Paul Nicholson from the Plymouth Raiders on Developing Youth Basketball Talent in the UK
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Anchor / RSS
Skylar Smith and Brian Bosche are joined by Paul Nicholson, Lead Academy Coach for the Plymouth Raiders, Head Coach for Raiders Development U18s, and Co-commenter for Plymouth Raiders TV and live BBL games. They chat with Paul about how important youth development is to building British Basketball, what it has been like calling Raiders games in a pandemic, and if he thinks he could train Brian up to Raiders playing shape. Skylar and Brian also talk about Who's Hot and Who's Not in the BBL, James Harden not showing up to camp, and a new dress code for NBA coaches.
Full Transcript:
Skylar Smith:
Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the High Tea Hoops podcast.
Brian Bosche:
High Tea Hoops.
Skylar Smith:
Nice, Brian. This is Skylar, the Duchess of Hoops, here with Brian, the Duke of Hoops, as always. You really got in there that time, Brian. How are you doing?
Brian Bosche:
I'm doing fantastic, can't wait for Christmas, and vaccines are coming out. Maybe I will one day be able to play basketball again.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, some positive vibes this morning. I love it, Brian. We're so excited this morning to be joined by Paul Nicholson, the Lead Academy Coach for the Plymouth Raiders, the Head Coach for the Raiders Development U18s, and the co-commentator for the Plymouth Raiders ... Plymouth Raiders TV. I knew I was going to mess it up. And live BBL games-
Brian Bosche:
Well, there's so much.
Skylar Smith:
There's so much to get through. I knew I wasn't going to be able to do it. Paul, how's it going? We're so excited to have you.
Paul Nicholson:
Oh, thank you guys. No, really, really excited to be here, to be fair. Because I'm a fan of the show, first of all. I always get a little bit nervous when it comes to this sort of thing, because I don't want the episode that I'm in be the one that I don't actually like.
Brian Bosche:
We'll tell you if this one gets the least amount of listens, don't worry ... really help your ego out there.
Paul Nicholson:
No, I'm really excited. No, I've just been doing loads of different things like this. Like you've seen, I've got many hats. It's just that's how it is sometimes in British basketball.
Paul Nicholson:
And we've got a great group of guys, the Plymouth Raiders, who we all dig in and get involved. One day I could be coaching the Academy. One day I'm on TV commentary. The next day, I might be selling advertising, and we've got multiple guys that do that. Yeah, it's good [crosstalk 00:02:56]-
Skylar Smith:
[crosstalk 00:02:56] life in sports.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, I'm slowly discovering that. I've done it for a long time, but I've only been full-time for a few years. And I'm slowly discovering that multiple hats is a good thing, but sometimes they're very tiring.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, for sure. I agreed that we would let Brian just get some Tottenham questions out of the way up at the beginning. I feel like we have to do this every time. We did this-
Paul Nicholson:
That's fine.
Skylar Smith:
... with Benson. And every time we have a Tottenham fan come on, I just have to give him five minutes, so I apologize.
Brian Bosche:
What do you mean you have to? This is the topic for the podcast.
Skylar Smith:
Take it, Brian. It's not the topic. Guys, don't stop listening now if you're not a Tottenham fan.
Brian Bosche:
If Selina Conroy is listening, the BBL Head of Comms, known Arsenal fan ... It was just our weekend, Paul.
Paul Nicholson:
She used to like me until [inaudible 00:03:48] on. Probably until she finds out that I'm a Tottenham fan.
Brian Bosche:
She got real quiet after I tweeted at her saying, "I'm ready for this Derby." And I haven't heard from her since.
Paul Nicholson:
Do you know what? We actually had the Newcastle game. When I got back from the Newcastle game ... I used to be one of those people who try and avoid the score, and watch the highlights.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
I could not help it on Derby Day. I looked at the score, and that night I was ... That was a good night.
Brian Bosche:
It still feels good.
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:04:18] beat Arsenal ... Yeah, I'll take that any day of the week.
Brian Bosche:
So a few questions for you before we get into basketball.
Paul Nicholson:
Go on.
Brian Bosche:
Actually, these are basketball questions, Skylar. So I'm cheating the system here. Do you think Tottenham playing basketball after training has been the key to their success?
Paul Nicholson:
That's a good question. That's a very good question. Well, hey, why not? Let's go with it.
Brian Bosche:
Team chemistry ... You're having fun.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, [inaudible 00:04:42] hand-eye coordination. I don't know why that's relevant at all.
Brian Bosche:
Cross-training ...
Paul Nicholson:
They say when you're younger, multiple sports is always good. So maybe these guys-
Skylar Smith:
It's true.
Paul Nicholson:
... are taking that route. Yeah, let's go with it, because until they started playing basketball, we were always the should have, would have, could have guys, right?
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, as soon as they started hooping ...
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, that's it, game on.
Brian Bosche:
Yep, [inaudible 00:05:07] says, "We need to be mean guys, bad guys." And basketball gets that little cutthroat attitude in there.
Paul Nicholson:
So you watched the same documentary as me, then?
Brian Bosche:
Oh, loved it. I chose those words over others that he uses. Okay, next question ... What player on Tottenham would be your number one pick for a basketball team?
Paul Nicholson:
Like current player or all time?
Brian Bosche:
No, current player. Right now, who are you plucking off that squad, putting them into your development program? They're going to be a Plymouth Raider someday.
Paul Nicholson:
You see, I've got two. It's between two, so I'm going either Harry Kane, right?
Brian Bosche:
Oh, yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Because Harry Kane, he knows what a goal is. He'll know where the net is. You know that guy that can just pull up from anywhere, and you're money all day? That's Harry Kane right there.
Brian Bosche:
Yep, great feel around the hoop.
Skylar Smith:
By the way, do you get told you look like Harry Kane?
Brian Bosche:
I was thinking the same thing.
Skylar Smith:
I literally never thought that until we got on this Zoom. I'm really sorry.
Paul Nicholson:
I get that a lot, even the academy program that I work in ... When I introduced myself to one of the classes who have never met before, for the whole season one of the kids called me Harry.
Brian Bosche:
Love it.
Paul Nicholson:
The other guy would be Hugo Lloris.
Brian Bosche:
Oh, yes.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Defensive [crosstalk 00:06:24]-
Skylar Smith:
Got to ...
Paul Nicholson:
... big hands, big body.
Skylar Smith:
Yes.
Brian Bosche:
From France ... definitely played some basketball growing up.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
Little Rudy Gobert vibes.
Skylar Smith:
Hand-eye coordination ...
