2-Time BBL MVP Rahmon Fletcher from the Newcastle Eagles
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Skylar Smith and Brian Bosche are joined by 2-Time BBL MVP Rahmon Fletcher from the Newcastle Eagles. They chat with Rahmon about his journey to the BBL, playing in Europe, winning MVPs and trophies, the Eagle's hot start to the BBL season, and how basketball can grow in the UK. Skylar and Brian also talk about the NBA Draft, Russell Westbrook wanting out of Houston, "The W" Mode in NBA 2K21, and Vote Warnock.
Full Transcript:
Brian Bosche:
Everyone welcome back to High Tea Hoops. This is Brian Bosche at the Duke of Hoops. And I'm joined by Skylar, Duchess of Hoops. What's up Skylar?
Skylar Smith:
Hi, Brian. Super excited for today's episode.
Brian Bosche:
We have a very special guest Rahmon Fletcher, two-time BBL MVP. Current Newcastle Eagles player. Rahmon, what's up? Welcome to the podcast.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Thank you, guys, for having me. I'm really excited about this. This is something that I'm not... I normally don't do, or I'm not able to do with the outlets now. But I got a feeling this is going to be really, really good.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, we're excited to get to know you better. Obviously Newcastle has got a hot start into the BBL season.
Skylar Smith:
Hot.
Brian Bosche:
Hot start. It's been really fun watching everyone, especially a lot of the young players, come on. But before we get into the current season, just want to get to know your background a little bit. So, you played at Green Bay. And right after graduating, you transitioned to playing in Europe. So, what was that decision like moving from the States to play abroad right after college?
Rahmon Fletcher:
It's one of those things that you just don't know what to expect. It's one of those feelings that I had going from high school into university. You hear all the horror stories. You hear all the good stories as well. But it's also one of those things that I like to experience things for myself. If I hear what other people say, if there was she says, or he says, or anybody says, it's hard for me to just believe it. So, it was just like transferring from high school to college. I just didn't know what to expect but what I was in for a rude, rude awakening, because it's a different culture. Because I started off, I didn't come to England straight away. I went to the Netherlands, which they speak Dutch and the food is different. I can't read the labels. I can't read the food labels or anything like that. So, for at least two weeks, this is going to sound ridiculous from people that know me. For two weeks, I ate M&M's, Twix and drunk Coke, every single day, because that's all I-
Skylar Smith:
You couldn't find anything else?
Rahmon Fletcher:
I just didn't know. I didn't trust it because the people that are from there, they tell you, the food expires in two or three days. And I don't stay on top of it like that. In college, we eat pizza, frozen pizza.
Brian Bosche:
Pre-packaged, yeah.
Rahmon Fletcher:
We make burgers. So, now I'm really on my own. But after I got used to it after a while, I just got a sandwich, made some... I mean, I figured it out, for sure.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, stay away from the coffee shops and the space cakes. Don't go there before a game, just stay away.
Skylar Smith:
Maybe after the game.
Brian Bosche:
Maybe after a game, recovery. Hey, the NBA-
Rahmon Fletcher:
I don't know what you're talking about.
Brian Bosche:
The NBA Players Association, I think, they don't test for marijuana anymore. We're in Seattle, so.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Well, they did that in a bubble, so.
Brian Bosche:
That's true, yeah.
Rahmon Fletcher:
I think it's going to be one of those things where... Yeah. I think it's going to one of those things where they're not going to care. Just go turn the other cheek with it. But yeah, I stay away from that, of course.
Skylar Smith:
Of course.
Brian Bosche:
So, you're playing in the Dutch league, which... Did you play... I have a few friends I think you might've played with, Phillip Bach. Did you ever play against him? He was out of Santa Clara.
Rahmon Fletcher:
It sounds familiar, but I was 2011.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, he was... I think he was '12, '13. He's one of our friends here or Kirk Crecco in the BBL.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Kirk Crecco, yeah.
Brian Bosche:
So, he went to Dartmouth with me. He was on the-
Rahmon Fletcher:
Oh, really?
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, so he played. I was on the club team, in the Ivy League U. There's a big drop-off from when you get your gear to people quitting the team. It was always that stay for the gear. Okay, is my scholarship tied to athletics? No, all right, great. I'm going to just start go to class, yeah.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Oh, yeah, I do remember him.
