The 2000–01 BBL season, the 14th since its establishment of the British Basketball League, commenced on 30 September 2000 and ended on 7 April 2001, with a total of 13 teams competing. The regular season saw teams split into two geographically divided Conferences, seven in the North and six in the South, with northern teams playing 36 games and southern teams playing 34 games each. Sheffield Sharks were crowned winners of the North, while London Towers dominated the South, both teams tallying 27 wins in the regular season.
Played in parallel with the regular season, the BBL’s peripheral competition the uni-ball Trophy was conquered by Chester Jets, after a 92-81 win against Newcastle Eagles. Teams also contested the NTL National Cup with clubs from the lower placed National Basketball League, with Leicester Riders prevailing in a close final against Greater London Leopards.
Following the regular season, the top-four teams from each Conference progressed to the play-offs which ran from 14 April to 5 May, climaxing with the Play-off Final at Wembley Arena. Leicester Riders shocked bookmakers and fans alike, taking the Championship title with an 84-75 victory over Sheffield, adding to their National Cup success.
London Towers was the league’s sole representative in European competition, appearing in the Euroleague. They failed to make the Round of 16, finishing 5th in the 6-team Group D with a 1-9 record.
Notable occurrences London Towers opened their campaign in the Euroleague with an 86-61 win against the Frankfurt Skyliners on 18 October 2000. Kendrick Warren posted a game-high 21 points for the Towers. On 6 November, Derby Storm's 104-84 home victory over Edinburgh Rocks ended the BBL’s longest ever losing streak, with Storm’s last league win coming on 26 March, an 88-91 victory away to Milton Keynes Lions. Greater London Leopards undertook a mid-season tour of the United States throughout November, playing some of the top college teams in the country, finishing with a 2-3 record. Birmingham Bullets’ attempt to sign Panamanian Antonio García, after he walked out on Derby a day earlier, was taken to court after Derby refused to release his registration. Leicester Riders were crowned NTL National Cup champions on 7 January 2001, with an 84-82 win over Greater London Leopards at the Sheffield Arena ending a 30-year hunt for silverware. The Northern Conference conquered in the annual All-Star Game, with a 161-148 victory over their Southern counterparts at the Telewest Arena on 20 January. Newcastle Eagles’ Tony Windless was voted MVP after scoring 25 points, while Thames Valley Tigers’ Tony Christie posted a game-high 29 points for the South. Chester Jets won the uni-ball Trophy on 24 March, with a 92-81 win against Newcastle at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. The celebrations were even more noticeable after Chester coach Robbie Peers and the Jets team performed a conga-line around the court. Jets' Pero Cameron was named as MVP. Leicester claimed their second piece of silverware for the season, adding the Play-off title to their earlier National Cup victory. Riders claimed the win on 5 May at Wembley Arena with an 84-75 victory over Sheffield Sharks, shooting an overall 57% from the floor. Larry Johnson was named as MVP.
BBL Championship (Tier 1)
Final standings
Northern Conference PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Sheffield Sharks 36 27 9 0.750542 Chester Jets 36 25 11 0.69450 3 Newcastle Eagles 36 20 16 0.55540 4 Leicester Riders 36 17 19 0.47234 5 Manchester Giants 36 15 21 0.41630 6 Derby Storm 36 6 30 0.16612 7 Edinburgh Rocks 36 5 31 0.13810
Southern Conference PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 London Towers 34 27 7 0.794542 Greater London Leopards 34 24 10 0.70548 3 Milton Keynes Lions 34 21 13 0.61742 4 Birmingham Bullets 34 18 16 0.52936 5 Thames Valley Tigers 34 14 20 0.41128 6 Brighton Bears 34 9 25 0.26418
= Conference winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs
1st round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
National League Conference (Tier 2)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Plymouth Raiders 21 19 2 0.905382 Worthing Thunder Rebels 21 16 5 0.76232 3 Teesside Mohawks 21 15 6 0.71430 4 Manchester Magic 21 9 12 0.42918 5 Coventry Crusaders 21 7 14 0.33314 6 Inter-Basket London + 21 7 14 0.333137 Solent Stars 21 6 15 0.28612 8 Sutton Pumas 21 5 16 0.23810 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs + one point deducted Play Off Final - Plymouth 83 Worthing 77
National League Division 1 (Tier 3)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Oxford Devils 18 17 1 0.944342 Reading Rockets 18 13 5 0.72226 3 Westminster Warriors 18 9 9 0.50018 4 Cardiff Clippers 18 8 10 0.44416 5 Kingston Wildcats 18 6 12 0.33312 6 Birmingham Aces 18 6 12 0.333127 Liverpool 18 2 16 0.1114 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs Play Off Final - Reading 97 Oxford 82
