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Plymouth City Patriots Head Coach Paul James Hits 500th Win in the British Basketball League

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Paul James, Head Coach of the Plymouth City Patriots, has finally achieved his 500th win as a Head Coach in the British Basketball League after beating the London Lions.

Head Coach of the Plymouth City Patriots and British Basketball League legend Paul James has finally logged his 500th win in charge as a Head Coach in the British Basketball League.

This monumental win came after his Patriots beat the London Lions by the score of 94-70 on November 5, 2023.

After overcoming a seven-game loss streak, the Patriots played the role of David perfectly against the Goliath of the British Basketball League in the London Lions. Taylor Johnson was Paul James’ star player in the win over the Lions, with the guard scoring 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

James was made the inaugural head coach of the Patriots in August 2021, ahead of their first season as a new franchise. Prior to his role with the Patriots, James had coached the likes of the Plymouth Raiders, the England national team, Worcester Wolves, Guildford Heat, and Thames Valley Tigers.

In a coaching career that has spanned nearly 20 years, James has been at the forefront of Plymouth Basketball for over five years.

The head coach of the Plymouth City Patriots had this to say about reaching the 500-win milestone:

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet; my focus was just on getting another win. The guys have been working exceptionally hard since they got here, and we’ve been getting better all the time. We’ve had to change a few things up, and it just clicked tonight against London.”

In his three years as head coach of the Patriots, James has a combined record of 25-54 and has been instrumental in their addition to the British Basketball League and their rise throughout its standings.

The Patriots are now 2-10 in the 2023/24 British Basketball League season, with their two wins against the Lions and B. Braun Sheffield Sharks.

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Regular Season Round 9 MVP: Lonnie Walker, Besiktas Istanbul

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Lonnie Walker, number 4, in a white Besiktas Istanbul jersey dribbling the ball and pointing during the EuroLeague game at Virtus Bologna

The new arrival delivered a career night in just his second game for the club

Lonnie Walker needed just two games to make himself at home at Besiktas Istanbul. The new arrival produced a stunning performance as Besiktas came from behind to win 101-103 at Virtus Bologna in the final seconds, and his career-high PIR of 36, the best of the round, earned him MVP of the Round honors for Round 9.

Walker scored 30 points on 2-of-4 two-pointers, a red-hot 7-of-11 from three-point range and 5-of-9 free throws, adding 4 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and 8 fouls drawn. It is the second MVP of the Round award of his career, and he is the first Besiktas player to win this honor.

Lonnie Walker, number 4, in a white Besiktas Istanbul jersey standing on court during the EuroLeague game at Virtus Bologna

Theo Maledon of Real Madrid posted the next-best PIR of 35 in a 95-76 home win over Fenerbahce Tarfin Istanbul. Maledon scored 26 points on 3-of-6 two-pointers, 3-of-4 three-pointers and 11-of-12 free throws, adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 9 fouls drawn.

Nadir Hifi followed with a PIR of 30 as he led Paris Basketball to a 94-99 road win over Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv. Hifi had 26 points on 4-of-7 two-pointers, 3-of-4 three-pointers and 9-of-10 free throws, plus 4 assists, a steal and 11 fouls drawn.

Three players rounded out the top performers with PIRs of 29. Chima Moneke led Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade to a 103-73 home rout of FC Bayern Munich with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Tyty Washington was perfect inside the arc for LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, going 7-of-7 on two-pointers and 2-of-3 from deep to finish with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in a 94-79 home win over Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. In the same game, Baskonia’s Kenneth Faried had 17 points, including 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, plus 8 rebounds and 10 fouls drawn.

Individual highs: Facu Campazzo, Real Madrid, 10 assists

Walker led all scorers in Round 9 with 30 points against Virtus. Hifi leads the EuroLeague at 21.2 points per game.

Dario Saric of Anadolu Efes Istanbul led all rebounders with 12 boards in an 83-68 home win over Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens. Jonas Valanciunas of Zalgiris Kaunas leads the season standings at 8.1 rebounds per game.

Facu Campazzo of Real Madrid was the only player to reach double digits in assists, handing out 10 against Fenerbahce. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade’s Carlik Jones and Zvezda’s Chris Jones are tied atop the standings at 5.9 assists per game.

Wenyen Gabriel of Besiktas made a round-high 4 steals against Virtus. Luca Vildoza of Partizan leads the league at 2.1 steals per game.

Six players blocked a round-high 2 shots: Moneke, Mo Gueye of Valencia Basket, Jaylen Hoard of Maccabi, Olivier Nkamhoua of FC Barcelona, Austin Wiley of Bayern and Azuolas Tubelis of Zalgiris. Aliou Diarra of Virtus is the EuroLeague’s top shot-blocker at 2.1 per game.

Campazzo (10 points, 10 assists) and Saric (11 points, 12 rebounds) were the only players to record double-doubles in Round 9.

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