Plymouth City Patriots

The Plymouth City Patriots are a professional basketball team based in Plymouth, England. Established in 2021 as a phoenix club following the closure of the Plymouth Raiders, the Patriots compete in the British Basketball League, the country's premier basketball competition. The club made their debut in the 2021–22 season and currently play their home games at the Plymouth Pavilions.

Plymouth City Patriots
2023–24 Plymouth City Patriots season
Plymouth City Patriots logo
NicknamePatriots, Pats
LeagueBritish Basketball League
Founded2021 (2021)
HistoryPlymouth City Patriots
2021–present
ArenaPlymouth Pavilions
Capacity1,500
LocationPlymouth, Devon
Team colorsBlack, teal, purple, white
       
Head coachPaul James
OwnershipCarl Heslop
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The Patriots were founded in Plymouth in 2021 following the demise and closure of the Plymouth Raiders, the city's pre-eminent basketball team which had competed in the British Basketball League (BBL) since 2004. The Raiders had withdrawn from the BBL following the 2020–21 season attributed to increasing rental costs of their home venue, the Plymouth Pavilions,[1] though later investigations revealed that the Raiders organisation had accumulated a debt of over £800,000, including unpaid taxes amounting to £161,882.[2]

In July 2021, it was announced by the league that the city of Plymouth would continue to have a franchise in the league for the 2021–22 season, led by local businessman and former Raiders sponsor, Carl Heslop.[3] On 9 August 2021, it was announced that the new franchise would be called the Plymouth City Patriots; the new organisation could not secure the transfer of Raiders' naming and branding rights from its former ownership[4] who later went on to relaunch the Plymouth Raiders as a National Basketball League team in 2023.[5]

Initially a one-year deal was agreed between Heslop and Raiders' former home venue, the Plymouth Pavilions, to stage home games for the newly launched Patriots whilst the club actively sought viable venues to move to once the deal expired[6] – this deal was later extended for the entire 2022–23[7] and 2023–24 season.[8]

On 10 August 2021, it was announced by the Patriots that Paul James was appointed as the new team's first head coach[9] whilst, on 27 August, former Plymouth Raiders shooting guard Denzel Ubiaro was announced as the team's first player signing.[10] Patriots played their first competitive game on 25 September, a 84–75 loss at Bristol Flyers in the opening round of the BBL Cup. On 17 November, Great Britain international Kofi Josephs scored 46 points in a home defeat to Manchester Giants,[11] a record for the most points scored in a BBL game by a British-born player.[12]

The Patriots' first competitive victory came on 9 January 2022, when they defeated Basketball Wales 113–66 in the first round of the BBL Trophy. The following week, on 14 January, Patriots claimed their first regular season win after defeating Surrey Scorchers, 82–73, at the Plymouth Pavilions.[13] Patriots' form in February saw the team finish the month with a 5–2 win record, earning head coach Paul James and point guard Antonio Williams the Coach and Player of the Month awards respectively.[14]

Patriots finished their inaugural campaign in eighth position in the BBL Championship standings and qualified for the post-season Play-offs thanks to a vital home victory over Newcastle Eagles in the final game of the regular season.[15] Their appearance in the Play-offs was short-lived however, as they lost to eventual winners Leicester Riders with a 16-point aggregate defeat in the quarter-final two-game series.[16] Power forward Rowell Graham-Bell was named in the Molten BBL British Team of the Year in the post-season awards.[17]

The 2022–23 season started with an international pre-season tour of France, with games against CEP Lorient, Champions League regulars Le Mans Sarthe Basket and EuroCup regulars Nanterre 92.[18] Plymouth started the new BBL Championship campaign positively, with captain Elvisi Dusha being awarded BBL Player of the Month for November[19] and, with eight victories by mid-December, the team reached fourth place in the league standings.[20]

The team's good form did not continue into the new year however; a 70–96 home defeat to rivals Bristol on 28 December signalled the start of a seven-game losing streak in the BBL Championship and, coupled with the loss of marquee players Antonio Williams and Troy Simons in January, marked a disastrous start to 2023. Further woe followed on 12 February with a surprise exit to Division 1 team Derby Trailblazers in the BBL Trophy Quarterfinals.[21] Patriots finished the remainder of the season campaign with a 3–15 losing run, ending in lowly ninth position in the BBL Championship and thus failed to qualify for the post-season Playoffs.

