# 2009–10 British Basketball League season

The 2009–10 BBL season of the British Basketball League (BBL) was the 23rd season since the league's establishment in 1987. The regular season commenced on 25 September 2009, when Milton Keynes Lions claimed the first win of the season with a 94–81 victory in the opening game against Worcester Wolves.
A total of 13 teams took to the court including new start-up franchise Essex Pirates, which was founded by Great Britain Under 20s coach Tim Lewis, and a newly rebranded Rocks team carrying the name of the city of Glasgow instead of their previous Scottish Rocks title.
The League Championship came down to the final game of the season and was only claimed by Newcastle Eagles after Sheffield Sharks lost their last game, 97–95, to Worthing Thunder. Thunder's Evaldas Zabas' basket four seconds from the end meant that Newcastle had won the League even before taking to the court the following day.
Everton Tigers concluded the season with victory in the play-offs despite being the lowest seed in all of their Play-off encounters. An 80–72 win against Glasgow in the final gave Tigers their first ever Play-off title, only two years after its foundation in 2007.

## Teams

| Team | City/Area | Arena | Capacity | Last season |
| Cheshire Jets | Chester | Northgate Arena | 1,000 | 8th |
| Essex Pirates | Southend-on-Sea | Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre | 1,100 | New |
| Everton Tigers | Liverpool | Echo Arena & Greenbank Sports Academy | 7,513 600 | 2nd |
| Glasgow Rocks | Glasgow | Kelvin Hall | 1,200 | 7th |
| Guildford Heat | Guildford | Guildford Spectrum | 1,100 | 4th |
| Leicester Riders | Leicester | John Sandford Centre | 800 | 3rd |
| London Capital | London | Capital City Academy | 300 | 12th |
| Milton Keynes Lions | Milton Keynes | Bletchley Centre & Middleton Hall (thecentre:mk) | 800 1,500 | 9th |
| Newcastle Eagles | Newcastle upon Tyne | Metro Radio Arena | 6,500 | 1st |
| Plymouth Raiders | Plymouth | Plymouth Pavilions | 1,480 | 5th |
| Sheffield Sharks | Sheffield | English Institute of Sport | 1,200 | 6th |
| Worcester Wolves | Worcester | University of Worcester | 600 | 10th |
| Worthing Thunder | Worthing | Worthing Leisure Centre | 1,000 | 11th |

## Notable occurrences

* Essex Pirates were the latest addition to the BBL, bringing the number of teams up to 13 in total for the season.
* Due to a sponsorship agreement with Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Rocks rebranded as the Glasgow Rocks to support its hometown.
* In early November the Worcester Wolves franchise was thrown into turmoil after a Coach Chuck Evans' team talk lead to a much publicised racism row resulting in his resignation and the discipling and sacking of six players following a team strike. In response to this the League agreed to postpone Wolves' following five games until later dates, plus in accordance with the league's rules, the franchise had been fined an undisclosed amount.
* Paul James marked his return to the League in December when he was appointed as Coach of the new-look Worcester Wolves, succeeding Chuck Evans.
* Following the scheduled demolition of the Bletchley Centre and delayed construction of their new venue, Milton Keynes Lions sought the use of an unusual facility as their home arena by renting floor space in thecentre:mk shopping mall. Middleton Hall played host to its first game on 12 January against Essex Pirates and would host a further nine games throughout the season.
* Milton Keynes Lions forward Guy Dupuy was crowned winner of the 2010 BBL Slam Dunk contest on 17 January, beating Kadiri Richard in the final round.
* Cheshire Jets guard John Simpson failed an Anti-doping drugs test it was announced on 29 March, testing positive for marijuana. The player subsequently had his contract terminated by the club with immediate effect.

