Plymouth Raiders

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Plymouth Raiders

League	British Basketball League
Founded	1983
Team History	Plymouth Raiders 1983-present
Arena	Plymouth Pavilions
City	Plymouth, Devon
Team Colours	Green, White, Black
Ownership	Plymouth Raiders (Basketball) Ltd.
Head Coach	Gary Stronach

The Plymouth Raiders, officially called Kularoos Plymouth Raiders by sponsorship, is South-west England's leading basketball team. Based in the city of Plymouth, they play their home games at the Plymouth Pavilions arena and compete in the professional British Basketball League.

1 Franchise history
2 Home arenas
3 Season-by-season records
4 Trophies
5 Players
6 Notable fans
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Franchise history

Plymouth Raiders entered the English National Basketball League in 1983 and were the longest serving team in the league before exiting to join the British Basketball League in 2004.

Heat playing at Raiders.

Since season 1996/97 they had been one of the top teams in National Basketball League Division 1 and the Conference League and winners of both league and play-off titles. The Conference was the original Division 1 league for clubs who could meet the highest standards in English basketball but this league has now reverted to being called Division 1.

Season 1985/86 saw their first chance for a championship - reaching the final of the National Trophy, a feat that they also achieved in 1994, 1997, 1998 and 1999. Their best league position prior to winning the Conference league in 2000/01 was 2nd place in seasons 1996/97, 1997/98 and 1998/99 and winning through to the play off finals in each of these three seasons. More than 500 Plymouth fans travelled to Wembley Arena to see them win the play-off championship in 1997 and again in Guildford in 1999. A feat which the Raiders repeated yet again at Wembley in 2001when they added this trophy to the NBL Conference League Trophy.

The Raiders home court is at the Plymouth Pavilions. With its state-of-the-art technical facilities it provides the ideal environment for the basketball enthusiast. The result being that Raiders play their games to packed houses with in some instances games sold out weeks before the event.

Over the years Raiders have carried out considerable coaching and development programmes not only in the city of Plymouth but also throughout the counties of Devon and Cornwall. These culminated in the setting up of the Raidercoach Basketball Academy in September 1998 an extremely successful venture bringing top quality coaching to the children of the two counties.

In 2004 Plymouth Raiders were elected to join the British Basketball League, the top tier of basketball in the United Kingdom.

[edit] Home arenas

Mayflower Centre (1983-1991)

Torbay Leisure Centre (1991-1992)

Mayflower Centre (1992-1996)

Plymouth Pavilions (1996-present)

[edit] Season-by-season records

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pld.	W	L	Pts.	Play Offs	Trophy	Cup
1989-1990	NBL 1	9th	22	8	14	16	DNQ	-	-
1990-1991	NBL 1	10th	18	4	14	8	DNQ	-	-
1991-1992	NBL 1	6th	22	13	9	26	Semi-final	-	-
1992-1993	NBL 1	9th	22	9	13	18	DNQ	-	-
1993-1994	NBL 1	10th	18	3	15	6	DNQ	Runner-up	-
1994-1995	NBL 1	9th	22	7	15	14	DNQ	-	-
1995-1996	NBL 1	10th	22	7	15	14	DNQ	-	-
1996-1997	NBL 1	2nd	26	19	7	38	Winners	Runner-up	-
1997-1998	NBL 1	2nd	22	19	3	38	Runner-up	Runner-up	-
1998-1999	NBL 1	2nd	26	21	5	42	Winners	Runner-up	-
1999-2000	NBL 1	4th	24	16	8	32	-	2nd Round	-
2000-2001	NBL Conf.	1st	21	19	2	38	Winners	Semi-final	-
2001-2002	NBL Conf.	2nd	18	14	4	28	Semi-final	Semi-final	-
2002-2003	NBL Conf.	2nd	22	18	4	36	Semi-final	Semi-final	-
2003-2004	EBL 1	1st	22	20	2	40	Runner-up	Semi-final	Winners
2004-2005	BBL	9th	40	12	28	24	DNQ	1st Round	Quarter-final
2005-2006	BBL	9th	40	16	24	32	DNQ	1st Round	1st Round
2006-2007	BBL	-	-	-	-	-	N/A	Winners	Quarter-final

Notes:

From 2000-2003 the NBL Conference operated as the second tier league, ahead of Division One.
In 2003 the NBL was replaced by the EBL, which reinstated Division One as the second tier.
In 2004 Plymouth stepped up to the fully professional BBL, the country's top tier league.
DNQ denotes Did Not Qualify.

[edit] Trophies

[edit] League

NBL Conference Winners: 2000/01 1
EBL Division One Winners: 2003/04 1
NBL Division One Runners Up: 1996/97, 1997/98 & 1998/99 3
NBL Conference Runners Up: 2001/02, & 2002/03 2

[edit] Playoffs

NBL Division One Play Off Winners: 1996/97, & 1998/99 2
NBL Conference Play Off Winners: 2000/01 1
EBL Division One Play Off Runners Up: 2003/04 1

[edit] Trophy

National Trophy Runners Up: 1985/86, 1993/94, 1996/97, 1997/98 & 1998/99 5
BBL Trophy Winners: 2006/07 1

[edit] Cup

National Cup Winners: 2003/04 1

[edit] Players

[edit] Current roster

The numbers are established according to the official websites of the team (www.plymouthraiders.com) and Britain's top professional league, the BBL (www.bbl.org.uk).

As of October 17, 2006

4	Jean Wakanena	Guard
5	Allister Gall	Guard
6	Gavin Love	Guard
7	Jamie Burchell	Guard/Forward
8	Graham Nesbitt	Forward
9	Mark Woodhouse	Forward/Centre
10	Jeff Danchie	Guard
11	DeAntoine Beasley	Forward
13	Antti Nykänen	Forward
20	Gaylon Moore	Forward
21	Andrew Lasker	Guard
23	Carlton Aaron	Centre

[edit] Squad changes during 2006/07 season

In:

Jean Wakanena - Signed From Hackney White Heat
Graham Nesbitt - Signed From Solent Stars
Mark Woodhouse - Signed From Thor AK

Out:

Lawren Ramos - Transferred To Released

[edit] Plymouth Raiders II

The club also operates a reserve team called Plymouth Raiders II, or officially as Teazers Plymouth Raiders II for sponsorship reasons. The team was established in 2004, after Raiders' senior team departed from the EBL to join the professional BBL. In their rookie season Raiders II won EBL Division 3 West, with just two defeats, and were promoted to English Basketball League Division 2, the third-tier of National League competition, where they finished in sixth place.

Raiders II often play home games at the Pavilions prior to the senior team, and fans who pre-book tickets for BBL games can watch Raiders II for free.