<\/p>\n
Ryan
\nSchmidt of the London Lions has been awarded Kevin Cadle Molten BBL Coach of
\nthe Month for January, after he led his team to BBL Cup Final glory at the end
\nof the month and maintained their position atop the BBL Championship table.<\/p>\n
It
\nis the second month in a row that he has scooped the award, and third time
\noverall this season, as he won a first piece of silverware on these shores with
\na 79-71 defeat of Leicester Riders in front of a sold-out crowd at Utilita
\nArena, Birmingham, live on Sky Sports.<\/p>\n
Led
\nby their two former NBA stars Sam Dekker and Kosta Koufos, Lions never trailed
\nin the Cup Final, but they had to withstand a late fightback from the defending
\nchampions with Schmidt\u2019s calling of a timeout early in the fourth quarter and
\nre-inserting Dekker into the fray proving timely.<\/p>\n
It
\ncontinues a run of success for Schmidt, who also won the Canadian Elite
\nBasketball League (CEBL) with the Hamilton Honeybadgers in 2022, alongside
\ncurrent player Aaron Best.<\/p>\n
Prior
\nto the Cup Final, London navigated a busy schedule of BBL Championship and
\nEuroCup games, going a perfect 6-0 in domestic competitions in January with all
\nof those victories being by double-figures.<\/p>\n
A
\nparticular high point was the 75-63 defeat of B. Braun Sheffield Sharks in
\nfront of a near-capacity crowd approaching 5,000 at the Copper Box Arena,
\navenging one of their two defeats earlier in the campaign, having lost their
\nlast meeting with Sheffield in October.<\/p>\n
That
\nwas followed by another home win over Cheshire Phoenix, and Lions were even
\nmore impressive on the road, beating both Surrey Scorchers and Caledonia
\nGladiators by more than twenty points in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Earlier
\nin the month, they also progressed to the BBL Trophy quarter-finals with a win
\nover Worthing Thunder \u2013 coached by former player Zaire Taylor \u2013 as they seek
\nredemption in that competition following last season\u2019s Trophy Final defeat to
\nCheshire Phoenix.<\/p>\n
Overall,
\nLions maintain by far the best defence in the BBL, holding teams to just 71
\npoints per game as the only team to force opponents under 40% shooting from the
\nfield \u2013 notably they held Leicester, the league\u2019s best offence, to that 71
\npoints mark in the Cup Final. On the offensive end, they boast the most
\nefficient interior scoring at 58% with efficient seven-footers such as Koufos,
\nJosh Sharma and Tomislav Zubcic; and also demonstrate their brand of team
\nbasketball with the most assists in the BBL.<\/p>\n
Schmidt\u2019s
\nattention now turns to a busy February which starts on the road in all corners
\nof the UK with away trips to Plymouth City Patriots, Caledonia in the BBL
\nTrophy quarter-final, and Cheshire all to come in the next week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n