26/01/2001
Manchester Game Moves

Nurishment Leicester Riders forthcoming trip to Manchester in an all-Northern Conference BBL clash has been moved from the MEN arena to the Manchester Velodrome.

The game remains on its original date, Thursday 15th February, and still tips-off at 7.30pm.

It will be the first time since the MEN arena opened that the Giants have moved from Europe's largest arena, but not the first time that they have played at the National Cycling Centre.

The Velodrome was the scene of one of the most bizarre incidents in British basketball when a Giants v Riders game was called off because of the weather.

Riders travelled to Manchester on Wednesday 25 January 1995 but torrential rain cut short the game. The tip-off was delayed as the roof of the recently built Velodrome was leaking and puddles were forming on the court. The game started, but barely four minutes in, with the home side 8-4 up, Gene Waldron slipped to the ground and refused to play on because the court was too dangerous.

The referees agreed and although they tried to move the court to a drier part of the Velodrome, the game was eventually abandoned - the first time in British basketball history that rain had stopped a game. Ironically Leicester did win in Manchester that night despite the rain, with Leicester City managing to get through the 90 minutes despite awful conditions at Maine Road to beat Manchester City 1-0.

21/01/2001
Weekend Preview

The weekend tips-off on Friday with two games in the BBL Championship, both in-Conference affairs.

The Leopards, buoyed by their easy win at the North's bottom team, Edinburgh, last Friday, take on the South's cellar-dweller this Friday. Brighton travel to Brentwood having lost to the Leopards three times already this season, although on each occasion the victory margin has been getting smaller.

With Milton Keynes winning on Wednesday the Leopards can't afford to lose ground and probably won't. Friday's other game sees Edinburgh travelling to Newcastle in the all-Northern Conference game.

The Rocks have beaten the Eagles once in Scotland's capital but that was a long time ago and a franchise record 14-game losing streak sees Edinburgh as heavy underdogs.

Iain Maclean, who recently confirmed he will remain as player/coach for the rest of the season, may be tempted to give himself and a few other Scots some extra minutes after claiming this week that some of his frontline players are just thinking about getting jobs next season. Some 'Braveheart' effort would be a boost, but even with Newcastle's Andrew Mavis out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, the Eagles should have enough to open a six-point gap over Manchester.

The Giants are in action on Saturday with a trip to Derby, and as the Giants collected their twelfth loss of the season on Wednesday - drawing level in the loss column with fifth placed Riders - it is a game they can ill-afford to lose.

The series this season is tied at 1-1 so it should be close, but the Storm will need to overcome their late-game lack of confidence if they are to break an eight game losing streak.

England and Scotland's capitals meet on Saturday with the Towers travelling to Meadowbank. Despite missing Ronnie Baker and Steve Bucknall to England, you would still expect it to be an away-banker, especially with Towers coach Nick Nurse back from a two game suspension.

Brighton host Thames Valley and though the Tigers have won twice by 20+ against Brighton, their run of inconsistent form has seen them slip to fifth place in the South. Tigers still should have enough, especially as the Bears are in the second of back-to-back games.

Also on Saturday, England take on Hungary in their final European Championship game at the Skydome Arena, Coventry. Qualification slipped through England's grasp with defeat in Croatia on Wednesday, but they will rue defeats at home to Switzerland and Latvia (both of whom they beat away) and on the road to Hungary when without Roger Huggins they suffered overtime defeat.

A win is still important for Laszlo Nemeth's side as defeat will almost certainly leave England condemned to have to pre-qualify for the Semi-Final round of the 2003 Championship. It is also expected to be the last cap for likes of veterans Steve Bucknall and Roger Huggins, who have talked about International retirement.

Sunday sees the top two in the North in action. Sheffield host the Riders on Sunday knowing only a win will do as they level-peg with the Jets at the top, whilst Chester play host to the impressive Milton Keynes Lions side. The Lions win on Wednesday was their eleventh this season and they'll be looking for victory to extend their cushion in second place in the South.

10/01/2001
Cup Final Videos On Sale

A video of Leicester Riders' greatest moment is available. Tapes of the 84-82 Cup Final victory over the London Leopards are now on sale.

The videos cost £6 and will be on sale at Riders home game against Edinburgh this season. The videos are also available from the Club Office.

Following requests, versions of the video compatible for American VCR's are also available. Any US-based Riders fans please phone, e-mail or fax the Riders Office for more details on how to obtain your copy and information on shipping costs.

Also on sale at the game on Sunday are Leicester Riders 'Champions' T-shirts available at £12 for an adult size. Children sizes will be on sale soon and can be ordered on Sunday at a price of £10.

A4 glossy pictures of the NTL National Cup Final will also be on shown and can be ordered at £10 each. The selection of pictures will also be shown here on ridersbasketball.com shortly.

