Cadle’s Fables – Kevin Cadle talks with Gary Jordan

by UK American Sports Fans

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“The Man, The Myth and trying to be a Legend!”

…or at least that’s what it says on his Twitter profile, and many of those who have followed his career will already call him the latter.

He’s the face of Sky Sports’ coverage of the NFL, but for others, however, will think back and remember his days courtside as one of the most successful club coaches in British basketball history.

Roll of Honour

  • 30 Domestic Trophies.
  • Named Coach of the Year eight times in a 13 year period (in both England and Scotland).
  • Scotland National team coach
  • England National team coach
  • GB Men’s Head Coach (1992 Olympic Qualification)

I was lucky enough to witness arguably his most successful period as coach of the dominant Kingston team in the late 80’s through to the mid 90’s. Win or lose (although that wasn’t often), he would spare time to share a word with fans after games at the Tolworth Recreation Centre.

Recently I managed to grab a few words from him about his time coaching in the British game, during the first boom of the sport over here.

I began by asking him to name his most favourite player during his time coaching. He couldn’t point to one but instead gave me a “Starting 5” .

  1. Alton Byrd – The 5′ 9″ point guard is still one of the most recognisable names in the sport over here, and was a real pioneer for the game.
  2. Danny Lewis – This 6′ 1″ guard played most of his career abroad but had an explosive time while here. Had an amazing 94-95 season, where he averaged 20.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 4.3 apg.
  3. Alan Cunningham – A 6′ 7″ forward who could turn games single-handedly, and often did. Wherever he played, teams won trophies.
  4. Martin Clark – 6′ 9″ forward, like Cunningham could really turn on the style and dominate games, held the Guinness record for scoring 50+ points in 3 successive games.
  5. Dan Davis – As power forwards go, he showed exactly that. Powerfully attacking the boards he was the heart and soul of the Kingston team that won so frequently.

Going on from this I asked Coach Cadle, out of all the players he had coached, who was the most he had helped improve in the game? A tough one to answer: “Hard to tell, but I would say over 90% of my players had their best team season (trophy wise) when they played for me, versus any others they would have played for.”

Thinking back over all the memorable moments he had whilst I saw him lead Kingston to many wins, I felt I had to ask which was his favourite moment in coaching domestically. The answer was surprising, when he claimed that it was when he coached Falkirk to victory over Murray International, who were Scotland’s elite team in the mid 80’s. Of course it makes sense, as this was the springboard to his future in the game. So what was his most memorable moment in Europe? Slightly an answer more obvious.

“Qualifying for the Final 8, we beat CSKA to get there, the first and only British team to make the Champions League final grouping.”

Referring of course to Kingston’s march through an amazing European campaign in the 1990/91 season. They actually ended up ranked 6th, overall, simply staggering.

With the huge array of talent he had coached, it seemed obvious to ask which player he would have liked to have had the chance to work with. Cadle turned back the clock and went Stateside with, in the end, two choices.

Firstly, guard Earl Monroe who had a great career with the New York Knicks from 1971-80, winning an NBA title with them in ’73 and a member of the NBA’s 50th anniversary team. His second pick was Pete Maravich. Another guard with a storied history; a multiple NBA All-Star, and a 10-year stay in the game was played out with Atlanta and the New Orleans/Utah Jazz. He died tragically due to an undetected heart problem in 1988, aged just 40.

Staying in the USA, he turned to Pat Riley as the coach he most admired in the game. One of the most honoured people to have graced the courts, both playing and coaching. Winning one title as a player with the Lakers, five titles as a coach, as well as being named NBA coach of the year three times; it is easy to see why Cadle looked up to him, simply, and in his own words, he said: “He was cool. And he knew how to motivate players.”

Rounding things off, I asked that if he could do it all again what, if anything, would he change. No hesitation here. It may be slightly different now to back then, with added exposure in the media (although not enough still some would argue), but the answer he gave still rings true: “The leadership of the league. I would want people who were not afraid of success.”

Kevin Cadle was a dynamic coach that bought all his emotion with him, and it reflected in the play of his teams. The man you see on your TV screens every Sunday night is every bit as honest and sincere as he was back in his glory days. It was a pleasure having the chance to get his thoughts.