Glasgow Rocks Official Website

The Glasgow Rocks entered their SKY televised game on Remembrance Sunday in less than ideal fashion following two tough defeats to Cheshire and Newcastle while the injury to veteran E.J. Harrison meant that the navy blue would be up against it for the visit of the One Health Sheffield Sharks.

The Sharks themselves, however, have gotten off to a somewhat surprisingly slow start considering their unquestionable fire power, with the like of Nate Reinking and Olu Babalola, and came into the game on the back of a three game losing streak that included agonising losses to Newcastle and Plymouth that saw them drop to a 1-2 record in league play this term.

Going into the game the match-up I was most looking forward to seeing was the battle of the big men. Sharks forward Justin Dobbins up against DeAundrae. For all the flair players and sexy three pointers, games are won and lost in the paint and on the boards and these two earn their pay doing those exact things.

The Rocks came out looking a bit slow on both ends of the court, as they have done a few times this season. The hustle on the offensive rebounds in particular wasn’t what it should have been with too many players not anticipating the board. Sheffield raced out to an early lead and Dobbins appeared to be having the better of his personal battle with Cranston. Then, it got a whole lot worse as Cranston injured his ankle and sat out all but 22 seconds of what remained of the game. I, for one, feared the worst as the Sharks size looked like it might overpower the Rocks. Add to that, Glasgow were playing their second game in three days and now were down to just eight players, it was  going to take an heroic performance in front of the TV cameras to pull a win out of the bag.

And boy did they deliver! An 82-64 victory moved Glasgow up to 2^nd in the championship as yet again the Rocks defensive hustle and fight proved too difficult to break down. Speaking to Sterl after the game he couldn’t have sounded happier with the effort and determination of his troops, commenting that ‘the guys really came through and showed what type of team we can be regardless of what type of situations are thrown at us.’ Coach Davis also confirmed that DeAundrae Cranston suffered a sprained ankle and it will be assessed before anything is stated regarding how long it might keep him out of action for.

Following the injury to Cranston, the remainder of the boys really stepped it up and didn’t allow the Sharks any time on the ball once they crossed into the Glasgow half. A 32% field goal percentage from Sheffield says more about the Rocks defence than it did the Sharks offence. I counted just 4 genuinely uncontested shots for the Sharks at the Kelvin Hall last night, proof, if indeed it were at all needed, that pressure leads to missed shots.

With Harrison being the quarterback it was going to be interesting to see who would carry the team in the way that E.J does. The truth is, everybody chipped in. Green dominated for a large spell, and led all scorers with 23 points. Huffor was game MVP with 18 points and 5 steals while Coach dominated defensively with 3 blocks. Even Martins came on and nailed two crucial three pointers, much to his delight. During the course of a long season, each team will have to deal with various injuries that will stretch the squad, but this Rocks team appears to have real depth, as Martins proved when he came on and impressed.

Next up for Glasgow is an away trip to the north-east to face the Durham Wildcats, a team they have already beaten twice in the BBL Trophy this season, although both were tough games. Four of Durham’s last five games, in fact, have been decided by five points or less. Wedemire, who got the start in place of the inured Harrison on Sunday, expects another close encounter, saying that the Rocks will have to bring their ‘A game’ if they want to return north of the border with the win.

The next home game will be 4^th December against the other north-east team, our main rivals the Newcastle Eagles in what promises to be a great game against the early leaders of the BBL table, although hopefully by the time we play them, it will be the Rocks who are soaring above the Eagles.

Let’s Rock!

Callum Carson

Well, that didn’t exactly go to plan, did it? After two blowout victories in the Championship against Milton Keynes and Mersey which saw the Rocks climb up to second place in the table, Glasgow entered the BBL Cup match against Scottish National League side the Edinburgh Kings full of confidence. Yet, despite a 78-60 victory, they surely could not have been happy with their afternoon’s work.

Edinburgh have been blowing everyone away in both league and cup competitions, winning all seven of their games this season in convincing style, including a 32 point victory over Aberdeen University on Friday night. The Kings players, coaches and fans would have been relishing the opportunity to play at the highest level and they certainly gave it their best shot.

The Rocks came out and looked lethargic and disinterested, as if they were expecting to cruise to victory. Midway through the first period, Coach Davis called a timeout with the Rocks trailing by 6 and had some extremely harsh words to say to his troops. Yet it seemed to have little immediate effect as the Kings finished the first quarter strongly and led 19-13 going into the second quarter.

Glasgow shot just 3 of 16 (19%) from the field in that awful first quarter, and in truth, Edinburgh deserved to be further in front, with the Rocks nailing seven free throws to keep the score from being even more damaging. For the Kings, Edgars Rekis and Mike Kirkpatrick were controlling the game and seemed to be picking the static Rocks defence apart with ease.

All the credit in this game must go to the Kings, whose physical and aggressive play knocked the Rocks off their game plan and showed Glasgow that they were up for the challenge. So physical, in fact, were the early exchanges that Coach Davis found himself of 3 fouls just 2:10 into the game. It wasn’t to get any better for Sterl as he fouled out in the third quarter after just 9 minutes on the court.

As has been the case all season, Mychal and E.J. were the ones that took control of the game for the Rocks and dragged Glasgow back into the game. Glasgow seems to have genuine strength in depth this season, perhaps stronger than in previous seasons, however, too often so far it has been left to Harrison and Green to carry the team and it is difficult to win games at any level when only two players are impressing. In the recent victories over Milton Keynes and Mersey, the team have collectively played well and several players have chipped in with the scoring, and this needs to continue if the Rocks are to play consistently good basketball. Murray and Cranston, for example shot just 2 of 21 combined on Sunday.

Despite the atrocious start from Glasgow and the physicality of the Kings, you always sensed that the Rocks would come out on top, and once they took the lead for the first time, with 4:03 left in the second, they never looked back.

Glasgow went into the half up 37-29 on the back of some crucial baskets from Harrison and a three pointer at the buzzer from Green. The Rocks had been unsuccessful on all nine 3 point attempts before that point.

The Rocks players spent an age in the locker room at half-time and one has to assume that Sterling was taking a leaf out of the Sir Alex Ferguson manual of motivational speaking with his very own hair-dryer treatment.

It seemed to work, as the Rocks came out and immediately played with an intensity and determination that had been sorely lacking in the first 20 minutes. Harrison and Green hit back to back three pointers to effectively kill off all hope the Kings had of mounting a giant killing comeback. The Rocks came out and were simply too quick and too clever in the opening exchanges of the second half, yet the game reverted back to type following a Kings timeout less than four minutes into the half.

The key difference in the game came on the boards, as Glasgow claimed 25 offensive rebounds to just 6 from the Kings, and outscored the Kings 17-2 on second chance points. Had Edinburgh been able to match the Rocks in this category it could have been a much different story.

In the end, the Rocks were able to claim a 78-60 victory, with Harrison and Green just one rebound away from notching a double-double, while the duo combined for 41 points.

It was Edinburgh, however, who left the game with all the plaudits and with their heads held high after a hard fought contest and showed that there is an impressive level of basketball on this country.

Next up for Glasgow is two away games against the Cheshire Jets and a BBL Cup clash against Newcastle before Sky makes a visit to the Kelvin Hall for our Remembrance Day match-up with the Sheffield Sharks in what is sure to be a must see game.

Let’s Rock!

Callum Carson