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, I like a good defensive player, so I would be putting him up in the mix as well.
Brian Bosche:
So would you give Rudy Gobert a max contract for the Jazz? Is that what you're saying?
Skylar Smith:
Brian, we're so early in the podcast. Stop putting him in these traps.
Brian Bosche:
I'm sorry. Can I have one more just terrible question?
Skylar Smith:
One more.
Brian Bosche:
Can I get one more? Okay, thank you for the Tottenham questions. Moving on, you just launched your own podcast.
Skylar Smith:
Yes.
Brian Bosche:
The Plymouth Raiders, The Podcast. Congratulations, you're entering the podcast game. Skylar and I are salty veterans. We've been doing this for over five months now. So what questions do you have for us about podcasting? How can we help? You've got a microphone. That's step one.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, I've got my ... I don't want to move it, because I think it sounds good, so [crosstalk 00:07:18]-
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, don't move it.
Paul Nicholson:
So when we came up with this podcast, I'd done those ... I love podcasts anyway. And I listen to a lot of podcasts, like yours, like others, and I won't give too many names. Some are great. Some are-
Brian Bosche:
Us ... He pointed at us, for the listeners.
Paul Nicholson:
Some are not so great, and I think it's because there's so much generic stuff out there.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
So many people saying the same thing, but regurgitating it time and time again. So for me, I would say what do you guys do to keep it fresh, and keep it different?
Brian Bosche:
That's a great question, wow.
Skylar Smith:
It is.
Brian Bosche:
You're going to be a good podcaster. That's a good sign.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, that was a great question you just-
Brian Bosche:
Skylar, do you want to-
Skylar Smith:
[crosstalk 00:08:00]-
Brian Bosche:
... take this one?
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, I feel like I have two pieces of advice. I feel like if you're doing a pod where you know that there will be other people talking about what you're going to be talking about, don't listen to any of the other pods. Don't even look at Twitter, because inevitably, you will end up regurgitating stuff just without even thinking about it. So just don't listen to anything. Don't look at Twitter. Do that all after.
Skylar Smith:
My second piece of advice, which I don't even know how strong I stand in this because it scares myself a lot, is don't be afraid to just say what you're thinking. Don't be afraid if people are going to get mad, if players get mad, coaches, whoever. Just say what you're thinking, because people will always appreciate that more than people playing it safe, even if you make some people mad.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah. No, I like that. The first mistake I made is we're getting our house redone, and the room I'm in now is my wife's photo studio.
Brian Bosche:
Nice.
Paul Nicholson:
And we were doing [inaudible 00:09:04] with nothing in here. It was empty, re-plastered, completely empty. I had no microphone, and I did the podcast in here.
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
It really sounded like I was in a fish bowl.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
The first thing my GM said to me ... He said, "Great podcast, really love it. You're in a fish bowl." So microphone [crosstalk 00:09:20]-
Brian Bosche:
It sounds great right now.
Paul Nicholson:
... next day, microphone. We're done.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, you've got it figured out. You're a pro already.
Brian Bosche:
My piece of advice, and this is for anyone starting a podcast ... This is real, so I'm not being cheeky, or I'm not being mischievous-
Skylar Smith:
I wasn't being cheeky-
Brian Bosche:
... right now, Skylar.
Skylar Smith:
... either, Brian.
Brian Bosche:
No, yours was serious.
Skylar Smith:
Right.
Brian Bosche:
But you blame me for being mischievous all the time.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
What is your unique perspective on the topic? What is your competitive differentiator? What do you bring to it? We're obviously Americans covering British basketball, which ... Why? But we also-
Skylar Smith:
We don't even know.
Brian Bosche:
... bring unique experiences in basketball. So for me, it's like I played AAU growing up. I was an NBA fan since I could remember. So we have those unique perspectives that we can bring into whatever we talk about, and our unique interests.
Brian Bosche:
And Zoe Scaman came on the pod and said, "All right, figure out what your three pillars are." For me, I love basketball. I love business, and I love the media side. So taking those unique approaches ... Skylar [inaudible 00:10:16] is doing her fit, so she has her unique things that she's also blending into basketball. So that's would I would say, competitive differentiators. Or, what is your unique outlook on whatever you're covering?
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, I like it, because that's something we try. We wanted to make it a little bit different. So for us, it was if we touch on basketball, that's fine. But the idea was, actually we didn't even really want to talk that much about basketball.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
It was about the lives of these guys. The episode that's out already with Elvisi Dusha ... He has some incredible stories of how he was an illegal immigrant, and came over with his family. And he didn't even go into the half of it, but just the trials and tribulations that he had to go through just to be in this country before he even touched a basketball was incredible.
Brian Bosche:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
And stuff like that is, I think ... In this day and age, people just want to hear ... They want to hear a few more stories than stats.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
They want the inside information. They want to really know the people. I can compare it to, maybe, if you went for a drink with someone.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
If you go for a drink with someone, that's the stories you're going to get.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, completely agree. I love the human stories, so I am so excited to listen to your podcast. Everyone go subscribe right now. We finally got Brian's Tottenham questions out of the way. Let's get into this interview.
Skylar Smith:
Let's finally get into it. All right, Paul, we brought you on as the expert on the British basketball youth development scene. We're still pretty new to the scene. If you were to meet someone who was super new, how would you describe the youth basketball development system in the UK right now?
Skylar Smith:
How do kids get developed? When are they getting discovered? How are they getting recruited? Are they signing up? Are you finding them? That kind of thing, and does it look different in the UK, as opposed to the US or in Europe? Just give us a little bit of a primer.
Paul Nicholson:
I appreciate the title of expert. I want to take that away, because I know [inaudible 00:12:16] so many guys who are phenomenal at this, at developing players, but much appreciated. So that's the kind of question I've been asked a few times. I've attended camps a lot in America, and this is one of the first things they go to is what do you guys do different?
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
The system works like this. You've got, first of all, just fundamental playing basketball, so just kids playing basketball maybe in school age or younger. Under sevens, under six, just picking up a basketball, just shooting around having some fun.
Brian Bosche:
Because it's [inaudible 00:12:54] in sports, right? Is that one of the-
Paul Nicholson:
It is. It's growing massively. It's growing absolutely massively. But it depends what area you're in, as well. If you're in London, you've got a lot of basketball. Manchester, you've got a lot of basketball. If you go outside of the big cities, there's a little bit less.
Brian Bosche:
Okay.
Paul Nicholson:
There's more ... Where I live, there's a lot of rugby.