For more information or to order in advance call Kate at the Riders Office on 0116 262 9979.

All the above items are available by mail order which will incur an extra postage and packing charge - call for details.

09/01/2001
Riders up for prestigious award

Nurishment Leicester Riders are in the running for the Alliance & Leicester Team of the Year award in the Leicester Mercury Sports Award.

The Riders have been shortlisted alongside Leicester City, Worthington Cup winners, Leicester Tigers, Premiership winners, Oadby Town, Midland Alliance winners, Leicester Corinthians women, who gained promotion to McDonald's Regional Premier League and Highfield Rangers, who won the Senior League.

Voting is by telephone and the lines are open until midnight on January 13th.

If you want to vote for the Riders you can do so by calling 09011 171294 (calls cost BT standard rate of 25p). Full details can be found in the Leicester Mercury or at the Leicester Mercury website.

09/01/2001
Blalock helps North to victory

The Northern All Stars ended their miserable run in the annual spectacular with a 161-148 victory over the South. Leicester's Ralph Blalock was the North's second top scorer with 20 points, thanks to some extremely long range shooting.

Tony Windless, of the hometown Newcastle Eagles, claimed the Most Valuable Player award with 25 points whilst Thames Valley's Tony Christie and John McCord ran him close with 54 points between them.

It was the first time in four outings that the North ended victorious and only the second time in eight years, but the result never looked in doubt with some blistering long range shooting in the second quarter.

The North shot 67% from behind the arc on their way to a 16 point lead, 70-54, late in the first half.

In the third quarter the South tried to mount a comeback but Blalock's shooting kept them at arms length. The other Riders' representatives, Purnell Perry and Malcolm Leak, had 12 and 5 points respectively.

Perry participated in the dunk contest but was let down by team-mates Donnie Johnson and Justin Phoenix, who struggled to dunk it and the South took the spoils in a four-man dunk off. The South were also victorious in a half-time shooting competition despite 16 points from King Ralph - the best of the 26 participants.

09/01/2001
Blalock Joins All Star Party

Chester Jets' Robbie Peers and HARIBO London Towers' Nick Nurse will lead the best 24 basketball players in the BBL onto court at the Telewest Arena in Newcastle for the BBL All Star Game 2001.

The two play callers were selected to coach the two teams thanks to votes cast by viewers of Sky Sports.

For 36-year-old Peers, this will be his first All Star experience, but the Merseyside-born coach has been enjoying his best season in coaching yet, with Chester Jets currently second in the BBL Championship Northern Conference. However, 33-year-old Nurse, a native of Iowa, has already coached in the All Star Game on four previous occasions. This fifth game - an All Star coaching record - means that Nurse has been voted to take the role in each season he has coached in the BBL.

Peers will take charge of the North All Star team, while Nurse will call the plays for the South, in a game, which pits Northern and Southern Conferences against each other.

Both coaches have already been put to work, selecting two wildcards each to take the 20 players who have already qualified for the event, up to 24 All Stars. Peers has selected Leicester Riders' star and recent ntl National Cup Final MVP, Ralph Blalock, as well as Westfield Sharks Sheffield guard, Nate Reinking. Meanwhile, Nurse has chosen one of his own players, Towers' guard Randy Duck, while Milton Keynes Lions' player/coach Nigel Lloyd - set to appear for a record ninth consecutive year - gets the other spot.

Coach Peers explained his choice. "Ralph Blalock has always been an outstanding player. He has been on teams in the past that have not been on the big showcases, so I was really pleased for him to be able to show his talent when it really mattered in a Cup Final. He was the star of that game. He is as good as there is in our league at the guard spot.

"And Nate Reinking has been outstanding wherever he has played, whether that was at Leicester, Derby or these last two years at Sheffield. He's just an excellent performer. He is quality and his attitude is first class - he comes to play and he fits in to whatever the team requires and he deserves to be included."

Nick Nurse added, "Nigel is an All Star! You can't have an All Star Game without Nigel in it. He leads the league in assists, which goes unnoticed, I think. If I had to buy a ticket to watch a game, I'd certainly buy it if Nigel Lloyd was in it."

Nurse also chose Randy Duck, although originally wanted to include Steve Bucknall in his plans, but Bucknall was unable to take up the offer because of England commitments, which see him playing in Croatia on Wednesday 24th January.

"I think Steve Bucknall is the best player in the league," explained Nurse. "He deserved to be in the All Star Game, but his England commitments mean that is not possible. I'm lucky that I have some other great players to choose from.

"I chose Randy because I think he's the best guard in the league! He's going to be one of the best in Europe by the time we are done with him. He deserves to be in it. He's got all the tools, he's explosive, and he's athletically as good as anybody. Also, he's got so much heart, he's a fighter and he's tough."

