# 2010–11 British Basketball League season

The 2010–11 BBL season was the 24th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. This season saw the league reduced to 12 teams with the withdrawal of London Capital during the summer and was the first campaign ever to not feature a club from the capital city London.
Unlike previous seasons the Trophy schedule usually played in January/February was brought forward, with the reintroduced group stage being played before the start of the regular season. The campaign tipped-off on 17 September 2010 with Plymouth Raiders beating Worthing Thunder 79–77 in the opening game of the Trophy. The regular league season commenced on 10 October, whilst the season closed with the showpiece Play-off Final on 30 April 2011 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.
Newly rebranded Mersey Tigers won three out of the four domestic titles on offer, finishing victorious in the Franklin & Marshall Trophy, Championship and post-season Play-offs, whilst missing out on the BBL Cup following a 93–66 loss to Sheffield Sharks in the Final. Mersey's Tony Garbelotto was named as BBL Coach of the Year, whilst Cheshire Jets' Jeremy Bell was awarded the BBL's MVP award.

## Teams

| Team | City/Area | Arena | Capacity | Last season |
| Cheshire Jets | Chester | Northgate Arena | 1,000 | 4th |
| Essex Pirates | Southend-on-Sea | Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre | 1,100 | 12th |
| Glasgow Rocks | Glasgow | Kelvin Hall | 1,200 | 3rd |
| Guildford Heat | Guildford | Surrey Sports Park | 1,000 | 11th |
| Leicester Riders | Leicester | John Sandford Centre | 800 | 6th |
| Mersey Tigers | Liverpool | Echo Arena | 7,513 | 5th |
| Milton Keynes Lions | Milton Keynes | MK Lions Arena | 1,400 | 7th |
| Newcastle Eagles | Newcastle upon Tyne | Sport Central | 3,000 | 1st |
| Plymouth Raiders | Plymouth | Plymouth Pavilions | 1,480 | 10th |
| Sheffield Sharks | Sheffield | English Institute of Sport | 1,200 | 2nd |
| Worcester Wolves | Worcester | University of Worcester | 600 | 9th |
| Worthing Thunder | Worthing | Worthing Leisure Centre | 1,000 | 8th |