Brian Bosche:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
A lot of rugby, a lot of cricket, things like that. So there's a lot of sports out there you need to compete with to begin with, but you have a system where everything ... Just like Europe, there's a club system. So you don't necessarily play ... You will play for your school at a young age.
Paul Nicholson:
So pre-15 age, you will play for your school, but it's not really many focuses on school basketball, not as much as there should be. Each school has their team. Sometimes some schools might have one, two good players on it. Some may have more. It just depends what area you're in, but what you find is where we are in Plymouth, the best kids from each school come and play for the club.
Brian Bosche:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Skylar Smith:
Okay.
Paul Nicholson:
You can join the club. You can play recreational, pay some money, play some basketball. Or if you want to take it seriously, you can try out for the team, Under 12s, Under 14s, Under 16s, Under 18s. And then it goes into academy, so that's your under 19s.
Brian Bosche:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Skylar Smith:
Yep.
Paul Nicholson:
And then, it will go into university. And on top of that, you would also have NBL Division One, Two, and Three.
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
That gets regionalized as well, so there is a lot of basketball to be played. It's just the main thing for kids here is finding their level. The main challenge we have is having people find their level early, and get involved early. So many kids I've had at 15, 16, 17, who have maybe not played basketball, or only played a year of basketball ... We want to really bring kids in at a younger age.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
For us, a big point is just bringing these guys in young. What can we offer them? Can we keep them in the system? Can we give them the best opportunities from a young age, and not just 15, 16 year old that just likes the game.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Let's try to offer something for all of them. I think the big difference, like I said, is things like the TV coverage, the media outlets.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
All [inaudible 00:15:17] stuff. The accessibility for the League is good, and it's getting better. But if I walk down the street where you live, and I said, "Hey, what about the Lakers?" Or, "Hey, what about the Pistons," or whatever, right?
Brian Bosche:
Well, not the Pistons, Paul.
Skylar Smith:
Thank you for throwing in the Pistons. Thank you.
Paul Nicholson:
And they're going to answer you, because they're going to know. You might not like the answer, but they'll answer you.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
If I said ... I could go to somewhere in Sheffield and say, "Hey, what about the Sheffield Sharks?" They may not have any idea what I'm on about.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
We just need to be known. I think once we get known, development of the young players will probably come a lot easier. We need to do more in the summer. I know you guys have AAU.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
Yes, we do.
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:16:03] taking over high school basketball, right?
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
People care more about AAU, because now there's deals involved. There's honest recruitment involved. There's [crosstalk 00:16:12]-
Brian Bosche:
Super teams that can be built.
Paul Nicholson:
Oh, yeah, it's unbelievable. Where in the summer for us, historically, we shut up shop a little bit. And we work on skills, and fundamentals, and stuff. There's a place for that, but kids want to play.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, or have a show.
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:16:28].
Brian Bosche:
AAU is the show. There's a lot of mystique around it, and there's a lot of fun. And I just learned this, Skylar. A friend of the pod, Murray Hendry, who is a Glasgow Rocks fan favorite ... He started playing when was 18.
Skylar Smith:
That's so old.
Brian Bosche:
And he's what? He's 6'8". He has a 40 inch vertical. He's a freak athlete, and it's like okay, if he started when he was six, what could he have developed into?
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, that's normal. So I've coached a kid who ... He's now in Colorado, Adams State University. But he came on board at like 15, 16, which is quite old, really, when you think about someone who wants to progress into American college basketball.
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
And so, I think the biggest thing for us in the UK is bringing people through the door at a young age with so many distractions around them where basketball isn't your biggest sport.
Skylar Smith:
Yes.
Paul Nicholson:
It's your fastest growing sport, but it's not rugby. It's not football.
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Paul Nicholson:
And that's the challenge. I started playing basketball because I saw a friend playing basketball, and that was it, really. I saw him in the garden playing basketball. I tried playing it. It was good. I watched NBA, because NBA was actually on TV in the UK as well, then.
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
Not just [inaudible 00:17:49]. And that got me into it, but then all of a sudden basketball became inaccessible for people. You couldn't see it anywhere. You couldn't find it anywhere. Now that's ... The whole transformation's happened, and it's coming back.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, you mentioned how as the League becomes more known, and as basketball in general grows in the UK, how that will lead to you guys being able to develop more players, and develop them better. Do you think that it could work the other way, too? Do you think that if you were to get a bunch of kids into development programs, that could create BBL fans out of them? It could create basketball fans out of them, and it could become a reinforcing loop.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, 100 percent. So a big thing I have with my guys is I really encourage them all, and I send them the links to every game. I send them all the stuff that they can watch. I send them all the podcasts about British basketball. I just send that in our chats, because I just want them to be involved a little bit.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
There are kids I've met who have played for a club from the age of 12 to 18, and never actually been to watch a BBL team play.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
It's unbelievable. It's huge.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
They haven't watched them on TV. They just like playing basketball. And I don't think that's just in my area. I think that's known throughout the country. A lot of players are like that. You can-
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, it's actually a thing in the WNBA, too. We just had the WNBA draft, and a bunch of the players who got drafted ... They asked them who their favorite WNBA players were, or who they looked up to. And a lot of them just didn't have any answers because they weren't really watching WNBA games. It's kind of similar.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, it is, very much. I try to do what I can with my guys, and what we do with the Academy program is I actually offer out ... We can't do it at the minute because of the restrictions in place, but we have [inaudible 00:19:45] experience for all my players. So my players, on a typical game day, would be maybe mopping the floor or whatever on the court, grabbing rebounds for the guys. Just getting them involved so they can see these people, so they can see Andrew Lawrence, Ashley Hamilton, and look up to them, and want to go there.
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
And then we invite the pro players in to do some training with the guys.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And just try and build some sort of rapport with them. We're privileged where we are, attached to a program.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
When there is plenty of people out there which are not. So it's them trying to find their niche as well.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
But it's difficult. It's always been a challenge, because you're fighting against other sports. But it is growing, and it's certainly getting there. There's no doubt about that.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, well, I think there's a big focus on, "Let's have players become successful overseas in the NBA that were actually developed in the UK system."
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:20:37]-
Brian Bosche:
Where OG Anunoby is from the UK. He was born in London, but I think he was only ... What, one year in London before he moved to the states?
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:20:44] but we'll hang on to that as long as we can.
Brian Bosche:
Yes, hang onto it. But I think the Cam Hildreth story is powerful because he was actually brought up in the development system.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
And I know his dad was an exceptional player, as well, so that helps when you have that type of coaching from an early age. But I'm hoping that we can see more of that talent being developed from an early age, where they don't go to the States. Or they don't go, and they can actually go through these systems, and show that it's legit.
