Steve Bucknall has been – in his own words – ‘around the block’ in basketball terms having played across Europe and in America.
One of the few Brits to play in the NBA and a trailblazer of basketball in the United Kingdom, Bucknall was inducted into the London Youth Games Hall of Fame last week and puts his win at the tournament as a youngster up among his other achievements.
Bucknall expressed his delight at picking up the honour although was unable to attend the event in a show of true commitment to coaching the sport.
He said: “I didn’t go [to the ceremony] because one of my players had broken his leg that night and we couldn’t get hold of anyone!
“So I stayed at the hospital for five hours, it’s a responsibility for a coach.
“It’s always nice to be recognised, it’s an achievement to be chosen, I played at the games when I first started and didn’t know how big they would turn out to be at that time.
“I remember that was one of the first tournaments I won as a player, and I’ve seen how the games have gone from strength-to-strength, I’m proud of that achievement and put it along with the rest of my achievements.”
Bucknall also spoke about the funding cuts to GB but is hopeful that there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
GB saw funding removed earlier this year before crashing out in the Eurobasket qualifying round with defeats to Iceland and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
But Bucknall is hoping that the young talent prevails over the politics.
“The funding has been cut which is disappointing but there will always be kids playing basketball.
“For me, course things have to change, things always have to change, we have to continue to build a foundation with our youths- there is no better feeling then representing your country.
“There’s always been a lot of enthusiasm for the sport, it’s up there in terms of sports played and over the last few years, I was coach of the England U-18s and we got promoted to Division A status – so the talent is there.
“It is just a matter of how we develop and nurture the talent, that is where we fall short in this country.”
Reflecting on his own career Bucknall has fond memories of taking to the court.
Following his retirement from the game he went into coaching, something he seems to be truly passionate about.
He explained how he went from London Youth Games winner to a professional basketball player and then a coach.
“You realise, when you play in the games you’re not a bad player, as a lot of players in your age group play in that tournament, that I should continue with that as a career option.
“I left England as a school boy to play in America, at a prestigious boarding school, I went on to the University of North Carolina, Michael Jordan attended there and we had a legendary coach.
“I then moved on to the Los Angeles Lakers and then spent the most of my career in Europe – Germany, Greece, Italy, France.
“When I joined the Lakers my feeling was I didn’t believe it, these are one of the teams I wanted to play for when I got into basketball; LA Lakers were the biggest team at that time with Boston Celtics.
“I thought about the many things I could do when I was coming to the end of my playing career and I wanted to give back to the sport, how could I find young talent that could take a similar pathway to what I did.
“I still have passion for the game, I feel like I’ve been coached by a number of great coaches, so I felt I had a lot of knowledge to give back.”
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