- Cheshire Jets
-
Cheshire Jets 
League British Basketball League Established 1984 History Ellesmere Port Jets
1984-1988
Cheshire Jets
1988-1993
Chester Jets
1993-2007
Cheshire Jets
2007-presentArena Northgate Arena
(Capacity: 1,300)Location Chester, Cheshire Head coach 
Paul SmithOwnership Unknown Colours Black, Yellow and White Website Uniforms 
Home
AwayThe Cheshire Jets are a British professional basketball team based in the city of Chester, in Cheshire, England. Formerly known as the Chester Jets, their home court is the Northgate Arena and they play in the top-tier British Basketball League.
Contents
Franchise history
Origin
The team was first formed from the ruins of the Ellesmere Port team, the St Saviours in 1984. The team was initially named after their sponsors 'Motocraft Centre Ellesmere Port'. However, after the loss of their sponsor, they renamed themselves Ellesmere Port Jets.
Moving to the BBL
The Jets were admitted to NBL Division 2 in 1986 and showed little sign of what was to come as they finished last in their first season, with just a single victory. Edging up to seventh in 1987-88, they then changed their name to Cheshire Jets, though still continuing to play in Ellesmere Port. They continued a steady mid-table development until, in 1991, they won the divisional title despite suffering five defeats. The same year, the Jets moved up into the BBL joining in with Britain's elite basketball teams. Later however, the arena in Ellesmere Port became unsuitable, and so in 1993 the Jets were forced to move to Chester, and into the Northgate Arena. The move was reflected in another name change to what is now the Chester Jets.
The real turning point for the Jets came in 1996, when the application of the Bosman ruling to basketball resulted in the departure of many of the top English players to European clubs, and the BBL changed its eligibility rule to entitle teams to use five non-national players.
Millennium success
Astute trans-Atlantic recruitment by coach and co-owner Mike Burton resulted in a highly competitive team, which finished fifth in the League table in 1997. They have remained highly competitive ever since, with best-ever performances in 2002 (Northern Conference Champions) and 2003 (3rd in the re-unified League), and a string of successes in the BBL trophy (4-times winners, from 2001 to 2004), culminating in the League Championship in 2005.
Future in doubt
On April 7, 2007, prior to the Jets' season finale at home to Guildford Heat, an 81-102 defeat, club owner and head coach Mike Burton formally announced that he would be retiring from the franchise at the end of the 2006-07 season. Burton's announcement, after 19 years at the helm, raised serious doubts of the clubs' future,[1] with mounting debts and lack of financial backing. Shortly after the announcement, group of fans formed a committee to help save the club, while arranging several meetings and fund-raisers, the dedication and commitment publicly received the backing of players including Jets legend James Hamilton.[2] Following a sponsorship deal agreed during the summer of 2007 with local firm BiG Storage to save the club and preserve their future, the Jets was renamed as the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets to cover the wider demographic of Cheshire county as BiG Storage not only has branches in Chester but also other sites such as Warrington. When BiG Storage terminated the sponsorship, the managing director of the company arranged a successor sponsor; Cheshire West and Chester Council.
Return to Ellesmere Port?
The Jets have expressed an interest in moving back to Ellesmere Port if plans to build a new £10.8m leisure centre in the town to replace the ageing EPIC centre get the go-ahead. The centre, which would be due for completion by 2014, would offer seating for 1,500 spectators, a welcome increase on the 1,000-capacity Northgate Arena.[3]
Home arenas
- Ellesmere Port Leisure Centre (1984-1993)
- Northgate Arena (1993-present)
Season-by-season records
