    | Eagles School of Excellence Under 15 Boys News
Under 15 Boys Squad
Follow the fortunes of the boys throughout the season by reading Match Reports below. Pictured is Head Coach Graham Heath.
MATCH REPORTS 2009 - 10 SEASON
MATCH REPORT SATURDAY 27TH FEBRUARY 2010 UNDER 15S PLAY OFF CHESHIRE JETS 105 NEWCASTLE EAGLES 44 The Newcastle Eagles under 15s after finishing 3rd in their league headed to the play offs to face the Cheshire Jets. After a pretty stressful journey the Eagles landed in Cheshire to prepare for the game ahead. Unfortunately all the hard work leading up to the game soon went out of the window as the home team dominated from the tip off to the buzzer. The aggressive defence and fast breaking offence was relentless as the Jets eased past the timid Eagles. The 1st quarter was tough as the home team came out in a very aggressive press and caused the travelling Eagles to make a lot of turn over’s which led to easy baskets and a period score of 23 to 8. The 2nd period was very much of the same with the Eagles trying desperately to find answers to the onslaught but with very little going right for the boys in white it meant the teams going in at half time 47 to 16 in favour of the Jets. Some harsh talking at half time didn’t really turn the tide much as the Jets again bombarded the visitors with more pressure and fast flowing scoring the home team extended their lead to a very impressive 80 to 27. The 4th quarter with the game dead and buried, the home team went to their bench. This proved more of an even period with the visitors working hard to take some pride from the game. The period score ended 25 to 17 closing the score at 105 to 44. Coach Heath said we came with a specific game plan and we had worked hard all week in practice. The journey down wasn’t great but in the end we were pushed around the court to easy. They played very aggressively and we didn’t match the intensity. It has been a great season for us and this year will give us something to build on for next season. I would like to thank all the players, my assistant coaches and all the parents who have supported us this season. Eagles Scorers- C Coussins 8, R Heslop 6, E Galt 6, J Tellyn 5, Z Whelan 5, J Mattimore 4, J Guy 4, G Short 2, A Budvytis 2, H Wright 2.
MATCH REPORT SATURDAY 20TH FEBRUARY UNDER 15S NATIONAL LEAGUE
SHEFFIELD JUNIOR SHARKS 73 So the long awaited conclusion to the abandoned game from Saturday 30th January 2010. The Eagles started the long journey to The game was being played in front a large home crowd and under real strained circumstances in view of what had occurred in the previous meeting. The travelling Eagles got the start they wanted when big Chris Coussins hit the 1st two points to take them up by 2 at 61 to 59. The home team then hit back with two points to tie it up again, however Coussins hit one of his free throws to edge the visitors in front. The Sharks then missed two free throws and the visitors made them pay as Johnny Mattimore hit a very long 3 to take the Eagles up by 4 at 65 to 61. This put the Eagles just where they needed to be in terms of the result. The Sharks then hit a free throw but again the boys in white hit back with a lay up to lead 67 to 62. However with their heads up and pushing on they started to make some basic errors which lead to the home team hitting 8 without reply in the 4th minute thus putting them up by 3 and this deflated the Eagles players. The game in the 5th minute was very start stop and the Sharks ran out 73 to 69 winners. Coach Heath said it was very disappointing to have to travel and play just 5 minutes of overtime but when we had them exactly where we wanted them we should have controlled the tempo of the game better and closed it out. We still have a lot to learn but going into this weekends play off at Cheshire we have come a long way and I am sure teams who have played us this year will agree.
LEEDS CARNEGIE 39 So the Eagles left Sheffield hugely deflated and headed for The travelling fans, players and coaching staff rallied from the early morning disappointment to give the young guns of The 1st quarter so the Eagles start in their 2-2-1 zone press and it paid early dividends as they jumped out to an 8 to 0 lead at the 3rd minute. The rest of the period was more of the same as the visitors outscored Carnegie 2 to 1 to lead 24 to 13 at the 1st interval. The boys in white then took the press off and played some very solid man to man defence and lead by top scorer on the day Greg Short they continued to cause Leeds problems hitting them for another 23 points and conceding only 4 to take a 17 to 47 lead at the half. The Eagles then started to think ahead to next weeks play off 1st round and mixed up the defence a bit but it all worked well as they dominated the 3rd period taking it 22 to 10 and a lead of 27 to 69. In the 4th quarter the visitors put on another solid performance at both ends as they chased triple figures. The Eagles had solid scoring throughout the team as no fewer than 6 players hit double figure scores. The game was very much one sided as the Eagles took the last quarter 12 to 27 and a final score of 39 to 96 was probably a fair reflection of how the game had gone. Coach Heath said it was pleasing to see how the players dealt with the earlier disappointment and showed true dominance at both ends of the floor. It was a truly polished performance and it has given us a big lift before our play off game this coming weekend. I truly believe that on any day we are a match for anyone and if we stay focused then no team will really want to play us in the play offs. Eagles Scorers- G Short 19, C Coussins 16, J Mattimore 12, R Heslop 10, E Galt 10, J Guy 10, S Roxborough 7, J Tellyn 4, D Pears 4, S McCormick 2, Z Whelan 2.
MATCH REPORT UNDER 15S NORTH EAST SATURDAY 30TH JANUARY 2010 SHEFFIELD SHARKS 59 The Eagles travelled into Sheffield ready for the battle ahead and knowing that a four point victory could seal runners up spot and a home tie in the play offs. Little did they know what would happen as at the end of regulation it would be tied up at 59 and no overtime would be played due to the centre having to close.... The game was a lively and scrappy affair at times but both teams had a lot to lose. The 1st quarter was very tight with the home team lead by Dennis Kaka taking an early lead at 6 to 2 but the Eagles tied it all up at 6 in the 5th minute. The visitors then edged the latter part and lead by Greg Short, Jack Tellyn and Chris Coussins they went into the break at 14 to 17 leaders. The second period again went one way then the other till the 8th minute. The scores were 28 to 26 in favour of the Sharks. They then went on a run to the half of 8 to 3 to lead 36 to 29. The 3rd quarter got underway after a short 5 minute break enforced by the officials as the game was running late. The Eagles going into their 1-3-1 zone defence set about reducing the Sharks advantage. Again it was end to end stuff with the visitors edging it by 10 to 7 to go into the 4th at 43 to 39. The 4th period was do or die for the boys in white but again sticking to the zone which was frustrating the home team. They set about their task and pushed on lead again in scoring by the impressive Coussins. Going into the final two minutes the Eagles held a 52 to 48 lead, the officials then called a couple of un sports man like fouls on the Eagles and a technical foul on Coach Heath for shouting that the game clock hadn’t been stopped. This sent the home team to the line and took them into a 56 to 52 lead. Heath called time out and re grouped the troops who were now in a full court man press. The Eagles got a turn over which they pushed up the floor and Johnny Mattimore drained a 3 to take it to 56 to 55. The Eagles pressed and fouled sending Kaka to the line he duly made both but the Eagles inbounded the ball long to the waiting Coussins who made a lay up. The Eagles again put on the press and again fouled to send Skaines to the line he made one. The visitors pushed it long and at the death Coussins made a put back off Mattimore long three to seal the draw at 59 to 59. The came the controversial decision by the Sharks and the centre to say there was no more time left to play the allotted 5 minutes of over time. The centre manager said we had already over run by 30 minutes and thus he couldn’t stay any longer. The game was then abandoned and a report has been sent to England Basketball for them to advise what happens with regards the result. Coach Heath said he was very impressed with his troops. We came in with a game plan and we executed it almost to perfection. We had two of our main players out due to illness but we worked so hard on defence and we took our chances in their end. However we left the centre feeling the job hadn’t been completed and unfortunately it was all taken out of our hands. Eagles Scorers- C Coussins 16, J Tellyn 9, J Mattimore 8, E Galt 5, H Wright 5, A Budvytis 5, G Short 4, J Guy 3, D Pears 3, Z Whelan 1 Sharks Scorers- D Kaka 15, L Dariencampbell 14,
MATCH REPORT UNDER 15S NORTH EAST SATURDAY 23RD JANUARY 2010 The Newcastle Eagles brought to a close their home league campaign with an emphatic victory over the travelling Vikings of York. Coach Heath rotated his squad, giving game time to players who hadn’t always featured in the team this season. The Eagles started in their favourite 2-2-1 press and immediately made their impact on the game going into a 10 to 0 lead at the 7 minute mark of the 1st. The 2nd quarter was totally dominated by the home team, who continued the great defence and some clinical offence saw them take the period 23 to 6 to lead 33 to 8 at the half. The home team continued to impress the large crowd with another dominating defensive period and lead by free scoring forward Greg Short they ran away with the 3rd quarter by 22 to 9. The scores were 55 to 17 heading into the final period. The game as a contest was over but Coach Heath kept trying new defensive systems in readiness for The 4th quarter produced more of what had been before, the Eagles in black were just too strong for the Vikings and took the period 17 to 6 and closed the game out at 72 to 23. The home team had too much class and fire power for the visiting Vikings. Coach Heath said it was a great team display at both ends of the floor. We dominated defensively and all the players executed on offence. We had 10 different players on the score sheet and it bodes well for next week’s big game in Eagles Scorers- G Short 19, H Wright 8, J McQueen 8, J Tellyn 7, J Mattimore7, S McCormick 6, J Guy 6, Z Whelan 6, C Haley 3, R Heslop 2. Vikings Scorers- M Brenchley 9, A Metcaffe 4, A Tuddenham 4
MATCH REPORT UNDER 15S NORTH EAST SATURDAY 16TH JANUARY 2010
The Eagles playing their 1st game of 2010 against the top of the table Tigers from The Tigers and Eagles were both at full strength and put on a very entertaining game of basketball for a large crowd at The game as you would expect was played a very frantic pace and it was the visitors who made the much better start going into a 14 to 1 lead in the first 7 minutes. The Eagles were working hard but with not much intensity on defence or patience on offence. A lot of the visitors points came from the free throw line as the Eagles got into major foul trouble. The latter part of the 1st was a more even contest as at last the home team got to grips with the visitors and closed the quarter out at 26 to 11 to the Tigers. The second period was a much better affair for the Eagles as they set about eating into the arrears. Lead by David Pears the Eagles took the period on a score line of 16 to 10, the Eagles turned up the heat on defence and started making some good decisions around the Tigers basket. The half time score was Eagles 27 Tigers 36. The 3rd quarter didn’t start well for the boys in black as the visitors jumped out again to hit 8 without reply to lead 44 to 27 and a mountain to climb again for the Eagles. They however never gave up and the last 6 minutes of the period belonged to the Eagles with Pears and Chris Coussins leading the fight back. Tigers then lost star forward Stuart Forrester who fouled out and the period closed at 11 to 14 making the scores Eagles 38 Tigers 50. In the 4th quarter Coach Heath went into his favourite 1-3-1 zone to see if the visitors could handle a different look and it worked for a large chunk of the time left as the home team mounted a great surge to push the game to the limits and scrap their way back. With Forrester gone the Eagles went inside to Coussins and Ryan Heslop but time ran out for the home team. They took the period 12 to 8 but lost 50 to 58 allowing the Tigers to remain unbeaten. Coach Heath said if we had played for 40 minutes we would have won the game, we took a severe beating in We have a massive game away to Sheffield Sharks on the 30th January which we need to win by more than 3 points to secure second place and thus take a home play off game in the 1st round. Eagles Scorers- C Coussins 13, D Pears 12, G Short 8, J Mattimore 8, H Wright 5, R Heslop 4. Tigers Top Three- O Hannam 18,
