which helped the club turnover upwards of £1.5million (incorrectly labelled as £5m in the pod)
• His role at Hemel encompassing a lot more than just coaching, specifically the commercial side of the club
• Formulating his own coaching philosophy and style
• Recruiting players that fit the style you want to play versus building a philosophy around the roster make up
• His three years coaching the England Senior Men
• First experience coaching in the BBL with Thames Valley Tigers from 1990-1994
• Building the Ware Rebels junior programme and it cementing his beliefs around youth development
• Coaching the England Juniors including a coming up Drew Sullivan
• Becoming involved with the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association and taking the reigns of their GB Senior Men squad
• Competing in multiple Paralympics, a world championship and experiencing the highest levels of the game
• His undefeated season with the Reading Rockets in NBL D1 in 2008-09 winning the quadruple
• A year in the BBL with Worthing Thunder in 2009-10 the following year
• Rounding out his career on the sidelines with Hemel Storm
• Mentoring coaches now to pass on his knowledge
• What he would do if he was tasked with improving the quality and quantity of coaches in the UK
• And much, much more!

The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.

For episode 66 of the Hoopsfix podcast we have Andrea Congreaves on the show, widely regarded the greatest female basketball player to ever come out of the UK.

The sixteen-year pro was the first Brit to play in the WNBA, and won titles all over Europe after an absolutely dominant college career at Mercer.

It is hard to be succinct when it comes listing her career accomplishments but start with having her jersey retired at Mercer, being named to both the school and conference Hall of Fame.

Her time at Mercer saw her lead NCAA Division 1 in scoring in her Junior and Senior years (33.0 and 31.0ppg respectively), whilst being named an All-American in 1993.

From there, the 6’2″ ‘shooting forward’ as she likes to label herself, turned pro in Italy, before signing with Valencia in Spain where she won the first of multiple domestic titles across Europe.

She got selected by the Charlotte Sting with the 26th pick of the inaugural WNBA draft, playing 3 seasons in the WNBA, two with the Sting and one with Orlando Miracle, starting 58 of her 84 games – at a time when there were only 8 teams in the league.

Congreaves won titles in France, Spain, the UK along with multiple Euroleague Final Four appearances (runners up twice) and is up there amongst the greatest players to ever come out of the UK.

Having made her England senior debut at 17 years old in 1987, she picked up 40 caps for England and 15 for GB, and also went on represent Great Britain 20 years later for the reformation of the programme. 

Congreaves won a Commonwealth Games Gold medal in 1991 and bronze in 2006 – where she led the team in scoring at 36 years old.

In this two hour episode, hear from Andrea on:

• How she was first discovered by Paul Stimpson through Crystal Palace’s School of Basketball
• Her early years at Crystal Palace, Brixton Topcats and London YMCA
• The things that happened during her development that she attributes to her success
• Her lack of care or knowledge of individual stats and performances
• The inspiration Carol Paris was for her coming up
• How Crystal Palace hosting the WICB led to her first interest from US colleges
• The lack of her belief in her own abilities and talents
• The recruiting process and the likes of Kansas, UNC, UCLA, Ole Miss and others all chasing her
• Knowing Mercer was the place for her and having a feel for it
• Transitioning to the US from the UK both on and off the court
• The coaching staff at Mercer trying to work out the best position for her
• What she feels was her natural position
• The drastic increase in her output from Freshman to Sophomore year and what caused it
• Leading NCAA Division 1 in scoring for two straight years but not thinking about turning pro
• Playing for the national team whilst at college
• Winning gold at the Commonwealth games in 1991 in Edinburgh
• What it meant to represent her country on the national team
• Her standout memories playing for the national team
• Following the current GB national team program
• The younger generation coming through and whether they are aware of her career
• Not being involved with basketball at all at the moment to take a break
• Her desire to be involved with the national team programs in the future
• Turning pro and signing her first deal in Italy
• The differences between pro life and college life
• Being the only British female player on the continent playing professionally
• Being seen as a traitor for not coming back to play in England
• Winning her first pro title in Spain
• Every opposing team thinking she was an American
• Coming up just short in the Euroleague final and how it still stings to this day
• First getting wind the WNBA was being founded
• Not believing she got drafted when she got the call from the league
• Her experiences in the WNBA, how it compared to Europe and her memories with the Sting and Miracle
• The level of the WNBA compared to Europe
• How her time in the WNBA came to and end and how she chose to focus on Europe
• Playing in Korea and getting selected in their draft
• The final stages of her playing days in Wales with Rhondda Rebels in the run up the 2006 Commonwealth Games
• Making the transition into the next phase of her career after playing
• Her favourite basketball memory
• Best player she ever played against
• Her relationship with coach Mark Clark and the impact he has had on her career
• What she wants her playing legacy to be
• And much, much more!

The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.

In Episode 65 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with Jack Majewski, owner of London United basketball club and founder of Future Stars International Basketball Tournament. 

Originally from Krakow, Poland, Majewski was a former player who fell in love with the coaching side of the game, being at the helm of the Polish U16 national team before moving to the UK in the early 90s to join Kevin Cadle on the bench of the Guildford Kings as they made the top 16 of the FIBA Europe Cup. 

From there, he founded the Chessington Wildcats, before setting up the Ealing Tornadoes whilst working as a basketball coach on the borough's sports development team. 

In 2002 he founded London United, which has operated in West London since with a focus on junior development being based at different academies, and having two separate attempts at getting a BBL franchise off the ground with London United in 2006-7 and Surrey United in 2013-15.

