Just over 10 years ago, Atiba Lyons achieved one of his most famous victories in a storied British Basketball League career, as he led the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks to British Basketball League Trophy glory.
Ahead of the Sharks’ first home game of
what has so far been an electric Trophy competition in January, we caught up
with Coach Lyons to discuss one of the League’s most storied titles.
“It’s a fantastic competition and a great
opportunity for every team to win a title,” the Sharks play-caller said.
“You can really feel the excitement this month and the love people have for this competition, especially in this format where it takes over the whole of January – that’s great and has been a great change to the format.
“I think back to 2013 and that year when we won it, which is one of the most incredible memories of my career. We were having a rough season that year and were total underdogs going into the Final against a Leicester team that had beaten us heavily just a week before, but we came out swinging and secured a very memorable victory.
“If the Championship is a marathon, then the Trophy is definitely a sprint because you don’t have much time to get too high or too low. You have to put your best foot forward or you’ll be out of the competition before you know it. That pressure is exciting and I’m looking forward to tackling the rest of the competition.
An unexpected
journey
A Brooklyn native, Lyons landed on British
shores over 15 years ago as a player for the Sharks before taking the
opportunity to step into coaching alongside his playing duties for the
Yorkshire club.
Yet to reach his prime years as a player at
the time of stepping into coaching – still in his mid-twenties when he took on
the role at the start of the 2008 season – Lyons confessed coaching wasn’t a
path that he had planned, but was an opportunity he couldn’t let slip.
“It was not something I was expecting to happen for me. To be offered that position at the age of 26, I was taken aback as it wasn’t something I was pushing for. I was just playing basketball, enjoying my time and was offered an incredible opportunity.
“I thought I’d be good at it. It was not high on my list of things to do at the time being such a young guy in his career, but this challenge seemed something that was once a lifetime. The organisation treated me well, they knew what they wanted to achieve and where I fit in, and I was ready to take on the challenge.
“I’m over 15 years into this now and I never
really envisioned myself on this path, but I’m very happy that I stepped out of
my comfort zone at that time, and that they saw that potential in me.
“The lessons never stop. The game has changed a lot since I played. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but the thing I’ve learned along the way was how important it is to be myself, to be honest, and to give the guys the best opportunity to be their best selves because if you do that, then they’re confident and they’ll play as hard as they can for you.”
When
opportunities knock
Now settled in Sheffield with a family of his own, the 41-year-old Lyons confesses that the extended stay in Yorkshire was never part of the plan, but expressed his gratitude that the Sharks offering him an unexpected opportunity has developed into something far greater.
A father of two children now, the American
considers Sheffield his ‘third baby’ after investing over 15 years of his time
and effort into the city, and discusses one element of the Sharks programme
that signifies his journey with the club.
“My plan was never to stay in the UK. I
just wanted to play basketball for as long as I could, experience as much as I
could, travel and earn as much money as I could and go back to the States and
set myself up, which is what most Americans overseas want to achieve.
“My biggest goal when playing was to not
let opportunities pass me by, and that’s what I saw the coaching role at
Sheffield as. I’ve been fortunate to extend what was initially a playing role
in Sheffield into a life for my family and I and grow with it whilst making so
many incredible friends and memories along the way.
“As well as my two children, the Sharks are like my third baby to be honest. I’ve put a lot of time into this team and this city over the last 15 years, there’s been a lot of ups and downs for us both and I think the arena we’ve just opened is the embodiment of that journey and what we’ve built here together over the years, and what we still have left to achieve.”
Coming out
swinging
On Thursday night, the Sharks have an opportunity to make the headlines by securing the win that would knock the current Trophy holders – the Caledonia Gladiators – out of the running to retain their crown, in what would also be Sheffield’s first win of the campaign.
Like Lyons, Caledonia’s Gareth Murray also
proved himself as a player-coach before becoming a head coach full-time, and
the Sharks boss confessed his admiration for his opposite number and detailed
why he expects the Gladiators to be very dangerous on Thursday night.
“When you’ve got your back against the wall
you’re always dangerous to play against, especially when it’s a team who knows
how to win a championship as Caledonia have proven last year. I can prepare my
team as much as possible, but it’s up to them to go out there and show they
want it more than the other guys.
“We were lackluster the last time we played Caledonia. They were more physical, they beat us up inside and got some offensive rebounds, so we have to do a better job of that. We’re a slightly different team to when we played them before and we’ve just got to make sure that we do a better job of performing to our potential for a full 40 minutes.
“Gareth has done a great job there. He’s more comfortable on the sideline now that he’s coaching full-time as opposed to when he was playing and coaching, and I can relate to that. He doesn’t look anxious anymore, he looks ready and his team reflects that. They’re always tough, they always play with discipline and they’re very talented.”
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