SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks

It’s been a great month for the Rocks. Despite coming up just 2 points short against the Eagles in the BBL Trophy, the fact remains that the Rocks have not lost in the league since 18th November. All this success has led to a well-deserved second Coach of the Month award of the season for Rocks Player / Coach Sterling Davis.

Sterl graciously gave the credit to his players upon hearing of the award. Yet as with individual awards in all sports it is winning that determines  the recipients. With only 3 losses more than the Eagles, it’s vital that the Rocks keep the momentum from their previous 5 wins going. With the championship and the play-offs left as the 2 remaining competitions where the Rocks can bring home some silverware back to Braehead let’s hope Sterl is clutching a different type of trophy come May.

Bitesize BBL

So the new BBL season is off to a flying start. Some great games have already taken place notably between the Heat and the Sharks and more recently between the Rocks and the Eagles. Yes the competition in the BBL is definitely flourishing. But whilst that might be true about the top half of the BBL table, it remains a different story when we look at the teams bringing up the rear of the league.

Unsurprisingly both the Everton Tigers and the Birmingham Panthers have struggled in their inaugural BBL seasons and after bearing witness to the Rocks convincing home victory over the Cheshire Jets, there is little doubt that a gulf exists between the teams in the top and bottom sections of the league. So should we be worried about the state of competition in British basketball? Or is this just a pattern that is endemic of sport worldwide?

Consider football for example. Both the English and Scottish Premier Leagues have quite severe gulfs between teams in the top, middle and bottom sections of their respective leagues. Almost every football fan in Scotland knows that the league title will end up in the hands of Celtic or Rangers (sorry Hibs fans!) and almost every football fan in England knows that the league title will end up in the hands of Chelsea or Manchester United (despite Arsenal’s impressive start). So does this situation lead to a stagnation of competition amongst teams in football and other sports? And will this pattern continue as the BBL grows and welcomes new teams to the fold? (more…)