## Notable occurrences

* After a season-long review which evaluated both the on and off-court performance of the franchise, it was announced prior to the season opening that London Capital were withdrawn from the BBL and would instead compete in the English Basketball League.
* Following Everton F.C.'s decision to cut their ties with the Tigers franchise, the team was relaunched as the Mersey Tigers prior to the start of the season along with the announcement that the Echo Arena would serve as their home venue for the first eight home games of the season.
* With further delays added to the arena:mk construction, Milton Keynes Lions sought to solve their on-going venue problems by acquiring a warehouse facility in downtown Milton Keynes to convert into a new home venue. The Lions used a court at Stoke Mandeville until the new facility – MK Lions Arena – opened midway through the season.
* Aside from Tigers and Milton Keynes, two other franchises uprooted and moved to new venues for the start of the season. After 15 years of playing out of the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle Eagles swapped to the newly built 3,000-seat Sport Central facility at Northumbria University, whilst Guildford Heat also uprooted to the new Surrey Sports Park after 5 years at the Guildford Spectrum.
* The season started with a differing structure from previous years with the campaign tipping-off with the opening rounds of the BBL Trophy instead of regular season championship games. The decision gained a mixed reaction from coaches, with many of whom using the games as warm-ups for the regular season.
* After several years without television coverage, the League announced on 20 October that a deal had been struck with leading broadcaster Sky Sports to screen one "as live" game a week starting from 2 November, including a live broadcast of the BBL Cup Final.
* Cheshire Jets forward Matt Schneck was suspended in November after he had failed a drugs test, after traces of a prohibited substance known as Methylhexaneamine were found in his system. The player could have faced a two-year ban, but this was later reduced to three months making it the shortest ban ever handed out to an athlete for ingesting Methylhexanaemine.
* The Guildford Heat franchise was put up for sale amid a shortfall of funding, it was revealed in December, with the price of the club valued at just £1.
* In a bid to save the Guildford franchise from folding, fans of the club launched a campaign to raise £25,000 in 25 days throughout January.
* It was announced in January 2011 that this season's Trophy Final would be held at the O2 Arena, in partnership with the NBA as part of its 'Basketball Week', culminating in the Toronto Raptors versus New Jersey Nets game being played in March.
* The League announced in January that an agreement had been reached with clothing company Franklin & Marshall to sponsor the BBL Trophy Final, which would be held in March at the O2 Arena as part of the NBA's 'Basketball Week'.
* Sheffield Sharks retained the BBL Cup with a massive 93–66 win over Mersey Tigers in the Final at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on 16 January 2011. Sharks' American import Steve Dagostino scored 35 points and was named as the game's MVP. The game was broadcast live on Sky Sports.
* Newcastle's Kadiri Richard was crowned 2011 Slam Dunk Champion, after pipping second-place Stefan Gill (Milton Keynes) to win the annual Slam Dunk Competition on 16 January, at the National Indoor Arena.
* Surrey-based businesswoman Allison Reeve bought out the financially troubled Guildford Heat franchise in January, becoming the League's first female owner, and saving the franchise from 'imminent closure'.
* It was revealed by the media in February that Mersey Tigers had failed to pay wages to players and staff due to ongoing financial difficulties. The club released a statement about the situation, citing loss of two major sponsors and debts from previous ownership as the main reasons for its decision to delay salary payments and to relocate to temporary home venues in Liverpool and Manchester.
* Essex Pirates' 90–94 overtime victory at Worthing Thunder, on 19 February, was their first and only win of the season.
* Mersey Tigers claimed their first Franklin & Marshal Trophy title with an 84–66 victory over Guildford Heat on 5 March, at the O2 Arena in London. Tigers' Andrew Thomson scored a game-high 21 points, whilst Andrew Sullivan was awarded the Final's MVP award.
* The Championship title came down to the final game of the season, played out between Mersey Tigers and Newcastle Eagles at Sport Central on 6 April. The winner of the game would be crowned Champions and after a close contest Mersey claimed their first championship title with an 80–75 victory. Mersey were the first all-British qualified side to win the title in the BBL's 23-year history.
* Following the end of the regular season, Worthing Thunder officials confirmed that, due to financial problems, they would be withdrawing the franchise from the BBL immediately and have entered the English Basketball League for the forthcoming season.
* At the end of the season, long-serving veteran Tony Windless announced his retirement from playing basketball at the age of 41, after a career that saw him play all but two of his 16 professional seasons in the BBL, debuting with London Towers in 1994 and winning every major domestic prize.
* Newcastle's Trey Moore was crowned as the Basketball Journalists Association's (BJA) BBL Player of the Year, despite being ruled out by injury in March. Tony Garbelotto of Mersey Tigers, was awarded Coach of the Year.
* In the annual NIA All-Star Game, the Rest of the World All-Stars ran out 119–115 winners over the Great Britain All-Stars at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham on 30 April. Newcastle's Kadiri Richard, playing for the Rest of the World All-Stars, was awarded the MVP title after scoring 14 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
* Despite going through most of the season with unpaid wages, Mersey Tigers reached the Play-off Final for the second consecutive year and beat Sheffield Sharks 79–74 to take the BBL Play-off title, their third piece of silverware this season. James Jones was named as the Final's MVP.

## BBL Championship (Tier 1)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Mersey Tigers | 33 | 25 | 8 | 0.758 | 50 |
| 2 | Newcastle Eagles | 33 | 24 | 9 | 0.727 | 48 |
| 3 | Sheffield Sharks | 33 | 24 | 9 | 0.727 | 48 |
| 4 | Cheshire Jets | 33 | 20 | 13 | 0.606 | 40 |
| 5 | Plymouth Raiders | 33 | 19 | 14 | 0.576 | 38 |
| 6 | Glasgow Rocks | 33 | 18 | 15 | 0.545 | 36 |
| 7 | Guildford Heat | 33 | 17 | 16 | 0.515 | 34 |
| 8 | Leicester Riders | 33 | 17 | 16 | 0.515 | 34 |
| 9 | Worcester Wolves | 33 | 15 | 18 | 0.455 | 30 |
| 10 | Milton Keynes Lions | 33 | 13 | 20 | 0.394 | 26 |
| 11 | Worthing Thunder | 33 | 5 | 28 | 0.152 | 10 |
| 12 | Essex Pirates | 33 | 1 | 32 | 0.030 | 2 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs
#### Quarter-finals 1st leg

* 15 April 2011
| Newcastle Eagles | 104–97 | Guildford Heat |
* Sport Central, Newcastle upon Tyne
* 15 April 2011
| Sheffield Sharks | 68–83 | Glasgow Rocks |
* English Institute of Sport, Sheffield
* 16 April 2011
| Plymouth Raiders | 94–94 | Cheshire Jets |
* Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth
* 16 April 2011
| Leicester Riders | 86–89 | Mersey Tigers |
* John Sandford Centre, Leicester

#### Quarter-finals 2nd leg

* 16 April 2011
| Guildford Heat | 83–88 | Newcastle Eagles |
* Surrey Sports Park, Guildford
* 17 April 2011
| Cheshire Jets | 83–70 | Plymouth Raiders |
* Northgate Arena, Chester
* 17 April 2011
| Mersey Tigers | 92–90 | Leicester Riders |
* Amaechi Centre, Manchester
* 18 April 2011
| Glasgow Rocks | 73–94 | Sheffield Sharks |
* Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