MATCH REPORT UNDER 15S NORTH EAST 13TH DECEMBER 2009 The Going into the game without one of their top scorers in Greg Short, the home team set the tone from the start going on a 10 to 0 run. It was some impressive zone pressure defence which caused the young The home team rotating their bench in and taking the press off allowed the visitors to compete a bit more in the second quarter as both teams traded baskets to close the half out at 48 to 24. (18 to 16) In the second half the home team after a bit of a half time roasting, picked up the intensity in the half court defence to go on a 15 to 0 run. The second part of the period was a bit more even as the visitors got going to trade hoops for the remaining four minutes to make the quarter score 27 to 8. (75 to 32) In the last Coach Heath put in a 3 – 2 zone to work on something new and his team made a huge success of it hitting the visitors for 25 more points to run up the 100. The defence was tight all day and we restricted them to only 6 points in the last quarter to make the final score 100 to 36. Coach Heath said after the game we played very well both ends of the floor, we managed to run the offences at times but a lot of the points came off the transition. Our defence was superb in all but the 2nd period where we lost a lot of the intensity. The Eagles were again well supported by a very vocal fan base. Eagles Scorers- Chris Coussins 30, Johnny Guy 14, Ryan Heslop 12, Harry Wright 10, Elliot Galt 8, Johnny Mattimore 7, Connor Haley 7, Aertonas Budvytis 6, Zak Whelan 4, Sam McCormick 2. MATCH REPORT UNDER 15S FRIENDLY SATURDAY 5TH DECEMBER 2009 BLACKPOOL LIGHTS 31 With a weekend of national league duty, the Eagles travelled to the west coast to face After a great journey down, arriving in a not so sunny The Eagles in white started in their 2-2-1 press set the tone from the off forcing the home team to cough up the ball on numerous occasions and taking a 24 to 0 period lead. In the 2nd quarter the visitors kept up the pressure playing some good half court man to man and finding the net off their half court sets on a regular basis taking it 29 to 12 to make it 53 to 12 at the half. Coach Heath decided to mix it up in the second half as the buoyant Eagles played some 1-3-1 zone defence which the Lights didn’t break very often as the travelling fans were treat to another one sided period 15 to 4 for a lead of 68 to 16. In the 4th the home team finally managed to curb the rampant Eagles and along with some good shooting it made for a fairly even period. The visitors though did edge it at 20 to 15 making the final score 31 to 88. The Eagles had rested top scorers Greg Short and Johnny Mattimore to give their squad players a chance to prove they have what it takes and a clinical display proves that they can compete. Coach Heath said it was a good performance against a team we knew nothing about before today. They are a new set up and I believe they will get better over the next couple of seasons. It was pleasing to hear the Lights coach say we have been the most balanced and well disciplined team they have played this season. It is back to league action this coming Sunday, when Tip off at Eagles Scorers- Chris Coussons 18, Sam McCormick 13, Elliott Galt 11, Zak Whelan 10, Ryan Heslop 10, Harry Wright 8, Jack Tellyn 6, Connor Haley 4, Johnny Guy 4, David Pears 2, Jordan McQueen 2. MATCH REPORT UNDER 15S NORTH EAST CONFERENCE SATURDAY 28TH NOVEMBER 2009
ROTHERHAM HAWKS 67 The Eagles rolled into The game got underway with the Eagles playing 2-2-1 press defence and it paid dividends early on as the pressure resulted in some early chances but some poor free throwing shooting let the visitors down. However as the period wore on the Eagles were in charge 24 to 13 then some lapses in defensive rotations then sent the Hawks to the line 6 times in the last minute and they made the most of their opportunities scoring all 6 free throws to close the quarter at 24 to 19. The second period was much tighter with both sides trading scores regularly, the Eagles held the lead at 42 to 35 lead by tops scorer Greg Short, only for a late lapse in the defence allowing a last second un contested 3 pointer to go in and close the gap to 4 at 38 to 42 at the half. The second half started with the home team taking advantage of some poor offensive decisions as the Eagles rushed their shots and allowed the home team to go on a 12 to 2 run to lead 50 to 44. Coach Heath ran subs in to try and get back the chemistry his team had earlier in the game and it proved successful as the visitors rallied to lead 59 to 58 going into the 4th. The 4th quarter was all the Eagles as they played their 1-3-1 zone which Rotherham found hard to score on for 5 minutes and they visitors pushed on as they took the period 16 to 8. The Eagles winning the game 74 to 67, taking their double over the Hawks and keeping them in contention at the top of the league.
Coach Heath said we played so well early on, but then we started to play too individually which lead to them getting back into the game. Chris Coussons played some of his best basketball this season and it was good to dominate inside for a change. Defensively we played well all game but the lapse in our offence caused us problems as we lost the chemistry at times. Over all though a good performance and a great double win over the Hawks which keeps us up with the pace. Eagles Scorers- Greg Short 20, Chris Coussons 20, Ryan Heslop 8, David Pears 7, Sam McCormick 4, Jack Tellyn 4, Johnny Mattimore 4, Elliott Galt 4, Jordan McQuen 3. Hawks Scorers- S Woodhouse 23, J Bingham 18. MATCH REPORT UNDER 15S NORTH EAST SUNDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 2009 YORK VIKINGS 40 NEWCASTLE EAGLES 78 The Newcastle Eagles rolled into York looking to bounce back from their heavy defeat last week against Leeds Tigers. With a much improved defensive effort and some great execution on the offensive end they did just that and made life very hard for the home side.
The 1st quarter started with Greg Short getting the Eagles on the board. The visitors playing an aggressive man to man press outscored their hosts 3 to 1 to take the quarter 29 to 9 with top scorer Chris Coussons getting 10 in the period. The 2nd period was a bit closer as the home team hit a rare 3 pointer from Harry Dodds who was trying single handed to keep the home team in the game. The visitors wearing white were spreading the scoring around and Sam Roxborough hit a perimeter shot of his own. The defensive pressure continued and the lead extended to 22-49 by the half. Coach Heath changed up the defence going to a 2-2-1 press and forcing the trap and stealing the hurried passes from the Vikings. The Eagles however failed at times to capitalise on the turn over’s as they didn’t finish well in the 2nd half. They did however take the 3rd quarter by 14 to 8 to lead 30 to 63 as they set about again applying pressure in the 4th. The Eagles were set a target of 40 points conceded and made sure with good defence again that the target was met. Jordan McQueen made the last 8 points of the game for the Eagles as they closed the quarter 15 to 10. They ran out 78 to 40 winners. Coach Heath said defensively in both half’s we were outstanding. All the players bought into our philosophy and made it work. However some poor finishing in the second half cost us a lot of points so we still have work to do. The offence against the zone caused the Vikings so many problems but we didn’t always finish it off around the basket as the stats show. (11 of 57 field goal attempts) Eagles Scorers- C Coussons 17, J McQueen 10, E Galt 9, G Short 8, J Mattimore 8, Z Whelan 6, S Roxborough 5, D Pears 4, J Tellyn 4, R Heslop 4, H Wright 3. Vikings Scorer- H Dodds 12 The Eagles are next in action on Saturday 28th November away at Rotherham looking to pick up their 1st double of the season.
MATCH REPORT UNDER 15S NORTH EAST CONFERENCE 7TH NOVEMBER 2009 LEEDS TIGERS 91 NEWCASTLE EAGLES 52
After a very early start to the day and watching the under 14s lose out in a thriller by 1 pt, the under 15s took to the court for their delayed under 15s game. The 1st quarter got underway at a terrific pace, it was being played in a no nonsense fashion. The home team opened the scoring with Stuart Forrester going to the line for the 1st of 32 free throws given to the home team in the first half. He scored the opener and then the visitors replied and by the midway point lead 10 to 7. The Tigers then went to the line a further 14 times between the 5th and 8th minute following some very dubious refereeing calls. The period closed with the Eagles scoring the final 4 points to leave the score at Leeds 22 Newcastle 17. The 2nd period began with the visitors hitting two 3 pointers and a lay up to lead 25 to 24, the teams then traded a couple of baskets to tie it up at 28s. The rest of the period though belonged to the Tigers who went on a 17 point run with no reply as the visitors found it hard to generate offence and again found themselves being subjected to foul trouble from two very tired looking referees. The score at the half was Tigers 50 Eagles 32. A 10 minute half time was called for as Coach Heath tried to rally his troops and to find a solution to the foul count. The visitors came out for the 3rd in a 3 – 2 zone to try and stem the flow. Unfortunately the lack lustre Eagles never got to grips with the boxing out and were punished on numerous occasions by 2nd opportunities. The offensive end dried up as the Tigers played a very aggressive press defence with no calls going the way of the Eagles the home team took a very comfortable period by 21 to 4. With only pride to play for the visitors went back to the man to man and started to get at the home team with a press of their own. The score of 71 to 36 was never really under threat but the Eagles matched the home team in the 4th losing it 20 to 16 and thus going down 91 to 52. Coach Heath said we came in with a game plan of being aggressive and trying to rattle the unbeaten Tigers. Unfortunately the referees gave us nothing as the Tigers played a press all game but we had 37 fouls called on us and we played pretty conservative at times sitting in a zone. On our play we competed well for about 15 minutes then we didn’t do the simple things like box out and with their press we turned the ball over to many times. I am sure by the time they come to us we will be more prepared for them.
Eagles Scorers- J Mattimore 8, G Short 8, A Budvytis 8, H Wright 6, J McQueen 5, J Tellyn 4, R Heslop 4, D Pears 3, E Gualt 2, J Guy 1. Leeds Tigers- S Forrester 25, O Hannaman 19, J Carrick 12, C Saxon 12. MATCH REPORT 17/10/2009
The new The game tipped off at 2.30pm with the home team in black and backed by a good crowd. The visitors in red got the 1st score of the opening period and at the midway point lead 7 to 3 in what was a very scrappy opener. Coach Heath called time out at that point to try and steady his very nervous team. It seemed to do the trick as the Eagles got back on to end the 1st 9 to 8 down. The second period belonged to the home team as they started to put the chances away they had missed in the 1st to take it 12 to 6 and lead at the half 20 to 15. Second half got underway with the boys in black continuing to dominate the game and create a lot of scoring chances which they converted. Lead by top scorer Johnny Mattimore the home team took the period 19 to 4 and lead 39 to 19. The fourth quarter was going well for the home team till the 3rd minute when With the scores being Eagles 46 and Hawks 39 it took a time out again to steady the ship and the boys came out and hit the last 6 points to close the game at 52 to 39. Coach Heath said we played scared for most of the game and nerves got the better of us around the basket. We did however play at times some good basketball and showed we can compete. We turned the ball over too many times and missed an awful lot of chances. We will be working on these during practice in readiness for
Eagles Scorers- J Mattimore 15, C Coussins 6, A Budvytis 6, G Short 6, D Pears 4, J Tellyn 4, J Guy 4, S McCormick 3, H Wright 2, R Heslop 2.