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Newcastle Eagles | 36 | 31 | 5 | 0.861 | 62 |
| 2 | Sheffield Sharks | 36 | 30 | 6 | 0.833 | 60 |
| 3 | Glasgow Rocks | 36 | 23 | 13 | 0.638 | 46 |
| 4 | Cheshire Jets | 36 | 22 | 14 | 0.611 | 44 |
| 5 | Everton Tigers | 36 | 21 | 15 | 0.583 | 42 |
| 6 | Leicester Riders | 36 | 21 | 15 | 0.583 | 42 |
| 7 | Milton Keynes Lions | 36 | 18 | 18 | 0.500 | 36 |
| 8 | Worthing Thunder | 36 | 18 | 18 | 0.500 | 36 |
| 9 | Worcester Wolves | 36 | 18 | 18 | 0.500 | 36 |
| 10 | Plymouth Raiders | 36 | 11 | 25 | 0.305 | 22 |
| 11 | Guildford Heat | 36 | 11 | 25 | 0.305 | 22 |
| 12 | Essex Pirates | 36 | 7 | 29 | 0.194 | 14 |
| 13 | London Capital | 36 | 3 | 33 | 0.083 | 6 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

### Playoffs
#### Quarter-finals

* 23 April 2010
| Newcastle Eagles | 102–74 | Worthing Thunder |
* Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne
* 23 April 2010
| Sheffield Sharks | 104–93 | Milton Keynes Lions |
* English Institute of Sport, Sheffield
* 25 April 2010
| Glasgow Rocks | 88–86 | Leicester Riders |
* Kelvin Hall, Glasgow
* 25 April 2010
| Cheshire Jets | 79–94 | Everton Tigers |
* Northgate Arena, Chester

#### Semi-finals 1st leg

* 30 April 2010
| Sheffield Sharks | 93–90 | Glasgow Rocks |
* English Institute of Sport, Sheffield
* 30 April 2010
| Everton Tigers | 95–79 | Newcastle Eagles |
* Greenbank Sports Academy, Liverpool

#### Semi-finals 2nd leg

* 1 May 2010
| Newcastle Eagles | 79–95 | Everton Tigers |
* Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne
* 2 May 2010
| Glasgow Rocks | 74–65 | Sheffield Sharks |
* Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

#### Final

* 8 May 2010 6.00pm GMT
* Report
| Glasgow Rocks | 72–80 | Everton Tigers |
| Scoring by quarter: 9-23, 19-22, 25-11, 19-24 |||
| Pts: Robert Yanders 15, Jessie Sapp 14, Mike Copeland 14, Sterling Davis 11, Gareth Murray 8, Michael Crowell 8, Steve Parillon 2 | | Pts: Trey Moore 22, Kevin Bell 18, James Jones 15, Olu Babalola 11, Andrew Thomson 8, Jerome Gumbs 4, Chris Haslam 2 |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Derby Trailblazers | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0.773 | 34 |
| 2 | Manchester Magic | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
| 3 | Leeds Carnegie | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
| 4 | Bristol Academy Flyers | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
| 5 | Leicester Warriors | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0.591 | 26 |
| 6 | London Mets | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0.545 | 24 |
| 7 | Reading Rockets | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0.545 | 24 |
| 8 | Taunton Tigers | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0.545 | 24 |
| 9 | London Leopards | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0.273 | 12 |
| 10 | Coventry Crusaders | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0.227 | 10 |
| 11 | Tees Valley Mohawks | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0.182 | 8 |
| 12 | City of Sheffield Arrows | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0.136 | 6 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
| 1 | Durham Wildcats | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0.900 | 36 |
| 2 | Brixton TopCats | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0.750 | 30 |
| 3 | Mansfield Giants | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0.700 | 28 |
| 4 | Edmonton Storm | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | 26 |
| 5 | Westminster Warriors | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0.600 | 24 |
| 6 | Medway Park Crusaders | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0.450 | 18 |
| 7 | Birmingham A's | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 8 | Glyndwr Nets | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 9 | Team Northumbria | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 10 | Plymouth Marjon Cannons | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0.150 | 6 |
| 11 | University of Birmingham | 20 | 2 | 18 | 0.100 | 4 |
* = League winners
* = Qualified for the play-offs

## BBL Cup

Due to the odd number of teams competing in the BBL Cup – 13 in total – the knockout tournament was structured with the Quarter-finals round featuring the winners of the five First round ties plus three teams given byes. The teams given bye's through the first round were the top-three placed teams from the 2008–09 season league campaign – Everton Tigers, Leicester Riders and Newcastle Eagles.

