Reading Rockets

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This article is about the English Basketball League club based in Reading, Berkshire. For the Professional Lacrosse League team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, see Reading Rockets (PLL).

Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets logo
LeagueNBL Division 1
Established1997; 25 years ago (1997)
HistoryReading Rockets
(1997–present)
ArenaRivermead Leisure Complex
Capacity650
LocationReading, Berkshire
Team colours     
Head coachDaniel Pearson
OwnershipGary Johnson
WebsiteOfficial website

The Reading Rockets are an English semi-professional basketball club based in the town of Reading, England. Founded in 1997, the Rockets compete in NBL Division 1, the second tier of the British basketball system.

History[]

The Rockets were formed in 1997[1] by current owner Gary Johnson, starting in Division 3. The club won promotion at the first attempt, and in the National Basketball League reorganisation of 2000, England Basketball replaced Division 1 with the eight-team NBL Conference as the second-tier. Subsequently, Division 2 became Division 1 where the Rockets found themselves.

The Rockets remained in Division 1 for just one season, finishing second and beating Oxford in the Championship Final, thus winning promotion to the NBL Conference. In the 2001-02 season they finished seventh in the NBL Conference. In the following season, the Rockets continued their rise, finishing in third place. In 2003, the National Basketball League was rebranded as the English Basketball League, and once again was restructured with a new format, with Rockets finishing in second place in the new EBL Division 1. In the following season the Rockets finished third and were runners-up to Worthing Thunder in both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.

The club completed its most successful season ever in 2008-09, going undefeated to win all four national championships. The club applied to join the British Basketball League as a member franchise for the 2012–13 season but was unsuccessful.[2] In the 2013-14 season the Rockets completed the treble and were Play Off Championship finalists. Rockets’ Ladies won the Division 2 Southern league in 2014. As a stepping stone into the Senior Men’s team, the Rockets’ run academies at the John Madejski Academy, the Henley College, Reading College and Park House School.

The club has squads ranging from developing Under-12s to the Division 1 senior men's side, and coaching staff regularly visit local schools and run satellite clubs as part of the Community Rockets scheme.[3]

Home arena[]

Rivermead Leisure Complex (1997–present)

Men[]

Honours[]

  • Men's National League Division 1 League Champions (3): 2008/2009, 2012/13, 2013/14
  • Men's National Cup Winners (3): 2004/05, 2008/09, 2013/14
  • Men's National League Division 1 Play Off Champions (4): 2005/06, 2008/09, 2010/11, 2012/13
  • Men's National Trophy Winners (5): 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2010/11, 2013/14

Players[]

Current squad Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.

No. Position Player
United Kingdom G
United Kingdom PG
United Kingdom PG
United States SF
Australia PG Ben Dixon
Canada F Meshack Lufile
United Kingdom F
United Kingdom G
United Kingdom PG
United Kingdom SF Ashley Kitchen
Republic of Ireland F

Notable former players

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

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

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

Staff[]

Former head coaches

Coach From To Total Games RS Won RS Lost PO Won PO Lost Total Win %
England Mark Dunning 2004/05 2004/05
England Dave Titmuss 2005/06 2008/09 95 75 9 9 2 0.884
Serbia Sasa Punosevac 2009/10 2009/10 6 3 3 – – 0.500
England Matt Johnson 2009/10 2009/10 17 9 7 0 1 0.529
Azerbaijan Samit Nuruzade 2010/11 2012/13 75 48 20 6 1 0.720
Spain Manuel Pena Garces 2013/14 2017/18 134 91 33 5 5 0.716
Republic of Ireland Alan Keane 2018/19 2020/21
United States Dan Pearson 2021/22 present

Season-by-season records[]

