Mark Jarram – A Rider Off The Radar

This weekend, Leicester Riders head into their third consecutive final as they prepare to take on Atiba Lyons’ Sheffield Sharks for the BBL Trophy.

For many, it comes as no surprise. Over the course of the BBL Championship season, the Riders have become trailblazers. Where even the mighty Newcastle Eagles have faltered, Leicester have been a shining example of consistency, determination and grit.

Defensively, very few teams have surpassed the likes of Drew Sullivan, Jay Couisnard and Anthony Rowe.

Offensively, they have been able to call on the talents of Zaire Taylor, Pavol Losonsky and Jorge Calvo who have at times drained important shots or led on the floor.

However, there is a key element of this year’s Leicester Riders set-up which has gone unnoticed, slipping under the radar. It’s an arrival that has had a huge impact for Rob Paternostro’s team…and yet he’s not played a single minute.

Today, he becomes known to the basketball world. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Mark Jarram.

For regulars at the John Sandford Sports Centre, Jarram takes his place on the seat next to Paternostro (a man who is, in fact, rarely seated); he is the new Riders assistant coach – the first full time assistant that the club have had.

In recent years, Paternostro has been aided by Phil Gleadall and former Riders guard LaTaryl Williams. Following Williams’ return to the States in the summer, Leicester moved quickly to fill the support role to Paternostro, who last season guided Riders to the BBL Play-Off Final.

Loughborough native Jarram was the man appointed. A former BUCS winning coach with the University of Worcester, his arrival also introducing an intense behind-the-scenes work pattern, which would prepare the Riders a way like never before. When we arrange to speak with Mark; he’s breaking down game tape – something he admits to doing on a frequent basis.

“I usually watch four BBL games a week,” Jarram reveals.

“But away from that, I will also watch as many college games and NBA games as I possibly can.

“That’s super important; watching games at the highest level and learning from them. Watching games is a tool that is there for everybody and it’s your choice whether you want to do it or not. I feel that you need to put the hours in and you need to work on your craft. That’s what I’m prepared to do.”

Mark Jarram’s work ethic typifies the Leicester Riders team. Over the course of the season, Riders have been able to play some eye-catching basketball. However, their key to winning so consistently this season has been down to their ability to grind out wins.

One player that has benefited from working with Jarram this season is Zaire Taylor. The guard arrived at Leicester Riders during the summer, after graduating from the University of Missouri and has averaged 12.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per-game in his first season in the BBL.

“I’ve loved working with Coach Mark,” says Taylor.

“I’d definitely say he’s unsung. The things that he does behind-the-scenes, a lot of people don’t see. Coach Rob knows the game and he’s a leader of men, but Coach Mark does all the intangibles. He’s like the defensive spark for our team; he does all the dirty work that you don’t really see, so that everybody can get their dunks and make those special plays.

“The way he breaks down the teams though his scouting is everything. It’s been key and he’s been essential to our success.”

It’s glowing praise from one of the team’s stand-out performers this season; however Mark doesn’t disagree with Taylor’s labelling of Jarram as the guy that ‘does all the dirty work’.

“I take great pride in being really analytical,” Jarram confesses.

“I have no problem going under the radar; as long as I know I’m doing what I need to do to put these guys in a position to be successful, I’m happy to do all of the things that some may find disinteresting. If the wins come as part of the work I’m doing, then I can’t argue with that. I do the stuff that many people don’t know about, the stuff like video analysis, the scouting, the breaking down of video, presenting my findings to the players – all of the stuff that the fans don’t get to see.

“They see Rob on the sidelines, animated as he usually is, but they don’t see the conversations that we have during the moments that he’s not animated. He’ll come down and I’ll challenge decisions and we’re getting better for that. This is the first time that Rob has had a full-time assistant coach and I’m around him every day, we talk every day, we watch video practically every day. This is a very special year in the sense that we can be as prepared as possible for every single opponent.”

Whatever happens at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena on Saturday afternoon against Sheffield Sharks, it’s undoubtedly already been a successful season for Leicester Riders. Winners of the BBL Cup in January; last Saturday’s second-leg defeat to Worcester Wolves was the team’s first defeat at the John Sandford Sports Centre in over a year.

Not content with that, Jarram takes great pride in the fact that the team are in control of their own destiny this season, emphasising that daily improvement is of the utmost importance as Riders chase BBL Trophy, Championship and Play-Off glory.

“We’re in control of us,” he says.

“The rest of the season now goes the way that we make it go. If we stay locked in and we keep making the right adjustments, the keyword being right, then we can have a special year. The main thing is that we work hard every day, in every practice and on every possession; that we just keep on going. That’s when special things happen. This year, we have a special group to make special things happen and you want to take advantage of that, because you never know when you’re going to get that again. None of us know what is going to happen next year, so you have to take full advantage of every second. Whatever we achieve this season, it will be down to us. The emphasis laid down by Rob, Phil and I is improving every single day.”

With Mark Jarram assisting the charismatic Rob Paternostro in coaching such a talented team, improvement could very well be a near certainty.