Brian Bosche:
But Kirk worked for four years and he got a lot better. Stuck it out across multiple coaches. So, I was glad to see him join the BBL right after graduating.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah. And just super smart, super smart. Super smart player. Of course, won at Dartmouth, of course. But yeah, I was really impressed with him for sure.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, Kirk was great. But he made the jump to the BBL. You made the jump to the BBL. So, what excited you about joining the BBL, back what was that? 2013, 2014?
Rahmon Fletcher:
2014, 2014. So, when I left the Netherlands, after the two years, I felt like I needed a change. I needed to go somewhere else. And the agent that I had at that time, any other professional basketball players know that my agent chased money. He chased money versus chasing the right situation, the right club for me, the right country. He just chased money to the point where I lost out on many deals. I had a deal with Trefl Sopot in Poland. So, say, I'm your agent. I'll tell you, "Hey, we got this deal. It's for this X amount of money. I'm just waiting for them to sign it off." Perfect, Trefl Sopot, big comp team in Poland, really good money. Then the next morning he said, "Oh, we lost the deal." So, I'm just, "Well, where do we go from here?" So, it just strung out all the way until the end of October, beginning of November. And I'm, "Well, I think we need to cut ways." We need to cut ties. So, I sent him a termination letter, but he kept me under contract for 90 days.
Rahmon Fletcher:
So, I couldn't sign with another team. I couldn't sign with another agent or I will get sued, which at that... My first, my couple years out, I don't have the resources to get a lawyer to sue an agent. So, I sat all the way until the end of January, beginning of February. And by then clubs don't want to take someone, a five, nine point guard at that age with no NBA pedigree. They're not going to take a chance on someone like that over 1,000s and 1,000s of people that players don't want to come over. So, I signed with a new agent and by, I finally come in March. And I'll say by June, he got me the Newcastle job, but I had to sit out in... So, basically I sat out an entire year. And I found some on Facebook. Crazy.
Brian Bosche:
That's amazing.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Crazy. Yeah. So, the history is now, then I came here. I met Fab, but he's not here anymore, which was a player coach, which is a different transition as well. Getting used to someone that actually plan and telling you what to do. But I think, I made a pretty good decision.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah. So, if we're newer BBL fans, what kind of situation were you walking into at Newcastle? Because they obviously, well, I think they're the winningest club in BBL history.
Rahmon Fletcher:
They're the winningest club. They won over 20 plus trophies across the trophy, the cup, the league and the playoffs. So, they already had a rich tradition and the same exact team came back my year, versus me, the point guard and a two guard. So, we're going into this situation, okay, it's going to be a lot of pressure on us because they're going to lean on us. Especially being American and me being the helm. Me being at the top, being the point guard. I know I had a lot of responsibilities. So, that was a responsibility. And I was coming off of not playing for an entire year. So, I'm thinking, "Oh, man, can I even fit in?" So, it was many, many days of practice where I'm, "Man, I just don't know if I got it." Because I started working at House of Hoops. I was working at House of Hoops for that year. And I was just thinking, "Oh, all right, how can I work myself way up in the Footlocker Corporation?" I wasn't even thinking about basketball.
Rahmon Fletcher:
And I got this job and then now I'm in Newcastle. This is my... I mean, everybody [inaudible 00:07:10]. I should have a British passport by now, but.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, you had been with the Eagles for a while, then left to go play in Slovakia. Then just recently rejoined the Eagles. What made you want to come back and rejoin the team?
Rahmon Fletcher:
Truthfully? So, I spent three years at Newcastle and we won every trophy. And I felt that I did everything that I can possibly do from an individual standpoint. So, I'm like, "Okay, well, I need a challenge." I want to feel like I did when I first came out of college of just that fire of learning, adjusting to a new country. And what I've learned these past three years, can I implement it in a different country? So, I get there. So, I chose to go to Slovakia and I was so adamant about, "Okay, I'm done with the BBL. Time for me to move on." So, I get to Slovakia and it was totally different than how England is. My coach was serving it.
Skylar Smith:
You're back to eating M&Ms.
Rahmon Fletcher:
No, I-
Skylar Smith:
And eat again.
