2000–01 British Basketball League season

2000–2001 British Basketball League season
League	British Basketball League
Sport	Basketball
Roll of Honour
BBL champions	N Sheffield Sharks S London Towers
Play Off's champions	Leicester Riders
National Cup champions	Leicester Riders
BBL Trophy champions	Chester Jets

The 2000-01 BBL season, the 14th since its establishment of the British Basketball League, commenced on 30 September 2000 and ended on 7 April 2001, with a total of 13 teams competing. The regular season saw teams split into two geographically divided Conferences, seven in the North and six in the South, with northern teams playing 36 games and southern teams playing 34 games each. Sheffield Sharks were crowned winners of the North, while London Towers dominated the South, both teams tallying 27 wins in the regular season.

Played in parallel with the regular season, the BBL’s peripheral competition the uni-ball Trophy was conquered by Chester Jets, after a 92-81 win against Newcastle Eagles. Teams also contested the NTL National Cup with clubs from the lower placed National Basketball League, with Leicester Riders prevailing in a close Final against Greater London Leopards.

Following the regular season, the top-four teams from each Conference progressed to the Play-offs which ran from 14 April to 5 May, climaxing with the Play-off Final at Wembley Arena. Leicester Riders shocked bookmakers and fans alike, taking the Championship title with an 84-75 victory over Sheffield, adding to their National Cup success.

London Towers was the league’s sole representative in European competition, appearing in the Euroleague. They failed to make the Round of 16, finishing 5th in the 6-team Group D with a 1-9 record.

Notable occurrences

London Towers opened their campaign in the Euroleague with an 86-61 win against the Frankfurt Skyliners on 18 October 2000. Kendrick Warren posted a game-high 21 points for the Towers.^[1]
On 6 November, Derby Storm’s 104-84 home victory over Edinburgh Rocks ended the BBL’s longest ever losing streak, with Storm’s last league win coming on 26 March, an 88-91 victory away to Milton Keynes Lions.^[2]
Greater London Leopards undertook a mid-season tour of the United States throughout November, playing some of the top college teams in the country, finishing with a 2-3 record.^[3]
Birmingham Bullets’ attempt to sign Panamanian Antonio García, after he walked out on Derby a day earlier, was taken to court after Derby refused to release his registration.^[4]
Leicester Riders were crowned NTL National Cup champions on 7 January 2001, with an 84-82 win over Greater London Leopards at the Sheffield Arena ending a 30-year hunt for silverware.^[5]
The Northern Conference conquered in the annual All-Star Game, with a 161-148 victory over their Southern counterparts at the Telewest Arena on 20 January. Newcastle Eagles’ Tony Windless was voted MVP after scoring 25 points, while Thames Valley Tigers’ Tony Christie posted a game-high 29 points for the South.^[6]
Chester Jets won the uni-ball Trophy on 24 March, with a 92-81 win against Newcastle at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. The celebrations were even more noticeable after Chester coach Robbie Peers and the Jets team performed a conga-line around the court.^[7] Jets’ Pero Cameron was named as MVP.
Leicester claimed their second piece of silverware for the season, adding the Play-off title to their earlier National Cup victory. Riders claimed the win on 5 May at Wembley Arena with an 84-75 victory over Sheffield Sharks, shooting an overall 57% from the floor. Larry Johnson was named as MVP.^[8]

BBL Championship (Tier 1)

Final standings

Northern Conference

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percentage
1. Sheffield Sharks	54	36	27	9	0.750
2. Chester Jets	50	36	25	11	0.694
3. Newcastle Eagles	40	36	20	16	0.555
4. Leicester Riders	34	36	17	19	0.472
5. Manchester Giants	30	36	15	21	0.416
6. Derby Storm	12	36	6	30	0.166
7. Edinburgh Rocks	10	36	5	31	0.138

Southern Conference

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percentage
1. London Towers	54	34	27	7	0.794
2. Greater London Leopards	48	34	24	10	0.705
3. Milton Keynes Lions	42	34	21	13	0.617
4. Birmingham Bullets	36	34	18	16	0.529
5. Thames Valley Tigers	28	34	14	20	0.411
6. Brighton Bears	18	34	9	25	0.264

	= Conference winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

The Play-offs

1st Round

April 14, 2001

Birmingham Bullets

80–75

Newcastle Eagles

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

April 14, 2001

Leicester Riders

77–75

Milton Keynes Lions

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

Quarter-finals

April 16, 2001

Chester Jets

71–90

Leicester Riders

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

April 16, 2001

Greater London Leopards

89–84

Birmingham Bullets

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

Semi-finals

April 21, 2001

London Towers

79–87

Leicester Riders

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

April 21, 2001

Sheffield Sharks

87–77

Greater London Leopards

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

Final

May 5, 2001
5.45pm GMT

Report

Sheffield Sharks	75–84	Leicester Riders
Scoring by quarter: 24-15, 21-21, 12-28, 18-20
Pts: Terrell Myers 14, Peter Scantlebury 14, Nate Reinking 12 Rebs: Peter Scantlebury 10 Asts: Peter Scantlebury 6		Pts: Ralph Blalock 25, Larry Johnson 24, Purnell Perry, 13, Rebs: Purnell Perry 12 Asts: Larry Johnson 8