Home venues

Season-by-season records
Season Division Tier Regular Season Post-Season BBL Trophy BBL Cup Head Coach
Finish Played Wins Losses Points Win %
Plymouth City Patriots
2021–22 BBL 1 8th 27 12 15 24 0.444 Quarterfinals Quarterfinals Qualification Stage Paul James
2022–23 BBL 1 9th 36 11 25 22 0.306 Did not qualify Quarterfinals First Round Paul James
2023–24 BBL 1 - - - - - - - - N/A[lower-alpha 1] Paul James

Players

Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Plymouth City Patriots roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
F 2 United States Johnson, D'Andre 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 25 – (1998-05-19)19 May 1998
F 3 United States Wiley, Jacob 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 25 – (1998-09-16)16 September 1998
F/C 5 United Kingdom Yassi-Pepin, Charles 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 26 – (1997-07-26)26 July 1997
SG 9 United States Faulkner, Mason 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 25 – (1998-06-11)11 June 1998
SG 10 United Kingdom Lomeka, Briceny (TW) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 100 kg (220 lb)
G 11 United States Johnson, Taylor 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 28 – (1994-10-29)29 October 1994
PG 12 Albania Dusha, Elvisi (C) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 29 – (1994-07-15)15 July 1994
SF 13 United Kingdom Hart, Joseph 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 27 – (1996-01-10)10 January 1996
SF 15 United States Atwood, T.J. 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 25 – (1997-11-04)4 November 1997
PG 17 United Kingdom Dang-Akodo, Jules 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 27 – (1996-05-02)2 May 1996
F 24 United Kingdom White, Will (TW) 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
F/C United States Levi, Spencer 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 24 – (1999-04-11)11 April 1999
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • United Kingdom Will Hopper
Legend
Updated: 23 October 2023

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Spencer Levi Charles Yassi-Pepin
PF Jacob Wiley D'Andre Johnson Will White
SF T.J. Atwood Joseph Hart
SG Mason Faulkner Elvisi Dusha Briceny Lomeka
PG Taylor Johnson Jules Dang-Akodo

Notable former players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

See also

Notes
  1. The BBL Cup was abolished following the 2022–23 BBL season.[22]

References
  1. "Plymouth Raiders pull out of BBL". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  2. "Plymouth Raiders' collapse probed after club went bust leaving debts of £800k". plymouthherald.co.uk. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  3. "Plymouth confirmed to compete in 2021-22 season". 30 July 2021.
  4. "New chapter for Plymouth as Patriots join BBL". bbl.org.uk. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  5. "Plymouth Raiders back in national league and will play at Life Centre". plymouthherald.co.uk. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  6. "Plymouth Raiders replaced in BBL by new basketball team Plymouth Patriots". plymouthherald.co.uk. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  7. "Patriots to remain at Plymouth Pavilions for remainder of 2022-2023 British Basketball League Season". plymouthherald.co.uk. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  8. Andrew Arthur (17 July 2023). "Plymouth City Patriots extend Pavilions stay with new venue talks 'still ongoing'". business-live.co.uk. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  9. "Patriots announce first major signing". bbl.org.uk. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  10. "Highflyer Denzel is Patriot's first player signing". bbl.org.uk. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  11. "Plymouth City Patriots 93-99 Manchester Giants". bbl.org.uk. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  12. "Kofi Josephs drops BBL record 46 points vs Manchester". HoopsFix.com. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  13. "Patriots make Plymouth proud with a two-win weekend". Devon Live. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  14. "February Awards Double for Resurgent Patriots". bbl.org.uk. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  15. "Winner takes all: Plymouth City Patriots come head-to-head with Newcastle Eagles". Plymouth Herald. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  16. "Plymouth City Patriots suffer play-off defeat to league champions Leicester Riders". Plymouth Herald. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  17. "Molten BBL British Team of the Year 2022". bbl.org.uk. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  18. "Plymouth City Patriots To Take Part In Tropheé De Gulf Pre-Season Tournament". HooperOfficial.com. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  19. "Dusha Rewarded for Sensational Month". BBL.org.uk. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  20. "Dusha Rewarded for Sensational Month". BBL.org.uk. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  21. "Trailblazers upset Patriots to advance to the Trophy semi-finals". BBL.org.uk. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  22. "BBL announces competition changes for 2023-24 season". HoopsFix. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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