Basketball, and how I came to love it.

I was introduced to basketball by a person who could be considered my first best friend. I mean, I recall having frineds before him, but I don't remember their names. His name was Daniel and I went to primary school with him and he was a fan of basketball. I remember watching Space Jam round his house.

I remember liking basketball and being jealous that he liked it too, so I pretended I didn't like it. I remember a particular incident in which we were taken to McDonalds (other fast-food brands are available) and got Happy Meals. The toy in the Happy Meals were these little plastic figures of monsters playing sports.
The basketball one was a vampire. His name was Slam Drac. (I had hoped to find a picture of him, but the internet appears to have forgotten about him). I definitely remember he existed.

So we got our Happy Meals and opened up the package.
I got some werewolf doing something rubbish like cricket or something.
He got Slam Drac.
And I was jealous.

I tried to think of a witty putdown, but this is the best my year 2 brain could muster:

"I think they should have called him Slam Drunk...because he looks drunk"

He didn't look drunk.

It didn't even make sense.

So after that (not specifically because of that incident) I became obsessed with basketball.

I used to watch NBA games on the TV and played a little game.

I would listen out for a name I didn't know and then I write the name down and draw a picture of what they might look like. I don't know why I did that, but I learnt a lot of players names that way.

In year 4, Daniel and I went to different schools. Well, more technically I moved school. My mum and his remained friends/business-friends so I saw Daniel irregularly.

The first time was perhaps a year or so after I'd moved, and I tried to have a conversation with him about basketball and all the players I knew.
At this point my knowledge dwarfed his.

The student had become the master.

Basketball, and how it is wholesome family entertainment.

"Would you give him head?" said the girl, pointing at Evaldas Zabas, Worthing Thunder's Lithuanian star player.

This was the first line of their conversation I had accidentally evesdropped and, given that the tone of the sentence was very nonchalant, I don't like to imagine how many blowjob related questions she had asked about basketball players previously.

"Oh yeah, I'd give him head," she replied "I'd do anything for him"

"I'm gonna go get some fucking chips"

Fascinating lives these teenagers lead.

Worthing re-sign Lithuanian point.

Evaldas Zabas has returned to Worthing Thunder for a second season on the South coast. Zabas is a 6'2'' point guard from Lithuania, and has an impressive past behind him.

The former Lithuanian U20 international joined Worthing last season after a short spell at BBL rivals Worcester. Zabas had quit Worcester after American coach Chuck Evans was accused of racism and resigned.

Zabas had impresive stats last year, averaging nearly 15 points and 2 assists per game, playing a little out of position. Zabas excells at driving to the basket, but can also hit the 3. He's a great ball handler, and whilst not a natural point guard he has adapted very well and I think his future is at the position.

He's young too, just 21, and has a big future at a much higher level than the BBL, I am sure.

I think he is a great signing for Thunder; a proven point guard with great talent and potential, and crucially, he doesn't take up a non-permit space, as he is from Europe.

There are rumours too. Rumours of a number of role-players joining Thunder. In basketball terms, a roleplayer is a player who may not play a huge number of minutes, but still has uses on the court.

James Brame, for example, is a role-player returning from last season. James is 6'3'' and something of a utility player. I've seen him play all sorts of positions for Thunder from point, to a stand-in power forward, but he is certainly most comfortable in the back court.

Mansour Mbye is an intruiging player. He's a 6'6'' British forward, and certainly has the talent to be a decent player at BBL level and beyond, but his off-court problems have slighted his basketball career, and I doubt we'll ever see the best out of him.

Petroslav 'Pepe' Zafirov, is a 6'8'' Bulgarian forward/centre who played for Thunder at the start of last season. He has played at a very high level previously, but last year he failed to make the impact that the Thunder had been hoping for, and was cut after 5 games.

I don't know how likely it is that Mbye and Zafirov will suit up for Thunder this year, I think some of it will depend on how the next phase of recruitment goes, and whether we have a full strength squad by the start of the season. But local lad Brame will almost certainly see minutes; he is a BBL veteran and a valuable back up.

Worthing Thunder 2010-11.

And so it begins, and my humble apologies, because I know you don't care.

Today Worthing Thunder have announced their first three signings of the season, and before I give you a detailed breakdown on those signings, a little bit of context is important.

Basketball teams play with 5 players on the court at one time, and in general, at a professional level, a full squad should consist of 12 players. In the BBL its probably quite rare to find a squad that is 12 players strong, most teams peak at around 9 or 10, and from those, its likely that a maximum of 7-8 are used regularly on the court (the other players usually being younger players with potential, or older veterans who are more important in the community aspect of basketball).

Nwo, BBL teams are allowed a maximum of 3 "permit players". A permit player is somebody from outside Europe, and therefore almost always means American. Most of the best players in the BBL will be permit players (although in recent years a lot more of the better players from Great Britain have started playing in the BBL).

Last year, for example, Worthing Thunder's three best players arguably were their three permit players. I doubt that any of them will return to the team.

There is no limit to how many Europeans a team can sign. Last season Worthing's main team was made up of:
3 Americans
1 Finn
1 Latvian
1 Lithuanian
4 Brits (only 1 of whom played a lot of minutes)

Generally speaking, that is quite a lot of non-British players, the majority of teams will have the standard 3 permit players, then perhaps 1 non-British European, and the rest will be British.

And it looks like this season we will be primarily a British team, and that is something I am very excited about.

The players we have signed are:

Shaun Durant a 6'9'' centre who is built like a tank. He played for Leicester last year. He's a great rebounder and a big powerful player. Not much of a shooter though.

Adam Williams, a 6'4'' Welsh shooting guard who has never played for Wales despite probably being the best Welsh player currently playing. He played for Mersey Tigers last season, one of the best teams. He is a very underrated guy, a solid defender and a great shooter.

John Nottley, a 6'11'' centre who has been playing in Europe. He is a really interesting signing, because it looks like Nottley and Durant will share minutes at the centre position. They are both talent British big-men with lots of different skills, making us look already very dangerous in the paint.

I am very pleased to see us picking up so much British talent, especially the two centres, they provide us with a lot of depth and ability that we were really lacking last year. All three are solid players at this level, and capable of playing big minutes. They provide the foundation for a very good team.

Change, and not in the Barack Obama good sense of change.

For the many hundreds of you who tune into my blog hourly for updates on the world delivered in cool, comic prose, I have some bad news. There are going to be some changes around here.

Big changes.

The basketball season is soon to descend upon us. Now, "wild obsession to the point of criminally dangerous mental instability" is a phrase that is used far too often these days. But it is something that I feel about basketball.

During the basketball season I will be including regular updates on Worthing Thunder, including (but not limited to) a team preview, match reports, and criticism, both constructive and otherwise.

It is likely that you don't like basketball, and even if you do, you are unlikely to be remotely interested in the depth I will go into.

There will still be rants on the shitty state of the world, and there will still be regular videos on music I like, but these will be broken up with pointless and boring basketball melodrama.

Thank you for listening.