Guildford Heat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Guildford Heat | |
 |
|
| League | British Basketball League |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Team History | Guildford Heat 2005-present |
| Arena | Guildford Spectrum |
| City | Guildford, Surrey |
| Team Colours | Black, Red, White |
| Ownership | Mike Davies |
| Head Coach |  Paul James |
The Guildford Heat, officially Poujoulat Heat Guildford by sponsorship, are a basketball club based in Guildford, England that currently play in the British Basketball League. The Heat play their home games at the Guildford Spectrum and were formed in 2005 by fans of the former BBL franchise Thames Valley Tigers, who folded during the same year.
Contents |
[edit] Franchise history
[edit] Basketball in Guildford
The city of Guildford been home to several elite basketball teams down the years. With the opening of the Guildford Spectrum, the succesful Kingston team uprooted, moved in and renamed themselves the Guildford Kings in 1992, briefly calling the place home until they folded in 1994. However it was the first major team, the Guildford Pirates who played in the city from 1975 to 1982 that would come back and figure prominantly in the birth of the new club, the Guildford Heat.
[edit] Tigers demise, Heat rise
In 1982, the Pirates moved to near-by Bracknell, becoming the Bracknell Pirates and later the Thames Valley Tigers. For many years, the Tigers were one of the front runners of the league, evening winner the league Championship in 1994, but it was in the new millenium that the successes dried up and for owner John Nike the team was too much of a financial burnden. In April of 2005, he announced that he would no longer be funding the basketball franchise nor his ice hockey franchise Bracknell Bees [1].
Immediately a consortium of fans was formed to save the club, headed by local fan Mike Davis, and they put together a viable package to take over the administration of the team. However, Nike failed to reach agreement in time for them to lease the franchise, and the deadline for entry into the BBL for 2005-2006 was reached [2]. The Tigers' BBL membership thus lapsed, but the fans obtained permission from the League to enter a new team in their place, and successful negotiations with the Spectrum Arena in Guildford led to the birth of the Guildford Heat.
[edit] Phoenix from the flames
The Heat played their first ever BBL game on October 1, 2005 against the Newcastle Eagles at the Metro Radio Arena, losing in overtime 89-88. The very next night they defeated the Leicester Riders in the BBL Cup 69-65 on home court. Their debut season saw victories over established teams such as London Towers, Plymouth Raiders, Brighton Bears, and reigning BBL Champions, Chester Jets. The Heat truly were the phoenix from the flames of the Tigers franchise.
They finished the 2005-06 season with an impressive record of 20-20, finishing 5th in the league and qualifying for the post-season playoffs, a remarkable acheivement for the rookie club. In the first round of the playoffs, playing away from home the Heat demolished the London Towers 99-81, however the opposition in the semi-finals, the all-conquering Newcastle Eagles proved to much and the Heat succumbed to a 115-97 defeat. They also made the semi-final of the BBL Trophy, but missed out on a final following a nailbiting home defeat at the hands of eventual runners-up, the Leicester Riders.
[edit] 2006-07 season
The arrival of American swingman Daniel Gilbert from Germany was a major coup for the Heat during the summer of 2006, proving playcaller Paul James still has great ability in spotting stars of the future. Guildford kick-started the season with a close away victory against the Scottish Rocks, 95-91 on October 1, 2006 which started a 3 game winning streak in the league Championship. The Heat also qualified for their first-ever cup final appearance after defeating Sheffield Sharks 87-81 in the semi-final of the BBL Cup. The Surrey team are lined up to face the Rocks at the National Indoor Arena on January 7, 2007.
On December 12, 2006, the club announced their first major sponsorship agreement with French chimney manufacturers Poujoulat, in what was reported as potentially a six-figure deal [3]. As a result of the contract which runs through to May 2008, the team was renamed as Poujoulat Heat Guildford to incorporate the sponsors name.
[edit] Home arenas
- Guildford Spectrum (2005-present)
[edit] Season-by-season records
| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pld. | W | L | Pts. | Play Offs | Trophy | Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-2006 | BBL | 5th | 40 | 20 | 20 | 40 | Semi-final | Semi-final | Quarter-final |
[edit] Trophies
[edit] League
- None
[edit] Playoffs
- None
[edit] Trophy
- None
[edit] Cup
- None
[edit] Franchise leaders
- Points
- Career: Brian Dux, 670
- Career Average: Brian Dux, 17.63
- Single season records:
- Points: Brian Dux, 562 (2005-06)
- Points per game: Brian Dux, 18.13 (2005-06)
- Rebounds: Mike Martin, 237 (2005-06)
- Rebounds per game: Mike Martin, 7.65 (2005-06)
- Single game records:
- Points: Brian Dux, 41 (Playoffs Semi-final against Newcastle Eagles on April 29, 2006)
[edit] Current roster
The numbers are established according to the official websites of the team (www.guildfordheat.com) and Britain's top professional league, the BBL (www.bbl.org.uk).
As of November 5, 2006
| 5 | |
Dean Williams | Guard |
| 6 |  |
Brian Dux | Guard |
| 7 | |
Dan Wardrope | Guard |
| 10 | |
Dean Williams | Guard |
| 11 | |
Mike Martin | Forward |
| 12 | |
Roderick Wellington | Guard |
| 14 |  |
Chris Brown | Centre |
| 22 | |
Daniel Gilbert | Guard/Forward |
| 23 | |
Ben Clarke | Guard |
| 24 |  |
Kabir Abu | Forward |
| 25 | |
Chad McKnight | Forward |
[edit] Squad changes during 2006/07 season
In:
- Dan Wardrope - Signed From Troon Tornadoes
- Chris Brown - Signed From Scottish Rocks
- Rahdi Knapp - Signed From Aurora Jesi
- Daniel Gilbert - Signed From Schalke 04
Out:
- Marlin Capers - Transferred To London United
- Roderick Wellington - Transferred To Worthing Thunder
- Lekan Popoola - Transferred To Sheffield Sharks
- Rahdi Knapp - Transferred To Released
Roderick Wellington resigned for the Heat in November after playing for just two months with Worthing Thunder.
[edit] Notable former players
- Marlin Capers
Ajou Deng- Lekan Popoola
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ BBC Sport (2006). Backer Nike quits Bees and Tigers. BBC. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
- ^ BBC Sport (2006). Tigers fans fail to secure deal. BBC. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
- ^ Guildford Heat (2006). Guildford Heat become Poujoulat Heat, Guildford. Guildford Heat. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
[edit] External link
| British Basketball League 2006-07 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Chester Jets | Guildford Heat | Leicester Riders | London United | Milton Keynes Lions | Newcastle Eagles | Plymouth Raiders | Scottish Rocks | Sheffield Sharks | Worcester Wolves |
 |
This article about a basketball team is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