MATCH REPORTS 2008 - 09 SEASON Match Report - Saturday 7th March 2009 Milton Keynes Lions (22, 8, 16, 16) 62 : 60 Never was the saying “so near yet so far” truer than in this game for the Young Eagles who travelled so far to come so near. After last week’s tremendous victory over Trafford, Coach Ian Macleod and his team could have been forgiven in thinking that a trip to But, life in Basketball is not always fair and you have to ride with the punches and come out fighting and that’s exactly what the boys did in what turned out to be an epic game of junior basketball. The Lions under-15 squad came in to this season having completed an unbeaten under-14 season in which they’d carried off the National Championship. This season they’d continued that good form and went in to this game with a 100% record once again. That they came out of it with that intact is a minor statistic. What they do know is that they can seldom, if ever, have been in greater danger of relinquishing that perfect record. The Young Eagles were simply superb and left their hearts and souls out on the floor after a 5hour plus bus journey none of them have ever had to undertake to play a basketball game. They may have come up just short in terms of the result but they certainly did not come up short in terms of effort, commitment, desire and a fair amount of talent thrown in as well. One thing is certain after a game like this is that they can all hold their heads very high, walk as tall as they are growing and now that they’ve put the Newcastle Eagles School of Excellence programme well and truly on the national map. It was a game perhaps that neither side deserved to lose and speaking with Coach Macleod after the game he reflected that as well as his obvious pride in the performance of his team. “I think that’s the best game of junior basketball I’ve ever seen, with two very contrasting teams. We’re an inside outside team which worked fantastic by the way and they’re very much a penetrate from the outside team. It was just how the game should be played, win or loss that’s how basketball should be played.” “We played great as a team, made good decisions as individuals and played tough throughout. They worked their backsides off today and I couldn’t have asked any more of them.” When you look at the final score perhaps it was the start to the game that cost the Eagles dearly. After seven minutes of the game the boys were 18 – 0 down but somehow dragged themselves back in to the game. A fact not lost on Macleod. “I think we just lacked a little bit of belief in that time. We weren’t actually doing a lot wrong at that time. We were executing our offences and defences well but missing lay-ups that we shouldn’t have done but at least we were putting ourselves in the right positions.” Down by those 18-points Macleod called a time-out and made a couple of substitutions that finally sparked his team in to life. Jack Wilson got the Eagles on the score sheet and Marshall Patterson’s inside basket and Ellory Browne’s steal and conversion of two free throws given as he was fouled going to the basket saw the Eagles score the final 4-points of the quarter. It was a run they kept up going in the second period. Hamish Crackett got his scoring underway and sparked an 8 – 1 run that got them back in the game with Patterson and inspirational point guard Joe Wildman adding their name to the scorers. MK got the lead back to thirteen but then the Eagles found real spirit and tore in to the Lions. Co-Captain Luke King nailed a triple to set his team off on a 12 – 2 run in which he netted again from beyond the arc and with Andy Wilkes adding two and four more from Wilson suddenly the score was 29 – 26 with the Lions scoring a free-throw to make the half-time score 30 – 26 to them but it was very much game on as Macleod remarked. “At the time-out in the first my call was focus coming out and we went on a tear, a tear against a team that people don’t do that against, it just doesn’t happen.” The intensity level and commitment from both sides was great to watch in a third quarter match-up that saw both sides slugging it throughout the ten minutes. Lions went up by five but Crackett, Patterson and Wilson combined for a 6 – 0 Eagles burst that had the gym and the home side rocking as they took the lead for the first time at 34 – 33. Lions responded well to go back in front by five. Eagles other Co-Captain Brad Hadfield stepped up and matched his colleague with a triple to bring it back to two.MK scored another four then Crackett with 3 of four from the charity stripe cut the gap to three at 43 – 40. Lions held for the final shot of the period and a long-range bomb dropped like a dagger in the Eagles hearts to make it 46 – 40 with ten minutes to go. But, It was then that Lions showed their greater experience in these tight situations. Eagles battled right to the end but in the final couple of minutes, just came up short as an 8 – 2 home run made the score 62 – 60 with 12 seconds to play. Eagles came down on offence and Hadfield had a chance to grab the glory but his three-point effort was agonisingly short and Lions held on. The atmosphere at the end of the game was electric as both sides had given their all and produced an absolute classic played in a great spirit and well refereed throughout. Moments like this so early in the Young Eagles careers need to be remembered and stored and it will make them stronger as their careers develop. Summing up Coach Macleod had plenty of words and praise for his side that had come so close especially reflecting on the start and the fact that his side had turned the game around after being 18-points down. “Basketball is a 40 minute game. You can win 3 quarters of the game, you can win 3.9 quarters of the game but still lose the game. We are learning and we will learn how to play a 40-minute game from that. That’s the intensity we need. I think it’s a valuable lesson and I’d defy anyone not to have learnt from that.” “I think our defensive performance was the best we’ve given considering the opposition we faced. The zone is a bit of a taboo and people say it’s a comfort zone but ours is not like that. We don’t just put our hands up and say shoot over us. We play a very active zone almost a man-to-man zone.” “The boys did such a good job of working together and what I especially liked was that they are making small mistakes they know it. They are telling me before I tell them and it is a learning curve.” Whilst play-off basketball is a harsh reality as one game lost and you are done for the season Coach Macleod refused to be downbeat. “I want to get the guys back on court as soon as possible. Let’s put the holidays on hold for a while. I want to put a challenge in front of them again as soon as possible and I’m looking to give them another game to build on the lessons learnt.” Looking back over the season Macleod reflected on how far his side have come from when they came together back in September. “The basketball IQ’s of these boys is incredible. There are putting things in to practise that we haven’t specifically talked about. They are making good decisions at both ends of the floor and when you have a team that are willing to learn as much as it will come quickly.” “It’s a completely different team to September, individuals have stepped up, individuals have found their niche and we’ve learnt to take the pressure off each other but it’s not just about developing them as basketball players. It’s about developing them as individuals.” “Sport is life, it teaches you good social skills. It does teach you about being competitive it teaches you how to knock someone down and how to get back on your feet when you’re knocked down. Life lessons were learned not just basketball lessons. These boys are people first and then players and experiences like this benefit them all. I think everyone in the squad today will remember that game for the rest of their lives.” It was a great advert not just for basketball and not just for junior basketball but for the Newcastle Eagles School of Excellence Programme as well. It’s a vindication that hardly needed justifying but it’s certainly done its reputation no harm after such a memorable effort. The last word to Coach Macleod on that front? “We’ve got a reputation now that should be feared, we’re coming for you and this is not the end it’s the beginning.” EAGLES SCORERS : Hamish Crackett 16, Luke King 12, Jack Wilson 10, Brad Hadfield 8, Marshall Patterson 6, Andy Wilkes 4, Joe Wildman 2 and Ellory Browne 2. Match Report - Saturday 28th February 2009 After finishing second in the North East Conference the Under-15’s were awarded a home tie in the first round of the play-offs against the third placed side in the North West Conference who turned out to be Trafford. Any thoughts that the young Eagles may have had of an easy game were totally erased as Trafford ran out to warm-up. Trafford they may have been but it was Manchester Magic uniforms that the team sported. Further investigation showed that a number in their ranks were a year young for this level but will go on to form But, in the end “It was an excellent win today in a game of phases. We came out strong, we came out gee-d up and really stamped our authority early although we got a little complacent after that. Trafford’s tough play got them back in to the game with their guards being very active and putting a lot of pressure on throughout the game.” “I think they actually won the second quarter but its not how many times you get knocked down its how many times you get back up. We came in to the game strong after half-time we switched up to a zone which I think was the key to the victory. Our defence was really, really stingy in the second half. Our defence sparks our offence and that’s how we play.” “Our forwards were huge today and because they were so big inside it opened up the outside with the likes of Luke King and Brad Hadfield knocking down some great shots. And once we’d established the outside game as well we were able to go back inside and that’s what we need to do.” “We showed we are not a one-dimensional team we opened up the inside and made the outside shots and then that allowed us to go back inside. You can’t be a one-trick pony because if it doesn’t work you are out of the game and we showed we are more than that and are learning that more and more all the time.” The Eagles showed exactly what Coach Macleod meant as Hamish Crackett and Andy Wilkes got them off to a strong start taking them 4 – 0 in front and when Trafford hit back, co-Captain Luke King drained back-to-back triples to put his side up by seven at 10 – 3. Thereafter in the first ten minutes it was the forwards working hard and establishing a platform and with Crackett and Wilkes continuing to score and Marshall Patterson and Jack Wilson coming off the bench to spell them and add their name’s to the scorers list they held that lead at 20 – 13 going in to the second quarter. Co-Captain Brad Hadfield’s first triple of the game put the Eagles up ten at 27 – 17 before Trafford’s aggressive guard play started to get them back in the game slowly cutting the gap until Hadfield bombed another money shot making it 33 – 24. But Trafford showed their strength and their 8 – 0 run to close out the half meant it was 33 – 32 Eagles with a half to play. Hadfield kick started the Eagles offence again to get the third period underway with another triple and with Wilkes and Crackett picking up where they’d left off in the first half, Newcastle opened a six-point gap. In what was an enthralling encounter Trafford fought back to within a point before king hit another beyond the arc dagger to keep Trafford though levelled the game at 47-all but the Eagles rallied and stepped up another gear. Forcing turnovers with tough defence Wilkes and King put them back in front with a free-throw each only for Trafford to level again. Wilkes went to the line again and made both, Jordan Nicholls made a free-throw and then two baskets in a row from Patterson meant that the Eagles had produced a 7 – 0 burst to give them a 56 – 49 lead going in to the last ten minutes. Although Trafford got back to within four once again the Eagles were not to be denied. With the returning Joe Wildman pulling the strings at the point, they produced a superb 11 – 0 effort despite Trafford taking two time-outs to try and unsuccessfully stem the flow. And they were in front 68 – 53 with less than two minutes to go and then Crackett’s “and1” put the seal on a great victory as time ran out on the visitors hopes. Summing up the game, Coach Macleod concluded that, “it was a game we knew we couldn’t coast. In the division we are in there are some games that we knew we’d win before we tipped off and despite getting those wins the performance didn’t always follow. In this game we knew we had to pull together and the lads recognised that and really supported each other and with that support we stepped up a gear and played really well as a team.” Now the Eagles have to travel to take on one of the country’s top teams at this level but Macleod had this message for his players and the waiting Milton Keynes Lion’s. “We have extended our season by another week and we’re coming. Right now they’re unbeaten but so what. Everyone’s unbeaten at one point but that means you’re going to lose and if you keep on underestimating us we love that.” EAGLES SCORERS : Hamish Crackett 17, Andy Wilkes 17, Bradley Hadfield 13, Luke King 10, Marshall Patterson 9, Jack Wilson 4 and Jordan Nicholls 1