Rahmon Fletcher:
No, no.
Brian Bosche:
Got a nutritionist this time, yeah.
Rahmon Fletcher:
We actually had a restaurant where we ate two meals a day. So, I really didn't have [crosstalk 00:08:16].
Brian Bosche:
Oh, that's great.
Skylar Smith:
Clutch.
Rahmon Fletcher:
So, I got lucky with that. But my coach was Serbian and Serbian coaches are crazy.
Brian Bosche:
We've heard this from a few people. Byron mentioned it too.
Rahmon Fletcher:
They're crazy, yes. They're crazy. So, we ran for the first month. So, I got there August 1st and I didn't come home until May 22nd. No Christmas break, no holiday break or anything like that, but I'm used to it being over here. But for the first month of preseason, we didn't touch a basketball. All we did was run on a track at 9:00. We lifted at 10:00. We went to the gym at 10:30 to do agility. Ate lunch, come back and do more drills. And it's coming from England, I'm like, what am I doing here?
Brian Bosche:
When do we play basketball?
Rahmon Fletcher:
Can I at least see a basketball? I want to see a basketball. And coming from this if I say that the status that I had here going to Slovakia, which basically he told me in our first meeting, I don't care what you did in the BBL. I don't care what individual accolades you did there, because they don't respect the BBL in different countries, different leagues. So, on top of him being crazy, on top of him not liking the BBL or not respecting the BBL and on top of it just being Slovakia, Eastern European country, post-communist. I just had a struggle, to be honest, I was struggling. I miss things like this because they didn't do things like this over there. It was, you show up, play in a game, clap to the fans and go home. And that's all you did. There wasn't any interaction versus here, you talk to the fans. Fans chant at you, yell at you and you can actually understand what they're saying. So, that was something-
Skylar Smith:
Basketball's supposed to be fun.
Rahmon Fletcher:
That I missed. It wasn't. It wasn't, it wasn't at all. It wasn't fun for me. And that's one of the things that I always told myself, when basketball becomes a job, that's when I'm done. And I can't stand the quote. I don't like the T-shirts that basketball is my job, because I just don't believe in that. I just don't believe in that. And so moral of the story, that's why I came back because I needed to feel like I was somebody.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah. Well, I mean, it's amazing that you basically sat out a year because of agent issues, which I don't know how 22-year-olds, 23-year-olds are supposed to navigate that situation with no resources.
Skylar Smith:
19-year-olds.
Brian Bosche:
There's so many stories of athletes getting burned, which is horrible. But you came in, got the two MVPs, had a ton of success with the Eagles. These questions, what did it mean to you? But was that validating? How did you see that? Did you see this as just a stepping stone? Because waiting out a year and not knowing if you could sign another contract a two-time, MVP is pretty amazing.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah. To be honest, I just as happy to play again. Because throughout that year that I sat out, I start losing who I was. I had no identity. I was just a stockroom manager at Foot Locker, at House of Hoops. And I'd go play every once in a while. We play Foot Locker versus Foot Locker. And I'm thinking, "Do you guys know that I actually can play?" And they're like, "Oh, yeah, yeah." You know how many times we've probably heard that people say, "Yeah, we play here, play here." I'm like, "No, I actually play professional." And that's just something that you hear. But now I'm like, they really know. They see on Facebook and things like that. Oh, he wasn't just making that up. So, it was and to this day, I don't feel validated. I don't feel validated. I don't feel like I've done enough. And I feel like I've just got to get that year back [inaudible 00:11:44] every single day. And anybody that knows me, I never talk about individual accolades.
Rahmon Fletcher:
You never hear me... Just yesterday was my first time posting a highlight in a while. And that was because a young guy had did it. And I had so much respect that his story-
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, [Dee's Reels 00:11:58], right?
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, and I just wanted-
Brian Bosche:
That's a good video.
Rahmon Fletcher:
I just wanted to give him that. I get highlights every single day, but I just wanted to post him because I felt like his story and how he came is kind of what you did with this. The court thing, oh, we pick up the podcast. And it's the same thing that he did. So, I just felt to him more, so I just did that, but yeah.
Brian Bosche:
It's such a-
Rahmon Fletcher:
I'm more of a team guy.
