Show Notes
For Episode 55 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with two-time BBL Coach of the Year and the first player in English basketball history to play for, and then coach the England National team, Mick Bett.
Bett, now a coach in Canada at Ridley College prep program and basketball commentator, is a multiple national-title winner as a player, 1983 Commonwealth games gold medalist, with 43 caps as a player, along with two-time BBL Coach of the Year along with 6 caps for England as Head Coach.
Note – the internet was particularly bad on this call and the mic at my end was not selected correctly as the input so the audio and video quality leaves a lot to be desired; hopefully should be better on the next one!
In this 90 minute episode, hear from Mick on:
- How he first got into playing basketball as a 12 year old
- Growing up with Paul Stimpson and him being the bar he was measuring himself against
- Starting out at Crystal Palace programme and it being his first exposure to a pathway
- Playing in the London league coming up and how strong it was
- Going to university at Borough Road before making the jump to the US for a year
- The Crystal Palace dynasty
- The greatness of Alton Byrd
- When Jimmy Guymon was coaching and had to step in as a player for one game
- Playing under Danny Palmer
- The legendary 2OT game of Crystal Palace against Maccabi Tel Aviv at the WICB Junior tournament
- Steve Bucknall and his talent growing up
- His favourite memories with the National Team
- Going up against the likes of Charles Barkley and Karl Malone ahead of the World University Games
- England beating Turkey two times out of three in 1986
- The British pathway and kids wanting to pursue college basketball
- How much British basketball misses Kevin Cadle
- The transition from playing to coaching
- Winning BBL Coach of the Year award in his first two seasons in the pros
- Being a basketball commentator and some of his top memories
- A story of a young Michael Olowokandi
- His all-time great British players
- The WICB tournament
- His 1987 title with BCP and the upset of Kingston in the Play-off final
- Memories of international hoops legend Nik Galis
- The best player he’s ever coached
- And much, much more!
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What is Hoopsfix Podcast - British Basketball with Sam Neter?
The Hoopsfix Podcast is the hub of British basketball discussion. Hosted by Sam Neter, founder of British basketball website Hoopsfix.com, and featuring guests ranging from players, to coaches and key influencers within the UK basketball community, it is one of the few places to get accurate, topical and thought provoking information on the British basketball landscape.