Paul Nicholson:
There's a lot out there. Before Cam, there was a few. And there's a lot which go unknown, just because the social media hype wasn't as big.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Look at Luke Nelson and the GB Squad.
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Paul Nicholson:
So I remember coaching against Luke Nelson. It was Under 18s. I can't remember how long ago it was now, but he was just turned 15 years old.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And he was playing for the Under 18s team, but at the same time, he was playing for their Division One team. And he was getting 20 points a game for their Division One team. And in Under 18s, he absolutely smoked us.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Like 15 years old, and he completely smoked us.
Brian Bosche:
He is good.
Paul Nicholson:
It was unbelievable.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
I've never seen a talent like that in front of my very own eyes, right there. I'm calling a time out, and they're looking at me. And I'm like ... because you guard him and-
Brian Bosche:
Good luck.
Paul Nicholson:
He was just like Cam. He just created something out of nothing, and it was unbelievable.
Brian Bosche:
Cam has no right dunking like that, by the way.
Paul Nicholson:
No, that's ridiculous. Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
He looks like a scrawny white guy that's out there, and then he'll just ... explodes up and throws it down. I'm like, "Why can't I do that?" It's ridiculous. How tall is he? Is he 6'4", 6'5"?
Paul Nicholson:
I don't know if he ... Is he that tall?
Brian Bosche:
He better be that tall, or I'm going to be even more mad.
Skylar Smith:
Brian is 6'3", so if he is shorter than him-
Brian Bosche:
Hey, Skylar, 6'4". I'm listed at 6'4", all right.
Skylar Smith:
With shoes on.
Brian Bosche:
No, I'm just listed at 6'4".
Skylar Smith:
With a hat on.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, I don't know how tall he is, but he's special. There's a lot of kids out there like that. And there's a lot of kids in the UK which really go underrated.
Brian Bosche:
Yep. So on that-
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:22:51]-
Brian Bosche:
I was just going to say, on that, what are some of the goals of the academies and clubs? It seems like there is a path to go through these systems, so like Skylar said, are you trying to get them into the BBL? What are some of your goals with these players coming out of the academies?
Paul Nicholson:
It depends on who you are, and where you are. So you've got different types. You've got your academies, and if you look at your Myerscough, your Barking Abbeys, people like that ... Your Haringey Hawks ... Those guys, they are about winning. They recruit a lot, heavily recruit, you know?
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
So you get a lot of academies which you'll get an influx of local players, but you would also get ... You're trying to recruit the best kids in the country, period. And they are great programs, like Myerscough go overseas. Haringey's gone overseas to Europe, and winning games over there. Phenomenal, you know?
Brian Bosche:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
They are top, top academies. And then, you've also got ones which you need to look after local kids. Because I'm Plymouth born and bred. I'm a Plymouth fan, always have been. So when I run an academy, my first thing is I want to make sure every kid in Plymouth has got a home to play basketball.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
I'm not going to be bringing in too many guys who are going to take their place. Because I want to look after our own for a while.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And if that means we can't compete at the top division, or whatever, it is what it is. We'll get there eventually, and we start from the bottom up. But I believe there's a pathway for everyone, and I believe you can ... If you come to our academy, you can play for all the age groups.
Paul Nicholson:
You can then go to university. And then you can, maybe, if you're good enough, train for the BBL team. Denzel Ubiaro was in ... Well, he still is in university. He's not a Plymouth player. He's from London, but he came down to the university in Plymouth. And now he's absolutely killing it right now in the BBL, making a name for himself.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And there's stories like that all over. So it is possible that you can go from 12 years old, and go through the system. But at the same time, I'm not in the business to crush anybody's dreams. If someone wants to go to America, hey, you go for it. You fill your boots, and live your dream.
Paul Nicholson:
But as long as we give them the right information, and we prepare them in the right way for that. Because it's not quite as easy as, "I'm going to jump to America and live the dream." Because you could easily get lost in the system there, as well, you know?
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
So I think there's roots for everyone. So many young players play in Division Three, Division Two, Division One basketball these days in England, and there's so many going overseas. And personally, I just think there's something for both. You could go both avenues.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Yes, I'd love to keep everyone here, but I'm a person of experience. And I like to go and see things, and do things, and try things.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And I can't do that if I stay in Plymouth my whole life.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, I feel like that segues nicely into what advice do you have for young British hoopers?
Paul Nicholson:
Explore ... The main thing on that, explore. Don't just be a one ... Well, there's nothing wrong with being a one club guy.
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
But you've got opportunities to go places. Go to camps. Go overseas to camps. Go to an AAU tournament. Go visit a high school. Go over to Europe, and be in a tournament or something like that. Just go explore different avenues. If you've only ever been in one club and coached by one coach, you're going to know one way.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And we all know basketball is not one way.
Skylar Smith:
Yes.
Paul Nicholson:
It's different thought processes. It's different people. It's different advice. It's different tactics. Go see the world, and figure it out, what looks good for you. It's the same with coaching as well. If I had a role model who was one coach, and that was the only coach I listened to, I'm going to coach like him.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
I will never actually figure out what works for me, and I think it's the same for players. So my biggest advice is get out there, see the world, play basketball in different countries, different places. Meet different people, don't just stick to the-
Brian Bosche:
You also see your level.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
If you have only played in one city, or one state, and you're the best one, I can guarantee you you're not the best if you expand out of that bubble a little bit more.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
And that challenges you. It pushes you to be a better player when you have that step change, and that step level to people that you get rocked by.
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, you have to push up. If you're the best player in your Under 16s group, you need to be playing Under 18s. If you're the best player Under 18s, you need to be playing Division Three, Division Two, or whatever. You have to just keeping pushing, and pushing, and pushing.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And that's also a lot of responsibility on a coach. The coach has to set that play in motion.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
And it's not even going into a league, or joining a new team. It's like you said, going to a camp. Go to the states to play in a camp where you can see the best in what different countries have to offer, because those are less commitment. But you can actually get the, "Oh, shit, I need to work harder. I need to up-level my game."
Paul Nicholson:
I had that. I had that experience not as a player, as a coach. I've coached here in Plymouth. I've only ever coached for Plymouth. I've coached Southwest England, which is like from club basketball you have regional basketball, and then you have national basketball.
Paul Nicholson:
And that's fine. We went overseas, did tournaments. But I made a decision to contact someone who I met at a GD camp and say, "Look, I want something else. I need something else. I need more influences." He invited me to get in contact with someone in the States, and I went through an organization called Hoop Group. I don't know if you know who they are.
