Scottish Rocks
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| Scottish Rocks | ||||
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| Main sponsor | SAMG | |||
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| League | British Basketball League | |||
| Established | 1998 | |||
| History | Edinburgh Rocks 1998-2002 Scottish Rocks 2002-present |
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| Arena | Kelvin Hall (Capacity: 1,200) |
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| Location | Partick, Glasgow | |||
| Head coach |   Sterling Davis |
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| Ownership | Ian Reid |
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| Colours | Navy Blue and White | |||
| Website | ||||
| Uniforms | ||||
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The Scottish Rocks, previously the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks by sponsorship, is a basketball team which plays in the British Basketball League. The Rocks are one of the leading sides in the top-tier league, and the only team to be based outside of England, playing at the Kelvin Hall in Scotland's biggest city Glasgow. Its current player-coach is American Sterling Davis. Their traditional arch rivals are the Newcastle Eagles.
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[edit] Franchise history
Formed as the Edinburgh Rocks in 1998 by a consortium of businessmen, the team debuted at Meadowbank under the helm of American coach Jim Brandon. In its second season, it effectively went bust before it was purchased by one of its existing directors Ian Reid.
The club's third campaign saw controversial American coach Greg Lockridge take charge but he was fired after less than two months following a series of bust-ups with players and poor results. Scotland and Great Britain legend Iain MacLean stepped up as player-coach but saw the side finish bottom of the BBL.
In 2001-02, another American, Kevin Wall was placed in charge but it was another switch 12 months later which proved more significant, when the franchise moved to Glasgow's Braehead Arena, becoming the Scottish Rocks.
While few fans followed the club west, the first season there provided a high point as Wall led the Rocks to their first ever trophy, the BBL play-off crown.
Wall's exit saw the arrival of former Brighton Bears assistant Steve Swanson, who guided the club to three major finals. Twice they finished runners-up in the BBL Cup and in 2005-06, there was a best ever league placing of second and a further second place in the play-off final.
Swanson's departure to college basketball brought the arrival of the league's first ever German playcaller, Thorsten Leibenath.
On April 30th 2007, the Rocks announced Leibenath was leaving the club to take over head coaching duties at his previous club Giessen 46ers of Germany. Davis was named as his successor.
The Scottish Rocks recently announced a new long-term agreement with Culture and Sport Glasgow and Glasgow City Council. As part of this agreement the Scottish Rocks will be renamed the Glasgow Rocks [1] from the start of 2009 season.
The partnership will see the Rocks ultimately play their home games from the new National Indoor Sports Arena (NISA) being built in Glasgow’s east end. Until the NISA facility is ready in 2011/2012 the Rocks will be based at the Kelvin Hall.
[edit] Home arenas
- Meadowbank (1998-2002)
- Braehead Arena (2002-2008)
- Kelvin Hall (2008-present)
[edit] Season-by-season records
| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pld. | W | L | Pts. | Play Offs | Trophy | Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh Rocks | ||||||||||
| 1998-1999 | BBL | 9th | 36 | 12 | 24 | 24 | DNQ | 1st Round | 1st Round | |
| 1999-2000 | BBL N | 3rd | 36 | 19 | 37 | 38 | Semi-final | 1st Round | Semi-final | |
| 2000-2001 | BBL N | 7th | 36 | 5 | 31 | 10 | DNQ | 1st Round | 1st Round | |
| 2001-2002 | BBL N | 4th | 32 | 13 | 19 | 26 | 1st Round | 1st Round | Quarter-final | |
| Scottish Rocks | ||||||||||
| 2002-2003 | BBL | 6th | 40 | 22 | 18 | 44 | Winners | 1st Round | Winners | |
| 2003-2004 | BBL | 4th | 36 | 23 | 13 | 46 | Quarter-final | Semi-final | Runner-up | |
| 2004-2005 | BBL | 6th | 40 | 19 | 21 | 38 | Semi-final | 1st Round | Runner-up | |
| 2005-2006 | BBL | 2nd | 40 | 29 | 11 | 58 | Runner-up | Semi-final | Semi-final | |
| 2006-2007 | BBL | 4th | 36 | 22 | 14 | 44 | Runner-up | 1st Round | Runner-up | |
| 2007-2008 | BBL | 5th | 33 | 18 | 15 | 36 | Quarter-final | Group Stage | Semi-final | |
| 2008-2009 | BBL | 6th | 33 | 16 | 17 | 32 | Quarter-final | Group Stage | 1st Round | |
Notes:
- From 1999-2002 the BBL operated a Conference system. Rocks competed in the Northern Conference.
- DNQ denotes Did Not Qualify.
[edit] Players
[edit] Current roster
The numbers are established according to the official websites of the team (www.scottishrocks.co.uk) and Britain's top professional league, the BBL (www.bbl.org.uk) and Slate the Official Magazine of The Scottish Rocks.
As of September 26th, 2008
| 4 | |
Sterling Davis | Forward | Player / Coach | |||
| 6 | |
Wilbur Johnson | Guard | ||||
| 7 | |
Blake Shelton | Guard | ||||
| 10 | |
Scott Russell | Guard | ||||
| 11 | |
Rob Yanders | Point Guard | Captain | |||
| 12 |  |
Randy George | Forward | ||||
| 15 | |
Gareth Murray | Forward | ||||
| 20 | |
Marc Pratt | Guard/Forward | ||||
| 21 | |
Mike McGregor | Guard | ||||
| 25 | |
Chi Lewis-Parry | Forward | ||||
[edit] Notable former players
- Niki Arinze
- Ted Berry
Ajou Deng- Iain MacLean
- Billy Singleton
- Charles Smith
- Jerry Williams
- Julius Joseph
[edit] Retired numbers
- 5 Ted Berry, G, 1998-2003
- 13 Iain MacLean, 1998-2001
[edit] Longest serving player
- 9 (Keith Bunyan ) 1998-2004
[edit] Current squad nicknames
| Sterling 'The Pearl' Davis | |||
| Blake Shelton | |||
| Scott Russell | |||
| "lil Rob" Yanders | |||
| 'Big' Wilbur Johnson | |||
| Randy George | |||
| Gareth 'Big Man' Murray | |||
| Chi Lewis-Parry | |||
| Mike McGregor | |||
[edit] Scottish Rockettes
The Scottish Rockettes are the UK's top pro-sports dance team and support The Scottish Rocks. They also perform at home games for Glasgow Rugby.
The dance team is made up of twenty-one women who are all over 18 years of age from backgrounds as diverse as IT, nursing, finance, dance and sales. Each year the dance team train in the USA alongside the NBA and NFL dancers, learning material from the world's best choreographers.
Every year the team release a charity swimsuit calendar[2].
[edit] References
- ^ www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/scottishrockssponsorship
- ^ Make it a date to remember | The Sun |HomePage|Sport
[edit] External links
- Official Scottish Rocks website
- Rockettes dance team
- Leibenath leaving Rocks
- Unofficial Scot Rocks Fan Club
- Glasgow City Council [1]
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