MVP Cast with Mark Woods

With European youth tournaments in progress, The MVP Cast looks at our next generation of talented males. US-based Brit, coach and scout Chris Mayes, and stats guru / talent spotter Dave Owen join Mark Woods to go over the names on a trajectory to the top and we assess how the forecasting progress works and who is flagged up as ones to watch. More at MVP247.com      

The MVP Cast looks ahead to EuroBasket Women 2023 and examines Great Britain's chances. We get the thoughts of head coach Chema Buceta and new captain Temi Fagbenle - plus Hannah Robb and Erin McGarrachan go deep on their pathways to Slovenia and the expectations from within the camp. More at mvp247.com

Great Britain centre Kirsty Brown joins the MVP Cast. With less than a week before FIBA EuroBasket Women 2023 begins, we catch up with the Leicester Riders star on progress on the road to Slovenia. She tells us about the long round trip from Edinburgh to California and back to these shores, her drive to turn pro and the hopes of a new generation of GB prospects to make a mark. More at mvp247.com

A rough and ready episode of the MVP Cast from The 02 as London Lions make it a double over Leicester Riders in the BBL and WBBL Playoff Finals - as we hear from Ryan Schmidt, Darien Nelson-Henry, Krumesh Patel, Azania Stewart and Stella Kaltsidou.

London Lions men's head coach Ryan Schmidt joins the MVP Cast. He tells Mark Woods about the learning curve undertaken last season and in mixing with old hands in the EuroCup and the opportunities it has afforded him. We head back to the start of his love affair with basketball in Portland and how injuries took him from playing in the minor leagues towards a career on the sidelines. And we look ba...

MCing legend Simon Hosannah joins the MVP Cast. He tells Mark Woods about how he fell into announcing basketball, the big names and big games where he's been the man on the mic, and the work it takes to put on a show. But he also reveals the mammoth change in his life that's put him in a contest of his own - and why it's led him to retire from courtside next month. More at MVP247.com.

WBBL chair Jim Saker joins the MVP Cast to talk State of the League. Plus reaction following the 2023 BBL and WBBL Trophy finals. Hannah Robb tells us why Leicester Riders will be back, Shanice Beckford-Norton looks inside London Lions win, Azania Stewart explains her retirement - and why she may not be quite ready to finish up. And following Caledonia Gladiators jinx-breaking victory, David Sloan...

Caledonia Gladiators and Ivory Coast big Patrick Tapé joins the MVP Cast.----more---- Amid March Madness, he tells us about his own college days which began with combining books and basketball at Ivy League Columbia University, ended with a stint off the streets of San Francisco, and crammed in a spell under Coach K at Duke University. He recounts the impact of his first trip to the homeland of hi...

Bristol Flyers guard Jelani Watson-Gayle joins the MVP Cast. He tells us about his transformation from being a footballing hopeful with Leyton Orient to throwing his all into basketball - with huge assists from his mother and older brother. We talk the learnings to becoming a leader, the confidence he gained from going to the States at age 15 that's now being put to good effect in the British Bask...

Durham Palatinates centre Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby joins the MVP Cast. She tells Mark Woods about the globetrotting odyssey that saw her grow up across Europe but left her hunting for proper roots in this post-Brexit time. She reveals the rationale behind her decision to return to the Women's British Basketball League, her early leap into the game in Loughborough and what we might learn from hoops...

Manchester Giants wing Dirk Williams joins the MVP Cast. He tells Mark Woods about combining fatherhood with basketball and the life lessons learnt while growing up in Alabama with hoop dreams. We relive the dunks that won him trans-Atlantic fame and the move he has in mind next. And why a players-only meeting in Manchester can be the spark for the second half of the British Basketball League seas...

British basketball's numbers guru Dave Owen joins the MVP Cast.----more---- He tells Mark Woods about his drive to chronicle the stats of all our players at home and abroad to give them the recognition they deserve. We talk about his tech development and a push to provide insights that complement what we watch on screen - and how the numbers define our (unsung) heroes on the global basketball stag...