Brian Bosche:
No.
Paul Nicholson:
That makes me sound terrible now, because I tell everyone it's a big deal.
Brian Bosche:
We know now.
Paul Nicholson:
It's a camp organization in the States who run really massive, massive recruitment camps in America. They're based over in Pennsylvania, and there's 700 kids in these camps. You have 60 odd coaches there. And I went there for the first time ... first time visiting America. It just took me by storm, seeing the level of players physically and athletically at that age, at a young age, was unreal.
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
Unreal.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Fundamentally, actually, there wasn't a huge amount of difference. I think fundamentally, our best players were head and shoulders above some of those. But athletically and physically, it was just a different beast.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And you see why guys who are maybe not quite as skilled, but they're big and strong, get picked up. Because you can teach the skills. You can't teach the [crosstalk 00:29:36]-
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, and our best athletes go into basketball.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
It's the cool sport. Everyone is attracted to it.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, very much so. It's something which ... From that point on, it was a real eye-opener. And I just made it a point to learn from as many coaches as possible, and ask questions. And we try to do that down here with all our coaches. We've got a guy who looks after us, and coaches us.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
He doesn't have a team. He just looks after us, and sometimes we need that.
Brian Bosche:
Absolutely.
Skylar Smith:
I think everyone needs that. Let's finish up on one last question on youth development, and then we want to hear more about all the different hats you wear, so we'll move on to some of those. But why is developing youth talent important to British basketball as a whole?
Paul Nicholson:
I saw that question, and that's such [crosstalk 00:30:31]-
Skylar Smith:
It's a big one.
Brian Bosche:
Great question, Skylar.
Skylar Smith:
It's a big one.
Paul Nicholson:
That's a [crosstalk 00:30:33]-
Skylar Smith:
I like giving guests the tough ones. It's no cake walk on the High Tea Hoops pod.
Brian Bosche:
And it's a broad question, so you can go anywhere with it.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
We're excited.
Paul Nicholson:
Right, okay.
Brian Bosche:
Lock it in, Paul. Lock it in. I'll stall for you for a second.
Paul Nicholson:
The short answer is everything about everything. I know that sounds really weird. It just is. You need to start at home with the coaches, first of all.
Paul Nicholson:
Because if you want to develop talent in British basketball, you have to develop yourself to develop the talent. So that's where it starts, and if we want to grow the game, we need people invested in the game. We need coaches invested. You need kids invested. You need parents invested.
Brian Bosche:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
You need the guy down the street who just watches TV invested. You just need everyone in it, involved if you want to grow the game. So having the kids who go to school, who have all their friends, who see their mates everywhere they go, who go home and speak to their families ... Having them invested and developed, not just the skills, but actually just knowing the game of basketball, will be contagious because news whispers. And that will just happen.
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
I think, for us in British basketball, we want it to do better at the national scene. It has been happening a lot, like our junior national programs and our senior national programs have been working wonders, women and men. So I think we need to keep pushing that, and to keep pushing that, we've got to develop the young players.
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Paul Nicholson:
I mean, those young players need to be somewhere where they can be competitive, whether that's here, whether that's overseas, whether that's in club basketball or whatever. They need to compete at a level that pushes them. If we can do that here, and keep everything here, it's only going to grow and then the product's only going to become more attractive.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And as we know with the world that we're in, if the product's more attractive, it's more likely that people are going to buy into it.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
I thought you did great. I think that's a great response.
Skylar Smith:
I thought that was a great answer.
Brian Bosche:
Now, the coaching point is ... I love that, too. It's like, you don't think about we need to educate the people actually educating the players, and that's where you always have to start or there's no developing that happens.
Paul Nicholson:
I was guilty for that. The guy ... He asked one of the questions on Twitter as well, so he's a good friend of mine.
Brian Bosche:
Oh, great. I'm excited for that one.
Paul Nicholson:
I was in a big rut at one point because I was in a league in a conference which is ... The Southwest Conference is quite low down in the pecking order, let's say. And we won everything. We were unbeaten, and I had been invited to camps, and I was untouchable in my head.
Paul Nicholson:
I was like, "Yeah, [inaudible 00:33:21] and I'm killing it right now." I went into the Premier League, Under 18s basketball. And my first game was just terrifying. We got smashed by like 80 by some London team.
Brian Bosche:
Dang.
Paul Nicholson:
They absolutely tore us apart. And I didn't know what to do. I had no answers, because I didn't know enough.
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
But having people come in ... Sometimes not necessarily people who are ... maybe been in it as long as you or whatever, just someone to look at something in a different perspective, and now educate me in a different way of looking at things. And I need to educate myself, and now I have a few more answers.
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Paul Nicholson:
And you've got to do that. If you don't do that, you can't expect the kids to get better. It just won't happen.
Brian Bosche:
Absolutely, all right, switching gears here a little bit more. How has it been calling Raiders games during a pandemic with no fans?
Paul Nicholson:
Nerve-wracking.
Brian Bosche:
It's empty.
Paul Nicholson:
It's new to me, as well. This isn't something I've done for a long time. I've been coaching for ... I don't know, 16, 17 years in Plymouth, since I was young. And then, one season a few years back, someone said, "Hey, do you want to stand in for commentary? The guy that normally does it is not there. You know enough about basketball to say some stuff."
Paul Nicholson:
I'm like, "Yeah, cool." So I did it, and that was fine for one season, on and off. Maybe 100 people listening on the YouTube link, or whatever, because everyone else is in the arena. And we did our first live broadcast, me and Pablo, the other week against ... I think it was ... Was it Worcester? I can't remember who it was. It was Worcester or Bristol, or something. We had 2,000 people tuned in.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, you could see that-
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, that's a lot.
Paul Nicholson:
Oh, my days. I know it's not about us, but-
Skylar Smith:
It is still nerve-wracking, yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:35:19] think I [inaudible 00:35:22] with my friends, my fellow coaches, my players, the home fans.
Brian Bosche:
Yep, if there's one thing we found with BBL Twitter, it is people are not shy about criticizing what's going on the court or in the commentary.
Paul Nicholson:
My Academy players aren't shy. So I've got my [inaudible 00:35:38] in front of me, because I try to interact as I do my commentary. I don't know why I decided to do that. I just did it, and we decided to talk through halftime, all this sort of stuff. And my guys are giving me stick. I'm like [crosstalk 00:35:52]-
Brian Bosche:
Oh, I love that.
