MVP Cast with Mark Woods

Manchester Giants head coach Lloyd Gardner joins the MVP Cast. He tells Mark Woods about the rebuild in his second season in Manchester around the stellar signing of Dan Clark, the positive impact of the ill-fated London City Royals on his career, learnings from his TV commentary work and from the Barking Abbey Academy before switching to the British Basketball League - and his experience with Gre...

Cheshire Phoenix guard Jules Dang Akodo joins the MVP Cast. He tells Mark Woods about his childhood switch from Cameroon to the UK and the ties that bind, the talent bloom that saw him decamp for Slovenia in his mid-teens and the Euro odysseys beyond, his dissatisfying trip to a EuroBasket finals with Great Britain, last season's ups and downs with London Lions and his ambitions for 2022. More at...

The MVP Cast returns for a new series - to preview the 2021-22 British Basketball League season. We chat to new London Lions' general manager Brett Burman about his plans to conquer at home and abroad, plus we talk to various figures around the BBL about the ten teams and how they might fare.   More at mvp247.com

Former Great Britain men's head coach Joe Prunty joins the MVP Cast to recount his five year run in charge of the national team and the ups and downs of a programme that shifted markedly following the London 2012 Olympics. We talk his approach to building buy-in and bringing through young players and how it led to his recent spell at the helm of Team USA. He recounts his spell as head coach of the...

Plymouth Raiders head coach Paul James joins the MVP Cast to talk 1000 games in the BBL, the boyish brotherhood that ushered him into the game, a path through Tigers, Heat, Wolves and the Raiders and the ups and downs along the way, his hopes for another tilt at Europe in the seasons ahead and the All-PJ team. More at mvp247.com

Leicester Riders forward Ella Clark joins the MVP Cast to talk about her double life in basketball and netball, what the two sports could - and should - learn from one another, her ambitions in the game and why she'd welcome a return for Great Britain. More at MVP247.com

Shequila Joseph joins the MVP Cast to talk about her start in basketball in London, the learnings from a college stint in the Deep South, the grand tour of Europe she has been on as a pro and making her Great Britain debut. More at MVP247.com. Sponsored by Total Environmental Compliance.

Adrian Fulton and Bill McCotter of Belfast Star are the guests on the 100th edition of the MVP Cast. The duo tell us about basketball in Northern Ireland and its curious place within Ireland and UK hoops. They expand on the history of the reigning Irish Superleague champions, basketball's emergence and the problems caused by The Troubles, developing a new generation and the potential for a BBL fra...

Scott Melvin, chief executive of Buzz16 Productions and exec producer of the BBL on Sky Sports, joins the MVP Cast. He tells us what makes great sports television and his borrowings from his former role in charge of Monday Night Football and other broadcasts. He tells us about how the British Basketball League's return to Sky came about, how they put a fresh look together and what it hopes to achi...

Surrey Scorchers centre Ryan Richards joins the MVP Cast to recap the amazing stories from a decade and more in the game. We discuss his growth as a teen prospect and the lack of sound advice that halted his transition from Draftee by the San Antonio Spurs into the NBA itself. He tells us about his extraordinary career arc through leagues across the world and the decisions which took him there, hi...

Cardiff Archers guard Robyn Lewis joins the MVP Cast to share her passion for food, her development over three different stops in the WBBL, the lessons she's passing on by coaching kids and the influence of Stef Collins, and planning for life after hoops. More at mvp247.com. Sponsored by Total Environmental Compliance.  

Bristol Flyers guard Josh Wilcher joins the MVP Cast to tell us about the system in Australia that nurtured his talent and that of the country's huge NBA contingent, and the growth of the NBL. We learn about his tough battle back from an Achilles injury and the role sports psychology played in it. And how he went unpaid to come to the UK and rebuild his basketball career in Reading and his second...

We turn the spotlight on grassroots basketball on the MVP Cast with the man behind one of the country's most successful clubs, John Bunyan of Falkirk Fury. We talk about the challenges coming out of Covid, creating a culture and infrastructure that's produced multiple Great Britain internationals and what's required to grow, nurturing coaching development to breed talent and how the national team...

