A recent visit by my Uconn men's basketball team to UK has sparked an interest on my part in the British Basketball League and particularly the Sheffield Sparks, whose suxxessful season I'm now following. So wanted to ask a couple of questions. Are there many UK players on the teams? Are they cosidered pro or semi pro? How big is the capacity of the Ponds arena, and do they get good sized crowds? The magnificent Basketball Hall of fame in Springield Mass. has very little info on the game outside the US, and many people over here were surprised ( and somewhat dismayed ) by the performance of other countries at the last olympics.

check out www.sheffieldsharks.com it's sometimes out of date but you can find most of the info you need.

The Sharks pride themselves on playing local and English players along with some really good foreign players, mostly U.S. We are one of the most succesful clubs in the last 10 years winning at least 1-2 titles each year.

Ponds forge has a capacity of about 1200 and an average gate of 1000 turn up. We used to play at the Sheffield Arena and have had a capacity of 7,500 for a couple of games, they were unbelievable with the noise.

The league they play in BBL is considered a pro league but is one of the lowest paid in Europe I think, so you find many players move on to Europe after starting off in England.

Edit: I have just looked at the website and it has had a make over so it is up to date.

Thanks for the info Duffman. I'll try and get to see them next time I'm home. I'm used to the noise of a big arena. Uconn men and women play at the Gambel pavilion on campus which seats over 10,000, and the Hartford Civic Centre for nationally televised games which seats over 16000. They both fill the seats when they play. Anyway good luck in the playoffs.

Originally posted by buck
many people over here were surprised ( and somewhat dismayed ) by the performance of other countries at the last olympics.

Yeah, Puerto Rico and Lithuania in particular were just AWFUL :D

The dismay was with the NBA and its overpaid spoiled brats and their attitudes, not at the other countries. We were pleased to see OUR game is enjoying international status. The game has almost the religious fervor footie has in UK, or hockey in Canada. We expect the very best wherever it comes from.

Originally posted by buck
The dismay was with the NBA and its overpaid spoiled brats and their attitudes, not at the other countries. We were pleased to see OUR game is enjoying international status. The game has almost the religious fervor footie has in UK, or hockey in Canada. We expect the very best wherever it comes from.

Sorry, just re-read and realised I didn't get your meaning. Apologies, though I was only pulling your leg anyway :thumbsup:

Maybe basketball is going the same way as football has, with a democratisation in terms of worldwide quality despite the big bucks being poured in? As a Brit I admit it was nice to see some of your stars brought down a peg or two, but I have to say there's no league anywhere near as good as the NBA for sheer quality and entertainment (IMHO).