Match Report - Saturday 14th February 2009 Gateshead Hawks (11, 8, 14, 7) 40 : 90 The Newcastle Eagles Under-15’s version of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre?!?! Not really as Hawks never gave up throughout the 40 minutes despite being completely dominated at both ends of the floor by a stronger, deeper more powerful Eagles squad. This was So, on the face of it an excellent win by 50 points, however Coach Ian Macleod did not quite see it that way. “It was a game we should definitely have won and we did. I never thought the result was in doubt but the manner of the win was always going to be the big question and the big focus. We wanted to kill the game early and after the first quarter although we weren’t totally dominating the result wasn’t in doubt.” “The key was high-pressure, forced them to make mistakes, cough up the basketball and capitalise from their which is something we always look to do and it does pay dividends.” “It was a questionable defensive performance individually as far as fitting in to team philosophy our zone defence and full court pressure was excellent but our half-court man left a lot to be desired and gets worse every day. I think at times we had one eye on the play-offs.” “Offensively our big guys did a great job rebounding and a good job and not a great job converting those rebounds. What I do like is our guards are starting to chip in with drives and outside shots giving us an added dimension.” The game got underway in a freezing cold gym and it certainly affected the Eagles who midway through the quarter found themselves down 11 – 10 against a fired-up Hawks being coached by Eagles Senior Assistant Coach, Billy Spragg. But Macleod went to work, rallied his forces and they responded with a 14 – 0 finish to the quarter to lead 24 – 10 after one. At this point Eagles were being led by the power of forwards Andy Wilkes and Hamish Crackett with Captain Brad Hadfield not afraid to let it fly and Darren Crane making some good cuts in to his old team’s D. With the score at 26 – 15, Wilkes and Crackett combined again for 8-points and with Ellory Browne getting on the score sheet and Jack Wilson adding to his tally, Newcastle produced another killer 12 – 0 run to go 38 – 15 in front. Wilson and Wilkes scored again and the last basket of the half went to Browne after a great steal to give the Eagles a 44 – 19 cushion with a half to play. A powerful 10 – 2 start to the second half with Wilson contributing six of those points put the Eagles well out of sight at 54 – 21 and from there in it was a question of Gateshead battling hard to stem the Eagles flow. They managed partly to do that but In the final ten minutes the Eagles did step up their defence as they restricted Hawks to just 2-points whilst pouring in 21 of their own with all their main scorers adding to their tallies to take a 55-pt lead at 90 – 35 before Hawks showing plenty of spirit hit the last five points of the game. So, job done and now for the play-offs where Coach Macleod turned his attention to. “We need to go back to our fundamentals and something we did in the early part of the season. We need to get back to getting our footwork right to get ourselves open. Offense is about being patient and timing. If the guards can be patient it lets the forwards get open and vice versa.” “Having two weak games going in to the play-offs is not good preparation and I’m looking to see if I can get a friendly against another “We have a home tie which is good. Eagles’ basketball is about letting the opposition worry about us. We play the way we play, we perform the way we perform. We have our principles and have our philosophies and if execute them we’ll get the victory.” “We need to look at our off the ball work at both ends of the floor and also need to look at our help defence which is improving a lot but we need to keep looking at it as once you stop learning you stand still. So, we’ll be using video to look at which is a great tool for youngsters learning the game and we might even put in an extra session or two particularly on our free weekends.” EAGLES SCORERS : Andy Wilkes 22, Bradley Hadfield 18, Hamish Crackett 16, Jack Wilson 15, Darren Crane 8, Ellory Browne 6, James Rodgerson 3 and Marshall Patterson 2. Match Report - Saturday 7th February 2009 After a great performance six days earlier at In the end they did just that and whilst it was a comfortable win by 41 points and leaves them with one game to play to complete a great conference season, the win was perhaps not as impressive as some the Young Eagles have had this season. However, part of that was due to some of the experimenting Coach Ian Macleod tried out in preparation for the play-offs. “Today we had a lot of different looks, personnel wise, tactically and we were looking at different things to see what we had in our arsenal. It was a game we expected to win comfortably, the people who were given their opportunity to play were not given a golden ticket to run around freely. Fortunately we made our mistakes early and we were able to put them right as we went along. We were looking to be a bit more guard orientated as opposed to relying on our forwards. Spread the floor offensively looking to put the onus on people making smart decisions. On defence we were a little bit lazy we stood off our man and relied too much on our height and strength to get us out of trouble. Really we should be getting our feet in the right place and stay low on defence no matter who we are playing. We had a few kinks, some of which we worked out and some of which we need to work on. Overall though we are starting to get a good understanding of team basketball.” The starting five was Ellory Browne, Brad Hadfield, Christian Elliot, Marshall Patterson and Darren Crane and although they were not a unit that has played together much they did establish an early lead at 10 – 2 with Crane hitting six of those opening points. Coach Macleod gradually introduced his usual starters as he managed to rotate his whole bench in to the game before the first ten minutes was up. Jack Wilson, Andy Wilkes, Hamish Crackett and James Rodgerson all combined to move the Eagles out to a 20 – 8 start and then last man on Luke King scored and two from the line by Wilson made it 24 – 10 after one. Then the shooting of Hadfield came to the fore. The co-captain started his side on a 12 – 4 run that included 10 personal of his own and the gap suddenly widened to 50 – 24 and it was virtually game over. Crane who had scored the first basket of the half netted the last to give King got the Eagles underway with the first basket of the second half but a determined visiting side hit back with a 10 – 3 run, the Eagles points coming courtesy of a Hadfield long-range bomb. Hadfield did score again but with the score at 62 – 44 Coach Macleod had seen enough and called a time-out. “Complete lack of movement from the players in the forward position was the reason why I called the time-out. We came out of that looking more active making the defence play hard and smart. They had a lot of hustle but didn’t have the basketball IQ we made them move and it paid off.” It certainly did as his players responded to his urgings with a 12 – 2 finish to the quarter to see off any outside chance Storm had and take an unassailable 74 – 46 lead in to the final period. In that final period the Eagles drove at the heart of the Storm defence and gradually increased their lead throughout the final ten minutes of play. Rodgerson went to the line on several occasions and whilst not making all his shots he did show how deep the Eagles rotation goes with his contribution. Eagles ended the game with a 16 – 3 run that included 12 from
“Biggest plus of the game was continued improvement of our transition basketball. We got up and down the floor very well, we ran the floor and ran ahead of the basketball and made some good decisions. Defensively we slowed the ball down well again and made them play half court basketball.” EAGLES SCORERS : Jack Wilson 23, Brad Hadfield 19, Hamish Crackett 10, Darren Crane 8, Marshall Patterson 8, Andy Wilkes 8, Luke King 6, Jordan Nicholls 6, James Rodgerson 6, Ellory Browne 2 and Christian Elliot 2 Match Report - Sunday 1st February 2009 The Newcastle Eagles Under-15’s virtually secured second place in the North East Division by completing a league double over York Vikings at With two games to go against the weakest sides in the Division, North Shields Storm and Gateshead Hawks, the odds-on Coach Ian Macleod though happy with the win was far from satisfied. “First half we were outworked and “We only shot about 25% inside but fortunately got enough shots to make it count but 47 points in a basketball game is not acceptable. We looked a little ring rusty and perhaps needed a wake-up call and it’s always nice to get a close one. We won ugly today if we start playing pretty and win at the same time that’s perfect but if we can win ugly that’s a good start.” The first quarter set the tone for a low scoring affair all game. After York had a 4 – 0 run to go back in front but Newcastle had the last word of the half as Marshall Patterson’s basket trimmed the lead to 21 – 20 at the half time buzzer. Eagles came out strong in the third and buckets from Crackett and Hadfield completed a 6 – 0 run that saw them in front 24 – 21. Once again there was little between the sides but Jack Wilson and Wilkes combined for four points to put the Eagles six up at 34 – 28 before York replied with four of their own. Wilkes last bucket of the quarter meant that Darren Crane sank a dagger in to York’s hearts as he drained a triple to open the final period and put Newcastle up by seven at 39 – 32 the largest lead of the game for either team but York recovered and cut the gap to two with a 5 – 0 run. Crane though struck again to keep Eagles in front by four as time wound down. Back came York refusing to lie down and suddenly it was 41 – 40 Eagles before Ellory Brown picked the perfect time to lay in his first points of the game off a superb fast break and behind the back pass from Crackett. A thrilling finish saw Browne then came up with a huge steal on the inbounds pass and Wilkes finished to make it 47 – 42 Eagles and although York hit two further points from the free-throw line it was too little too late as the young Eagles picked up a massive road win to put them firmly in second place in the Division. This was a fantastic win by the young Eagles who held their nerve down the stretch under fierce pressure from the home side and one they can be well proud of. Coach Macleod summed up what he though was the key to the win. “Transition, we did an excellent job of slowing the basketball up when they tried to push it. We made then turn and wait for support which is exactly what we’ve been working on. It’s a learning curve and we take away as many of the little things from the game and as many positives as we can and that was definitely a big plus.” EAGLES SCORERS : Andy Wilkes 12, Hamish Crackett 10, Bradley Hadfield 7, Luke King 7, Darren Crane 5, Ellory Browne 2, Marshall Patterson 2 and Jack Wilson 2
Match Report - Sunday 11th January 2009 Middlesbrough Lions (4, 6, 2, 12) 24 : 109 The Newcastle Eagles Under-15’s completed a great weekend’s work with their second road win in successive days as they completely outplayed the Middlesbrough Lions to record a Conference double over the Teesside outfit. Following on from the victory over “Regardless of the result I was happy with the performance of the players today. This is the first time the players have played back to back national league games and they responded well. Some of them played with knocks and bruises that they picked up the day before, and did extremely well.” “It was very pleasing to see all 12 players play with confidence on the offensive end and get on the score sheet. We established ourselves inside early on in the game behind some great play from Hamish and Marshall, which sparked our perimeter game. Bradley Hadfield proved to be the biggest outside threat scoring four 3 pointers.” In essence the game was all over inside six minutes as The Eagles jumped out to a 26 – 0 lead before The Lions managed to get on the score sheet. The starting five of Hamish Crackett, Marshall Patterson, Bradley Hadfield, Jack Wilson and Jordan Nicholls all scored in that opening run with Hadfield from outside and Crackett, Patterson and Wilson dominating inside the key. Middlesbrough had no answer and even when Steutel went to his bench earlier the power play of Newcastle didn’t slow down as they ended the first 30 – 4 ahead. In the second The Eagles talons proved sharper than The Lions claws as the points and baskets continued to rain in and the agony for the Lions got greater. And whilst Patterson and Crackett added to their tallies the bench players showed excellent support as Darren Crane, Andy Wilkes, Christian Elliott and Ellory Browne all got on the score sheet with the last word of the half going to Ben Reed who drained a triple to give Newcastle a 54 – 10 half-time lead. There was no let-up in the third either as Then after