Wembley Arena, London

National League Conference (Tier 2)

Final standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L
1. Plymouth Raiders	38	21	19	2
2. Worthing Thunder Rebels	32	21	16	5
3. Teesside Mohawks	30	21	15	6
4. Manchester Magic	18	21	9	12
5. Coventry Crusaders	14	21	7	14
6. Inter-Basket London+	13	21	7	14
7. Solent Stars	12	21	6	15
8. Sutton Pumas	10	21	5	16

	= League winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

+ one point deducted
Play Off Final - Plymouth 83 Worthing 77

National League Division 1 (Tier 3)

Final standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L!
1. Oxford Devils	34	18	17	1
2. Reading Rockets	26	17	13	4
3. Westminster Warriors	18	17	9	8
4. Cardiff Clippers	16	18	8	10
5. Kingston Wildcats	12	17	6	11
6. Birmingham Aces	12	18	6	12
7. Liverpool Basketball Club	2	15	2	13

	= League winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

Play Off Final - Reading 97 Oxford 82

National League Division 2 (Tier 4)

Final standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L
1. Derbyshire Arrows	48	24	24	0
2. Ealing Tornadoes	40	24	20	4
3. Ware Rebels	34	24	17	7
4. Hull Icebergs	32	23	16	7
5. North London Lords	30	23	15	8
6. Doncaster Panthers	25	23	12	11
7. Taunton Tigers	24	24	12	12
8. Mansfield Express	21	24	11	13
9. NW London Wolverines	19	24	9	15
10. Northampton Neptunes	14	24	7	17
11. Brixton TopCats	12	24	6	18
12. South London Bulls	10	23	5	18
13. Swindon Sonics	6	24	3	21

	= League winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

Play Off Final - Ealing v Derbyshire 82-81

National League Division 3 (Tier 5)

Final standings

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L
1. Bristol Bombers	40	22	20	2
2. Worcester Wolves	36	21	18	3
3. Thames Valley Tigers B	36	22	18	4
4. Dudley Bears	24	22	12	10
5. Barking & Dagenham Thunder	22	20	11	9
6. Nottingham SNC	22	22	11	11
7. Brighton Cougars	22	22	11	11
8. University of Birmingham	20	22	10	12
9. Northumbria University	17	21	8	13
10. Tamar Valley Cannons	12	22	6	16
11. Derby Storm B	6	22	3	19
12. Colchester Alliance	6	22	3	19

	= League winners
	= Qualified for the Play-offs

Play Off Final - Bristol v Barking & Dagenham 89-67

NTL National Cup

Last 16

Team 1	Team 2	Score
Worthing Thunder	Greater London Leopards	67-108
Thames Valley Tigers	Sheffield Sharks	112-100
Brighton Bears	Manchester Giants	72-74
Chester Jets	Newcastle Eagles	85-100
Teeside Mohawks	Leicester Riders	102-110
Birmingham Bullets	Solent Stars	109-61
Derby Storm	Edinburgh Rocks	86-59
Milton Keynes Lions	London Towers	81-83

Quarter Finals

Team 1	Team 2	Score
Derby Storm	Thames Valley Tigers	74-87
London Towers	Manchester Giants	70-61
Greater London Leopards	Newcastle Eagles	103-100
Birmingham Bullets	Leicester Riders	109-118

Semi Finals

Team 1	Team 2	Score
Leicester Riders	Thames Valley Tigers	95-85
Greater London Leopards	London Towers	84-82

Final

07 January 2001

Leicester Riders	84–82	Greater London Leopards
Pts: Ralph Blalock 26, Larry Johnson 21, Billy Singleton 12, Malcolm Leak 10, Purnell Perry 9		Pts: Rob Brown 22, Rashod Johnson 16, Maurice Robinson 14, Rico Alderson 13, Jason Kimbrough 9

Sheffield Arena

uni-ball Trophy

Group stage

Group A

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percent
1.Chester Jets	10	6	5	1	0.833
2.Greater London Leopards	8	6	4	2	0.666
3.Sheffield Sharks	6	6	3	3	0.500
4.Brighton Bears	0	6	0	6	0.000

Sheffield qualified as the third-place team with the best record on basket difference.

Group B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percent
1.Thames Valley Tigers	8	6	4	2	0.666
2.Derby Storm	6	6	3	3	0.500
3.Birmingham Bullets	6	6	3	3	0.500
4.Leicester Riders	4	6	2	4	0.333

Derby qualified ahead of Birmingham on head-to-head results, losing 76-74 and winning 106-90.