#### Semi-finals 1st leg

* 22 April 2011
| Newcastle Eagles | 76–68 | Sheffield Sharks |
* Sport Central, Newcastle upon Tyne
* 23 April 2011
| Cheshire Jets | 64–79 | Mersey Tigers |
* Northgate Arena, Chester

#### Semi-finals 2nd leg

* 24 April 2011
| Sheffield Sharks | 98–78 | Newcastle Eagles |
* English Institute of Sport, Sheffield
* 24 April 2011
| Mersey Tigers | 86–79 | Cheshire Jets |
* Amaechi Centre, Manchester

#### Final

* 30 April 2011 4.00pm GMT
* Report
| Mersey Tigers | 79–74 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Scoring by quarter: 23–17, 19–18, 12–13, 25–26 |||
| Pts: Tafari Toney 19, James Jones (MVP) 15, Nate Reinking 12, David Aliu 11, Andrew Thomson 8, Jamal Williams 8, Perry Lawson 3, Andrew Sullivan 1 Rebs: Tafari Toney, 13 Asts: Andrew Thomson, 4 | | Pts: Ryan Patton 24, Paul Williams 17, Mike Tuck 14, Marcus Stout 9, Steve Dagostino 5, Olu Babalola 4, Atiba Lyons 1 Rebs: Mike Tuck, 8 Asts: Paul Williams/Steve Dagostino/Mike Tuck/Atiba Lyons, 2 |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

## EBL National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Bristol Academy Flyers | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0.833 | 30 |
| 2 | London Leopards | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0.778 | 28 |
| 3 | Reading Rockets | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0.667 | 24 |
| 4 | Leeds Carnegie | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0.556 | 20 |
| 5 | Brixton TopCats | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0.444 | 16 |
| 6 | Manchester Magic | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0.389 | 14 |
| 7 | Durham Wildcats | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0.389 | 14 |
| 8 | Derby Trailblazers | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0.333 | 12 |
| 9 | Leicester Warriors | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0.333 | 12 |
| 10 | PAWS London Capital | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0.278 | 10 |
| 11 | Coventry Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

## EBL National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Bradford Dragons | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0.850 | 34 |
| 2 | Tees Valley Mohawks | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0.800 | 32 |
| 3 | Medway Park Crusaders | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 4 | Westminster Warriors | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 5 | Hemel Storm | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0.600 | 24 |
| 6 | London United | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0.550 | 22 |
| 7 | Eastside Eagles | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0.550 | 22 |
| 8 | Team Northumbria | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 9 | Mansfield Giants | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0.300 | 12 |
| 10 | City of Sheffield Arrows | 20 | 2 | 18 | 0.100 | 4 |
| 11 | Birmingham A's | 20 | 1 | 19 | 0.050 | 2 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

## BBL Cup
### 1st round

* 15 October 2010
| Mersey Tigers | 86–74 | Guildford Heat |
* Echo Arena, Liverpool
* 17 October 2010
| Worthing Thunder | 78–88 | Worcester Wolves |
* Worthing Leisure Centre, Worthing
* 16 October 2010
| Plymouth Raiders | 106–101 | Milton Keynes Lions |
* Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth
* 16 October 2010
| Essex Pirates | 58–85 | Leicester Riders |
* Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre, Southend-on-Sea

### Quarter-finals

* 7 November 2010
| Glasgow Rocks | 78–82 | Mersey Tigers |
* Kelvin Hall, Glasgow
* 12 November 2010
| Newcastle Eagles | 105–76 | Worcester Wolves |
* Sport Central, Newcastle upon Tyne
* 12 November 2010
| Sheffield Sharks | 96–84 | Plymouth Raiders |
* English Institute of Sport, Sheffield
* 14 November 2010
| Cheshire Jets | 109–100 | Leicester Riders |
* Northgate Arena, Chester

### Semi-finals 1st leg

* 19 November 2010
| Newcastle Eagles | 97–90 | Mersey Tigers |
* Sport Central, Newcastle upon Tyne
* 5 December 2010
| Cheshire Jets | 85–107 | Sheffield Sharks |
* Northgate Arena, Chester

### Semi-finals 2nd leg

* 24 November 2010
| Mersey Tigers | 114–85 | Newcastle Eagles |
* Echo Arena, Liverpool
* 10 December 2010
| Sheffield Sharks | 97–80 | Cheshire Jets |
* English Institute of Sport, Sheffield