Brian Bosche:
I mean, this is the Mamba mentality, but there is such a... It's such the plight of athletes to no matter what you achieve, there's always more. You're just Sisyphus, just keep grinding and never being happy with the result. And we can go into philosophy, but it's all right, I'm just going to enjoy the journey. Same with startups, same with any kind of goal that you're pursuing. Once you get there-
Rahmon Fletcher:
That's how I feel.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, yeah. That makes a lot of sense.
Rahmon Fletcher:
That's my same motive to this day. I just don't feel like I've done enough. I don't feel like I've done enough, to be honest.
Brian Bosche:
All right, I think Skylar-
Skylar Smith:
Let's talk about this season a little bit. How has it been training during a pandemic? And how has it been playing in an arena without fans?
Rahmon Fletcher:
I think the hardest thing to adjust is on away. I'm fine with away. I don't want to hear away things. I don't want to deal with that. But at home, we feed off of that. We feed off the crowd. We feed off of kids yelling and blowing horns and things like that. And when you guys come over, you catch a game, that's something that you're going to adjust to. Kids are blowing horns the entire time. So, you don't think... And you feed off that, especially if they're cheering in your favor. And I think that's the biggest adjustment that we've made as a collective, as a group. Because you just, now you just treat it like a scrimmage or you treat it like practice now. So, you just focus on basketball and you hear all the chatter between the players.
Rahmon Fletcher:
All the chatter between the coaches and stuff like that. When it's a positive, when you hear your teammate cheer for you on the bench, I know it sounds so cliche, but it does help. Or they're shouting out a play. At a professional level, we know what plays and actions are coming. And if you hear that from your teammate, it gives you that extra, okay, this is what's coming. So, it's kind of-
Skylar Smith:
I also wonder-
Rahmon Fletcher:
Helping us in a way.
Skylar Smith:
Is it also getting you guys in trouble how much you can hear each other? I was hearing stories out of the NBA bubble. Some of the younger players were they were trying to get themselves into it without fans. And so they were under their breath talking a little shit, just trying to get themselves into it. And then other guys would hear them. I'm thinking about Duncan Robinson. He was talking shit to himself. And Chris Paul heard him and Chris Paul wanted to fight him. So, are you guys getting yourselves into trouble too, because you can hear all the shit talking now?
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, that too. And normally people that you think are quiet are the most people that talk the most.
Skylar Smith:
Like Duncan Robinson.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
You actually hear it.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Well, Duncan Robinson is solid. Yeah, you can actually hear it, but it's a bench player that... You know those bench players that get on the court for two or three minutes. And they feel like they got something to prove. And it's like, well, you're going to go back sit down in about 30 seconds. So, I don't think you need to talk like that, but I think it's fun. I think it's fun, to be honest. I think it's fun. I prefer it with the fans, but this is not a second... This is not a bad second option.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, definitely. And obviously Newcastle's off to a hot start. You're in the... I think it's the BBL Show Group of Death, where you're with the... In the BBL cup, where I think you're with The Riders, The Lions. Also the Riders Raiders is really hard for new fans. I always want to say the other. We can talk about those brands later.
Skylar Smith:
There's not even that many teams. How are the names that close?
Brian Bosche:
I know. It's okay. We're still trying to get to know the cities.
Rahmon Fletcher:
I'm not going to talk bad about the BBL. I love the BBL.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, wait, the BBL's been amazing.
Skylar Smith:
We love the BBL. This is no harm against the BBL.
Brian Bosche:
We'll figure. It's on us. It's on us, guys.
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, it's on us.
Brian Bosche:
We got to figure it out.
Rahmon Fletcher:
They even know the Dutch and the Duchess or whatever you call it.
Brian Bosche:
So, why do you think the team has started off so strong? Even in pre-season now in the BBL Cup. What are some of the things coming out of this pandemic that you've been able to pull together as a team?