Lions had scored their solitary basket of the quarter the Eagles showed their delight and togetherness as they celebrated James Rodgerson’s first points in an Eagles vest as if they’d won a Cup Final! In to the final stanza and Luke King’s first Eagles basket of the period meant that all 12 players had made it on to the score sheet in a solid all-round team performance. Hadfield hit two triples in the quarter as well as the Eagles had another 15 – 0 run that took them further ahead. Lions to their credit had their best quarter but it wasn’t enough to even make the score line look respectable as the Eagles continue to fly high in the Conference standings. Summing up Coach Steutel added, “the biggest plus of the game was how the players reacted to certain situations we put them in. We tried some different things both offensive & defensively that the players have not done before. For them to look at this on a tactics board then go out and execute it well was extremely encouraging.” “As I have said previously this group of players have great, great team spirit, unquestionable work ethic and a high basketball IQ. It has been a pleasure to work with them and I look forward to seeing them develop in the future". EAGLES SCORERS : Bradley Hadfield 21, Hamish Crackett 18, Marshall Patterson 17, Jack Wilson 10, Christian Elliott 8, James Rodgerson 8, Jordan Nicholls 7, Darren Crane 6, Andy Wilkes 5, Ellory Browne 4, Ben Reed 3 and Luke King 2 Match Report - Saturday 10th January 2009 The Newcastle Eagles Under-15’s got their double road trip weekend underway with a fine win against a tough Durham Wildcats side at Ferryhill Leisure Centre on Saturday. The win sets them up for the game on Sunday against Middlesbrough Lions where they have a chance to consolidate their 2nd placing in the Conference. The victory came on the back of a great second quarter which established a lead they never relinquished despite that being the only ten minute period of the game that the Eagles actually won. However, the final margin of 9-points may sound close but in reality it was a game that the 15’s never looked like losing after the second quarter effort. And indeed as video evidence confirmed later the final margin should have been 11-points as for some reason a Marshall Patterson two point basket early in the fourth quarter was not recorded on the final score sheet or shown on the score board at the buzzer. But, that error should not detract from another Eagles win that takes their record to 6 – 2 for the season. Eagles under 18’s Coach Marc Steutel who ran the team in the absence of regular Head Coach Ian Macleod was delighted at the end of the game with his side’s efforts. “I was absolutely made up with the team work, work ethic, defensive energy and commitment of the whole group. One through to twelve all contributed with excellent team work and a fantastic attitude. The biggest plus for me was the way they responded to the in-game adjustments that we made. Considering they are under-15’s they may not always be considered as very aware but this group has a very high basketball IQ.” The Eagles certainly started well and were 6-points up thanks to 4 from Jack Wilson and a deuce from Hamish Crackett before A 6 – 0 run gave them the lead at 13 – 12 before Andy Wilkes stopped the rot with a free throw. A 7 – 2 start which included a triple from Bradley Hadfield as the guards finally found their shooting boots put the Eagles back in front and the inside play of Patterson and Crackett in particular kept them their despite the impressive outside shooting of Wildcats’ Fisher who got his team back to one point down at 24 – 23. The visitors then produced the telling run as a 13 – 2 tear with an AND1 from Patterson and five points in a row from Luke King including the team’s second triple of the game ripped the Wildcats apart and put Newcastle up 37 – 25. Wilkes scored inside and Darren Crane got on the score sheet as The Eagles established a 41 – 29 half-time advantage. Steutel felt that the second quarter was the key to the game. “Defensively we stepped up a gear in the second as we recognised their shooters, switched to a zone and made them put the ball on the floor more and they didn’t hurt us as much. Defensively we were excellent in that time and it sparked us offensively.” The second half saw the sides pretty much trade baskets in the third with Crackett continuing to score well and Jordan Nicholls dictating the play from the point for In that last ten minutes it was Patterson and Crackett again that kept the Eagles ship steady and well in front despite the missed two points by the officials. With the job done and the Eagles up 73 – 56, Coach Steutel ran his bench for the final two minutes and Wildcats final 8 – 0 run to the buzzer made the score line look closer than the game actually was. Steutel singled out Crackett for particular praise. “I thought he was outstanding. His offense was sparked by his defence were he was superb whether he was guarding a big man or a smaller guard his hustle and intensity and the way he battled was excellent.” “I thought Bradley gave us great three to four minute bursts of real energy during the game and he played a lot smarter than I’ve seen from him in the past. “There are still things to work on. We could have established a better inside/outside game a little earlier which would made things easier but as the game went on they did do that particularly in the second quarter. Defensively there were one or two little mistakes and on offence we made a few last second plays off the cuff. But overall I’m delighted with the way we played and taking a big win which sets us up well for tomorrow’s game.” EAGLES SCORERS : Hamish Crackett 25, Marshall Patterson 14, Jack Wilson 9, Jordan Nicholls 8, Luke King 5, Andy Wilkes 5, Bradley Hadfield 4, Darren Crane 2 and Christian Elliott 1 Match Report - Saturday 20th December 2008 After a run of four straight wins the Young Eagles were shot down on their own court by a well-drilled And it could have been much better as Coach Ian Macleod remarked. “I think we missed Joe Wildman at point guard and “Big” Andy being off court so much also hurt us. When you add in that Jack Wilson was clearly not at his best having hardly trained it’s not the worst result in the world.” But it was still a defeat and much of the damage was done in the first half and especially the second quarter when Macleod’s team didn’t put in to practise what they’d worked on in training and not for the first time against a Hamish Crackett was the first Eagle on the score board with 1 of 2 from the line to make the score 2 – 1 after Sharks had opened the games scoring. The away side were soon in to their stride though and with Adams and Kaka dominating the boards quickly built an 18 – 4 lead, the Eagles points coming from a deuce by Luke King and a free-throw from Andy Wilkes. King scored again and Wilkes netted two further free-throws before leaving the game with an ankle injury but Sheffield kept the pressure on and were up 24 – 8 before Crackett made his first field goal and sparked a 7 – 0 Eagles run to end the quarter. Four of those points came from backup-guard Ellory Browne whom Coach Macleod praised for the way he stepped up and produced his best performance of the season and when Darren Crane rounded off a superb Eagles offence on the buzzer the score was 24 – 17 to Sharks. This should have given Newcastle heart for the second quarter but as Coach Macleod ran his rotation the players, apart from Browne with two buckets, failed to deliver as Sheffield continued to run their starters to good effect with Captain Faulkner dictating play and scoring from inside and out, his side took the period 23 – 6 to establish a 47 – 23 interval lead. The second half started well for Eagles with Crackett making two baskets in a row but once again Marshall Patterson benefitting from inside support got on the score sheet and then Wilkes scored again. Sheffield though were trading baskets and maintaining their lead until Wilkes showing great strength inside scored 7-pts including 3 from 3 from the line and only a basket on the buzzer from Faulkner prevented a tied quarter. In to the final period and once again The decision shook the Eagles momentarily and Summing up Coach Macleod was philosophical. “I said before this game we could win it and in some ways I think we should have despite the final score. I’m both disappointed and pleased, disappointed at the first half performance but pleased with the second.” “We showed in that second half that we can match the best and in reality that’s what “When we played our game, the game we practise on and work on in training we more than matched them. When we didn’t, we tried to make things up and that’s where we lost the game. We went in to the second quarter with confidence but had it taken away from us and stopped executing what we do well. But, the boys should take heart from the second half and learn the lessons from the first.” Perhaps it was also significant that The Eagles meanwhile ran nine-deep with 17-points coming from their bench to back their starters up. Of the Eagles Wilkes continues to develop and impress whilst King and Browne had good solid games. Crackett never let up inside against physical opposition but will have better shooting days whilst co-captain Bradley Hadfield did well defensively. And after a 45-point loss in the first match-up of the season against Sharks and being 24-points down at the half in this encounter, the Eagles showed that they are getting stronger and closer with that excellent second half showing. EAGLES : Andy Wilkes 22, Hamish Crackett 12, Luke King 8, Ellory Browne 8, Marshall Patterson 6, Jack Wilson 4, Darren Crane 2 and Bradley Hadfield 1 SHEFFIELD : J Match Report - Saturday 6th December 2008 This game marked the half-way point of the regular season for the Under-15’s who took their winning run to 4 in a row and their record overall to 5 – 1 with an impressive display of team basketball against a woefully understrength and outclassed opposition. But as Coach Ian McLeod commented “we have to take care of what our programme is set out to do and I cannot worry about the opposition’s ability or strength. To be fair to That may be the case but the young Eagles showed a real ruthless streak and determination that they’ll need with tougher tasks ahead in the future. Despite the Hawks not being able to cope with The Eagles started with Wilkes, Crackett, Jack Wilson, Jordan Nicholls and Luke King with After a 37 – 2 opening quarter the pressure was maintained in the second. Nicholls and King also got on the score sheet with Marshall Patterson spelling the other forwards to good effect picking up two baskets in a row. Credit has to go to Coach McLeod for continually rotating players in and out as well as the team for maintaining their focus and discipline to take a 70 – 6 half-time lead. The second half opened with more of the same and it was nice for Coach McLeod to see point guard Joe Wildman returning from injury to good effect as he and Christian Elliot added their names to the scorers’ list meaning that every single Eagles player was now on the score sheet. Crane continued to enjoy himself against his ex-team mates as Coach McLeod had set his team a 130-point target at half-time and with Wildman hitting 13 in the final ten minutes and Wilson, Wilkes and Crackett adding to their impressive hauls the Eagles cruised past this target with, almost fittingly, Crane scoring the last basket of the game to make the final score 135 – 20. Some might question whether the boys could take anything from such a game but Coach McLeod was on the opposite opinion. “Games like this can be tough as young minds can often wander and perhaps start thinking about doing things we haven’t practised or trying things that they shouldn’t do. There was a little bit of that in the fourth but overall they kept focused on the job.” “We need to do that as it’s about playing fundamental team basketball, executing plays and doing things the right way at all times regardless of the opposition in front of you. That way you get better both as a team and as individuals and that’s what this programme is all about.” Next up for the young Eagles is their nemesis, Sheffield Sharks, a team they are yet to get close to let alone beat. However, with confidence high, the team really gelling well as a unit and everyone playing their roles correctly they should approach this game on Saturday 20th December at TyneMet College in a positive frame of mind determined to show their capabilities to the full. SCORERS : Andy Wilkes 33, Hamish Crackett 31, Jack Wilson 18, Darren Crane 17, Joe Wildman 15, Marshall Patterson 6, Ellory Browne 5, Christian Elliot 3, Luke King 2, Jordan Nicholls 2, Ben Reed 2 and Bradley Hadfield 1 Match Report - Saturday 22nd November 2008 North Shields Storm (6, 10, 12, 7) 35:112 With Coach Ian Macleod restored to full fitness his players celebrated his return to the bench by blowing away the Storm in emphatic style to move to a 5 – 1 record for the season and win their fourth game in a row. This was a powerful performance by the boys and one that Coach Macleod was pleased with. “Sometimes when you play weaker opposition that you are expected to beat easily it can be difficult to reach and maintain