Paul Nicholson:
I swear it's because we're not on the court right now so I can't go do and do anything about it.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, you can't make them run [crosstalk 00:35:58]-
Skylar Smith:
You can't make them run laps.
Brian Bosche:
Oh, my gosh, that was jinx.
Paul Nicholson:
Even they're giving me stick. I think I spent 10 minutes the other day calling Rahmon Fletcher, Raymond. I know what his name is, it's just-
Brian Bosche:
It's stressful.
Skylar Smith:
That's me. I get on the podcast, and all of a sudden, I'm saying insane things that I've never messed up before.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
That's right. That's very funny, though.
Paul Nicholson:
I enjoy it. I do enjoy it. I don't know how I'll cope with on-court commentary. I'm not sure about that. I like being behind the laptop.
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
Absolutely.
Paul Nicholson:
It's like my safety blanket.
Skylar Smith:
That's fair. We said you wear many different hats. You're a coach. You're a commentator. If someone is new to the BBL, maybe they need an NBA comparison to understand what your coaching style is like, what your commentary is style is like.
Skylar Smith:
I can tell that this is a nerve-wracking question already. I'm so excited. If you had to compare your coaching style to an NBA coach, and your commentating style to an NBA commentator, who would they be?
Paul Nicholson:
Right, [crosstalk 00:37:06]-
Brian Bosche:
Great question, Skylar.
Skylar Smith:
Thank you. Thank you, Brian.
Paul Nicholson:
It's a great question. So great that I was on Google today going, "Right, what am I like?"
Skylar Smith:
Who are NBA coaches?
Brian Bosche:
Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Nick Nurse.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, just name the greats. There you go.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, my issue is I look at all these people and I'm going, "I can't compare myself in any way." That's the first thing I'm saying because-
Brian Bosche:
But we're making you do it, you have to.
Paul Nicholson:
I'm thinking about what I see, and what I hear when they're doing the mic-ed up videos?
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:37:39] they do-
Skylar Smith:
Do we know the Mike Tuck videos?
Brian Bosche:
[crosstalk 00:37:40]-
Skylar Smith:
Brian is Mike Tuck's biggest fan.
Brian Bosche:
He's handsome.
Paul Nicholson:
No, no-
Brian Bosche:
I don't know what to say.
Paul Nicholson:
No, sorry, you've got- I said the mic-ed up videos.
Brian Bosche:
Oh, the mic-ed up.
Skylar Smith:
The mic-ed up videos.
Brian Bosche:
[crosstalk 00:37:51] perfect name for commentary.
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:37:51]-
Brian Bosche:
The mic-ed up.
Skylar Smith:
Mic-ed up, Mike Tuck.
Brian Bosche:
[crosstalk 00:37:53].
Skylar Smith:
There you go, Mike. Take that.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, I just hear Mike Tuck no matter what you say.
Paul Nicholson:
I love the stuff that you do with Mike Tuck. It's hilarious.
Skylar Smith:
He loves him.
Paul Nicholson:
He is everywhere. No, so I like those videos. And my approach has always been quite a personal approach with the players. I'm not the shout guy.I'm not they, "Hey, run suicides," badass guy. That's not me. It's more about having relationships and [crosstalk 00:38:29]-
Brian Bosche:
Player's coach.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, there you go.
Paul Nicholson:
... trying to get the players involved. I used to get criticized a lot for being way too nice to my players. I am [crosstalk 00:38:41]-
Brian Bosche:
Oh, classic Tottenham fan, right? You're just too nice, Paul.
Paul Nicholson:
So I think from what I've listened to, I love what Steve Kerr does, how he communicates with his players individually.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And he's one of the guys that I really notice do it a lot.
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Paul Nicholson:
I don't get the privilege of staying up until 3:00 in the morning to watch all the NBA games, so I can't give you too much more than what I see on the TV here and stuff like that. But somebody like that, just the way he talks to his players. I admire that a lot.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
Great choice.
Paul Nicholson:
Clear for all my friends, I'm not comparing myself.
Brian Bosche:
But that's your style, and that's what you like to emulate.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, and we hyped you up enough to say that. You can compare yourself to an NBA coach.
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:39:31]-
Brian Bosche:
And it can be aspirational.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
That would be the style that I like. Commentary ... so this is a difficult one, because I didn't actually know too many names of the commentary. So I spent a good hour today just researching different commentators, and listening to clips because-
Skylar Smith:
I'm glad I gave you homework before the podcast.
Brian Bosche:
I know.
Paul Nicholson:
I appreciate that. There was two things that really stood out to me. Mr. Cavalier, Austin Carr ... This could be somebody completely known to you guys.
Brian Bosche:
It's not.
Skylar Smith:
It's not.
Paul Nicholson:
There was a game, Cavs vs OKC, and Melo was at OKC. And they call him Mr. Cavalier, because he's just the biggest Cavaliers fan, and he's a commentator. And Melo misses a free throw, and he's just tearing him apart because he's a fan. And he got fouled out, and this guy was so happy that he got fouled out. He couldn't hide it. He couldn't be neutral.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And Mike Rice ... He was the only commentator, I believe, to get ejected from a game.
Brian Bosche:
I would love to see that. That would be so funny. Get Pabs being ejected for something.
Paul Nicholson:
He was arguing with the ref in the Trailblazers game against Philadelphia. He was-
Brian Bosche:
Amazing.
Paul Nicholson:
... a Blazers fan. And he ended up getting ejected from his microphone.
Brian Bosche:
So you're a nice coach-
Skylar Smith:
Those are aspirations.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, you're a nice coach, but a harsh commentator, just black and white.
Paul Nicholson:
My problem with commentary is that I'm a fine.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
I said it on many podcasts. I sat front row at Plymouth Raiders at 14, 15 years old, watching the team, getting autographs, going to the camps. I'm a fan. I had to apologize to Rahmon Fletcher after the game.
Paul Nicholson:
Nothing too serious, but he saw me celebrating after the game against Newcastle. And I'm stood up, and I'm fist pumping in the air. And he's looking at me like, "Come on, man. You're commentary." Afterwards, because I know Drew Laskin really well ... I went down and I said, "Hey, look, it was nothing personal. It was a great game. It's a compliment to you because rarely we beat Newcastle by one point."
Paul Nicholson:
And he was like, "Hey, that's all good." He was really cool about it. There was no issues. But I'm a passionate fan, and trying to balance that on commentary is difficult.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, all right, final question of our questions. Then we'll move on to-
Brian Bosche:
Well, I have one more, Skylar.
