Tuesday 21st August 2007

Rocks Announce New Sponsor

Wednesday 30th May 2007

Sterling Davis Appointed to Player/Coach

The Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks have announced the signing of Sterling Davis to serve as both a player and Head Coach for the next 2 BBL seasons.

Davis, 29, is a BBL veteran having played 2 seasons with Brighton Bears, one with London Towers, two with Sheffield Sharks, and this past season with the rocks. He has also played professionally with Giessen 46ers in Germany, Oklahoma Storm in America and Aguada montevideo in Uruguay.

The American-born British resident proved to be a key player for the Rocks in 2006/07 and helped guide them to the BBL's playoff championship game in April. He was recently named one of the League's top 10 players by a vote of the coaches of all BBL teams.

The move into the player/coach role begins a transition that Sterling has been considering in recent years.

"This is a great opportunity for me to start moving into the next phase of my career. I've always thought about coaching professionally someday. I feel like I still have some good playing years left in me, but this is a great chance to get started as a coach." he said.

Rocks general Manager Bruce Cook is very pleased with the appointment and had this to say:

"We're really lucky to be bringing Sterling back to the Rocks. he's obviously been a great player, but he's also a great leader who can motivate the team by not only what he says, but what he does. Sterling has always been a hard worker, and like Rob Yanders, he has a natural knack for inspiring others to their best."

The 2 year deal gives a bit of security for both coach and club. Davis commented on his priorities going forward:

"My first goal is to bring back the core of our team from last year. We had a great team chemistry and I really feel that the more of the guys we can bring back the better start we can get off to. From there on it will be a matter of working out an effective game day communication system. It won't be easy, but I'm really looking forward to the challenge."

On the prospect of playing under Davis, co-captain Rob Yanders added his thoughts:

"It's always tough when you lose a good head coach, but at least with Sterling coming in we know what to expect. Over the years he's been both a tough opponent and great team-mate. I like the way he approaches the game and it'll be fun to help him put together a plan to bring some long overdue silverware back to the Rocks."

The Rocks 2007/08 campaign will begin in late September with fixtures to be announced by the end of June. Check back on clyde1.com and clyde2.com for all the Latest Rocks news.

Tuesday 1st May

Thorsten Quits
The Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks’ Head Coach Thorsten Leibenath will leave Scotland’s only professional basketball club after a successful season at the helm.  Having guided the Rocks to the League playoff final in just his first season as a head coach, Leibenath will return to his former club in Germany, Giessen 46ers.

The decision to leave the Rocks did not come easy for the 32 year-old German. “This is definitely not a decision based on a desire to leave the Rocks.  I’ve been highly committed to the organisation and in 8 short months I’ve really come to feel a part of the Rocks family.  This is simply a decision to take what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a head coach in one of Europe’s biggest leagues.”

On the future of the Rocks, Leibenath continued, “The Rocks are an ambitious organisation moving at a fast pace in the right direction.  They have all the necessary tools in place for future success.  They have a strong team in the office, a solid and growing fan base, and a great group of players that will hopefully come back to finish what we started this year. They’ll do very well in the future and I look forward to the time when they compete in Europe.”

Leibenath’s first head coaching job started slow, but steadily gained momentum and nearly finished with a championship.  After opening the season with 3 consecutive losses, Leibenath earned his first head coaching victory on the road in Newcastle by 76-81 over the reigning League champion Newcastle Eagles.  Ironically, Leibenath’s Rocks tenure finished with a loss to the same Newcastle side in the same building as the Rocks were downed by 95-82 Sunday night in the BBL Playoff Final.

Leibenath commented on the final.
“To lose in the final is always disappointing, but what sticks in my mind more than our 2nd place finish is the character that our guys showed in both games this weekend.  Their attitude was great and in the end they left everything they had on the court in both games.  That’s all you can ask for as a coach.

“We had an excellent semi-final win over Guildford and we fought hard in the final, but unfortunately we couldn’t get any momentum going because we just missed too many shots.”