an acceptable performance. But, the boys did an excellent professional job and stayed totally focused throughout the 40 minutes.” It was certainly a clinical effort from the Young Eagles who produced another good all-round scoring performance with no less than seven players reaching double figures as their forwards dominated throughout. They went hard at the home side from the tip. An early 8 – 3 lead was established on the scoring prowess of Jack Wilson and Hamish Crackett how set the tone before Newcastle produced their first devastating unanswered run of 16 – 0 to go 24 – 3 in front and eventually take the quarter 28 – 6. Even at that early stage it was game over but as Coach Macleod has said it was about remaining focused and playing their game and that’s exactly what the boys did as their Coach rotated players in and out and saw those on court respond time and time again. The second period was closer but still went to The Eagles by 20 – 10 including an 8 – 0 burst midway through that set the seal on the victory. Wilson and Crackett continued to set the pace with Andy Wilkes and Co-Captain Bradley Hadfield also finding the bucket on several occasions as the young guns took a 48 – 16 lead in to the locker room. As the second half opened North Shields were probably wondering if they had weathered the storm or would their hatches be battered down again. It was the latter. With the score at 54 – 20 the visitors produced another superb 18 – 0 run to go in front by over 50 points. The feature of this run was the scoring of Darren Crane who went on to record his first double-figure score in an Eagles vest as he and his team mates poured in an astonishing 39 points in the 3rd to take an 87 – 28 score line in to the final stanza. And in those ten minutes it was Christian Elliott who led the Eagles as he maximized his on-court minutes to join the double digit scorers along with Marshall Patterson. Even the guards got in on the act with co-Captain Luke King making two baskets in a row and Jack Swann scoring his first Eagles point from the line. The Eagles closed out the final period 25 – 7 to make the final score line an emphatic 112 – 35 making their coach a happy man. “I thought we executed our offence with timing and precision which was really pleasing to see whilst our defence stayed intense throughout. The guards set the tempo and the forwardS delivered and I’m really pleased with the progress the boys are making.” Tougher tests no doubt lie ahead especially with the unbeaten Sheffield Sharks coming North soon. But, with confidence high and the team really gelling, the next team for the Young Eagles to face is Gateshead Hawks whom they play on Saturday 6th December at SCORERS : Jack Wilson 19, Andy Wilkes 19, Hamish Crackett 18, Bradley Hadfield 17, Marshall Patterson 12, Christian Elliot 10, Darren Crane 10, Luke King 6, and Jack Swann 1 Match Report - Saturday 15th November 2008 This was perhaps the Under-15’s most important game of the season so far. York are their major rivals for a home play-off place and a strong outfit who’s results have matched and slightly bettered The Young Eagles’ ones against the same opposition. The Boys were also without Head Coach Ian Macleod who is recovering from an illness, so they were on a double mission from the start and in the end completed a great day to send the perfect pick-me up tonic to their unwell mentor. And they did it under the tutelage of Under-18’s Head Coach Marc Steutel who stepped in for Coach Macleod and did a great job leading the side to what could turn out to be a very important victory. “I told the boys before the game that my team talk was simple, “win it for coach”, was the message and I was delighted with the way they responded. It isn’t easy at this age when you are being coached by someone who does things differently but I thought they did well to respond to me and picked up a good win which I’m sure will help Ian’s recovery.” After York opened the scoring with a three point basket the Eagles responded with an 8 – 2 run including six points from a fired-up Jack Wilson to set the tone for the rest of the quarter. Co-captain Bradley Hadfield came flying off the bench to nail 5 points in a row including a big shot from beyond the arc to spark another 8 – 0 run. York replied with a deuce but Hamish Crackett and two good inside baskets from Marshall Patterson gave the Eagles another 6 – 0 run to end the quarter with a 23 – 9 advantage with their defensive press very evident throughout the ten minutes. After that it was a question of playing smart and making sure they kept control of the ball and tempo of the game whilst maintaining their discipline and intensity. And whilst they lost the second quarter 11 – 9 it was more down to poor shot selection on offense rather than a dip in performance and a 32 – 20 lead was a good one to take in to the locker room at half time. As the second half opened the young Eagles seemed to drop a little as Although With the score at 49 – 35 midway through the final run, Hadfield hit another deuce and then Wilson finishing the game as he’d started it hit five points in a row to move the Eagles out to an unassailable 56 – 35 lead with Crackett notching Newcastle’s final bucket and York’s late 4 point flurry making the final margin an excellent 58 – 41. Coach Steutel was understandably happy that he’d managed to put a win on the board for fellow Coach Macleod as the under-15’s won their third game in a row to go 4 – 1 for the season. “At the end of the day a win’s a win and although it was scrappy at times especially on offence I sort of expected that with a different coach being in charge. But as ever when I see the 15’s they play with a great heart and team ethic and are always supporting each other.” “I though we established our position in the first quarter with our press working really well and setting a good defensive platform always give’s you a chance. After setting that platform Jack Wilson set the offensive tone and that helped us establish that lead.” “After that I thought the three-guard rotation worked well and they dictated the game and whilst the forwards were slow in starting they got better as the game progressed and with a bit better finishing we could have won be a bigger margin.” “The support from the bench was good as well and when I asked them to step in they responded well and all had an impact and contributed to a good all-round team effort.” The young Eagles next take to the court at SCORERS : Jack Wilson 15, Hamish Crackett 14, Bradley Hadfield 11, Marshall Patterson 8, Andy Wilkes 4, Luke King 4, Christian Elliot 1 and Jordan Nicholls 1 Match Report - Saturday 1st November 2008 Coach Ian Macleod mentioned after the heavy loss at Certainly this effort showed real signs of maturity for a team so young and whilst the forwards Andy Wilkes and Without the unluckily injured starting PG Joe Wildman, Macleod chose Jordan Nicholls to run the point and he had a big influence on the way the team played and ran their various plays all day. He was well backed up by Ellory Browne with co-captains Bradley Hadfield and Luke King despite not getting on the score sheet encouraging their team mates throughout with their committed defence. Indeed, Senior Coach Fab Flournoy often talks about bench players always being ready to step in when they get the call and contribute as soon as they land on court. In that respect all the Eagles youngsters can be happy with the effort they put in. The first quarter could hardly have started better for Newcastle as they held sway on the boards to keep Durham scoreless in the early stages as they established a ten point lead with Wilkes, Crackett and fellow starter Jack Wilson all finding the bucket. They didn’t score for the last three minutes of the first and a full five minutes of the second as Durham crept slowly back in the game. It was a poor finishing that let them down rather than poor play but The Wildcats showed great heart in cutting the gap to 1 at 14 – 13 before Wilkes again finally responded for The Eagles. It was a run they kept going as the second half unfolded dominating the third period with runs of 6 – 0 and 8 – 2 thanks in large to Crackett’s 8-pt contribution and a couple of nice baskets from Browne to virtually seal the game at 40 – 24. Macleod turned to his bench and asked the question and their response was positive with Marshall Patterson and Christian Elliot coming on to score. The Eagles led 44 – 27 going in to the final stanza and completed a clean swoop of all four quarters with the Wilkes in particular powering his way to a top scoring effort and “I thought we played some excellent half-court defence and I was pleased that the boys finally seemed to have switched on to the way I want them to play. Our press dictated the game and I thought we dominated the boards and played some great team basketball at times.” “All the boys played hard throughout and it was probably the smartest they’ve played all season and I have to be pleased not just with the result but with the manner of the victory. We need to build on this and take it on from here.” SCORERS : Andy Wilkes 21, Hamish Crackett 15, Jack Wilson 8, Ellory Browne 6, Jordan Nicholls 4, Christian Elliot 4 and Marshall Patterson 2 Match Report - Saturday 18th October 2008
Sheffield Sharks (25, 18, 18, 19) 80 : 35 After a great start last week against It will not be easy but as long as they take on board the lessons learned and keep their heads up, they’ll come through eventually with flying colours. And if one win does not a championship season make then one defeat certainly doesn’t mean a wooden spoon either. Coach Ian Macleod was philosophical in defeat. “Games like this sometimes happen at this level especially with a developmental squad. At least we know early where we need to be and you often learn more about your team in adversity than in victory.” The Eagles were unable to break down Sharks then bit back and a 10 – 0 run put them in front at 14 – 7 and they never looked back. Crackett was doing his best to keep his side in the game but an 8 – 2 end to the quarter had They then started the second period with a 9 – 2 run all scored by Adams with Luke King the sole Eagles contributor, before Marshall Patterson and Crackett again cut the gap slightly. It only spurred the Sharks on and a further 9 – 0 run to the end of the half saw the team’s in to the locker rooms at 43 – 19 to the home side. The second half was about pride and keeping going despite the score. The Eagles at least can take solace in the fact they did this and Coach Macleod can take this spirit forward in the coming months. The third quarter seemed to be a succession of 6 – 2 runs for Sheffield with Crackett seemingly fighting a lone battle although point guard Joe Wildman was also battling hard. With ten minutes to go and one final quarter to play The Eagles had no-way back and Sharks kept the pressure on with runs in that period of 8 – 0 and 11 – 0 to increase the margin. Looking back, The Eagles held their own in the first four minutes and finished well in the final two. It’s the 34 in between that will most concern Coach Macleod who summed up the game in a positive mood. “The loss happened at the best possible time. We are now stronger moving forward. Our reaction to this defeat is not important, how we respond is.” SCORERS : Hamish Crackett 13, Andy Wilkes 6, Bradley Hadfield 5, Luke King 4, Joe Wildman 2, Darren Crane 2, Marshall Patterson 2, Ellory Browne 1 Match Report - Saturday 11th October 2008
