By Jamie Thomas
Securing their best result in the BBL Championship since the 2013/14 season, B. Braun Sheffield Sharks were the best of the rest behind Leicester Riders this year as they secured second place in the league and are full of momentum and positivity. BBL Playoffs.
One of the stars of the Sharks’ super season was Rodney Glasgow Jr., and he will no doubt be key to the success of coach Atiba Lyons’ side if they are to embark on the post-season . We caught up with him recently to find out more.
“My emotions are full of happiness and pride to be honest. I joined this team a bit later in the season and seeing how we have progressed by then is just night and day in terms of the difference in the band.
“We have a great roster here, full of good guys trying to play the right way. Securing a playoff berth this early can only be done through consistently strong performances, strong culture, great practice and having the right guys.
“Having clinched a playoff spot for 27 straight years also tells you how well this club is doing, and I’m just happy that during my time here we’ve been able to continue that tradition and hopefully we can go further. away and have success in the playoffs too.
“Having guys who are so selfless is all you can ask for.”
After a rocky start to the campaign, the Sharks entered the new year and worked their way to the second seed with games to spare – quite an achievement in such a competitive season.
Glasgow Jr., a relatively latecomer to the team, spoke about how the team grew and developed during this time and what excited him the most about the roster.
“We’ve evolved so much across the court during my time here, I think. Coach Lyons was brave and unafraid to make roster changes to achieve the results this club should achieve, and his bravery paid off as the team did very well.
“Antwain (Johnson) has pushed our team even further in the right direction since he arrived, and it’s really exciting to think about our potential, but it was great to see guys like Kipper (Nichols) and Jordan (Ratinho) so willing to sacrifice themselves and change their roles for the benefit of the team.
“Having such selfless guys, like we do across the whole roster, is all you can ask for. Everyone accepts and understands their role, and for me, as one of the leaders here, I I also enjoyed my own personal growth and grew with this team.
“Every good team goes through adversity at some point.”
While other teams have seen good and bad form throughout the year for the most part, the Sharks have always been solid during crucial stages of the season.
Glasgow Jr. explained how happy he was that the team got through their difficult times earlier in the year and how, as leader of the group, he had tried to help develop the solid form that had given them allowed to succeed in recent months.
“Every good team goes through adversity at some point, and we’re glad we went through it at the start of the season and not now when it’s time to do business. It’s all to our credit. of this team that we bonded so well because of this adversity earlier in the season.
“As a leader, I tried to lead by example as much as possible and put in the extra work, as well as sharing my mentality with the rest of the group. I tried to be the best possible extension of Coach , and we have a great relationship. Mike Tuck also put me in the position to lead and I’m really grateful for that because it’s his team and I just want to come in and help him succeed.
“We know we’re a good team and we have high expectations of ourselves, but we also owe our fans success this season. We’ve worked so hard to get here and have home court advantage for the playoffs. playoffs at crowded Ponds Forge are going to be huge for us.
“It’s just about making the right game.”
This time of year is often associated with teams “finding another level” in one way or another as the pressure mounts and wins mean more and more, so we posed the question to the Sharks veteran of how much better this team can bet when it’s all over. up for grabs in the coming weeks, with a spot at the 02 Arena up for grabs.
“We know there’s another level we can get to. Over the past few weeks we’ve been really good and we feel like we peaked at the right time, but we definitely still have some speeds. to find and when we reach those heights, I think we’ll be a really scary team to go up against.
“The quality of the BBL continues to grow, and that makes for a really exciting and unpredictable playoff race. Disruptions can happen at any time, and each team will need to stay focused on their job or you could go home early.
“I don’t feel any pressure – playing basketball professionally is a blessing and I love those times when the game gets tight and the stakes are higher. I’ve been through those times before and I’m so excited because you live to play in those times. It’s just about making the right game.”
Get your BBL Qualifiers Final tickets and join us for the showpiece finale of an epic season at London’s 02 Arena on May 15 here!
