Cheshire Phoenix

Cheshire Phoenix
League	British Basketball League
Established	1984; 34 years ago (1984)
History	Ellesmere Port Jets (1984–1988) Chester Jets (1988–2007) Cheshire Jets (2007–2012) Cheshire Phoenix (2012–present)
Arena	Cheshire Oaks Arena
Capacity	1,400
Location	Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
Head coach	Ben Thomas
Website	CheshirePhoenix.com
Uniforms
Home Away

The Cheshire Phoenix is a professional basketball team based in Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom. Founded in 1984, they are members of the British Basketball League and play their home games at the Ellesmere Port Sports Village. Under previous ownership, the team was known as Cheshire Jets, but due to financial difficulties the franchise was withdrawn from the League in November 2012 and was replaced by the Phoenix. From 1993 until 2015 the team was based in Chester, where they enjoyed their most success. The team's head coach is Ben Thomas.

Contents

• 
  1 Franchise history
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 Origin
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Home arenas
  


• 
  3 Season-by-season records
  


• 
  4 Trophies
  
  
  
  • 
    4.1 League
    
  
  
  • 
    4.2 Playoffs
    
  
  
  • 
    4.3 Trophy
    
  
  
  • 
    4.4 Cup
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  5 Players
  
  
  
  • 
    5.1 Current roster
    
  
  
  • 
    5.2 Notable players
    
  
  
  • 
    5.3 Retired numbers
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  6 See also
  


• 
  7 References
  


• 
  8 External links
  

Franchise history

Origin

The team was first formed from the ruins of the Ellesmere Port team, the St Saviour's in 1984. The team was initially named after their sponsors 'Motocraft Centre Ellesmere Port'. However, after the loss of their sponsor, they renamed themselves Ellesmere Port Jets.

The Jets were admitted to NBL Division 2 in 1986 and finished last in their first season, with just a single victory. Edging up to seventh in 1987–88, they then changed their name to Cheshire Jets, though still continuing to play in Ellesmere Port. They continued a steady mid-table development until, in 1991, they won the divisional title despite suffering five defeats. The same year, the Jets moved up into the BBL joining in with Britain's elite basketball teams. Later however, the arena in Ellesmere Port became unsuitable, and so in 1993 the Jets were forced to move to Chester, and into the Northgate Arena. The move was reflected in another name change to the Chester Jets.

The real turning point for the Jets came in 1996, when the application of the Bosman ruling to basketball resulted in the departure of many of the top English players to European clubs, and the BBL changed its eligibility rule to entitle teams to use five non-national players.

Trans-Atlantic recruitment by coach and co-owner Mike Burton resulted in a team which finished fifth in the League table in 1997. Subsequent seasons have seen their best-ever performances in 2002 (Northern Conference Champions) and 2003 (3rd in the re-unified League), and a string of successes in the BBL trophy (4-times winners, from 2001 to 2004), culminating in the League Championship in 2005.

On 7 April 2007, prior to the Jets' season finale at home to Guildford Heat, an 81–102 defeat, club owner and head coach Mike Burton announced that he would be retiring from the franchise at the end of the 2006–07 season. Burton's announcement, after 19 years at the helm, raised serious doubts of the clubs' future,^[1] with mounting debts and lack of financial backing. Shortly after the announcement, fans formed a committee to help save the club and received the backing of players including former Jet James Hamilton.^[2] Following a sponsorship deal agreed during the summer of 2007 with local firm BiG Storage to save the club and preserve their future, the Jets was renamed as the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets to cover the wider demographic of Cheshire county in line with BiG Storage's market coverage. When BiG Storage terminated the sponsorship, the managing director of the company arranged a successor sponsor; Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The club was plunged into chaos in November 2012 when, after only 7 games into the season, the British Basketball League withdrew the club's franchise from owner Haydn Cook after he notified them that he was going to cancel the players contracts and cancelled all future fixtures.

A statement from the BBL said: "The BBL have withdrawn the Cheshire franchise from its operating company with immediate effect.

"The decision follows an urgent review of the franchise following notification from the club that they were unable to fulfil their fixture this weekend. The BBL is currently exploring a number of options to ensure the continuation of the franchise. It is anticipated there will be a further announcement in the coming days." (Cheshire Chronicle)

The club had until the end of November to find £50,000 to preserve its status in top-flight basketball. Local businesses were found to donate money and become sponsors, thus saving the club and fulfilling its fixture list as planned.