### First round

* 16 October 2009
| Milton Keynes Lions | 79–75 | Guildford Heat |
* Bletchley Centre, Milton Keynes
* 17 October 2009
| Essex Pirates | 71–78 | Worcester Wolves |
* Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre, Southend
* 17 October 2009
| Plymouth Raiders | 85–80 | London Capital |
* Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth
* 17 October 2009
| Worthing Thunder | 92–93 | Sheffield Sharks |
* Worthing Leisure Centre, Worthing
* 25 October 2009
| Glasgow Rocks | 73–78 | Cheshire Jets |
* Northgate Arena, Chester

### Quarter-finals

* 7 November 2009
| Leicester Riders | 96–87 | Worcester Wolves |
* John Sandford Centre, Leicester
* 7 November 2009
| Plymouth Raiders | 95–101 | Milton Keynes Lions |
* Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth
* 8 November 2009
| Cheshire Jets | 64–61 | Newcastle Eagles |
* Northgate Arena, Chester
* 20 November 2009
| Sheffield Sharks | 99–90 | Everton Tigers |
* English Institute of Sport, Sheffield

### Semi-finals 1st leg

* 27 November 2009
| Milton Keynes Lions | 88–84 | Cheshire Jets |
* Bletchley Centre, Milton Keynes
* 11 December 2009
| Sheffield Sharks | 86–74 | Leicester Riders |
* English Institute of Sport, Sheffield

### Semi-finals 2nd leg

* 6 December 2009
| Cheshire Jets | 83–71 | Milton Keynes Lions |
* Northgate Arena, Chester
* 12 December 2009
| Leicester Riders | 78–81 | Sheffield Sharks |
* John Sanford Centre, Leicester

### Final

* 17 January 2010 3.30pm GMT
* Report
| Cheshire Jets | 86–89 | Sheffield Sharks |
| Scoring by quarter: 18-22, 17-26, 13-16, 38-25 |||
| Pts: James Hamilton 24, Chez Marks 22, Steven Gayle 11, Colin O'Reilly 11, Jerrah Young 9, Paul Peterson 7, Shawn Myers 2 | | Pts: Mike Cook 19, Ryan Patton 17, Michael Tuck 15, Tafari Toney 13, Atiba Lyons 8, Perry Lawson 7, Todd Cauthorn 6, Matthew Gorman 4 |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

## BBL Trophy

For the 2009–10 season the Trophy saw a revamp in its format with the removal of the initial group stages in favour of a straight knockout tournament. All 13 members of the BBL were included plus three invitees from Division One of the English Basketball League, namely London Leopards, Manchester Magic and Reading Rockets.

### First round

* 9 January 2010
| Leicester Riders | 72–74 | Guildford Heat |
* John Sandford Centre, Leicester
* 10 January 2010
| Glasgow Rocks | 69–60 | Sheffield Sharks |
* Kelvin Hall, Glasgow
* 12 January 2010
| Milton Keynes Lions | 95–73 | Essex Pirates |
* Middleton Hall (thecentre:mk), Milton Keynes
* 17 January 2010
| Manchester Magic | 72–109 | Worthing Thunder |
* Amaechi Centre, Manchester
* 20 January 2010
| Plymouth Raiders | 83–85 | Worcester Wolves |
* Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth
* 23 January 2010
| London Capital | 62–106 | Everton Tigers |
* Capital City Academy, London
* 31 January 2010
| Cheshire Jets | 99–57 | London Leopards |
* Northgate Arena, Chester
* 10 February 2010
| Reading Rockets | 60–102 | Newcastle Eagles |
* Rivermead Leisure Complex, Reading

