Edinburgh Bounces Back

How's the new season going so far?
We’re 1:2 right now; one win and two disappointing losses. The losses are disappointing because the big points differential in the final score does not reflect the game and how well we’re able to compete with the teams in question: Northumbria and Leeds Met.
Results against the aforementioned were: 48 : 87 (at home vs Northumbria) and 49:75 (away vs Leeds). This past Wednesday, Nov. 9th we defeated Glasgow away, at the buzzer 72:70. There are six teams in the League, the other five are: Leeds Met, Northumbria, Glasgow, Durham and Worcester. All team plays each other twice; home and away.

What different challenge does the league pose this season?
Every year a team is relegated from the League and thus a new team is added in replacement: we’ve seen Birmingham and Loughborough get relegated. This season Glasgow has taken Loughborough’s spot, for the first time ever there are two Scottish teams in the league now. Our Women’s Firsts are still the only Scottish team in the league.

Is there a particular game coming up that is worthy of attention?
The Scottish rivalry match against Glasgow is of great importance. You don’t have to know anything about basketball or the League standings to find the obvious reasons for this: it answers the question “who is the best university basketball program in Scotland”, it is a duel between two highly regarded academic universities and it is city rivalry; the big city against the capital. To add to that this will be a battle against relegation. Evaluating the results of the first few games of the season realistically it has become clear that one of us two will be relegated. Our women face a similar situation; they’re in a relegation battle with Sheffield Hallam University, who they play Wed Nov 23rd. Both the men and women play a knockout cup game on Nov 30th, the Men play Northumbria away and the women play the University of Strathclyde away. Both draws are random, and we are very lucky compared to previous years, when both teams went up against future finalists or champions in this early round. The winner of these knockout matches (no second leg) goes to the final 8, which will be held in a tournament format in Sheffield in March 2012.

What were the highs and lows from last season?
Last season was our second season in the Premier League and our strongest. Wins against Leeds (home opener of the season) and Worcester were particularly glorious.
Like in our first year our first round draw in the Knockout stage was unfortunate as we faced one of the strongest teams in the League; Durham and lost.

Who were the standout performers from last season?
We had a very strong core with an exceptional point guard in Mike Kirkpatrick, strong wing players in Ian Black and Gert Merisalu and a dominant inside presence with Liam McCabe and Tom. As always; Cathy and Ali Mitchell and Sarah O’Brien were the standouts for the women.

What are the goals for the club this year?
Same as every season; ‘don’t get relegated and give our best every game, giving everyone, including the big names a run for their money.’ Also the club needs to keep on growing; more members, more teams (this year we introduced two intramural teams for the first time). Having fun is also important we’re just 80 friends that like to play basketball and go out, have a good time.

If you were trying to entice more supporters to come and watch, how would you describe your sport?
Fast moving, with lots of different movement: lateral slides, running, jumping. Opposed to some prejudices; physical, especially around the basket, big bodies colliding on the ground and in the air. More exciting to watch than football/soccer as there are no draws, no chance of watching 90 scoreless minutes, every 24 seconds something has to happen (it’s the rules – shotclock). A better mix of finesse and force than in Rugby; dribbling and ball handling skills are required as well as fine shooting touch.