09/01/2001
Purnell, Malcolm in but Larry misses out

Purnell Perry and Malcolm Leak will represent the Northern Conference in this month's BBL All Star Game, but Larry Johnson narrowly missed out on the annual spectacular.

Leak finished runner-up in the Northern Conference ratings behind Chester's James Hamilton, whilst Perry finished sixth.

It was heartbreak for Johnson, however, who missed out by just 0.05 and finished 11th. Johnson spent much of the season in the top ten, before being overtaken by former All Star MVP Ted Berry in the last couple of weeks. Billy Singleton finished 19th.

There is still an opportunity for further Riders to make the game with two wildcard slots still up for grabs. The extra places are being picked by the Coach of the North, who will be announced on Sky Sports this Saturday during their live broadcast. Viewers of Sky Sports basketball were asked to vote for their coach of choice.

05/01/2001
It's Coming Home?

"34 years of hurt never stopped me dreaming."

OK, so Skinner, Baddiel and Broudie were not singing about the barren state of the Riders' trophy cabinet in either version of their "Three Lions" song. But, given that the formation of the club came just eight months after English football's finest hour, I think we Riders fans can empathise.

When Vaughan Thomas and Peter Shaw sat down on 26th April 1967, surely they never imagined that as the club approached its 34th birthday, all Leicester would have to show for their service to British basketball was two Founder's Cups, one Division Two title, a National Trophy and a load pre-season tournament successes.

Indeed it took the best part of 20 years before Riders even reached a major final.

Success could have come earlier than that though. In 1972, the first season of National League basketball, the side, then known as the Loughborough All Stars, could have claimed National Cup.

A 76-75 defeat to non-league LLSK ended the All Stars' Cup campaign at the first hurdle, but no other side got that close to the Latvians that year, as they marched all the way to Cup glory.

After the Founder's Cup successes and the undefeated march to the Division Two double in the early 80s, Leicester had only to wait until 1984 to have their first crack at a major Final.

Then Riders even had the benefit of playing on their own floor (it was their floor, but it had been shipped to the Royal Albert Hall), but it was no advantage as Lonnie Leggette and Co were swept aside by a Solent side who became the first team to claim three Cups in succession.

In 1991, the unfancied Riders had Jerry Jenkins and Karl Brown to thank for a second Cup Final. Jenkins hit a three at the end of regulation and Brown did likewise at the end overtime to upset the odds against Thames Valley and force an all-Northern Cup Final for the first, and still only one of two times.

But Sunderland were buoyed by having beaten the mighty Kingston in the semis - the only time in 3-years and twelve competitions the Kings didn't take the title - and went into the Final as favourites. Led by the likes of Steve Bucknall, Russ Saunders and former Rider Scott Paterson, the Saints edged it 88-81.

The following year it was Riders turn to take on Kingston, this time in the Trophy Final, but Kevin Cadle's super-squad looked a class above the Riders for the first half. A spirited second half fight back however, and some errant foul shooting down the stretch by the usually dependable Saunders, left Riders a chance to tie with the final shot.

Unlike 12-months earlier, Brown's three didn't drop, and the back of the iron left Riders empty-handed again.

Leicester continued their streak of reaching Cup Finals every seven years, with a surprise appearance in the 1998 showpiece.

They faced the might of another Cadle side in the semi-finals, London Towers, and the bookies gave them no chance over two legs, making them 10-1 outsiders in a four horse race for the silverware.

Riders shocked everyone by a taking an 18-point second half advantage in the first leg in London, but when they took a two-point deficit back to the Granby many thought the game was up.

It looked that way in the second leg as everything went the Londoners way in the first ten minutes, but when all else failed Bob Donewald earned himself a technical foul that would spark some life into his team and turn the tide.

Riders forged ahead, and some veteran leadership that belied his 23 years from Geno Ford, saw Riders home to a remarkable 90-84 victory and a place in the Final.

One report after the sensational semi-final success stole a quote from Churchill to proclaim, "that in years to come, men will still say this was their finest hour." Sadly it was all too prophetic.

Against Thames Valley at Sheffield, neither side did much in the first half to show why they had reached the Final, but whilst stage fright was the winner, the Tigers took a slender two-point lead into the locker room.

Things got worse before they got better in the second half for the Riders, but Gene Waldron - who spent his career desperately trying to get some glory for the Riders - wasn't about to let his last shot at a winner's medal slip from his grasp.

He picked his team up, put them on his back and carried them back into the game. With 21 points to his name, and Riders just a few points behind, Waldron tried to prevent Dameon Page a route to basket. The innocuous collision that followed ended with Waldron leaving the Arena on a stretcher bound for the local hospital.

With Waldron in the ambulance went Riders chances of winning. Billy Singleton dig drag Riders back in the closing minutes, but the shock of losing their team-mate to a broken leg cost Leicester dear. They dug themselves too a big a hole that even two threes each from Ford and JaRon Boone coupled with Singleton's best efforts couldn't get them out.