### Quarter-finals

* 2 February 2010
| Milton Keynes Lions | 85–71 | Worcester Wolves |
* Middleton Hall (thecentre:mk), Milton Keynes
* 11 February 2010
| Glasgow Rocks | 87–88 | Everton Tigers |
* Kelvin Hall, Glasgow
* 14 January 2010
| Worthing Thunder | 86–96 | Newcastle Eagles |
* Worthing Leisure Centre, Worthing
* 17 February 2010
| Guildford Heat | 72–79 | Cheshire Jets |
* Guildford Spectrum, Guildford

### Semi-finals 1st leg

* 28 February 2010
| Newcastle Eagles | 89–85 | Everton Tigers |
* Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne
* 5 March 2010
| Milton Keynes Lions | 80–79 | Cheshire Jets |
* Middleton Hall (thecentre:mk), Milton Keynes

### Semi-finals 2nd leg

* 5 March 2010
| Everton Tigers | 91–96 | Newcastle Eagles |
* Greenbank Sports Academy, Liverpool
* 14 March 2010
| Cheshire Jets | 102–68 | Milton Keynes Lions |
* Northgate Arena, Chester

### Final

* 21 March 2010 3.00pm GMT
* Report
| Newcastle Eagles | 111–95 | Cheshire Jets |
| Scoring by quarter: 24-15, 35-27, 25-21, 22-32 |||
| Pts: Charles Smith 27, Joe Chapman 21, Darius Defoe 21, Andrew Sullivan 17, Reggie Jackson 10, Andrew Bridge 7, Fab Flournoy 5, Lynard Stewart 2 Rebs: Charles Smith, 9 | | Pts: Shawn Myers 28, Colin O'Reilly 18, Steven Gayle 14, Chez Marks 14, Paul Peterson 7, Jerrah Young 6, Calvin Davis 4, John Simpson 4 Rebs: Shawn Myers, 14 |
* Guildford Spectrum, Guildford

## All-Star Game

* 9 May 2010 3.00pm GMT
| Great Britain All-Stars | 94–110 | Rest of the World All-Stars |
| Scoring by quarter: 25-26, 31-21, 17-29, 21-34 |||
| Pts: Tafari Toney, 23 | | Pts: Mike Cook, 31 |
* National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Stat |
| Points per game | Mike Cook (Sheffield Sharks) | 26.8 |
| Rebounds per game | Jason Johnson (Leicester Riders) | 10.9 |
| Assists per game | Anthony Martin (Plymouth Raiders) | 7.3 |
| Steals per game | Roderick Middleton (Worcester Wolves) | 2.7 |
| Blocks per game | Kadiri Richard (Worthing Thunder) | 2.3 |

## Monthly awards

| Month | Coach | Player |
| October | Vince Macaulay (Milton Keynes Lions) | Tack Minor (Leicester Riders) |
| November | Atiba Lyons (Sheffield Sharks) | Mike Cook (Sheffield Sharks) |
| December | Tony Garbelotto (Everton Tigers) | Mike Cook (Sheffield Sharks) |
| January | Atiba Lyons (Sheffield Sharks) | Reggie Bratton (Worthing Thunder) |
| February | Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles) | Tafari Toney (Sheffield Sharks) |
| March | Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles) | Jason Johnson (Leicester Riders) |

## Seasonal awards

* Most Valuable Player: Mike Cook (Sheffield Sharks)
* Coach of the Year: Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles)
* Team of the Year:
** Robert Yanders (Glasgow Rocks)
** Mike Cook (Sheffield Sharks)
** Charles Smith (Newcastle Eagles)
** Jason Johnson (Leicester Riders)
** Tafari Toney (Sheffield Sharks)
* Defensive Team of the Year:
** Reggie Jackson (Newcastle Eagles)
** Jessie Sapp (Glasgow Rocks)
** Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles)
** Andrew Sullivan (Newcastle Eagles)
** Tafari Toney (Sheffield Sharks)
* British Team of the Year:
** Perry Lawson (Sheffield Sharks)
** James Jones (Everton Tigers)
** Olu Babalola (Everton Tigers)
** Andrew Sullivan (Newcastle Eagles)
** Tafari Toney (Sheffield Sharks)