Kofi Josephs and Oliver Lawrie join the MVP Cast to discuss their new Mental Health Charter for Basketball.----more---- Kofi tells Mark Woods about how his own lived experience left him to set up his 'Why Not I?' organisation to raise awareness of the issues and how talking about it openly has led to other players and basketball staff talking to him about what they are facing. Oli tells us about h...

New British Basketball League CEO Aaron Radin joins the MVP Cast.----more---- He tells Mark Woods about a strategy to transform the BBL into a "premier content and entertainment organisation" through raising the standards of teams, game night experience, and its broadcast product. He talks us through the learnings from his previous roles, why expansion is unlikely for 2023 and whether the likes of...

Great Britain forward Jordan Williams joins the MVP Cast.----more---- He dishes all on his current posting with Hungarian side Hubner, the local cuisine and attractions, and the art of packing light and quick when a new overseas basketball assignment comes up. He tells Mark Woods of the influence of his mother in taking life choices that saw him head to Belgium at the age of 17 in the pursuit of k...

Newcastle Eagles guard Denzel Ubiaro joins the MVP Cast.----more---- He tells Mark Woods about his big screen stunt role as the double of Thanasis Antetokounmpo in the Disney movie 'Rise' - and the route that took him from random message to filming in Athens inside a few days. We talk about his globetrotting life as a kid to the collapse of his own American dream, bouncing back from injury to make...

Sheffield Hatters and Great Britain guard Georgia Gayle joins the MVP Cast.----more---- She tells Mark Woods about the passing off the torch to a new generation of homespun heroines and we discuss GB's recent EuroBasket Women qualifiers. We explore her family tree at the Hatters from her late grandmother Betty to her parents and aunt, to her cousin now making his own waves - and the challenges con...

Leicester Riders and Great Britain guard Patrick Whelan joins the MVP Cast.----more---- He tells Mark Woods about the brotherly battles that have driven him to succeed, the tragedy that shaped his approach to life and the secret basketball accomplishment within his own family. He details the learning curve that transported him from Warrington to Spain via the USA and the tough roads followed that...

Sheffield Sharks guard Rodney Glasgow Jr joins the MVP Cast.----more---- He tells Mark Woods about his upbringing as a child of two distinct American cities, the choices he made, and the influences that brought to bear. We discuss society on both sides of the Atlantic and its attitude to racism, the military discipline that helped him shine on the court, his push to be more self-aware, and his new...

Cheshire Phoenix centre Mike Ochereobia joins the MVP Cast.----more---- He tells Mark Woods about his late start in basketball that followed a teenage stint in the boxing ring that knocked him into shape. He reveals his creative side and the release it gives him away from the court, and the secret passion from his youth. More at mvp247.com. Sponsored by oddsindex.com

EuroLeague and BBL referee Ed Udyanskyy joins the MVP Cast.----more---- He tells Mark Woods about the 36-hour bus journey that took him from Kiev to London and diverted him on a path towards refereeing - and his progression to become our top export into the officiating ranks. And he shares the trials and tribulations of watching a war unfold in his native Ukraine and the personal heartache it has...

Harlem Globetrotters legend Sweet Lou Dunbar joins the MVP Cast.----more---- He tells Mark Woods about the impact that the team has made globally on the sport and the importance it has had for African-American basketballers in particular. We chat on the DNA of the Globetrotter that mashes entertainment and hoops and he reels off his perfect five recruits from the pool of NBA legends. More info on...

Martin Ford joins the MVP Cast.----more---- He tells Mark Woods about the life of being a leading FIBA Commissioner and his summer ride to the EuroBasket final. We learn about his journey from being Nick Nurse's minibus driver and an England international to overseeing officiating in the British Basketball League and how the bar can now be raised for refereeing at home and abroad.

Mark Woods is joined by Dan Routledge to preview the new British Basketball League season.----more----We assess the upswing of the BBL with new investment taking shape - and new investors coming in - and cast an eye over each of ten teams. And ask the question: can anyone stop London Lions from a domestic clean sweep? 

Mark Woods and guests preview FIBA EuroBasket 2022 on the MVP Cast. We chat to Great Britain coach Nate Reinking, and co-captains Dan Clark and Myles Hesson, about their hopes for the group stages in Milan and examine GB's opponents. And we look at the other sides hoping to make an impact in the tournament. More at MVP247.com