Skylar Smith:
We'll let you throw in a bonus. How many months would you need to get Brian into playing shape for the Raiders? We want Brian on the Raiders. How many months do you need with him to get him into shape?
Paul Nicholson:
How many minutes do you want?
Brian Bosche:
Okay, let me give you my scouting report. Quick scouting report ... I'm 6'4", listed, Skylar.
Skylar Smith:
6'3".
Brian Bosche:
Don't say ... I'm 6'3" and a half without shoes. With shoes, I'm certainly 6'4" or above.
Skylar Smith:
Okay, he's got a lot of hair right now. It might be a couple-
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, I do have a lot of hair. Look what I'm-
Paul Nicholson:
Oh, man.
Brian Bosche:
Usually, I just have some great flow.
Skylar Smith:
We're in lock down.
Brian Bosche:
It's actually cut, but it's just hats for days now. 6'4" ... I've got a 6'7" wingspan, so I've got some defensive length.
Paul Nicholson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brian Bosche:
So not-
Skylar Smith:
I did not mean for this to just turn into Brian describing himself physically.
Brian Bosche:
You pushed it over. I probably have arthritis in both ankles, just turned 30. I'm a very good shooter, but I'm-
Skylar Smith:
[crosstalk 00:43:07] do it.
Brian Bosche:
... a little overweight right now in the pandemic, so you're going to have to work off those pandemic pounds, but great shooter, great 3-and-D guy. And I'm looking for 15 minutes a game. Glue guy on the bench, bring me in ...
Skylar Smith:
Locker room guy ...
Brian Bosche:
Locker room guy ... I'm going to be a great contributor to the atmosphere and the culture.
Paul Nicholson:
You're trying to get a contract. Do I need to call PJ up and-
Brian Bosche:
We'll see.
Skylar Smith:
Yes, absolutely.
Brian Bosche:
So what do you think, how long? What will it take?
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, I've seen you play in fancy dress outfits.
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Paul Nicholson:
So that does show a quality that under extreme circumstances you can perform.
Brian Bosche:
Those hoops were definitely 10 feet, by the way. So don't be deceived.
Skylar Smith:
Definitely 10 feet.
Brian Bosche:
It was just camera work to make them look shorter.
Skylar Smith:
I was dunking on 10 feet.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah. No, I have the same issue. I don't want to guarantee how long, but we do have one of the best rehab guys in the league.
Brian Bosche:
Oh, all right.
Paul Nicholson:
Andy Cockrell, look him up, machine rehab. He is one of the best ... I say one of ... He is the best rehab guy in the BBL, in my opinion. So if he gets his hands on you, I don't think he'll be long at all.
Brian Bosche:
Okay.
Paul Nicholson:
I think he'll put you through a workout program. He'll monitor your [inaudible 00:44:27], and he'll be the jury right there. He'll be the one who turns to PJ and says, "Hey, yeah, this guy's good to go."
Brian Bosche:
All right, Skylar, there's my path.
Skylar Smith:
There you go.
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:44:37] then you're good.
Brian Bosche:
Second career, after 30 BBL player. I'll just take one of those American Visas. They definitely couldn't find someone better. Bonus question, would you consider coaching for the London Loompalonics, London and the UK's first NBA team.
Paul Nicholson:
See, I've heard a lot about this, the Loompalonics, and I love the name because I used to love the Sonics, right?
Brian Bosche:
Oh, yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
I was a big Sonics guy, Gary Peyton and Sean Camway.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
I used to love them. I had the shoes with the zips on the front, everything.
Brian Bosche:
Oh, so cool.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, I think ... Who's on the roster? Can we just get that-
Brian Bosche:
Okay, so Moe Moonsy is the GM, so you're going to be working with Moe.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, all right.
Brian Bosche:
I don't know if you like him or not.
Paul Nicholson:
We'll figure it out.
Brian Bosche:
So far, I've been recruiting Gareth Bale, so Gareth Bale's on the team.
Skylar Smith:
Confirmed.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, not sure about his skill set.
Paul Nicholson:
We may need to bring Eliot in to help him with rehab.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, exactly, may need to help him. And so far ... I don't want to put the cart before the horse. You can recruit players. So we don't have a huge squad built out yet, so you have that opportunity to build [crosstalk 00:45:47]-
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, you have the freedom.
Brian Bosche:
... our roster, yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Okay, I guess I'd have to move to London. I can do that.
Brian Bosche:
Just for the season.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, I'll-
Brian Bosche:
You're in, all right.
Paul Nicholson:
Count me in, just don't tell my boss that I'm moving just yet.
Brian Bosche:
Got it, okay, we'll sign you up. You're on the waiting list.
Skylar Smith:
We'll keep it quiet.
Brian Bosche:
Exactly.
Skylar Smith:
Don't worry, this isn't recorded. All right, let's finish up with some questions from Twitter. We've got some fun ones. First question from Ravioli, not sure if that's their real name.
Brian Bosche:
Friend of the pod.
Skylar Smith:
@joesaintledger ... How can we encourage British players to go pro in the UK while studying on scholarship rather than playing college in the States?
Paul Nicholson:
Right, so I really like this guy because he's jumped up on my Twitter a few times now.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
I've done a little bit of research on him.
Skylar Smith:
Shout out, Ravioli.
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:46:36] from every club.
Skylar Smith:
Whoa.
Paul Nicholson:
He has a t-shirt from every club in the League.
Skylar Smith:
That's very impressive.
Paul Nicholson:
[crosstalk 00:46:41] WWBBL, BBL ... I think that's really cool. I love that.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
But how would I encourage them? This is a really difficult question for me, because I've said it earlier. It's got to be what's right for the guy, the person, the player.
Skylar Smith:
I guess the question is are you trying to encourage British players to stay in the UK?
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, 100 percent.
Skylar Smith:
Okay.
Paul Nicholson:
We want to encourage guys to go through the program, to be a part of what we do, go to [inaudible 00:47:11] university, try out for the pro team. We love that, the idea of that story. And I feel we've got the right people in the right places to make sure you get the best out of that person. Maybe years ago, you would encourage people to go somewhere else.
Paul Nicholson:
I've done it before, because I didn't think I could have got the best out of that person. So I thought it was better to go somewhere else. You can't be selfish. So many coaches are. They keep their guys, and maybe they need to play in a tougher league, or whatever. So if that happens, you show them the way.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
But I would definitely do it just by showing them the path, really breaking down the ladder, taking them to a BBL session and saying, "Hey, look, this is where we want you to be. This is what it looks like." And same, take them to university, "This is what it looks like." But you need to understand what's good for them, what's good for their family, what's good for their education. That has to come first before anything decides with basketball.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, for sure.
