BBL Championship: Guildford Heat coach reveals details he hopes will help defeat Cheshire Jets

Oct 26 2011 by Alec Doyle, Chester Chronicle

GUILDFORD Heat coach Creon Raftopoulos has done his homework on the Jets BBL rookies and believes he has figured out his gameplan to counteract them as he prepares for their visit to Guildford Spectrum on Sunday.

“CoachŠLavery has a very big front court with the returnŠof Matt Schneck, new signing Bill Cole and the experience of veteran Shawn Myers,” he said.

“They picked up their first win and will be looking to build on that. The Jets will be our third game in five days soŠcontrolling the tempo of the game and rebounding will be important for us to get a win.”

Raftopoulos refused to boil the Jets down to one main threat, highlighting a number of ways John Lavery’s men could hurt his team.

“We knowŠSchneck is a tough cover in the low post so denying him touches where his comfortable will help us contain him,” said the coach.

“At 6ft 10ins, Cole spreads the floor well and has a good shot from downtown.

“Keith Page, Adam Brown andŠColin O’Reilly all shoot the three well so we will respect them on all areas of the floor.”

After losing their first five games of the season, Heat captain Mike Martin is hoping that his side can start to gel better: “We’re losing through not making free-throws or a couple of rushed offences. It’s horrible to know we could have won those games, but they’ve all been losses.

John Lavery expects a tough game in Guildford: “I haven’t seen them yet, but I know they’ll be tough. We’ll need to take care of Martelle McLemore and Mike Martin.”