With March and April traditionally signalling the beginning of play-off time in the basketball calendar, now seems like a good time to reflect on the journey of our first ever senior men's national league team.

This journey began pre-COVID when the club announced our intentions to join the National Basketball League pyramid at its' footing, Division 3. In a testament to the club, over 40 different players expressed interest and joined us for trials over the coming months, and retained that interest throughout the pandemic!

Fast forward to April 2021 when the world returned to normal and we could get back on to court, uninterrupted, at our new training venue and home court, the Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre, under the management of our new partners, The University of Central Lancashire.

Over summer, the squad began to thin as cuts were made, and the final roster began to take shape. Roles were given, jersey numbers selected, offences finalised and we began our campaign with several pre-season friendlies. Early successes and tests were navigated by both myself and my Assistant Coach, Dave Mann, as we made our final tweaks leading up to the beginning of the season.

Saturday 2nd October 2021, our league campaign opened in an away game against Manchester Swarm. Swarm were full of NBL veterans, ex-professionals and had previously won league under a different guise. A solid test from the start. We took 8 players to the game, losing key players late due to injury and COVID. We fought hard and lost a close encounter, 91-84. We were led in scoring by our captain, Reiss Haggith, a regular occurrence moving forward.

Sunday 10th October 2021, our first ever home game at our new home court. This time we could compete with a near full squad, exciting prospects! We ground out a 6 point victory, despite being down as many as 15 throughout the game. On this occasion, inspiration came from our Point Guard, Isaac Litchmore. This made even sweeter considering Isaac has been at the club since a junior.

This win set the precedent for the remainder of the calendar year, finishing 2021 with a record of 7-3. During this time, the team had amassed the best points difference in the league, with everyone settling in to their roles and expectations on a weekly basis. In a rare issue with scheduling, the team didn't play a single game in December, which seemed a blessing considering the number of injuries and illnesses piling up.

By the time 2022 had arrived, the squad had been thinned further, losing 3 influential players in a short space of time due to personal commitments outside of the sport. It was time to reshape the roster, assigning new roles and responsibilities to all. This also lead to a shuffle in the offence, allowing us to adapt to play towards our new strengths. Sunday 9th January was a wake-up call for all, a tough 87-67 loss away to Tameside hurt. A lot.

With 9 games crammed into 7 weekends, and a vastly reduced squad depth, February and March were tough. We finished that stretch 3-5, 4-5 if you count a forfeited win. This meant we finished the season 11-9.

Considering our position and optimism at Christmas, this season will forever be considered as a 'what if' season by myself, Dave and the players. However, upon reflection, we can look back with a huge sense of Pride. We finished above .500 in our first season. We successfully integrated UCLan players into our roster and in turn, saw them finish their BUCS season unbeaten. We have allowed for a continuity of players for the following 2022/23 season. We have seen, (and competed with) the very best that Division 3 has to offer.

All in all, this season was a successful one. But let it be known, that the coaches, players and supporters are all left chomping at the bit in preparation for next year!

Sam Fitzpatrick

Photo Credit - Michael Porter Photography