And so to modern day. Riders again head into the Final as the side who surprised all just by making it. They again face a form side. They again are tipped by the bookmakers and pundits to finish with the most unwanted prize in sport - the runner's-up medal.

It could all lead you to believe that history it set for a repeat this Sunday.

But if ever there was a case for football's favourite Cup catchphrase, "perhaps our name is on the Cup", to switch sports, surely this is it.

Billy Mims, the most decorated coach in Rider history, could easily taken the "rat out of sinking ship" mentality and switched to Birmingham over the summer, but he chose to stay despite having to endure the second half of Leicester's worst-ever season.

The celebrations from his signature were short-lived with the announcement of the closure of Riders home for 20 years, Granby Halls, leaving some wondering if the club had played its last game.

After a return home to Loughborough, Riders struggled more than the other two BBL sides to take advantage of the 'golden ticket' of a first round Cup draw with an NBL team.

That result, coupled with Riders' disappointing start to the Championship campaign, meant Leicester went into the quarter-finals as seventh-favourites.

They also had the only 'away' draw of the round when they were picked to face Birmingham Bullets at the 'neutral' venue of Aston Villa. Form looked like prevailing as Riders found themselves 21 down in the third quarter.

But even the 'Comeback Kid' Billy Mims couldn't surely have foreseen what happened next. Within a few short minutes Riders had turned the tables on the Bullets and only a last gasp three-pointer denied Leicester of victory in regulation time. Riders were not about to let their hard work go to waste in the extra five minutes and secured an amazing overtime victory.

Up next were Thames Valley, a side Riders hadn't beaten in four years and 16 games. A side that had twice beaten Riders this year and had huge leads at half-time in each of the games. A side Riders have only beaten five times since 1987. Again the bookmakers and the pundits thought the game was up.

But after a sloppy finish to the first half, Riders blistered out of the blocks in the second and the three-pointers flew in from all directions. Malcolm Leak led the Riders to victory and Sheffield Arena.

From the turbulence of the summer, to the circumstances in every round, you have to say it didn't look like we'd get this far - perhaps it is our year.

Toss into the mix it's the Leopards and we have Billy Mims and Larry Johnson on our side and you really do start to wonder about this "name on the Cup" stuff.

Sadly, neither history nor superstitions nor natural justice for those supporters who have endured so much and enjoyed so few, wins trophies. Performances do. We are the underdogs but that has stopped us so far, with a bit of luck Sunday will be no different.

Leicester Riders' name on the Cup - hopefully that's Billy Mims' request at the engravers on Monday morning.

It's coming home? Maybe, just maybe.

05/01/2001
Nurishment to Sponsor Riders

Leicester Riders have received a massive boost ahead of their ntl National Cup Final on Sunday, after securing Nurishment as their title sponsors. The team will be known as the Nurishment Leicester Riders for the remainder of the season and their shirts will carry the Nurishment logo.

The Riders face the London Leopards at Sheffield Arena on Sunday (2.30pm) in a bid to win the franchise's first ever piece of silverware.

"This is fantastic for the Riders," said club Chairman Kevin Routledge. "Nurishment is well committed to basketball and we are looking forward to a long and successful partnership with them.

"Hopefully the first act of the Nurishment Leicester Riders will be to lift the ntl National Cup on Sunday afternoon."

Nurishment, the Official Nutritional Drink of the BBL, is the only energy drink made from milk. It comes in a range of flavours and is packed with protein, minerals and vitamins and its benefits include increased endurance.

"Nurishment are delighted to support the Leicester Riders, which we have been looking to do for some time now," said David Carpenter, Managing Director of Enco products, owners of Nurishment.

"As Official Nutritional Drink of the BBL, the sponsorship of Leicester underlines our commitment to British Basketball, which delivers a perfect consumer profile for our product. Should all go well, we will certainly be hoping to make our support to Nurishment Leicester a long term arrangement."

The Nurishment Leicester Riders are in action tonight at Derby Storm (8.00pm), before they travel to Sheffield for the big showdown on Sunday.

03/01/2001
Vote Purnell!

Riders' leading scorer Purnell Perry has been shotlisted for the Nurishment Player of the Month for December award.

He is joined by John McCord (Thames Valley), James Hamilton (Chester), Antonio Garcia (Birmingham) and Donnie Johnson (Newcastle) in the shortlist based on their statistical performances for the month.

Purnell averaged 20.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game whilst making an astonishing 74.47% of his shots.

In the coaches category, Newcastle's Tony Garbelotto, Sheffield's Chris Finch, Nigel Lloyd of Milton Keynes and Nick Nurse of the Towers are up for this month's award.

Votes can be cast at the Nurishment section of the BBL website by Sunday.