The loss of Leibenath will be nearly as difficult for Rocks fans as the recent loss in Newcastle.  The rookie coach quickly became a fan favourite through his animated sideline presence which often drew the ire of referees.  “But always in control,” he would say with a smile.  Intense on the court, Leibenath was friendly, approachable and always available to fans of all ages who quickly assigned him the affectionate moniker of “Coach T”. 

"T is the consummate professional,” said Rocks General Manager, Bruce Cook.  “He is meticulous in his preparation and gives 100% effort for every minute of every game.  Our fans could see that passion in his demeanour and I think that approach quickly gained the respect of our players.  He’ll definitely be hard to replace and I see great things in his future.  We certainly wish him well.”

There will be an odd sense of déjà vu for Rocks fans as last season’s appearance in the BBL Playoff Final was soon followed by the departure of Head Coach Steve Swanson for an enticing opportunity in his native USA.  This price of success is something the Rocks must consider as they move forward in search of another new coach. 

Owner & Chairman Ian Reid accepts the challenge.

“We seem to have perfected the art of making finals and losing them, and recruiting coaches and losing them but what is important is the way in which we deal with these losses.

On behalf of all associate with the Rocks, I would like to congratulate Thorsten on his move back to Germany.  We took a calculated risk in recruiting him as he was an assistant coach with solid experience prior to jointing the Rocks, and that does not always translate through to being a successful Head Coach.  He has proved a sound investment for us.  He is an excellent recruiter, a natural leader and most importantly a friend and a fully paid up member of the Rocks family.

What happens next? Coach T has kept us informed of developments along the way but we decided to leave any decisions until after the playoff weekend.  Right now we are considering our options based on three thoughts.  The first is that we want to bring back the core of this year’s team.  The second is that the new coach must be fully committed to the Rocks community programmes and, thirdly, we want to win.”

Although a hard act to follow, the Rocks will look to replace Leibenath in the next 2-3 weeks.

Sunday 29th April

BBL Playoff Final

Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks 82 (23, 44, 61) (Yanders 26, Davis 16, Hampton 16)

Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 95 (30, 47, 70) (Babalola 23, Dorsey 18, Bridge 17

From John MacCalman in Newcastle.

Where did  it go wrong? Fans may argue that wew ere playing agains an 8 man side on the court - the Eagles plus the three officials, but the Rocks have won through games in the past despite the referees' interpretations of the plays.

The Rocks started so well with Rob, Sterling, Moritz, and Maurice all delivering the baskets to build up an 8 point lead with the scoreline 15-7 in favour of the Rocks halfway through  the first period of play then the Eagles found their form and turned that Rocks lead into a 7 point deficit at the end of the first quarter with a killer 17-3 run to take the lead at 30-23. 

The second quarter again saw the Rocks start the stronger, and they took the lead at 37-38 off the back of a 9-1 burst midway through the period, but the Eagles again finished the quarter the better team, and a 10-6 tear to close out the first half gave them a slender three-point advantage at 47-44 going into the locker rooms at the half-time interval.

The main threat from Guildford had been clearly identified as their No 6, Brian Dux, and the Rocks 21 Maurice Hampton had been given the task of shutting him down in the first period of play.  This was a major contribution to the Heat only Racking up 35 points in the first half with Dux held to just 3. Gareth Murray was on fire putting away 2 x 3 pointers and sharing the leading scores of 9 points at half time with Maurice Hampton who racked up the points in addition to his Dux defeating duties.

The first half was a combination of powerful offense and defense coming together at just the right point. To set up an 18 point lead against the BBL Champions at half time seemed too good to be true and it almost was.

It was almost four minutes in to the second half before the Rocks could score again while the Heat cut the 18 point lead down to 11.  At this point the Rocks found their game again and by the end of the third, The Heat had outscored the Rocks by just 5.

Going into the fourth 13 points in front, the Rocks could only throw it away. Containing Brian Dux would be at a price of letting other players reach the basket and the Heat were working round the situation.   Dux managed to recapture some of his form and the Heat came within 3 points of the Rocks at 74-71 with just 31" remaining on the clock when Maurice Hampton went 2/2 at the free throw line followed by Gareth Murray.