Rahmon Fletcher:
I think my answers are going to sound super, super scripted or super PC. But I think the way they recruited was very, very well. I think the way our management and our coaching staff recruited, because-
Brian Bosche:
The team fits.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, the team gets... Yeah, just fits. And me and Ian had a talk about it yesterday. We passed each other in a hallway, because we were talking about the game coming up against Leicester. I'm not going to go too much in detail with that. But we passed and we just fit. It was four or five clips in a Leicester game where you just sit back and I'll watch it back. That was really good basketball. And it's no knock on the teams that I played with before, but it was a type of basketball that I did, I never witnessed. So, I've never been a part of a plan. And I think we just fit. The chemistry is good. And we run, we run so fast. We try to get the ball up, of course.
Rahmon Fletcher:
And one thing that I'll always stress to the team, the ball moves faster than any person can. So, if we throw it, we look back 10, the shoulder, then we can just flow right into our offense. If you watch us, yes, we're moving fast, but the ball is moving way faster than we are. So, I think that's the thing. We bought into the system. We bought into how we want to play. And we just, we actually just like each other.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah.
Rahmon Fletcher:
I wouldn't say love. We don't love each other.
Skylar Smith:
So important.
Rahmon Fletcher:
We really do like each other
Brian Bosche:
It's been so fun to watch, because we had DeAndre on, Luguentz. We had Byron Mullens on to talk about the Basketball Champions League and how they are thrown together pretty fast. And it's pretty, from a fan's perspective, it doesn't... There are pieces they're still trying to figure it out. And they have so much talent, but obviously on the court, they're trying to figure out what are the rotations? I think they played what, eight or nine people in the first half. So, they're just trying to find those rotations. We're watching your team. You fly down the court, even Evan Maxwell is just horsing it down the court like a stallion and he just dunks it. He's good. And he had two threes, horsing. He's a stallion, Skylar. Yeah. And the team with Pflueger and Sayers and it just seems like everyone is coming together and you have play makers like Cortez Edwards. So, he can just come on if someone needs some help or you need some buckets. It's been really fun to watch.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah. And one of the biggest confidence from a point guard standpoint is, you know point guards are usually the small, fast people. When you see your two, three, four, and especially your five get up the court before you, it's just like, oh, man, I could just sit back and just do this with the team. I just steer the team this way, steer the team that way. And you see Evan just fly by me sometimes. I'm like, "Well, I got to give him the ball now." Turn over-
Brian Bosche:
Reward the big.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Ball. You got to, yeah. You got to reward the big. The two that used to run in threes. You got to reward the four and five. And I love playing in the [inaudible 00:18:39] as well. I was really impressed with him last year, so.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, your behind the back pass, I think it was to Justin Gordon where he threw it down. I yelled watching that live and it barely... The camera, I think it's key motion or whatever you use, barely got there in time. I was like, don't let me miss this, because the fast break. But oh, it was a fun game to watch.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, I think that was a really fun game to be a part. Any Leicester Newcastle game is going to be like that. But I'm not going to speak... It might not be like that Friday. I don't know. But usually history said that we really play really good games.
Skylar Smith:
You were talking about how while you guys all get along on the team, can we get to know your team a little bit? Can we ask you some questions about your teammates?
Rahmon Fletcher:
How personal?
Skylar Smith:
I'm not going to quiz you. I'm not going to quiz you.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Because I have to go to practice with them tomorrow and I have to play with them the rest of the season. And being a captain, I have to be... I got to be tough, so.
Skylar Smith:
Okay.
Brian Bosche:
All right.
Skylar Smith:
All right.
Brian Bosche:
Don't compliment them too much. Tough love.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, I'm not complimenting anybody.
Skylar Smith:
Well, that really throws a-
Rahmon Fletcher:
I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Ask me anything. I'm open.
Skylar Smith:
I mean, as Blair was who had the best style you can't compliment any of them? Should we just be hell's the worst. Who's going to be late? We can't hype them up?
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, I suppose so. No, I'm kidding. I'm okay. I'm open. Ask me whatever. I'm ready.
Skylar Smith:
Okay. Who's the funniest player on the team?
Rahmon Fletcher:
Darius by far.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, Skylar, your favorite.
Rahmon Fletcher:
By far.
Skylar Smith:
That's my guy.
Rahmon Fletcher:
He would like to hear it. He likes to hear when somebody said he's hilarious.
Brian Bosche:
Skylar may or may not have referred to him as the thick king on our last podcast.
Skylar Smith:
I love a thick king.
