Plymouth City Patriots

The Plymouth City Patriots are a professional basketball team based in Plymouth, England. Established in 2021, the team compete in the British Basketball League, the country's premier basketball competition, making their debut in the 2021–22 season. The Patriots currently play their home games at the Plymouth Pavilions.

Plymouth City Patriots
2022–23 Plymouth City Patriots season
Plymouth City Patriots logo
LeagueBBL
Founded2021 (2021)
HistoryPlymouth City Patriots
2021–present
ArenaPlymouth Pavilions
Capacity1,500
LocationPlymouth, Devon
Team colorsTeal, black, white
     
Head coachPaul James
OwnershipCarl Heslop
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The Patriots were founded in Plymouth in 2021 following the demise and closure of the Plymouth Raiders, the city's former basketball team which had competed in the top-flight British Basketball League since 2004. The Raiders had withdrawn from the British Basketball League following the 2020–21 season attributed to increasing rental costs of their home venue, the Plymouth Pavilions,[1] though later investigations revealed that the Raiders organisation had accumulated a debt of over £800,000, including unpaid taxes amounting to £161,882.[2]

In July 2021, it was announced by the league that the city of Plymouth would continue to have a franchise in the league for the 2021–22 season, led by local businessman and former Raiders sponsor, Carl Heslop.[3]

On 9 August 2021, it was announced that the new franchise will be called the Plymouth City Patriots; the new organisation could not secure the transfer of the naming and branding rights from Plymouth Raiders 1983 Ltd, the previous owners.[4] A one-year deal was agreed with Raiders' former home venue, the Plymouth Pavilions, to stage home games for the newly launched Patriots whilst the club actively sought viable venues to move to once the deal expired [5] – this deal was later extended for the entire 2022–23 season.[6]

On 10 August 2021, it was announced by the Patriots that Paul James was appointed as inaugural head coach[7] whilst, on 27 August, former Plymouth Raiders shooting guard Denzel Ubiaro was announced as the team's first player signing.[8] Patriots played their first competitive game on 25 September, a 84-75 loss at Bristol Flyers in the opening round of the BBL Cup. On 17 November, Great Britain international Kofi Josephs scored 46 points in a home defeat to Manchester Giants,[9] a record for the most points scored in a BBL game by a British-born player.[10]

The Patriots' first competitive victory came on 9 January 2022, when they defeated Basketball Wales 113-66 in the first round of the BBL Trophy. The following week, on 14 January, Patriots claimed their first regular season win after defeating Surrey Scorchers, 82-73, at the Plymouth Pavilions.[11] Patriots' form in February saw the team finish the month with a 5-2 win record, earning head coach Paul James and point guard Antonio Williams the Coach and Player of the Month awards respectively.[12]

Patriots finished their inaugural campaign in eighth position in the BBL Championship standings and qualified for the post-season Play-offs thanks to a vital home victory over Newcastle Eagles in the final game of the regular season.[13] Their appearance in the Play-offs was short-lived however, as they lost to eventual winners Leicester Riders with a 16-point aggregate defeat in the quarter-final two-game series.[14]

Home venues

Season-by-season records
Season Division Tier Regular Season Post-Season BBL Trophy BBL Cup Head Coach
Finish Played Wins Losses Points Win %
Plymouth City Patriots
2021–22 BBL 1 8th 27 12 15 24 0.444 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals Qualification Stage Paul James
2022–23 BBL 1 9th 36 11 25 22 0.306 Did not qualify Quarter-finals First Round Paul James

Players

Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Plymouth City Patriots roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
SG 0 United Kingdom Brandon, Isa 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 26 – (1997-03-18)18 March 1997
SF 1 United States Bissainthe, Ralph 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 24 – (1999-03-29)29 March 1999
F 2 United States Hawthorne Jr., James 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 26 – (1997-02-17)17 February 1997
G 8 United Kingdom Fawell-Molloy, Daniel (TW) 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 21 – (2001-07-20)20 July 2001
G 9 United Kingdom Lanipekun, Patrick 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 83 kg (183 lb) 23 – (1999-06-10)10 June 1999
PG 11 United States Gadsden, Ty 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 75 kg (165 lb) 26 – (1996-10-17)17 October 1996
PG 12 Albania Dusha, Elvisi (C) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 89 kg (196 lb) 28 – (1994-07-15)15 July 1994
F 13 Canada Iyekekpolor, Otas 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 26 – (1996-06-20)20 June 1996
C 15 United Kingdom Keita, Samuel 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 23 – (1999-11-18)18 November 1999
PG 17 United Kingdom Dang-Akodo, Jules 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 27 – (1996-05-02)2 May 1996
F/C 22 United States Hassan, Rashad 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 33 – (1989-09-23)23 September 1989
F 24 United Kingdom White, Will (TW) 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • United Kingdom Joseph Hart
Legend
Updated: 23 April 2023

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Rashad Hassan Samuel Keita
PF Ralph Bissainthe Otas Iyekekpolor Will White
SF James Hawthorne Jr. Patrick Lanipekun
SG Ty Gadsden Isa Brandon Daniel Fawell-Molloy
PG Elvisi Dusha Jules Dang-Akodo

Notable former players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

See also

References
  1. "Plymouth Raiders pull out of BBL". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  2. "Plymouth Raiders' collapse probed after club went bust leaving debts of £800k". plymouthherald.co.uk. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  3. "Plymouth confirmed to compete in 2021-22 season". 30 July 2021.
  4. "New chapter for Plymouth as Patriots join BBL". bbl.org.uk. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  5. "Plymouth Raiders replaced in BBL by new basketball team Plymouth Patriots". plymouthherald.co.uk. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  6. "Patriots to remain at Plymouth Pavilions for remainder of 2022-2023 British Basketball League Season". plymouthherald.co.uk. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  7. "Patriots announce first major signing". bbl.org.uk. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  8. "Highflyer Denzel is Patriot's first player signing". bbl.org.uk. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  9. "Plymouth City Patriots 93-99 Manchester Giants". bbl.org.uk. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  10. "Kofi Josephs drops BBL record 46 points vs Manchester". HoopsFix.com. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  11. "Patriots make Plymouth proud with a two-win weekend". Devon Live. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  12. "February Awards Double for Resurgent Patriots". bbl.org.uk. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  13. "Winner takes all: Plymouth City Patriots come head-to-head with Newcastle Eagles". Plymouth Herald. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  14. "Plymouth City Patriots suffer play-off defeat to league champions Leicester Riders". Plymouth Herald. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.