National League Division 2 (Tier 4)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Derbyshire Arrows 24 24 0 1.000482 Ealing Tornadoes 24 20 4 0.83340 3 Ware Rebels 24 17 7 0.71834 4 Hull Icebergs 24 16 8 0.66732 5 North London Lords 24 15 9 0.62530 6 Doncaster Panthers 24 12 12 0.500247 Taunton Tigers 24 12 12 0.50024 8 Mansfield Express 24 11 13 0.45822 9 NW London Wolverines 24 9 15 0.37518 10 Northampton Neptunes 24 7 17 0.29214 11 Brixton TopCats 24 6 18 0.25012 12 South London Bulls 24 5 19 0.2081013 Swindon Sonics 24 3 21 0.1256 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs Play Off Final - Ealing v Derbyshire 82-81
National League Division 3 (Tier 5)
Final standings {| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align: center;" |- !Pos!!scope="col" style="width: 180px;"|Team!!Pld!!W!!L!!%!!Pts |- style="background: #ffffcc;" |1 ||style="text-align:left;"| Bristol Bombers || 22 || 20 || 2 ||0.909||40 |- style="background: #ccffcc;" |2 ||style="text-align:left;"| Worcester Wolves || 22 || 18 || 4 ||0.818||36 |- style="background: #ccffcc;" |3 ||style="text-align:left;"| Thames Valley Tigers II || 22 || 18 || 4 ||0.818||36 |- style="background: #ccffcc;" |4 ||style="text-align:left;"| Dudley Bears || 22 || 12 || 10 ||0.545||24 |- style="background: #ccffcc;" |5 ||style="text-align:left;"| Barking & Dag. Erkenwald || 22 || 11 || 11 ||0.500||22 |- style="background: #ccffcc;" |6 ||style="text-align:left;"| Nottingham College || 22 || 11 || 11 ||0.500||22 |- style="background: #ccffcc;" |7 ||style="text-align:left;"| Brighton Cougars || 22 || 11 || 11 ||0.500||22 |- style="background: #ccffcc;" |8 ||style="text-align:left;"| University of Birmingham || 22 || 10 || 12 ||0.455||20 |- style="background: ;" |9 ||style="text-align:left;"| Northumbria University || 22 || 8 || 14 ||0.364||16 |- style="background: ;" |10 ||style="text-align:left;"| Tamar Valley Cannons || 22 || 6 || 16 ||0.273||12 |- style="background: ;" |11 ||style="text-align:left;"| Derby Storm II || 22 || 3 || 19 ||0.136||6 |- style="background: ;" |12 ||style="text-align:left;"| Colchester Alliance || 22 || 3 || 19 ||0.136||''6 |} = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
NTL National Cup
Last 16 Team 1 Team 2 Score Worthing Thunder Greater London Leopards 67-108 Thames Valley Tigers Sheffield Sharks 112-100 Brighton Bears Manchester Giants 72-74 Chester Jets Newcastle Eagles 85-100 Teesside Mohawks Leicester Riders 102-110 Birmingham Bullets Solent Stars 109-61 Derby Storm Edinburgh Rocks 86-59 Milton Keynes Lions London Towers 81-83
Quarter-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Derby Storm Thames Valley Tigers 74-87 London Towers Manchester Giants 70-61 Greater London Leopards Newcastle Eagles 103-100 Birmingham Bullets Leicester Riders 109-118
Semi-finals Team 1 Team 2 Score Leicester Riders Thames Valley Tigers 95-85 Greater London Leopards London Towers 84-82
Final
uni-ball Trophy
Group stage Group A
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Chester Jets106510.8332.Greater London Leopards86420.6663.Sheffield Sharks66330.5004.Brighton Bears06060.000 Sheffield qualified as the third-place team with the best record on basket difference. Group B
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Thames Valley Tigers86420.6662.Derby Storm66330.5003.Birmingham Bullets66330.5004.Leicester Riders46240.333 Derby qualified ahead of Birmingham on head-to-head results, losing 76-74 and winning 106-90. Group C
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Newcastle Eagles106510.8332.Milton Keynes Lions86420.6663.Manchester Giants66330.5004.Edinburgh Rocks06060.000 London Towers received a bye into the Quarter-finals, due to scheduling conflicts with their Euroleague campaign.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
All-Star Game
+Northern All-StarsPlayer Team James Hamilton Chester Jets Malcolm Leak Leicester Riders Donnie Johnson Newcastle Eagles Loren Meyer Chester Jets Barry Bowman Derby Storm Purnell Perry Leicester Riders Justin Phoenix Manchester Giants Terrell Myers Sheffield Sharks Tony Windless Newcastle Eagles Ted Berry Edinburgh Rocks Ralph Blalock Leicester Riders Nate Reinking Sheffield Sharks Coach Robbie Peers Chester Jets
+Southern All-StarsPlayer Team Antonio Garcia Birmingham Bullets John McCord Thames Valley Tigers Andrew Alleyne Milton Keynes Lions Kendrick Warren London Towers Jason Siemon Milton Keynes Lions Rashod Johnson Greater London Leopards Wilbur Johnson Brighton Bears Tony Christie Thames Valley Tigers Brant Bailey Birmingham Bullets Maurice Robinson Greater London Leopards Nigel Lloyd Milton Keynes Lions Randy Duck London Towers Coach Nick Nurse Brighton Bears
Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerStatPoints per game John McCord (Thames Valley) 25.50Rebounds per game Antonio García (Derby/Birmingham) 14.90Assists per game Nigel Lloyd (Milton Keynes) 5.86
Seasonal awards
Most Valuable Player: Loren Meyer (Chester Jets) Coach of the Year: Robbie Peers (Chester Jets) All-Star First Team: Loren Meyer (Chester Jets) Kendrick Warren (London Towers) Steve Bucknall (London Towers) Tony Windless (Newcastle Eagles) John McCord (Thames Valley Tigers) All-Star Second Team:''' James Hamilton (Chester Jets) Nate Reinking (Sheffield Sharks) Barry Bowman (Derby Storm) Nigel Lloyd (Milton Keynes Lions) Terrell Myers (Sheffield Sharks)
References