Wildcats Coach Elderkin: “Mersey Tigers should be given chance”

When the Durham Wildcats played the Mersey Tigers last Sunday, coach of the Wildcats, Dave Elderkin, looked across the floor at Coach Walsh and knew what his Tigers counterpart was going through.

Last season, the Wildcats were a new franchise in the BBL and were subjected to a number of heavy defeats. This season though, the Wildcats are a year older, a year wiser and are standing up for themselves, winning two games by the end of October when last season it took them until the end of January.

The first year struggle that Coach Elderkin’s side endured is not too dissimilar to what the young Mersey Tigers team are going through at the moment, with heavy defeats coming on a weekly basis.

The Tigers spent the off-season recruiting local talent  in order to rebuild the team from the ground up, a decision that wasn’t expected to pay immediate dividends.

In the early stages of this season the Tigers have suffered six blowout losses although in recent weeks, Mersey has shown signs of improvement; keeping games closer for longer and recording their smallest margin of defeat against the Wildcats last Sunday, a 91-71 defeat.

UKASF.com spoke with veteran Coach Dave Elderkin about what it is like to be a new franchise in the BBL, his thoughts on the 2012/13 Mersey Tigers and more.

UKASF.com: In 2011/12, the Wildcats were a new club in the BBL. What challenges did you face that first season?

Coach Elderkin: “We went into the BBL for the first time last year and I thought we would be prepared. But actually, we weren’t. We weren’t totally surprised by how hard the BBL teams play (but we were) very surprised by the level of conditioning. Everybody has played so hard.”

UK: What lessons will Coach Walsh and the Tigers learn in their rookie season?

CE: “I had a long talk with Tony Walsh before the game started and he’s learned just like I did that X’s and O’s are not the most important thing. We thought we were quite well organised in terms of the way we played the game X’s and O’s point of view and and I think Tony feels the same.

There was evidence in that game that Tony’s team are well organised but it is very much about how hard you can play and then start thinking about your structures after you’ve established the way you intend to play.

“I was quite impressed by them (Mersey Tigers) to be honest. There was a bit of pressure on us in that it was probably the first time in the BBL that we were expected to win and expected to win comfortably but we handled that aspect of it quite well. But in a sense, they quite surprised me.

“I understand that they played quite well against Worcester two days before for about three quarters of the game. So he’s (Coach Walsh) got them well organised (and) there is some talent in the team – I thought Rudy Etilopy had a great game for them.”

UK: How vital is it for the Mersey Tigers existence that they continue to improve this season and remain in the BBL?

CE: “I think it’s really important. It’s a big population, it’s got a tradition and good history of basketball, the owners absolutely seem determined along with his coach, to put the plan right and build from the bottom upwards.

“I was with the owner Steve Brookfield last week and they’ve clearly, clearly got a plan. And when you think about it, we’re talking about the importance of Manchester returning as a franchise, we’re looking very much forward to the situation developing in London which I think will be a big plus for the sport but actually, I remember as a player playing teams from Merseyside back in the 60’s. There has been a long tradition of basketball in Liverpool and I think the emergence of Liverpool as a franchise is just as important to us as the other ones.

“I personally think that they should be given time. But obviously in the BBL there is a mechanism: If you finish in the bottom two as we did last year, you’re reviewed.

“We were able to convince a BBL board that we have a long term plan as well. People look upon Durham as a little franchise. Well actually, we’ve got a population of well over half a million within a 20 minute drive of our venue. We’re trying to develop the game at the grass roots and I think that Durham can be a franchise that plays a key role in the future of the BBL as well.”

UK: Your Wildcats won only three games in your first year. For the Tigers, with so many losses being racked up during the season, how difficult is it to keep the locker room upbeat?

CE: “It was difficult at times but regardless of the result of the previous game, the players always came into practice with a smile on their face looking forward to the next challenge.

“The difficult bit about it was that we’re basically a student team and that managing of their time with basketball games, university games and their studies is not easy at the start of the season. We’ve learned some things from last year that we’ve put into place mentoring-wise this year, which I think has been another factor. At the end of last season, we felt that for the last six games we were really competitive as a BBL team.”