Coaches Corner With Head Coach Matt Newby 01/04/21

Its time to look ahead to another busy week of fixtures with Head Coach Matt Newby and Coaches Corner.

Dear Wolfpack,

Once more the action comes thick and fast and schedule continues to deliver challenges and offer quirks: with our match ups weekend a mirror image of the last with the exception of venues as we travel to the inform Bristol Flyers and the London Lions come to town following a Friday night pit stop in Yorkshire where they match up with the Sheffield Sharks.

Last week was challenging with two performances against Manchester and Bristol where we as collective felt we had not delivered, conversely at the Copper Box on Sunday we found a new levels in connectivity, output and intensity, arguable delivering our first four quarter performance of the season.  Finding form and building on it is key at this juncture with just over three weeks remaining and each team jostling for their final position and the condensed calendar providing each franchise with unique challenges; with players accruing significant minutes in short windows this will be very much a test of each rosters depth, their physical endurance and psychologically how resilient they can be.

We have 7 games remaining over 21 days and the league remains relatively compact with the exception of front runners Leicester Riders who have only lost 4 games in 23 outings and at this juncture pushing on without Geno Crandell whose influence has been absolute this season and Glasgow Rocks who are currently sit at the foot of the table with news this week that coach Murray has been dealt another blow, losing influential imports Ronald Delph and Christian Keeling due to reported visa issues.

In the lower third of the table Manchester Giants arguable have to win out to steal the 8^th spot with 7 games remaining there is no doubt Lloyd Gardner will continue the reinvention of the Manchester Giants and push until the seasons close, Surrey Scorchers have 10 opportunities remaining to claim a Playoff spot this weekend they host both Plymouth and Newcastle, a strong roster capable of big upsets who should not be discounted. 

Bristol currently occupy the 8^th spot and have made some big statements in the last week claiming the win at UOW arena over us last Friday and suffocating Leicester on Tuesday night 80 – 54 in one of the most physical games of the year.  Critically hardnosed defence and physicality is part of the Flyers identity, however Coach Kapoulas has a backcourt now which is clicking and output has increased as Wilcher, Okereafor, Mockford and Lockett have found the strengths in one another’s games. Their forward line has been a constant for several seasons and afford several different looks Delpeche, Edozie and Thomas Edwards afford the Flyers strong outputs in defence and rebounding and are among the best transition forwards in the league. Their forward line has also seen Justin Baker find his form and increased outputs from Josh Rogers.  We are catching the Flyers at a dangerous time and need to be at our best down at SGS College on Friday night with the head to head record an imperative for each unit.

In the middle third as the Flyers continue to push we sit just beneath  the Sheffield Sharks and Cheshire Phoenix with close to identical records this middle order will no doubt continue to shuffle as the season plays out, the importance of the season head to heads again will no doubt come in to play with 1 game remaining against the Sharks and Phoenix nothing there could be significant shift.  The Top 4 as stated sees the Riders in control and the Raiders, Eagles and Lions holding similar records the fight for the home berths in the playoffs will be intense until the end.

The Lions are our opposition on Sunday with London Franchise still chasing the highest order playoff spot and still an outside chance of the league title they are as dangerous as their billing.  Following two defeats on the bounce against Newcastle and ourselves Vince Maculays charges put in a strong shift midweek against Surrey.  With Dirk Williams unconscious from the field registering 35 points and strong outputs from the interior trio of Parker, Alihodzic and Taiwah  as well as a strong captains performance from Ikhinmwin. 

The conversations will often revert to Deandre Liggins who undoubtable is a high end talent with a well-rounded skill set and an innate ability to impact so many aspects of the game.  However the roster that the Lions assembled for the demands of both a vastly improved BBL and Champions League Basketball in Europe; one through fifteen is impressive domestics Jordan Spencer, Jules Dang Akodo and Angolan Ed Lucas fortify the backcourt and arguable each would maintain starting positions in other BBL rosters.  The match up on Sunday affords us another opportunity to match up with this formidable unit and that challenge is one the players are excited about.

In reflecting on recent performances I feel we have shown we can compete with the best in the league: consistency remains key for us minute by minute, quarter by quarter and game by game we have to strive for more if we couple this the selfless play evident on Sunday we will continue to improve and results will come.  I would like to thank the Wolfpack for their continued support and the message we receive weekly, they make a difference in what has been a challenging season for all.

Enjoy the Easter Weekend!

Coach