Brian Bosche:
Darius. We're big Kyle Lowry fans, big Darius Defoe.
Skylar Smith:
[Crosstalk 00:20:22] doesn't love that. He didn't like that very much.
Rahmon Fletcher:
No, you've given me.... You guys are actually giving me nicknames for them and I love it.
Brian Bosche:
They came sexy Rexy. We'll just throw it on the pod. Sexy Rexy, Rex Pflueger.
Rahmon Fletcher:
I got it all. I'm putting in all in my notes. I'm not going to call Rex that. I don't think I'm going to call him that.
Brian Bosche:
No, yeah.
Rahmon Fletcher:
But I'm-
Skylar Smith:
I think even if you say thick king, you're going to get some weird looks.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, I'm not using your name. Not insulting him.
Skylar Smith:
Who has-
Rahmon Fletcher:
Okay.
Skylar Smith:
Who has the best style on the team?
Rahmon Fletcher:
Me.
Skylar Smith:
Honestly, I was wondering how long it was going to be until you just started saying you for all of them.
Brian Bosche:
Well, we want to do BBL fits. We did it. And we've done it with DeAndre Liggins, because he's a big fit guy. I think they did... I think the Hooper's Voice may have done BBL fits, but I'm excited to see more style coming out of the clubs.
Rahmon Fletcher:
They do the shoe. I think the Hooper's Voice they do the shoes too. I think they're coming into the shoes and the fits too, yeah. But it's tough now because-
Brian Bosche:
There's no runway.
Skylar Smith:
There's no one there.
Brian Bosche:
No fans.
Rahmon Fletcher:
We don't have a red carpet or anything.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, it sucks.
Skylar Smith:
I'm also super interested in just Americans in England and what that kind of experience is. So, is there anything you miss about America when you live in England? I know personally I stayed in London for seven months at one point and I love ranch dressing. I dip my pizza in it. I dip everything. I don't eat it on salad.
Brian Bosche:
Just give her a bucket of ranch.
Skylar Smith:
I don't eat it on salad, but I'll dip basically everything else in it. And I really miss ranch dressing when I'm there. So, is it maybe, is it barbecue? What is the one thing for you?
Rahmon Fletcher:
It's just food in general. You know how many options we have back home? And they're open 24 hours and here it's every... They have some form of barbecue, some form of American diner, cheeseburger type thing. I eat that every once in a while. I think it's the food is probably the biggest thing that I miss. You can't go to Chipotle. You can't go to Qdoba. You can't go to Noodles & Company. You don't have no options.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, Mexican food, that's another one, Skylar.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yes, no Mexican, yeah.
Skylar Smith:
You're going to end up getting recruited to go to The Lions just because they have Chipotle in London.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah and in Reading, they got a Chick-fil-A supposedly.
Skylar Smith:
Oh, I'm hearing, they're starting to put Taco Bells in London and I'm very pumped about that.
Rahmon Fletcher:
They're supposed to do an In-N-Out Burger in London too. They did a little [inaudible 00:22:52]. Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
The Queen of Hoops will like that one. Big and-
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, but I won't join London just because of the food. I've been here way too long.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah. Go ahead, Skylar.
Skylar Smith:
What's the opposite of that though? What's your favorite part about living in England?
Rahmon Fletcher:
I think people are genuinely nice, to be honest. I think they're genuinely nice. And, of course, us being Americans, when they hear our accent, they want to just talk or they want us to talk more. So, I think, the biggest thing-
Brian Bosche:
Is that true?
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah.
Brian Bosche:
Our accents don't sound awful over there?
Rahmon Fletcher:
No, their accent still sounds awful to me. But yeah, they just like us. They just like us. And I think my favorite part over here is that sports thing. Of course, sometimes I adapted football or soccer, sorry. I adopted soccer, of course. And basketball is starting turn a corner a little bit, I think. It's starting to turn a corner a little bit. There's still some work to do, but I feel it's probably the second most played sport by the kids coming up. Soccer is number one, of course, then it's basketball, which I don't get why it's not more [inaudible 00:23:59]. It could be the next league under NBA if they got those resources, in my opinion.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah. I mean, we've heard that The Last Dance actually helped a big bump of interest in basketball in the UK.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, of course. Michael Jordan is the most popular athlete probably in the world. And I think it came at the perfect time. I was one of those people that pushed it a lot then, they have to come out early because I needed something. I needed something. And I think they made the right decision for sure.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah. Well, we've talked to-
Skylar Smith:
Really kept us going.