Paul Nicholson:
I don't know if I answered it or not, but I would encourage them just by showing them what's in front of them.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, that was a great answer.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, just don't be narrow-minded about it. I would show them plenty of other opportunities as well.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
And they have to make that choice.
Skylar Smith:
Moving on to a question from Ben Roper, @benir, B-E-N-I-R. What changes would you make to the talent development system in Britain to bring it more in line with Europe?
Paul Nicholson:
So Ben Roper, I've known for a long, long time.
Skylar Smith:
This is a friend.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah.
Skylar Smith:
We love a friend-contributed question for our guests.
Paul Nicholson:
I text him as soon as I saw this, and I said, "I hate you," because [crosstalk 00:48:50]-
Brian Bosche:
It's a hard question.
Paul Nicholson:
He likes to get me researching stuff.
Skylar Smith:
Lots of homework before this pod.
Paul Nicholson:
He is the guy that coaches the coaches.
Skylar Smith:
Nice.
Paul Nicholson:
So he's always on my case, and we always ... If you give him an answer, he'll break down into another five questions. So my answer for the Europe ... I would say what I would like to see over here more is 3D3, right?
Brian Bosche:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul Nicholson:
So you go to [inaudible 00:49:21] 3D3 tournaments are huge. Olympic basketball coming up, 3D3. You go to the States. I don't know if it's big over there, but I would like to see a more serious approach to the on three basketball because the reality is, it helps with spacing, creativity. You get more shots, because you've got the ball more. You get more passes, because you've got the ball more.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
You develop your 1B1 skills. It's exciting to watch, and it's easy to organize and play.
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Paul Nicholson:
And when we start talking about what sort of players we want in teams, we want guys who can guard the 1B1. We want guys that understand spacing.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
We want [inaudible 00:50:03] people, and all of that goes into 3B3, three on three basketball. All that goes into it, so I would say I would love to see ... We do bits over here. There is a few bits and bobs going on, but I would like a more serious approach to that style of basketball because I think it would really benefit the young kids.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, it's really fun. I mean, we have huge three on three tournaments here in the States.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
And there's actually pro levels you can go to, like my point guard on my league team that I play with is Damon Huffman, and he was on the US three on three team that won the World Championships in Amsterdam.
Paul Nicholson:
We had a guy [crosstalk 00:50:42]-
Brian Bosche:
It wasn't-
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, we had a guy last season who played for Astonia.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, so you can reach really high levels professionally in three on three, even. So it's not like it's just its own skill development.
Paul Nicholson:
For a younger age group ... Guys play three on three all the time, right?
Brian Bosche:
Right.
Skylar Smith:
Right.
Paul Nicholson:
But to have something more organized for a younger age group ... Maybe in the summer. We fill in this void during summer with a three on three national league [crosstalk 00:51:08]-
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
But you've got to man that. You've got to find the coaches to do it, and [crosstalk 00:51:13]-
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Then you start talking money and everything else.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, that's great.
Paul Nicholson:
But I would like to see that a lot more.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Regarding getting guys ready, like I said about before, you've got to give them educated information. If I take the example for USA guys, I've had plenty of guys who want to go to USA to go to college. So I invite them to come with me to a camp. I show them what it's like.
Paul Nicholson:
I introduce them to people, to college coaches, and just say, "Hey, look, this is what it's all about. This is what it's really like. You're going to move away from home. You're going to be put in pressure situations. You've got to be on top of your grades," all this sort of stuff. And just give them real information. Give them real information. It's the same with the BBL stuff.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
Help guys achieve better things by putting them in harder situations, which are still achievable. Test guys, let them see what the BBL set up is like. Talk to pro players. I've had pro players get on Zoom calls with some of my guys, just to give people downloads of what it's like to be actually a pro.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
It's not all just playing basketball, signing autographs. There's a lot more to it, and they have to go through a lot of things. You have to leave home sometimes. They get cut sometimes. They find new teams sometimes. It's quite a difficult life, you know?
Skylar Smith:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
It really is, especially when you're not getting paid millions of dollars, or whatever, you know?
Skylar Smith:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
It becomes a little bit harder. So it's just really giving guys facts, and putting them into positions where they can see it for themselves.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, and this Archie question, Skylar ...
Skylar Smith:
Final Twitter question ... Archie Domingo-
Brian Bosche:
Friend of the pod.
Skylar Smith:
Friend of the pod, Archie Domingo-
Brian Bosche:
We love Archie.
Skylar Smith:
Is he good enough yet? I don't know if this means in basketball, or just in general but-
Brian Bosche:
Archie, you are good enough.
Skylar Smith:
Archie, you're good enough for us.
Paul Nicholson:
I don't know Archie, but I checked out his profile, right?
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Paul Nicholson:
I thought I'd do my homework [crosstalk 00:53:15]-
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Paul Nicholson:
Archie, you're ready.
Brian Bosche:
You're ready, Archie.
Skylar Smith:
That's a very funny question, considering you don't know him.
Paul Nicholson:
I don't know what you're ready for, but you're ready.
Brian Bosche:
Archie, get some confidence. We want to see you out there.
Skylar Smith:
Bet on yourself, Archie. We got you.
Brian Bosche:
Absolutely.
Skylar Smith:
All right, this was incredible. Paul, thank you so much. Tell the people where they can find you.
Paul Nicholson:
Boy, I don't even know my own Twitter handle and stuff. That's my problem right now. Well, yeah, I'm on Facebook. I'm on Twitter. I'm on Instagram. Coach Paul Nicholson, or Paul Nicholson, it could be.
Brian Bosche:
[inaudible 00:53:50].
Paul Nicholson:
I honestly don't know my own Twitter handle.
Brian Bosche:
We'll link to it. Don't worry.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, we'll link to it.
Paul Nicholson:
Yeah, you'll figure it out, right?
Brian Bosche:
Yep.
Paul Nicholson:
So I'm more than happy just to talk to people, or speak to people who ask questions, share experiences, or whatever, take criticism. I'm game for it all. I don't mind, so yeah. But check out our podcasts. You can also follow me on YouTube. I do have a YouTube account with drills and stuff like that on it as well, so feel free to jump on that too.
Brian Bosche:
All right.
Paul Nicholson:
And that's pretty much me.
Brian Bosche:
Thanks, Paul.
Skylar Smith:
Thanks, Paul.
Paul Nicholson:
Thank you guys, appreciate it.
