Cheshire Jets

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Cheshire Jets

Main Sponsor

BiG Storage

League

British Basketball League

Established

1984

History

Ellesmere Port Jets
1984-1988
Cheshire Jets
1988-1993
Chester Jets
1993-2007
Cheshire Jets
2007-present

Arena

Northgate Arena
(Capacity: 1,300)

Location

Chester, Cheshire

Head Coach

Paul Smith

Ownership

Unknown

Colours

Black, Yellow and White

Website

JetsBasketball.co.uk

Uniforms



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The Cheshire Jets, officially BiG Storage Cheshire Jets by sponsorship, is a British professional basketball team based in the city of Chester, in Cheshire, England. Formerly known as the Chester Jets, their home court is the Northgate Arena and they play in the top-tier British Basketball League.

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

[edit] Franchise history

[edit] Origin

The team was first formed from the ruins of the Ellesmere Port team, the St Saviours in 1984. The team was initially named after their sponsors 'Motocraft Centre Ellesmere Port'. However, after the loss of their sponsor, they renamed themselves Ellesmere Port Jets.

[edit] Moving to the BBL

The Jets were admitted to NBL Division 2 in 1986 and showed little sign of what was to come as they finished last in their first season, with just a single victory. Edging up to seventh in 1987-88, they then changed their name to Cheshire Jets, though still continuing to play in Ellesmere Port. They continued a steady mid-table development until, in 1991, they won the divisional title despite suffering five defeats. The same year, the Jets moved up into the BBL joining in with Britain's elite basketball teams. Later however, the arena in Ellesmere Port became unsuitable, and so in 1993 the Jets were forced to move to Chester, and into the Northgate Arena. The move was reflected in another name change to what is now the Chester Jets.

The real turning point for the Jets came in 1996, when the application of the Bosman ruling to basketball resulted in the departure of many of the top English players to European clubs, and the BBL changed its eligibility rule to entitle teams to use five non-national players.

[edit] Millennium success

Astute trans-Atlantic recruitment by coach and co-owner Mike Burton resulted in a highly competitive team, which finished fifth in the League table in 1997. They have remained highly competitive ever since, with best-ever performances in 2002 (Northern Conference Champions) and 2003 (3rd in the re-unified League), and a string of successes in the BBL trophy (4-times winners, from 2001 to 2004), culminating in the League Championship in 2005.

[edit] Future in doubt

On April 7, 2007, prior to the Jets' season finale at home to Guildford Heat, an 81-102 defeat, club owner and head coach Mike Burton formally announced that he would be retiring from the franchise at the end of the 2006-07 season. Burton's announcement, after 19 years at the helm, raised serious doubts of the clubs' future ^[1], with mounting debts and lack of financial backing. Shortly after the announcement, group of fans formed a committee to help save the club, while arranging several meetings and fund-raisers, the dedication and commitment publicly received the backing of players including Jets legend James Hamilton ^[2]. Following a sponsorship deal agreed during the summer of 2007 with local firm BiG Storage to save the club and preserve their future, the Jets was renamed as the Cheshire Jets to cover the wider demographic of Cheshire county.

[edit] Home arenas

Ellesmere Port Leisure Centre (1984-1993)

Northgate Arena (1993-present)

[edit] Season-by-season records

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pld.	W	L	Pts.	Play Offs	Trophy	Cup
Ellesmere Port Jets
1986-1987	NBL 2	10th	18	1	17	2	DNQ	DNQ	1st Round
1987-1988	NBL 1	7th	18	7	11	14	DNQ	DNQ	2nd Round
Cheshire Jets
1988-1989	NBL 1	8th	20	6	14	12	DNQ	DNQ	2nd Round
1989-1990	NBL 1	6th	22	10	12	20	Quarter-final	DNQ	1st Round
1990-1991	NBL 1	1st	22	17	5	34	Quarter-final	DNQ	Quarter-final
1991-1992	BBL	11th	30	2	28	4	DNQ	1st Round	3rd Round
1992-1993	BBL	10th	33	10	23	20	DNQ	1st Round	Quarter-final
Chester Jets
1993-1994	BBL	11th	36	11	25	22	DNQ	1st Round	Quarter-final
1994-1995	BBL	12th	36	6	30	12	DNQ	1st Round	Quarter-final
1995-1996	BBL	12th	36	8	28	16	DNQ	Quarter-final	4th Round
1996-1997	BBL	5th	36	24	12	48	Semi-final	Runner-up	4th Round
1997-1998	BBL	10th	36	15	21	30	DNQ	1st Round	4th Round
1998-1999	BBL	11th	36	10	26	20	DNQ	Quarter-final	Quarter-final
1999-2000	BBL N	4th	36	17	19	34	Quarter-final	Quarter-final	1st Round
2000-2001	BBL N	2nd	36	25	11	50	Quarter-final	Winners	1st Round
2001-2002	BBL N	1st	32	24	8	48	Winners	Winners	Winners
2002-2003	BBL	3rd	40	28	12	56	Quarter-final	Winners	Runner-up
2003-2004	BBL	5th	36	22	14	44	Runner-up	Winners	1st Round
2004-2005	BBL	1st	40	32	8	64	Runner-up	Semi-final	Semi-final
2005-2006	BBL	7th	40	17	32	34	Quarter-final	1st Round	Semi-final
2006-2007	BBL	9th	36	10	26	20	DNQ	Quarter-finals	1st Round

Notes:

From 1999-2002 the BBL operated a Conference system. Chester competed in the Northern Conference.
DNQ denotes Did Not Qualify.

[edit] Trophies

[edit] League

NBL Division One Winners: 1990/91 1
BBL Championship Winners: 2001/02, & 2004/05 2
BBL Championship Runners Up: 2000/01 1

[edit] Playoffs

BBL Championship Play Off Winners: 2001/02 1
BBL Championship Play Off Runners Up: 2003/04, & 2004/05 2

[edit] Trophy

BBL Trophy Winners: 2000/01, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04 4
BBL Trophy Runners Up: 1996/97 1

[edit] Cup

National Cup Winners: 2001/02 1
National Cup Runners Up: 2000/01 1

[edit] Players

[edit] Current roster

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

As of March 24, 2008

5	Gianni Costantiello	Power Forward
6	Trey Moore	Guard
10	Matthew Otten	Shooting Guard
13	Alan Duppa	Forward/Centre
14	Richard Murphy	Guard
20	Marc Pratt	Forward
21	James Hamilton	Forward
22	Jayson Obazuaye	Guard