Season Div. Pos. Pld. W L Pts. Play Offs Trophy Cup Ellesmere Port Jets 1986–1987 NBL 2 10th 18 1 17 2 DNQ DNQ 1st Round 1987–1988 NBL 1 7th 18 7 11 14 DNQ DNQ 2nd Round Cheshire Jets 1988–1989 NBL 1 8th 20 6 14 12 DNQ DNQ 2nd Round 1989–1990 NBL 1 6th 22 10 12 20 Quarter-final DNQ 1st Round 1990–1991 NBL 1 1st 22 17 5 34 Quarter-final DNQ Quarter-final 1991–1992 BBL 11th 30 2 28 4 DNQ 1st Round 3rd Round 1992–1993 BBL 10th 33 10 23 20 DNQ 1st Round Quarter-final Chester Jets 1993–1994 BBL 11th 36 11 25 22 DNQ 1st Round Quarter-final 1994–1995 BBL 12th 36 6 30 12 DNQ 1st Round Quarter-final 1995–1996 BBL 12th 36 8 28 16 DNQ Quarter-final 4th Round 1996–1997 BBL 5th 36 24 12 48 Semi-final Runner-up 4th Round 1997–1998 BBL 10th 36 15 21 30 DNQ 1st Round 4th Round 1998–1999 BBL 11th 36 10 26 20 DNQ Quarter-final Quarter-final 1999–2000 BBL N 4th 36 17 19 34 Quarter-final Quarter-final 1st Round 2000–2001 BBL N 2nd 36 25 11 50 Quarter-final Winners 1st Round 2001–2002 BBL N 1st 32 24 8 48 Winners Winners Winners 2002–2003 BBL 3rd 40 28 12 56 Quarter-final Winners Runner-up 2003–2004 BBL 5th 36 22 14 44 Runner-up Winners 1st Round 2004–2005 BBL 1st 40 32 8 64 Runner-up Semi-final Semi-final 2005–2006 BBL 7th 40 17 32 34 Quarter-final 1st Round Semi-final 2006–2007 BBL 9th 36 10 26 20 DNQ Quarter-final 1st Round Cheshire Jets 2007–2008 BBL 11th 33 9 24 18 DNQ Semi-final Quarter-final 2008–2009 BBL 8th 33 15 18 30 Quarter-final 1st Round Quarter-final 2009–2010 BBL 4th 36 22 14 44 Quarter-final Runner-up Runner-up 2010–2011 BBL 4th 33 20 13 40 Semi-final 1st Round Semi-final 2011–2012 BBL 0 0 0 0 Notes:
- From 1999-2002 the BBL operated a Conference system. Chester competed in the Northern Conference.
- DNQ denotes Did Not Qualify.
Trophies
League
- NBL Division One Winners: 1990/91 1
- BBL Championship Winners: 2001/02, & 2004/05 2
- BBL Championship Runners Up: 2000/01 1
Playoffs
- BBL Championship Play Off Winners: 2001/02 1
- BBL Championship Play Off Runners Up: 2003/04, & 2004/05 2
Trophy
- BBL Trophy Winners: 2000/01, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04 4
- BBL Trophy Runners Up: 1996/97, 2009/2010 2
Cup
- National Cup Winners: 2001/02 1
- National Cup Runners Up: 2000/01, 2009/2010 2
Players
Current roster
Cheshire Jets roster6 Brandeth, Philip 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) G/F 7 
Myers, Shawn 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) G 9 Halpin, Lewis 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) G 10 Page, Keith 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) F 12 
O'Reilly, Colin 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) G 13 Helsby, Jason 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) F 20 Wilson, Joe 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) F 30 
Cole, Bill 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) F 33 Gallagher, Ryan 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) G 40 Brown, Adam 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) C 50 Schneck, Matt 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) - Head coach
- John Lavery
- Assistant coach(es)
- Paul Smith
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
Injured
Roster • updated 2011-10-11
Notable former players
Pero Cameron- Todd Cauthorn
- Correy Childs
Greg Francis- Dave Gardner
- Kenny Gregory
- Delme Herriman
- John McCord
- Louis McCullough
- Greg Meldrum
- Loren Meyer
- Tony Rampton
- John Simpson
- Billy Singleton
- Alto Virgil
- TJ Walker
Retired numbers
- 11 Dave Gardner, C, 1990–1995, 1997-1998 & 1999-2003
See also
References
- ^ Richard Taylor (2007-04-07). "Jets' future in doubt after Burton quits". London: The Independent. http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article2430098.ece. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ icChesire (2007). "Let's get on with it, says club legend Hamilton". Chester Chronicle. http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0200sport/chesterjets/tm_method=full%26objectid=19128764%26siteid=50020-name_page.html. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
- ^ Alec Doyle (2010-09-29). "Basketball: Big plans for Cheshire Jets to return to Ellesmere Port". Ellesmere Port: Ellesmere Port Pioneer. http://www.ellesmereportpioneer.co.uk/ellesmere-port-sport/other-sports/2010/09/29/basketball-big-plans-for-cheshire-jets-to-return-to-ellesmere-port-55940-27359088/. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
External links
- Official Cheshire Jets website
- Cheshire Jets on Facebook
- Cheshire Jets on Twitter
- Wheelchair Jets website
- Cheshire Jets news from the Chester Chronicle
2011–12 British Basketball League Cheshire Jets · Durham Wildcats · Glasgow Rocks · Guildford Heat · Leicester Riders
Mersey Tigers · Milton Keynes Lions · Newcastle Eagles · Plymouth Raiders · Sheffield Sharks · Worcester WolvesCategories:- Sports clubs established in 1984
- Chester
- Sport in Cheshire
- English basketball teams
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