Rahmon Fletcher:
It really did.
Skylar Smith:
How long was it? Five weeks in the pandemic.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, it did because I was watching old Michael Jordan games and old Allen Iverson games. And I didn't know if it was my eyes or the screen. I just couldn't stay a part of it. This is not good basketball. Because I was digging up old [crosstalk 00:24:47], man. This is not good basketball. And you already know what's going to happen, but I was so happy when the NBA came back as well.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah. And I think you're right with the BBL and the UK in general, it is the second most popular sport. I think, because they actually have it in school. They teach it in school. So, almost everyone can play. And we've talked to 777 Partners, who are the new investors or owners in The Lions and their outlook is, you know what? The UK has enormous sports market in general, tons of betting as betting becomes legalized across the boards. It's obsession as well as in the States. And having the BBL be what is it? Top 20 league in the world, top 30?
Rahmon Fletcher:
Easily, easily, yeah. Crazy.
Brian Bosche:
66,000,000 people in the UK, it's got to start growing and it's good to see more people getting involved in the sport.
Rahmon Fletcher:
It's just going to take one person. It's going to take one investor and one person that's just going to back it and it's going to just take off, I believe.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, a TV deal. There's so many things that'll get the ball rolling and it'll just snowball.
Rahmon Fletcher:
And it's crazy that we're thinking that. I'm wondering what the people that's actually inside, what are they talking... What are you talk about?
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, it's hard too, the short-term versus long-term. The pandemic hitting right where there's the momentum. Trying to get government funding. It's so hard. I just tweeted this out yesterday, but it's do you have fans pay to watch games? Or do you have it free? And if it's free, if you're trying to get that TV deal, if you're trying to bring in bigger sponsors, they want to see the interest. But you also need short-term revenue because there's not fans. So, it's hard to balance the short and long-term decisions.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Because with the TV deal, of course, the TV deal they want to see, okay, this club actually is going to charge people to watch it. How many people actually paid for this?
Brian Bosche:
That's true too. You can show more interest that way.
Rahmon Fletcher:
And with the free, they're like, okay, well, we're just going to pay these folks and we're going to play it. How many people are actually going to watch it for free as well? And then just do the balancing out. So, it's one of those things. It's the different things that you actually charge, if you pay? I saw that. I just don't know. I don't know because we want people to watch it. What's more important? Is what getting the short revenue, the short term or do we just want people to watch it?
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, it's hard.
Rahmon Fletcher:
But with this pandemic, of course, you want to get paid.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, it's been tough, but I think the BBL has done a really nice job. Your teammate, Drew Lasker, is on the BBL Show host. They have a great show. Drew's great on it. What's it like having a teammate actually on the BBL Show?
Rahmon Fletcher:
I just watch what I say around him. That's it. I don't say too much. I don't give him too much gossip or anything like that. Just don't yeah, okay.
Brian Bosche:
Don't bring this on the show.
Rahmon Fletcher:
He ask me questions. Now that he asks me questions, I'm like, all right, what's the motive behind it? Are you asking me or is this Drew or is this Andrew Lasker, the BBL Show? I don't know which one it is.
Skylar Smith:
Listen, you can always come on the High Tea Hoops pod if you need to fire back at something he said on his pod.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Oh, really?
Skylar Smith:
The platform is yours.
Brian Bosche:
Official response.
Rahmon Fletcher:
So, is there a little beef between you two?
Brian Bosche:
Oh, no. We're supportive. Totally supportive. Don't you put a beef on us in the BBL Show. We need endorsement.
Rahmon Fletcher:
You guys asked me who the funniest person was, the best dressed. Just ask the question.
Brian Bosche:
Very fair. So, we've mentioned-
Rahmon Fletcher:
Because I'm proud Drew though. I'm proud of Drew. I think that's it.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, we talked about on... We had Zoe Scaman on, who talked about branding for athletes. And he's doing a good transition, building the brand.
Rahmon Fletcher:
He took off.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah?