Home arenas

Ellesmere Port Leisure Centre (1984–1993)

Northgate Arena (1993–2015)

Cheshire Oaks Arena (2015–present)

Season-by-season records

Season	Division	Tier	Regular Season						Post-Season	Trophy	Cup	Head Coach
			Finish	Played	Wins	Losses	Points	Win %
Ellesmere Port Jets
1986–87	NBL2	II	10th	18	1	17	2	5.60	Did Not Qualify		1st Round (NC)
1987–88	NBL1	II	7th	18	7	11	14	38.9	Did Not Qualify		2nd Round (NC)
Cheshire Jets
1988–89	NBL1	II	8th	20	6	14	12	30.0	Did Not Qualify		2nd Round (NC)
1989–90	NBL1	II	6th	22	10	12	20	45.5	Quarter Finals		Quarter Finals (NC)
1990–91	NBL1	II	1st	22	17	5	34	77.3	Quarter Finals		Quarter Finals (NC)
1991-92	BBL	I	11th	30	2	28	4	6.70	Did Not Qualify	1st Round (BT)	3rd Round (NC)
1992–93	BBL	I	10th	33	10	23	20	30.3	Did Not Qualify	1st Round (BT)	Quarter Finals (NC)
Chester Jets
1993-94	BBL	I	11th	36	11	25	22	30.6	Did Not Qualify	1st Round (BT)	Quarter Finals (NC)
1994-95	BBL	I	12th	36	6	30	12	16.7	Did Not Qualify	1st Round (BT)	Quarter Finals (NC)
1995-96	BBL	I	12th	36	8	28	16	22.2	Did Not Qualify	Quarter Finals (BT)	4th Round (NC)
1996-97	BBL	I	5th	36	24	12	48	66.7	Semi Finals	Runners-Up (BT)	4th Round (NC)
1997-98	BBL	I	10th	36	15	21	30	41.7	Did Not Qualify	1st Round (BT)	4th Round (NC)
1998–99	BBL	I	11th	36	10	26	20	27.8	Did Not Qualify	Quarter Finals (BT)	Quarter Finals (NC)
1999–00	BBL N	I	4th	36	17	19	34	47.2	Quarter Finals	Quarter Finals (BT)	1st Round (NC)
2000–01	BBL N	I	2nd	36	25	11	50	69.4	Quarter Finals	Winners (BT)	1st Round (NC)
2001–02	BBL N	I	1st	32	24	8	48	75.0	Winners	Winners	Winners
2002–03	BBL	I	3rd	40	28	12	56	70.0	Quarter Finals	Winners (BT)	Runners-Up (NC)
2003–04	BBL	I	5th	36	22	14	44	61.1	Runners-Up	Winners (BT)	1st Round (NC)
2004–05	BBL	I	1st	40	32	8	64	80.0	Runners-Up	Semi Finals (BT)	Semi Finals (BC)
2005–06	BBL	I	7th	40	17	23	34	42.5	Quarter Finals	1st Round (BT)	Semi Finals (BC)
2006–07	BBL	I	9th	36	10	26	20	27.8	Did Not Qualify	Quarter Finals (BT)	1st Round (BC)
Cheshire Jets
2007–08	BBL	I	11th	33	9	24	18	27.3	Did Not Qualify	Semi Finals (BT)	Quarter Finals (BC)	Mike Burton
2008–09	BBL	I	8th	33	15	18	30	45.5	Quarter Finals	1st Round (BT)	Quarter Finals (BC)	Paul Smith
2009–10	BBL	I	4th	36	22	14	44	61.1	Quarter Finals	Runners-Up (BT)	Runners-Up (BC)	Paul Smith
2010–11	BBL	I	4th	33	20	13	40	60.6	Semi Finals	1st Round (BT)	Semi Finals (BC)	Paul Smith
2011–12	BBL	I	6th	30	13	17	26	43.3	Semi Finals	1st Round (BT)	Quarter Finals (BC)	John Lavery
Cheshire Phoenix
2012–13	BBL	I	11th	33	10	23	20	30.3	Did Not Qualify	Semi Finals (BT)	1st Round (BC)	Matthew Lloyd
2013–14	BBL	I	5th	33	18	15	36	54.5	Quarter Finals	Semi Finals (BT)	1st Round (BC)	John Lavery
2014–15	BBL	I	4th	36	26	10	52	72.2	Semi Finals	1st Round (BT)	Quarter Finals (BC)	John Coffino
2015–16	BBL	I	7th	33	16	17	32	48.5	Semi Finals	Quarter Finals (BT)	Semi Finals (BC)	John Lavery
2016–17	BBL	I	10th	33	11	22	22	33.3	Did Not Qualify	Semi Finals (BT)	Quarter Finals (BC)	Colin O'Reilly (sacked) Ben Thomas
2017–18	BBL	I	9th	33	15	18	30	45.5	Did Not Qualify	Quarter Finals (BT)	Winners (BC)	Ben Thomas

Notes:

• From 1999–2002 the BBL operated a Conference system.