The Under-15 Boy’s opened their Conference season in fine style with a comprehensive victory over a Middlesbrough outfit that never let their heads go down but were simply outclassed by a fired up Eagles side. Coach Ian Macleod was understandably delighted with his new charges but also had a word of caution for his players. “I thought we did a lot of things very well and all the boys tried to take on board what I’ve tried to teach them. But as a coach I still saw things that we need to improve on and we’ll work on them in training next week in preparation for a big test v The Eagles started well with co-Captain Luke King scoring straight from the tip to set his team on the way and although Lions immediately pulled level, a 7 – 0 run including a big triple from the other co-Captain Bradley Hadfield had Forward Andy Wilkes then suffered a game ending eye injury when he collided with team mate Hamish Crackett (pictured) going for a rebound and this seemed to unsettle the Eagles who looked nervous as Lions pulled within 1 at 9 – 8. But That 8 – 0 run at the end of the first was extended powerfully as Crackett in particular benefited inside as The Eagles rattled off a further 14 unanswered points to extend their lead to 31 – 8 before allowing the visitors back in the game slightly. However, Christian Elliot’s 3rd basket of the quarter made the half-time score 39 – 16. “To be honest I had a bit of a go at the Boys at half-time. I thought we’d established a great platform by playing our game the way I wanted it and then, we started coasting and doing things we hadn’t practised and didn’t need to do. I gave them a reminder of what we’d done to get the lead and asked them to go back to fundamentals and run what we’ve practised.” And the message obviously got through as Lions were down and virtually out and the Eagles sensed it. Another strong 14 – 0 opening to the final stanza with both Ben Reed and Darren Crane opening their Eagles account for the season and Marshall Patterson joining Crackett, Elliot and Wilson in to double figures had Newcastle 50 in front at 78 – 28. The Eagles dominance was underlined as Pocket Rocket Wildman grabbed an offensive board in front of a taller opponent and then stepped back and drained a triple that made him the 5th Eagles boy in to double figures. And although Lions scored the last basket of the game it was too little too late and a 91 – 34 final score was as emphatic as it sounds. Summing up Coach Macleod was very upbeat. “The boys have a lot of talent individually but what shone through for me today was the way they played as a team and supported each other throughout the game. This should stand them in good stead for the weeks ahead. Some of their ball movement was excellent and defensively they hustled pretty much throughout. Even when one or two didn’t hit the right spots at either end someone was there to help out and that’s what I want to see.” “I also want to thank Reggie Jackson and Tafari Toney for turning out to watch the Boys. It’s great to see The Eagles senior players coming along and supporting the side and it must have given the boys a great boost to see them there.” For the Lions who never let their heads go down and played as hard as they could right up to the final buzzer a special mention must go to Captain O’Connor whose play from the point guard position was always determined as he bagged 18 of his side’s total points. So an encouraging start for the Under-15’s with sterner tests ahead. They may all not yet be quite on the same page but they’re all certainly reading the same book. SCORERS : Hamish Crackett 22, Christian Elliott 12, Jack Wilson 12, Marshall Patterson 10, Joe Wildman 10, Jordan Nicholls 8, Bradley Hadfield 7, Luke King 4, Ellory Browne 2, Darren Crane 2, Ben Reed 2 MATCH REPORT – ELLESMERE PORT PANTHERS v NEWCASTLE EAGLESSATURDAY 1ST MARCH 2008 ELLESMERE PORT PANTHERS 64 : 59 The young Eagles season came to a crashing halt down in The Eagles didn’t go down without a fight as they battled all the way to the final buzzer to keep their season alive. However, in the end they came up short with their old nemeses of missed free throws and lay-ups being the main reason for their downfall. Whether they had left their legs on the bus or not, The Eagles settled and went point for point until at 11 – 6, Panthers broke the game up with a 6 – 0 run to take a 17 – 6 lead in to the second quarter. Disappointingly Improvement was needed if the game was not to slip away and Coach Graham Heath rallied his players who began to show real form in the next period. A 10 – 3 run cut the gap to 20 – 16 as at last Unfortunately they couldn’t sustain their momentum as the home side hit back. Ellesmere gradually increased their lead scoring at almost 2:1 ratio to move in front by 12 after a 15 – 7 start to the second half. The Eagles were hanging on but couldn’t make any inroads to the home defence and with ten minutes to go found themselves down 51 – 36. It was virtually basket for basket in the final stanza with Panthers holding their advantage and with the score at 64 – 50 it looked like game over but the Eagles mounted one last effort and came storming back. When skipper Jack Honour hit a 3-pt basket to cap a 9 – 0 run Newcastle had cut the gap to only 5 at 64 – 59. But, there was no time for any further heroics as the game buzzer went meaning So then, a disappointing end to the season for the Under-15’s after the early games had given them real cause for optimism. However, it should be remembered that for many of the squad this was their first taste of National League action and to make the play-offs in that initial season gives them something to work on as they advance further in their careers. Eagles Scorers : Ross Wilson 13, Hamish Crackett 11, Bomani West 10, Lee Appleby 10, Jack Honour 8, Connor Cole 2, Luke King 2, Joe Wildman 2 & Glen Millen 1. MATCH REPORT – YORK VIKINGS v NEWCASTLE EAGLES TUESDAY 19TH FEBRUARY 2008 “So near, yet so far” or “Could have, should have?” which ever of those two well known phrases you pick the cold harsh reality is that the young Eagles lost a game they really needed to win and now must settle for an end-of-season play-off game away from home. Despite the mauling at the weekend off And by the end of the 40 minutes it was the home side that emerged victorious and took the spoils. The Eagles fate is now a trip to the ‘I have to say that we lost a game tonight against a side that I really believe we are better than. I can’t really understand it. I don’t mean to be disrespectful of ‘That’s what make the defeat so hard to understand. Once again though I have to say that we shot ourselves in the foot. Too many turnovers, too many missed easy lay-ups, not enough pressure on the ball handlers. Basically every thing we worked on in the previous night’s practise we didn’t execute save from one or two players.’ ‘And when you consider that The Eagles Senior Coach Fab Flournoy actually took a very active part in that session to show his and the Club’s commitment to the boy’s campaign, it’s even more disappointing. In the last two games we’ve lacked our usual spark and intensity and I can’t quite figure out why.” In the 1st quarter The Eagles trailed almost throughout the ten minutes after going 4 – 0 down. Four times they drew level with York and the even sneaked in front 16 – 15 before conceding the last basket of the period to trail 17 – 16. Midway through the second it was still very close with Worse was to come as Twice Newcastle produced 6 – 0 runs to get back within 6-pts but every time they did, York countered and then with the score at 48 – 43 the home side finished the quarter strongly scoring 8 unanswered to take a 56 – 43 lead in to the final ten minutes. The Eagles may not have been playing at their best but they were still in there fighting and they produced a great last quarter. Down 60 – 47 they dug really deep and produced a 14 – 3 fight back to cut the gap to 2 at 63 – 61. At the other end a big call went against the Eagles, Lee Appleby spoke out of turn and They tried to get the ball to Honour but couldn’t although the ball did fall to Ross Wilson but his attempted game leveller was just short like the Eagles final comeback effort in the end. Last word to Coach Heath. “I thought Jack (Honour) really led from the front tonight although at times he had no choice. Ross ( ‘We have to re-group once again and get ourselves ready for what is going to be a really tough play-off game. It’d be a shame if our season was to end with three consecutive defeats. None of us want that.’ Eagles Scorers : Jack Honour 20, Ross Wilson 14, Connor Cole 12, Lee Appleby 8, Bomani West 7, Hamish Crackett 2 MATCH REPORT – NEWCASTLE EAGLES v TEAM SPIRIT SHEFFIELD SHARKS SATURDAY 16TH FEBRUARY 2008 The temptation after a third mauling at the hands of the Junior Sharks this season is to say “at least they are out of the way”. In truth its games and losses like this that the young Eagles players must learn from and use to improve. Once again they were outgunned and out played by an outstanding By the end of the game The Eagles had turned the ball over on no fewer than 48 occasions, more than one a minute and when you do that its certainly giving yourself a mountain to climb. Add in other factors in Coach Heath, as ever, was reflective in defeat. “Once again I thought we gave them too much respect. You simply have to stand up against all opposition and battle hard. Today, I felt the boys were a little flat. When you turn the ball over as many times as we did, you’re giving yourself too much to do. Even if “We also did not put enough pressure on defensively, especially around the perimeter and on the ball handler. It was as if they were too frightened to concede the lanes and thought that by standing off we could cope better. That was clearly not the case as we got picked off too many times.” Sheffield once again were led by England under-16’s players Devon van Oostrum who had 26-pts, 9 assists and 9 steals and the outstanding John Stewart who had 36-pts, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 9 steals. In fact van Oostrum was the only One of the keys to In to the second and a 10 – 2 start had Sharks clearly had no intention of slowing down and although Coach Heath tried to change up on defence and cut down the turnovers, it wasn’t happening and a further 10 – 2 run saw Sheffield out of sight at 67 – 26. Heath ran his bench with a view to giving players valuable minutes but nothing could stem the tide and with ten minutes to go it was 86 – 30. Even in the last quarter, the Eagles had no answer as Sheffield took the period 23 – 8 to make the final score 109 – 38 although the Eagles, through Hamish Crackett, did have the dubious honour of scoring the last basket right on the buzzer. For the Eagles, their forwards were the ones that came out with the most distinction particularly Lee Appleby who had 10-pts before missing almost all the 4th quarter after rolling his ankle, Ross Wilson had 9–pts and 6 rebounds whilst Connor Cole had 8-pts. Unfortunately, the guards didn’t support them and at times seemed reluctant to shoot and a bit intimidated, although Joe Wildman making his first start for The Eagles did have three assists along with Skipper Jack Honour. So, attention now turns to Tuesday night and the crucial showdown at “Once again we have to put this game behind us and move on. I’m hopeful that Glen Millen will be able to return from injury and give us some of that energy we were missing today. We have a practise on Monday night and then travel down the next day. It’s a game I’m confident that we can win and I’ll be emphasising that to the boys on Monday.” “After all a win and a second placing in the Conference with a home play-off as the prize would be a pretty good effort for the boys many of whom have never, until this year, played at this level before.” EAGLES SCORERS : Lee Appleby 10-pts, Ross Wilson 9-pts, Connor Cole 8-pts, Hamish Crackett 4-pts, Bomani West 4-pts and Jack Honour 3-pts. SUNDAY – 5TH JANUARY 2008 - TEAM SPIRIT SHEFFIELD SHARKS 118 : 40 When you look at the score line quickly this looked like a real pummelling for the under-15’s and whilst it’s true they were distinctly second best all game, there are always positives to take out of any game. The real positive from this game was the way the boys never gave up and continued playing right to the final buzzer. Not that that was much consolation to Coach Graham Heath. ‘I know Sheffield are a good team and have a system that they operate very, very effectively but I am still disappointed with the team, particularly our first half performance. It is simply not acceptable to only score 11-points in one half of basketball.’ ‘We gave them far too much respect and made things very tough for ourselves. When you take on teams at this level you have to exercise your fundamentals properly and we didn’t do that. I must have counted 10 lay-ups that we didn’t make and that’s 20-pts. We should have scored more and that might have made things tighter on defence.’ ‘We wouldn’t have won but we could have made the score line more respectable. However, after the discussion we had at half-time I have to say that I was much happier with the way we went about the second half. I can give the boys some credit for never letting their heads go down and one or two in particular didn’t look quite as scared as the first time we’d played Sheffield.’ Certainly The Eagles started aggressively and Glen Millen’s basket drew them level at 2 – 2 as they were holding the Sharks. Poor offences though began to cause them problems and for the rest of the quarter they only had a bucket from Captain Jack Honour to show for their efforts as they conceded 28 in return. At half-time the game was over at 55 – 11 and now it was about pride and playing with dignity. That at least can be said for the boys. They have a discipline, structure and togetherness that keeps them going no matter what is thrown at them and it was no different in this game. Yes, Sharks continued to press and run but Sheffield get their momentum up and the score went to 107 – 31 before in the last couple of minutes the young Eagles showed their heart by scoring 9 late points including Bomani West’s free throw which was the last basket of the game and made the final score 118 – 40. So, not unexpectedly, the Eagles record went to 4 – 4. You have to give credit to Sheffield for their performance and ability but you also have to say that for Last word to Coach Heath. ‘I’m not going to pull the boys apart after today. Sometimes you have to accept that you are second best and move on. This season is very much a learning curve for them all and perhaps sometimes it’ll be steeper than others.’ ‘We’ll have a chat at our next training session and discuss where things could have gone better and then we’ll put it behind us and prepare for the game next Saturday v East Riding which is a game I expect to win.’ EAGLES SCORERS : Ross Wilson 8, Jack Honour 7, Connor Cole 6, Hamish Crackett 6, Bomani West 5, Bradley Hadfield 2, Will Kebble 2, Glen Millen 2 and Joe Wildman 2.