### Final

* 16 January 2011 3.30pm GMT
* Report
| Mersey Tigers | 66–93 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Scoring by quarter: 10–20, 15–31, 21–23, 20–19 |||
| Pts: David Aliu 21, Drew Sullivan 17, Andrew Thomson 9, Jamal Williams 8, Tafari Toney 7, Sam Bogucki 2, James Jones 2 Rebs: Andrew Thomson, 8 Asts: Andrew Sullivan/Perry Lawson, 2 | | Pts: Steve Dagostino 35, Mike Tuck 18, Olu Babalola 14, Paul Williams 8, Marcus Stout 7, Ryan Patton 5, Atiba Lyons 4, Adrian Anderson 2 Rebs: Olu Babalola, 5 Asts: Olu Babalola, 4 |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

## Franklin & Marshall Trophy
### Group stage

| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Guildford Heat | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
| 2.Plymouth Raiders | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 3.Worthing Thunder | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Mersey Tigers | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Cheshire Jets | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |
| 3.Worcester Wolves | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Leicester Riders | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2.Milton Keynes Lions | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 3.Essex Pirates | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
| 1.Newcastle Eagles | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
| 2.Sheffield Sharks | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| 3.Glasgow Rocks | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |

### Semi-finals 1st leg

* 30 October 2010
| Guildford Heat | 85–65 | Leicester Riders |
* Surrey Sports Park, Guildford
* 19 November 2010
| Newcastle Eagles | 97–90 | Mersey Tigers |
* Sport Central, Newcastle upon Tyne

### Semi-finals 2nd leg

* 6 November 2010
| Leicester Riders | 94–87 | Guildford Heat |
* John Sanford Centre, Leicester
* 24 November 2010
| Mersey Tigers | 114–85 | Newcastle Eagles |
* Echo Arena, Liverpool

### Final

* 5 March 2011 1.30pm GMT
* Report
| Guildford Heat | 66–84 | Mersey Tigers |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–20, 19–16, 8–29, 21–19 |||
| Pts: Carlos Medlock 18, Julius Joseph 14, Michael Martin 10, Ralph Hegamin 9, Martelle Mclemore 9, Tayo Ogedegebe 4, Dean Williams 2 Rebs: Tomas Janusauskas, 5 Asts: Carlos Medlock, 4 | | Pts: Andrew Thomson 21, Andrew Sullivan 16, Tafari Toney 13, Nate Reinking 12, David Aliu 10, James Jones 8, Jamal Williams 3, Perry Lawson 1 Rebs: Tafari Toney, 9 Asts: Andrew Sullivan, 8 |
* O2 Arena, London

## NIA All-Star Game

* 30 April 2011 1.30pm GMT
* Report
| Great Britain All-Stars | 115–119 | Rest of the World All-Stars |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Stat |
| Points per game | Trey Moore (Newcastle Eagles) | 23.0 |
| Rebounds per game | Matt Schneck (Cheshire Jets) | 10.2 |
| Assists per game | Trey Moore (Newcastle Eagles) | 6.1 |
| Steals per game | Demarius Bolds (Milton Keynes Lions) | 2.8 |
| Blocks per game | Kadiri Richard (Newcastle Eagles) | 1.36 |

## Monthly awards

| Month | Coach | Player |
| October | Tony Garbelotto (Mersey Tigers) | Trey Moore (Newcastle Eagles) |
| November | Creon Raftopoulos (Guildford Heat) | Andrew Sullivan (Mersey Tigers) |
| December | Gavin Love (Plymouth Raiders) | Chez Marks (Plymouth Raiders) |
| January | Sterling Davis (Glasgow Rocks) | Trey Moore (Newcastle Eagles) |
| February | Rob Paternostro (Leicester Riders) | Shawn Myers (Milton Keynes Lions) |
| March | Tony Garbelotto (Mersey Tigers) | Reggie Jackson (Newcastle Eagles) |

## Seasonal awards

* Molten Most Valuable Player: Jeremy Bell (Cheshire Jets)
* Molten Coach of the Year: Tony Garbelotto (Mersey Tigers)
* Team of the Year:
** Trey Moore (Newcastle Eagles)
** Jeremy Bell (Cheshire Jets)
** Charles Smith (Newcastle Eagles)
** Quemont Greer (Cheshire Jets)
** Andrew Sullivan (Mersey Tigers)
* Defensive Team of the Year:
** Reggie Jackson (Newcastle Eagles)
** Demarius Bolds (Milton Keynes Lions)
** Andrew Sullivan (Mersey Tigers)
** Kadiri Richard (Newcastle Eagles)
** Tafari Toney (Mersey Tigers)
* British Team of the Year:
** Nate Reinking (Mersey Tigers)
** Andrew Sullivan (Mersey Tigers)
** Anthony Rowe (Plymouth Raiders)
** Andrew Thomson (Mersey Tigers)
** Tafari Toney (Mersey Tigers)