Rahmon Fletcher:
He took off.
Brian Bosche:
You love to see it.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Because I remember in my third... It was probably my third year. No, the year that I came back from Slovakia, me and him got into podcasts at the same time. Just listening to podcasts. I gave him... Even a podcast called How I Built This, which I was really, really-
Brian Bosche:
Oh, yeah, that's a really good one.
Rahmon Fletcher:
I just love that podcast. And I gave it to him and it was just, man, that's so good. I don't know how much I can actually interview somebody or anything like that. But when he did, I was going yeah, that's it. He's something. His branding is crazy and he is consistent.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, and it's high quality. Their production value's really good. So, good on you, Drew.
Rahmon Fletcher:
First thing I see when I wake up is Drew Lasker's Instagram and the last thing I see when I go to sleep is Drew Lasker training harder. I told him that.
Brian Bosche:
That's great to see. Skylar, you want to throw some listener questions out?
Skylar Smith:
Yeah, let's finish on a listener question. I think we only have one. It comes from... I'm really sorry. I'm going to butcher your name. [Fazeeka Zulilam 00:29:15]. I hope I did okay on that. What can the UK do to promote the growth of basketball here?
Brian Bosche:
Man, what a smooth transition.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Yeah, yeah, I mean, like we discussed. I think from the marketing aspect that is going to be number one. How do we pull people in to compare it to soccer? Because, to be honest, soccer is up here. And how do we compare it without being very, very identical? I think the marketing part of it, promoting it, putting it on billboards, put it in commercials and things like that. What's the harm in it? Yeah, you got to come out and pay. But you got to pay something. You're going to have to pay something. So, I think that's one of it because people are always on their phones. People are always watching TV on the iPads and stuff like that. If you put it on a little ad on YouTube, how knowing those YouTube ads can be in the middle of a video, things like that. That's from a small scale. And, of course, I mean, the usual fault of basketball in England to be able somebody can fund it and things like that. But I think from a small, from a micro standpoint, I think something like that.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, just getting-
Rahmon Fletcher:
The marketing-
Brian Bosche:
Get the clubs team marketing, yeah. And the production value's going up across the league from what I've seen.
Rahmon Fletcher:
It sure is.
Brian Bosche:
I don't know if anyone saw The Rocks photo shoot with the fog and the lights. I saw that on Twitter. I'm like, this is amazing. The Manchester Giants rebrand was really slick. It's fun to see.
Rahmon Fletcher:
And the guy that did the highlight video.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, that was good.
Rahmon Fletcher:
You know what I mean? People like him, there's probably a ton of people like that. Give him an opportunity, because it could be an internship or something like that. And then just get the ball rolling like that.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, well, that's what Zoe said. She's on our... She's like if you want to find someone who can help you create content, there's so many college uni video editors, graphic designers that would happily do this for you. They're trying to build their portfolio.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Especially now.
Brian Bosche:
Yeah, especially right now.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Especially in this pandemic, for sure.
Brian Bosche:
Absolutely. All right, Skylar, you want to close us out here?
Skylar Smith:
Yes, Rahmon, thank you so much for coming on. This has been so fun. We just want to know what words you have for the Newcastle Eagles fans for this upcoming season. What do you want to leave them with? What do you want them to know? You're off to a hot start.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Two and O, yeah. We're two and O right now. And to be honest, the season is picking up. I think every team is starting to pick up their identity. We're starting to learn about other teams. We're also starting to learn about ourselves as well. But if I was just to tell the Eagle fan, just be patient, no matter what happens, the season is roller coaster. Basketball is a game of runs in the game. And the season is going to be a game of runs. We can go on a 10-game winning streak now and drop two. That's just how basketball works. So, no matter what be patient and I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys back into the Eagles Nest, for sure.
Brian Bosche:
Absolutely. Well, thanks so much for coming on, man. We appreciate it. And good luck with the rest of the season this coming weekend.
Rahmon Fletcher:
Thank you, guys. I really love what you guys are doing. And I'm going to post and share as much as possible with this, but I like this. I really, really like this.
Skylar Smith:
Thank you.
Brian Bosche:
We appreciate it. Thanks.
Rahmon Fletcher:
No problem, thank you.