15TH DECEMBER 2007 - The junior Eagles bounced back to winning ways with a convincing 63-point demolition of East Riding to break their 3-game losing streak and take their season record to 4 – 3. This was a much better all-round team performance from the Eagles with all ten players getting on the score sheet and no fewer than five of them hitting double figures. Coach Graham Heath was pleased with the way his side went about their job. “For the first time in a long time the boys seemed to understand what I wanted from them. We went from the start with a man to man press defence and this established our game pattern from the off as defensively we were so aggressive.” Captain Jack Honour, Bomani West, Glen Millen, Connor Cole and Ross Wilson were the boys entrusted with getting the Eagles off to a good start and they did. Midway through the first quarter they had established their defensive game that they maintained throughout as they held an 11 – 1 lead. With Lee Appleby coming off the bench to good effect the Eagles stretched their lead and Joe Wildman nailed a trey to finish an impressive 25 – 9 first ten minutes. Coach Heath made some changes for the second quarter but no matter who he put out the boys were in the zone. Luke King kicked things off in the second and on the Eagles went relentlessly. Cole and West were the main contributors in the period although Ross Wilson continued to rack up the points as well. If the game looked promising after one quarter it was all over after the second as the Eagles won it 32 – 8 to establish a 57 – 17 lead at the half. It was more of the same as the second half of the game got underway. The Eagles held the Harriers scoreless until the sixth minute of the period and had notched another 14 of their own to make the lead 71 – 19. The final moments of the third were actually the Harriers best period of the game and they still lost that little piece 10 – 8 to make the score 81 – 25 with ten minutes to go. In the final ten minutes the Eagles slackened off slightly but were still determined to win the quarter and complete all four winning periods. They managed it 16 – 9 with Jack Wilson’s late bucket meaning all the Eagle boys got on the score sheet and Ross Wilson’s last basket making it 97 – 34 at the buzzer and giving him the individual high score of 18-pts. So, at last the boys seemed to have heeded Coach Heath’s promptings and got back on track. This was the sort of performance that they seemed capable of earlier in the season and it was a nice way to finish off before the Christmas break. There may be some tougher tests to come but at least this confidence booster will put the boys in better heart after a tough few weeks previous. Last word to Coach Heath, “What was particularly pleasing was that I called a couple of plays during time outs that we had practised and the team went out and executed them perfectly scoring off them every time. That’s so good for a coach to see. And whilst it’s true that East Riding were the weakest team we’ve played so far you can only beat what’s put out in front of you. That said we did it well and once we’d made our statement in the first half we were able to play some smart and good basketball in the second.” The U-15’s now have break before their next game which is the difficult trip to EAGLES SCORERS : Ross Wilson 18, Lee Appleby 17, Glen Millen 13, Connor Cole 10, Bomani West 10, Jack Honour 9, Luke King 7, Hamish Crackett 4, Joe Wildman 3, Bradley Hadfield 2, Will Kebell 2 and Jack Wilson 2. 1ST DECEMBER 2007 - For the second game running a late fight back by The Junior Eagles gave the final score line a slightly flattering look as More worryingly for Coach Graham Heath and his players this was the third defeat in a row and after The Eagles had started the season 3 – 0 they now stand 3 – 3 and need to halt a bad slide as soon as possible. They will only do that if they go back to the principles, attitude and intensity they showed when establishing that early unbeaten record. Coach Heath reflecting on the loss said, ‘It’s getting more and more frustrating. Whilst I accept that my players are still boys they are hoping to develop in to professional players in the future and they need to start looking at themselves now and build their attitudes and principles for later life. At the moment I just don’t know if they are listening to what we are trying to teach them and given their recent results and performances it doesn’t seem as if they are.’ Yet, it all started brightly for The Eagles. Heath did make his first change of the season to his starting five promoting Bomani West from the bench in place of Will Kebell in the hope it would produce more offence. However, it was their defence which held the sway. Over five minutes had gone before Whether complacency set in or the players thought they already had the game won it’s hard to say but they dropped their levels of concentration and intensity and were hit by an 11 – 0 run from The second quarter was very poor. Soft defence allowed too many easy baskets for the away side and several missed offensive opportunities meant The Eagles had no reply. Runs during the period of 11 – 3 and 8 – 3 gave In the early part of the third it was fairly even with York stretching their lead by one before an 11 -2 run sparked by Connor Cole’s 8-pts saw the Eagles cut the gap to 8. However, they couldn’t maintain that effort and In that final segment the teams were evenly matched although Unfortunately it was not enough for the players to escape Heath’s wrath. ‘I was pleased that we showed a little bit of fight in the second half but it doesn’t make up for the first half showing. We scored only six points in the second quarter and frankly that’s not good enough and will always give you problems. At times my guards looked frightened to shoot and didn’t even offer the triple threat basic fundamental. Mind you if they had shot I’m not sure the forwards were in the right place or had the inclination to battle on the boards.’ In truth the Eagles lacked the intensity and passion they showed in their early games and have to take a collective responsibility. There’s a saying that if you win as a team, you also lose as a team and no-one really came out of this game with any credit. A fortnight of confidence re-building is now needed before the Eagles next take the court at Eagles Scorers – Connor Cole 14, Glen Millen 9, Ross Wilson 9, Joe Wildman 7, Lee Appleby 6, Hamish Crackett 5, Bomani West 4 and Jack Honour 3.
17TH NOVEMBER 2007 - LEEDS TIGERS 60 : 52
It’s now two defeats in a row for the young Eagles as they failed to bounce back from last week’s defeat and went down on the road to a Leeds Tigers side they had beaten by 36 points earlier in the season. This squares the series between the two sides at 1 – 1 and takes the Under-15’s record to 3 – 2.
Coach Graham Heath reflected on this defeat. 'It was as much frustrating as disappointing. We tried to focus the boy’s minds on the trip down by watching the last game against Certainly early on both sides were out of sync and the game was in its third minute before Connor Cole, not renowned for his outside shooting, swished a three to open the game and the Eagles account. It was then close all the way in the first ten minutes although neither team set the score board alight. Tigers 5 – 0 run gave them a 12 – 7 advantage before baskets by Lee Appleby and Hamish Crackett closed the gap to 1 at 12 – 11. Bomani West stroked a nice trey to put the Eagles back in front with the first score of the second period and when Cole powered two baskets inside midway through the quarter the Eagles led by five. However, a 7 – 4 run by the home side closed the gap to 28 – 26 at the half. More worryingly though was the game ending ankle injury to Ross Wilson which could see him miss next week’s England development squad get together. Two more baskets by Cole sandwiched between a Tigers score made the gap four and then the wheels came off. With the score standing at 34 – 33 to the Eagles, the home side responded with an 8 – 2 run to close out the quarter and take a 41 – 36 lead in to the final ten minutes. The Eagles completely lost their way as they tried to get the gap back and poor offensive choices and slack defence gave the home side a 14 – 2 start to the last period. The game had turned around and the Eagles were 55 – 38 down with nowhere to hide. Coach Heath asked his side to go to the press defence and after initially failing to respond they did start forcing the turnovers needed to get them back in to the game. But, they had given themselves too big a hill to climb and despite closing the game out with a 14 – 5 run it was not enough and the Tigers jubilantly took the victory by 60 – 52. Connor Cole led the Eagles scorers but like the previous week he was often the Eagles only option on offence as they struggled to find a way to open up the zone defence. Heath added. 'Defensively we met our target but struggled badly on offence. Perhaps we need to work harder to look for more offensive options but basically too many players did not do the things we’ve asked them to. So far this season we’ve played with a lot of heart, intensity and passion.'
'However, today we didn’t and that’s what disappoints me most. Some of the players look as if they’ve entered a comfort zone and felt they only had to turn up to win. You cannot do that in this game and they’ve been beaten today by a side that in all honestly I didn’t think was better than us.'
Heath has a fortnight now to re-group his squad and get them working hard in practice before York Vikings come to Newcastle College looking to avenge their 76 – 50 home loss in the season’s opener. Eagles Scorers : Connor Cole 15, Lee Appleby 8, Bomani West 8, Hamish Crackett 7, Jack Wilson 4, Ellory Brown 2, Will Kebble 2, Glen Millen 2, Ross Wilson 2, Jack Honour 1, and Joe Wildman 1.
The junior Eagles fine start to the season came to a crashing halt as they ran in to a Coach Graham Heath was philosophical in defeat, “the guys got a reality check today and found out just how tough this level can be. Most of this The Eagles got off to a poor start as they were 8 – 0 down in less than 3 minutes. A time-out from Heath failed to stop the run and it was almost 5 minutes in to the game before Ross Wilson opened the Eagles account to make it 15 – 2. This, and the introduction of Lee Appleby off the bench sparked a 7 – 4 run before the ruthless Despite 7-pts from Connor Cole and 6 from Appleby in the second it was more of the same as the young Eagles buckled under the pressure from the Sharks defence and turned the ball over on far too many occasions. It was damage limitation as Coach Heath tried to run his more experienced players to stem the There had been no doubting the Eagles effort and commitment as they tried manfully to come to terms with the superior opposition. But in the final stanza they tired visibly and with Sheffield not weakening the main talking question was could The final score did not flatter the Sharks although perhaps the Eagles contributed to their own downfall with far too many turnovers. The guards struggled all game to force the openings and dictate any kind of flow on offence. Of the forwards Connor Cole showed real potential but was too often isolated without support. On defence the Eagles simply had no answers to Coach Heath conceded that he could have run his bench more. “I decided to go with my older more experienced players to try and keep the score closer. A lot of my team are a year young and it showed today as a few of them looked a little intimidated. However, one or two of them probably deserved more minutes to gain a bit more experience. We’ll take the defeat on board, analyse certain things and hopefully learn from it before next week’s game at Eagles Scorers : Connor Cole 17, Lee Appleby 9, Jack Honour 8, Ross Wilson 4, Hamish Crackett 2, Bomani West 2 and Joe Wildman 2. 3RD NOVEMBER 2007 - EAST RIDING HARRIERS 47 : 90
The young Eagles went 3 – 0 for the season with a convincing win at The Junior Sharks are also unbeaten this season and this is seen as many as the most important game of the season as the winners will take an advantage in the 3-game series and in the Conference standings. The game tips-off at 2:30pm and with the senior team being without a game this weekend why not pop along and see some potential future BBL players? With a squad of 15 to choose from Coach Graham Heath had to make some difficult selection decisions for Saturday’s game. Adopting a rotation policy that he intends running all season, Heath brought in Connor Cole, Chris Currie and Ben Reid to make their debuts. Bradley Hadfield and Ellory Brown were the first to miss out due to rotation with Luke King also missing out through injury. In the end though the Eagles only suited up 11 as Hamish Crackett went down sick the day before the game. The starting five of Will Kebble, Glen Millen, Jack Honour (Capt.), Lee Appleby and Ross Wilson soon has the Eagles in front at 10 – 6 and when Joe Wildman and Bomani West were introduced the lead stretched out to 14 – 6. Heath was rotating his bench nicely and Cole came on to see his first National League action helping the team to a 24 – 14 lead at the end of the 1st. The second started badly for the Eagles who committed too many turnovers when in possession and allowed East Riding to make a 12 – 4 run closing the gap to 28 – 26. Coach Heath was considering a time-out but was beaten to the punch by the opposition who strangely on such an effective run called one first. It was the opportunity There was no letup from the Eagles as the second half opened. They blasted out of the traps and added another 13 points to the lead before the home side scored giving them an unassailable lead of 56 – 31. A further 12 – 0 run saw them close out the third period 68 – 31 ahead. It was a magnificent defensive effort from the Eagles as they had restricted East Riding to only three points in the quarter. The final period was a much closer affair until the final few moments when 8 points from Lee Appleby, which took him to a top scoring performance, made the final result 90 – 47. This was a fine all-round performance from the boys with all contributing and some fine team play particularly at the defence end. Some of the ‘give and goes’ on offence were excellent and showed how well the players are knitting together and coming to terms with Coach Heath’s system. Eagles Scorers : Lee Appleby 20, Ross Wilson 16, Bomani West 14, Connor Cole 11, Jack Honour 9, Joe Wildman 4, Will Kebble 4, Glen Millen 4, Ben Reid 4 and Jack Wilson 4.
OCTOBER 13TH 2007 - NEWCASTLE EAGLES 90 : 54
On Saturday 13th October the Newcastle Eagles School of Excellence under 15s took to the court to play the Leeds Tigers in a north conference game. The Tigers were short of players as they arrived with only 6 fit players. But proved through the course of the game that although they lacked numbers they would not be taken lightly. In the 1st period the Eagles started well, picking up where they had left off the previous week in At the start of the 2nd quarter In what was a very scrappy game and with the short 7TH OCTOBER 2007 - YORK COLLEGE 50 : 76 NEWCASTLE EAGLES The In the third it was the power and rebounding of the big three Ross Wilson, Lee Appleby and Hamish Crackett that was decisive as the Eagles dominated at both ends winning the period 22 – 7 to take a 21 point lead in to the final stanza that they stretched even further. Coach Heath did a great job rotating his bench, keeping everyone fresh and spreading the minutes across all 12 players as the guards dictated play and the forwards finished the job to give the Eagles a superb start to the league campaign. Eagles Scorers – Ross Wilson 17, Lee Appleby 12, Hamish Crackett 10
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Next Home Match
Friday, 24th September, 2010
VTip-Off 7:30pm Sheffield Sharks
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