Majewski also set up the Future Stars International Basketball Tournament in 2008, which ran for 6 years and featured top Division A U18 junior national teams from across Europe and had a number of eventual NBA players compete such as Rudy Gobert and Dario Saric. Future Stars returned in 2019 as a pre-season U18 club tournament, featuring the likes of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Rytas Vilnius.

Having now been involved at all levels of the British game for almost 30 years, Majewski has a unique Euro-centric perspective on the game in this country and what needs to be done to help drive things forward.

In this two hour (!) episode, hear from Jack on:

• His early start in basketball in Poland and how he ended up in England
• The passion he had for coaching and wanting to reach the highest levels of the game
• Jumping in at the deep end in the UK being on the coaching staff in the top 16 of European competition with Guildford Kings under Kevin Cadle
• Why the Kingston teams competing in Europe in the early 90s are one of the greatest untold stories in British basketball
• British basketball being so insular and not being exposed enough to international basketball
• The role that clubs have to play in being the driving force to grow British basketball - not the federation
• Clubs needing the ability to protect their 'investment' in players by licensing them accordingly and having final approval on movement between clubs
• Why sport is not democratic and it is not club's responsibility to keep everyone happy
• Conversations he has had with the federation to try and change things
• The current picture of basketball in the UK being so stagnated and unattractive
• Why it is so important there is stability for clubs by changing the structures they operate in
• His two stints with the BBL, with Surrey United and London United and what happened with both
• Whether or not he still has BBL aspirations
• The over-reliance on schools/educational institutions within British basketball and being at the mercy of the head teacher
• The lack of investment in coaching in British basketball
• London United's recent announcement of their partnership with Movistar Estudiantes
• The founding of the Future Stars international basketball tournament and its development over the years
• Raising funding/sponsorship to be able to run events and fund programs
• Cultivating a network of relationships to help a basketball program grow 
• His belief that the social-value of basketball in the UK is grotesquely overused and overvalued
• The need to create viable future career paths in basketball in the UK for young players
• And much, much more! 

The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.

In Episode 64 of the Hoopsfix podcast, we sit down with former GB and England international and current assistant coach at Montana State University, Chris Haslam.

Originally out of Southport, Haslam recorded 58 caps for England and GB, representing England from 1997-2004 before being involved with the first two years of the re-start of the GB programme in 2006 and 2007.

He had a 13 year professional career, playing not only in the BBL, but Greece, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic, before transitioning into coaching where he is now an assistant at NCAA Division 1 school MSU.

At MSU he has recruited multiple British players, most recently having duo Amin Adamu and Jubrile Belo on his roster, and prior to that, Joe Junior Mvuezolo.

Note that since this was recorded, there have been a number of updates to the COVID-19 situation regarding British student-athletes, where players are now beginning to be able to return to the US.

Additionally, there were some technical issues and we lost the first 35 minutes we began recording, so the start of the podcast is essentially a re-recording.

In this 1 hour and 40 minutes episode, hear from Chris on:

• COVID-19 and its impact on British student-athletes in the US
• The wide-ranging impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on college athletics
• Whether there could be further amendments to NCAA rules due to COVID
• If a generation of players could miss out on a crucial year of development
• How he first started playing basketball
• Growing up in Southport and the local basketball scene coming up
• Playing for Chester Jets U23 side with Mike Burton and Joe Forber
• The three main talents from his generation - Delme Herriman, Steve Hansell, Danny Craven
• Moving to the US for his Senior year of High School still being relatively new to the game
• Winning a state championship and being named Player of the Year
• The college recruitment process, getting recruited by the likes of Vanderbilt and Florida State
• Choosing Wyoming and how he felt his teams did during his time there
• How his own experiences have impacted how he recruits at Montana State
• The difference between recruiting British players compared to Americans
• The impact of him being British makes in being able to recruit British players
• Playing his first two years in college with NBA lottery pick and Defensive Player of the Year Theo Ratliff
• His own game's development and how it would translate to today
• What he looks for when developing big men
• Beating a nationally ranked Utah squad with 3 future NBA players in college
• The increasing prevalence of transfers in college basketball
• Players needing to learn to embrace their role
• Whether or not he's seen an increase in the talent level of British players over the years
• General weaknesses that are more prevalent in British players
• Whether or not players are better served to stay in the UK now and going straight to college instead of High School first
• Signing his rookie deal in the BBL with Birmingham instead of opting to go to Austria
• The Bosman ruling happening just as he was turning pro and its impact on the BBL
• The difference in what he could earn in the BBL compared to Europe at the time
• His home debut for England in front of 7,000 fans in Manchester
• Standout memories from representing the England Seniors
• Being involved with the new GB programme in its first two years from 2006
• His memories of a young Luol Deng in his first year with GB
• Crazy stories from his time in Greece
• Comparing the BBL in 2006 with London United to the late 90s with Birmingham
• Finishing his career at home with the Everton Tigers and winning a Play-Offs title
• Making the transition into coaching
• Starting his coaching career at NJCAA school Lamar Community College before joining MSU
• His desire to coach within the GB set up
• His memories of a 17 year old Ryan Richards in Belgium
• Matching up with Tim Duncan at the World Student Games
• And much, much more!

The show has been approved on iTunes – find it here and please subscribe to automatically receive new episodes straight to your phone/computer/tablet – if you could give us a review/rating it would be much appreciated to help the podcast spread far and wide, meanwhile it is also on Spotify here, Overcast, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.

You can support Hoopsfix’s work in helping to grow British basketball on Patreon.