Newcastle Eagles coach Chris Bunten joins the MVP Cast to discuss growing the Women's British Basketball League commercially and the player pathways that might bring through fresh stars, and to talk about becoming an integral part of the Eagles and the ecosystem of north-east England. He shares his views on coaching development in the WBBL and the UK and why he'd like more sharing to deliver impro...

In the latest edition of the MVP Cast, we chat to bright young coaching mind Jack Burgess about his leap of faith to pursue his career in Spain after a cameo playing career at Glasgow Rocks, how he earned a shot at the youth teams of ACB outfit Zaragoza and getting an inside view of what makes the system in the country so good. He gives us his thoughts on how the UK might learn from their successe...

Worcester Wolves' forward Mike Parks Jr joins the MVP Cast to tell us about his tough childhood in east Chicago and the homelessness that spurred him to make his way out. He talks about playing for two legends in college and how he had to fight for his spot. And he explains how Covid has forced the sacrifice of undertaking his most important job - as a father - from afar. More at mvp247.com . Spon...

Great Britain head coach Chema Buceta and rising star Evelyn Adebayo join the MVP Cast ahead of the last round of qualifiers for FIBA EuroBasket Women 2021. Buceta gives us his view on a vital clash with Belarus, the chances of Olympic qualification for Paris 2024 and why the British Basketball Federation and the home nations need to work in unison to bring our young talents through.  While Adebay...

Sevenoaks Suns and Great Britain guard Renee Busch joins the MVP Cast to talk about how Covid has impacted the WBBL, her multi-national background, being coached by her father Len and the immense role models in her life, the lessons she passes onto young girls under her tutelage, and the highs of her international career. More at mvp247.com . Sponsored by Total Environmental Compliance .

London Lions guard Andre Lockhart joins the MVP Cast. He tells us about changed times and increased expectations under new management at the Copper Box, his own journey from London to Barbados and back and the inspiration he receives from his mother, and his role as a mentor and coach to promising players in the capital and the fear that Covid might edge them out of the game. More at MVP247.com (R...

In the first of a new series of the MVP Cast, Cheshire Phoenix guard Mike McCall is our guest. He tells us about playing through Covid in the British Basketball League, taking an atypical route through the vibrant Chicago hoops scene and his plans to one day turn to coaching. More at MVP247.com. Sponsored by Total Environmental Compliance.

Great Britain guard Eilidh Simpson joins the MVP Cast to give us an insight into what makes GB Women such an close-knit group, why they will now think about the Paris 2024 Olympics, her career journey from Australia to roaming Europe, her personal travel bug and a special double proposal. More at mvp247.com. Sponsored by Total Environmental Compliance.

Leicester Riders and Great Britain guard Conner Washington joins the MVP Cast to talk Covid in the BBL, the destruction of his dream by his short American experience and its rebirth, how creating music brings back great memories of his late mother, his new excursion into modelling - and his forecast for the British Basketball League season ahead. More at mvp247.com.   Sponsored by Total Environmen...

Kofi Josephs joins Mark Woods on the MVP Cast to open up on his creative non-conformist side and tell us why basketball took him past the inner city issues of Birmingham to find a world beyond, the mental health challenges faced by athletes, his devotion to the game that took him to a EuroBasket with Great Britain - and the diverse plans he has for his future. More at mvp247.com. Sponsored by Tota...

Former NBA All Star and current president of the Russian Basketball Federation, Andrei Kirilenko, joins the MVP Cast to talk about the current and past wave of European players, his Stateside and international careers, his bid to restore Russia to the upper echelon of global hoops and why he feels his homeland is getting a raw deal with a potential Olympic ban due to the country's doping past. Mor...

NBA Coach of the Year, Nick Nurse, joins the MVP Cast to talk about his amazing rise from driving the minibus with Derby to winning the NBA title with the Toronto Raptors. He tells us about his fun trips and trophy stops with London, Manchester and Birmingham, the British Basketball League team he almost joined, how his stint in Brighton owning the Bears left him dead broke, and an 18 months to re...