Wolves at Eagles 16 Dec’ 2011 (BBL press preview)
Newcastle Eagles v Worcester Wolves Preview
Friday 16 December 2011
Sport Central (19:30)
The top two sides in the BBL Championship table meet at Sport Central on Friday evening as Newcastle Eagles host Worcester Wolves.
Both teams are enjoying their best ever start to the regular season, with Eagles topping the table after eight straight victories and Wolves in second place with a 6-2 record.
Eagles’ player-coach Fab Flournoy expects his side’s toughest game of the season so far: “We haven’t seen the Wolves live but they have had plenty of exposure on television.
“They are an extremely well drilled group and the noticeably have excellent chemistry. Paul James has brought two quality US rookies in Tommy Freeman and Richie Gordon, added a veteran point guard in Sherrad Prezzie-Blue and some European toughness with Carlos Fernandez and Arnas Kazlauskas. They are an excellent unit.”
Flournoy’s team continued their excellent start to the season on Friday with a comfortable 94-80 win at Mersey Tigers, and Eagles’ coach was satisfied with the win against the side who denied them the regular season title last year:
“Mersey was a game which we always felt we were in control of after we got off to a quick start. That said we were never able to relax as the Tigers kept playing hard and were really effective on the offensive glass. Paul [Gause] was really back to his start of season form and Darius [Defoe] took advantage inside and finished well around the rim. I thought Devan Bailey and Myles Hesson played really hard for Mersey and Calvin Davis was also very effective.”
Wolves coach Paul James is a big admirer of the Eagles’ team: “Looking at Newcastle you just run out of words to describe their dominance over years. This season is no different; they are the team to beat. They have the continuity of having Fab as their leader and inspiration, Chapman, Defoe and Smith give them good stability. Add to this mix Andrew Thomson and Paul Gause then you have a very talented team.