Season Division Tier Regular Season Post-Season National Cup
Finish Played Wins Losses Points Win %
Reading Rockets
1997-98 D3 4 3rd 26 12 14 24 0.462 Quarter Finals
1998-99 D2 3 4th 26 17 9 34 0.654 Quarter Finals
1999-00 D2 3 5th 24 17 7 34 0.708 Semi Finals
2000-01 D1 3 2nd 18 14 4 28 0.778 Winners, beating Oxford
2001-02 Conf. 2 7th 18 7 11 14 0.389 Quarter Finals
2002-03 Conf. 2 3rd 22 16 6 32 0.727 Runners Up
2003-04 D1 2 2nd 22 17 5 34 0.773 Semi Finals Quarter Finals
2004-05 D1 2 3rd 22 16 6 32 0.727 Runners Up Winners, beating Sheffield
2005-06 D1 2 2nd 26 22 4 44 0.846 Winners, beating Worthing Runners Up
2006-07 D1 2 2nd 22 19 3 38 0.864 Semi Finals Semi Finals
2007-08 D1 2 2nd 18 16 2 32 0.889 Runners Up Semi Finals
2008-09 D1 2 1st 18 18 0 36 1.000 Winners, beating Manchester Winners, beating Manchester
2009-10 D1 2 7th 22 12 10 24 0.545 Quarter Finals Quarter Finals
2010-11 D1 2 3rd 18 12 6 24 0.667 Winners, beating Leeds 3rd Round
2011-12 D1 2 7th 24 14 10 28 0.583 Quarter Finals Semi Finals
2012-13 D1 2 1st 26 22 4 44 0.846 Winners, beating Worthing Semi Finals
2013-14 D1 2 1st 26 22 4 44 0.846 Runners Up Winners, beating Newham
2014-15 D1 2 5th 24 15 9 30 0.625 Quarter Finals Runners Up
2015-16 D1 2 3rd 26 19 7 38 0.731 Runners Up Quarter Finals
2016-17 D1 2 3rd 26 20 6 40 0.769 Quarter Finals Quarter Finals
2017-18 D1 2 3rd 24 17 7 34 0.708 Semi Finals Quarter Finals
2018-19 D1 2 6th 26 14 12 28 0.538 Quarter Finals 4th Round
2019-20 D1 2 7th 23 14 9 28 0.609 No Playoffs Runners Up
2020-21 D1 2 9th 19 7 12 14 0.368 1st Round No competition

Record in BBL competitions[]

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away
2006–07 BBL Trophy GS Plymouth Raiders
GS Worthing Thunder
GS Guildford Heat
2009–10 BBL Trophy R1 Newcastle Eagles L 60-102
2012–13 BBL Trophy R1 Surrey Heat L 68-86
2013–14 BBL Trophy R1 Sheffield Sharks L 73-85
2014–15 BBL Trophy R1 Newcastle Eagles L 90-112
2015–16 BBL Trophy R1 Surrey Scorchers L 72-82
2016–17 BBL Trophy R1 Bristol Flyers L 74-85

Women[]

Honours[]

  • Women's National League Division 2 Champions (1): 2013/14
  • Women's National League Division 2 South West Champions (1): 2015/16 1

Season-by-season records[]

Season Division Position Played Won Lost Points Play-offs National
Trophy 		National
Cup
Reading Rockets Senior Women
2018–2019 D1 5th 18 9 9 18 Quarter-finals - Runners-up
2017–2018 D1 5th 22 13 9 26 - - Quarter-finals
2016–2017 D1 8th 20 6 14 12 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals
2015–2016 D2 SW 1st 16 15 1 28 Runners-up Runners-up
2014–2015 D2 MSW 3rd 14 11 3 22 Quarter-finals Semi Finals 2nd Round
2013–2014 D2 MSE 1st 14 13 1 26 Semi-finals Semi-finals 2nd Round
2012–2013 D2 MSE 2nd 16 12 4 24 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals 2nd Round
2011–2012 D2 MSW 2nd 12 9 3 18 Quarter-finals Semi-finals 1st Round
2010–2011 D2 MSW 5th 14 5 9 10 DNQ 1st Round 1st Round
2009–2010
2008–2009
2007–2008
2006–2007 D2 S 6th 20 9 11 18
2005–2006 D2 S 2nd 21 14 7 28
  • DNQ denotes Did Not Qualify.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Company details". UK Data. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Reading Rockets apply to join British Basketball League". getReading. 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  3. ^ "History of Reading Rockets Basketball Club". Reading Rockets. Archived from the original on 21 December 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  4. ^ "Ryan Lohfink Leaves Rockets after 5 years". 25 May 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.

External links[]

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