• DNQ denotes Did Not Qualify.


• NYP denotes Not Yet Played.

Trophies

League

• 
  NBL Division One Winners: 1990–91 1
  


• 
  BBL Championship Winners: 2001–02, & 2004–05 2
  


• 
  BBL Championship Runners Up: 2000–01 1
  

Playoffs

• 
  BBL Championship Play Off Winners: 2001–02 1
  


• 
  BBL Championship Play Off Runners Up: 2003–04, & 2004–05 2
  

Trophy

• 
  BBL Trophy Winners: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04 4
  


• 
  BBL Trophy Runners Up: 1996–97, 2009–10 2
  

Cup

• 
  National Cup Winners: 2001–02, 2017-18 2
  


• 
  National Cup Runners Up: 2000–01, 2009–10 2
  

Players

Current roster

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

Cheshire Phoenix roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. F 7001230000000000000♠23 Jordan Session 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) G 7001130000000000000♠13 Daniel Norl 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) G/F 7000200000000000000♠2 Jimario Rivers 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) G/F 7000300000000000000♠3 Momcilo Latinovic 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) PG 7001100000000000000♠10 Ashton Khan 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) SG 7000500000000000000♠5 Lewis Jones SF 7001120000000000000♠12 Louis Sayers 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) F 7000700000000000000♠7 Soloman Rolls-Tyson 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) F 7000100000000000000♠1 Dii'Jon Allen-Jordan 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) SG 7001250000000000000♠25 Luke Gosney	Head coach Ben Thomas Assistant coach(es) James Brice Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 08 September 2018

Notable 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: Played at least three seasons for the club. 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.

• 
  Dave Gardner
  


• 
  Delme Herriman
  


• 
  John Simpson
  


• 
  Paul Sturgess (basketball)
  


• 
  Alto Virgil
  


• 
  Adrien Sturt
  


• 
  Simeon Naydenov
  


• 
  Greg Meldrum
  


• 
  Greg Francis
  


• 
  Jorge Ebanks
  


• 
  Julius Hodge
  


• 
  Joshua Fox
  


• 
  Jason Killeen
  


• 
  Colin O'Reilly
  


• 
  Pero Cameron
  


• 
  Tony Rampton
  


• 
  Todd Cauthorn
  


• 
  Correy Childs
  


• 
  Martyn Gayle
  


• 
  Kenny Gregory
  


• 
  James Hamilton - Captain & Ambassador


• 
  John McCord
  


• 
  Louis McCullough
  


• 
  Loren Meyer
  


• 
  Billy Singleton
  


• 
  TJ Walker
  


• 
  Demond Watt
  


• 
  Jordan Williams
  

Retired numbers

Cheshire Phoenix retired numbers
No.	Nat.	Player	Position	Tenure
11		Dave Gardner	C	1990–1995, 1997–1998 & 1999–2003

See also

• 
  Cheshire portal
  

• Basketball in England


• British Basketball League

References

1. 
   ^ Richard Taylor (7 April 2007). "Jets' future in doubt after Burton quits". London: The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2007..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ "Let's get on with it, says club legend Hamilton". Chester Chronicle. 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
   

External links

• Official Cheshire Phoenix website


• 
  Cheshire Phoenix on Facebook
  


• 
  Cheshire Phoenix on Twitter
  


• 
  Cheshire Phoenix news from the Chester Chronicle
  

v t e British Basketball League
Teams	Bristol Flyers Cheshire Phoenix Glasgow Rocks Leicester Riders London City Royals London Lions Manchester Giants Newcastle Eagles Plymouth Raiders Sheffield Sharks Surrey Scorchers Worcester Wolves
Competitions	BBL Championship (Play-off Finals) BBL Cup BBL Trophy Cup Winners' Cup (defunct) Women's British Basketball League
Seasons	1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18
Awards	Coach of the Year Most Valuable Player British Team of the Year Defensive Team of the Year Team of the Year
Other	BBL TV Expansion British Basketball Union English Basketball League Scottish Basketball Championship National Cup National Basketball League

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