Group C

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	Percent
1.Newcastle Eagles	10	6	5	1	0.833
2.Milton Keynes Lions	8	6	4	2	0.666
3.Manchester Giants	6	6	3	3	0.500
4.Edinburgh Rocks	0	6	0	6	0.000

London Towers received a bye into the Quarter-finals, due to scheduling conflicts with their Euroleague campaign.

Quarter-finals

February 3, 2001

Chester Jets

82–74

Derby Storm

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

February 3, 2001

London Towers

70–74

Sheffield Sharks

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

February 3, 2001

Greater London Leopards

78–87

Newcastle Eagles

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

February 3, 2001

Milton Keynes Lions

81–86

Thames Valley Tigers

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

Semi-finals

February 9, 2001

Newcastle Eagles

87–84

Thames Valley Tigers

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

February 9, 2001

Chester Jets

69–64

Sheffield Sharks

SkyDome Arena, Coventry

Final

March 24, 2001

Report

Chester Jets	92–81	Newcastle Eagles
Scoring by quarter: 27-24, 22-13, 20-29, 23-15
Pts: Loren Meyer, 26, Pero Cameron 20, Duane Clemens 16, James Hamilton 16		Pts: Tony Windless 29, TJ Walker 11, Donnie Johnson 11, Brian Ehlers 11

National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

All-Star Game

January 20, 2001

Northern All-Stars	161–148	Southern All-Stars
Pts: Tony Windless, 25		Pts: Tony Christie, 29

Telewest Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne

**Northern All-Stars**
Player	Team
James Hamilton	Chester Jets
Malcolm Leak	Leicester Riders
Donnie Johnson	Newcastle Eagles
Loren Meyer	Chester Jets
Barry Bowman	Derby Storm
Purnell Perry	Leicester Riders
Justin Phoenix	Manchester Giants
Terrell Myers	Sheffield Sharks
Tony Windless	Newcastle Eagles
Ted Berry	Edinburgh Rocks
Ralph Blalock	Leicester Riders
Nate Reinking	Sheffield Sharks
Coach
Robbie Peers	Chester Jets

**Southern All-Stars**
Player	Team
Antonio Garcia	Birmingham Bullets
John McCord	Thames Valley Tigers
Andrew Alleyne	Milton Keynes Lions
Kendrick Warren	London Towers
Jason Siemon	Milton Keynes Lions
Rashod Johnson	Greater London Leopards
Wilbur Johnson	Brighton Bears
Tony Christie	Thames Valley Tigers
Brant Bailey	Birmingham Bullets
Maurice Robinson	Greater London Leopards
Nigel Lloyd	Milton Keynes Lions
Randy Duck	London Towers
Coach
Nick Nurse	Brighton Bears

Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Stat
Points per game	John McCord (Thames Valley)	25.50
Rebounds per game	Antonio García (Derby/Birmingham)	14.90
Assists per game	Nigel Lloyd (Milton Keynes)	5.86

Seasonal awards

Most Valuable Player: Loren Meyer (Chester Jets)
Coach of the Year: Robbie Peers (Chester Jets)
All-Star First Team:
- Loren Meyer (Chester Jets)
- Kendrick Warren (London Towers)
- Steve Bucknall (London Towers)
- Tony Windless (Newcastle Eagles)
- John McCord (Thames Valley Tigers)
All-Star Second Team:
- James Hamilton (Chester Jets)
- Nate Reinking (Sheffield Sharks)
- Barry Bowman (Derby Storm)
- Nigel Lloyd (Milton Keynes Lions)
- Terrell Myers (Sheffield Sharks)

References

↑ http://www.eurobasket.com/events/eluleb/00-01/d.asp Archived 30 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Ian Whittell (6 November 2000). "Battling Derby are looking up". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
↑ Ian Whittell (10 November 2000). "Leopards benefit from tour of US". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
↑ Richard Taylor (9 December 2000). "Garcia at the centre of a storm". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
↑ Mark Woods (2001). "Leicester drink from fairytale Cup". BritBall. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
↑ Mark Woods (2001). "Windless blows hot as North twinkles". BritBall. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
↑ Mark Woods (2001). "Chester pick up uni-ball Trophy". BritBall. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
↑ Mark Woods (2001). "Leicester story has happy ending". BritBall. Retrieved 2009-12-10.

Preceded by 1999–2000 season	BBL seasons 2000–01	Succeeded by 2001–02 season

British Basketball League

Bristol Flyers Cheshire Phoenix Glasgow Rocks Leeds Force Leicester Riders London Lions Manchester Giants Newcastle Eagles Plymouth Raiders Sheffield Sharks Surrey Scorchers Worcester Wolves

Competitions	BBL Championship (Play-off Finals) BBL Cup BBL Trophy Cup Winners' Cup (defunct) Women's British Basketball League

Seasons	1972-73 1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

Awards	Individual: Coach of the Year Most Valuable Player Team: British Team of the Year Defensive Team of the Year Team of the Year

Other	BBL TV Expansion British Basketball Union English Basketball League Scottish National League National Cup National Basketball League

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