It's been down and up for the Bears

Romek Kriwald, owner of the Brighton Bears.

It's been more of a down and up year than an up and down year.

We've come off two seasons that have seen the Bears consistently at the bottom of the Southern conference.It was hard to keep fans excited and interested and the spirit was not good within the team.

We had a really good summer. Nick Nurse came on board which is something I've been working on for months. I was very pleased when we beat off the attentions of Real Madrid who had an offer on the table for him.

Since then we got a really good team of people in Brighton running the club as well as Nick recruiting a very good team of basketball players. Our high point is probably today, it's been our biggest game of the season, it was live on television across the South of England, we've had fantastic support from our sponsors, from television, radio and the Argus.

We went up against the top team in the conference and beat them comfortably and playing really exciting basketball. That's the high for me.

What are your plans for next year?

There are two things we want to develop. One is to develop the commercial side of the club and it's important that we can generate income for ourselves, because it's an expensive business running a basketball team.

We want to make better connections with our sponsors we want to attract new companies from the South of England and beyond to get involved with the Bears. We have a heck of a lot to offer and that's one side we are paying special attention to.

The other is for the team to compete at the highest level. We are on course for a playoff spot this season. I hope we have a good post season and I hope we make it to Wembley. It would be great if next year we can take a step into Europe. That remains an ambition of the club.

I know that Nick and his aim is to get the club playing in the NEBL, the North European Basketball League. That could happen quite soon. Those are a couple of things we are working on for the future.

How are you going to spend Christmas?

I'm having lots of family around to my home in Chichester. Hopefully it'll be a quietish Christmas. There's no basketball in the run up to Christmas but we've got a great game between Christmas and New Year, so it doesn't really stop.

On the Dec 30 we'll be playing the London Towers at our home from home, The Triangle (Burgess Hill). After beating the top team in the conference, there's no reason why we can't make it a happy Christmas, by doing the double and beating the Towers.

Nick Nurse, Brighton Bears head coach.

I am utterly surprised and happy at where I've landed in the world right now.

I think this is a great place to live, I am having a really enjoyable time living in this city. The opportunities for people are outstanding and the opportunities for our basketball situation are the best that I've seen since I've been coaching. The rest of it, the team, the players we've got, we're lucky, they got talent and it's coming together. I think the sky is the limit both on and off the court and I'm happy to be here.

We're quickly turning the team around from not being a very good team, to what I think is a Championship calibre team. I thought it was going to be a much longer struggle but we're keeping our fingers crossed so we can keep it going.

We still have a few major hurdles to climb and that has to do with our opposition. We proved we can beat everyone in the league already except Chester and London Towers. We got to figure out how to beat them. Chester is looking pretty unbeatable right now, and the London Towers are a big name hanging over our head that we can't seem to get over. There's always a challenge to keep winning trophies and that's what we going to do. We're going to try to get one and then get another one after that. That's why we get out of bed everyday and go to work.

The fans have been outstanding, and we've had some nice things happen for us on the other side, like Meridian television has been huge we are getting a lot of community support through local businesses and some businesses that are not local but based here.

The team was not in great shape off the court, but we've hired some great people like Sandy Knight and Steve Swanson our front office manager and marketing director. They're really doing well, they're covering a lot of ground and I think it'll be interesting to see what happens in a year from now.

What are your expectationd for 2002?

Well I would really like to win the BBL championship with this team. I really think we can do it. It's a bit of a stretch maybe but I've had teams that are not this good win it before. There's no reason why this team can't win it.

How will you spend Christmas?

I've got no idea. I wish I could go home and see my family but we only have a few days off. I was thinking of staying in Edinburgh for a bit or going to Europe. I am going to try and get out the house but I'll definitely be chilling out.

Wilbur Johnson, Brighton Bears center.

For me personally, it's a big difference. As you know the Bears were at the bottom of the table last year and we were the laughing stock of the league especially playing Thames Valley.

I remember Barry Bowman in particular, as one of the guys who ridiculed me coming from Sheffield a winning team and playing in Brighton and getting blown out by 20-25 points a game.

It was hard, I took a lot of flak from a lot of guys around the league and now it's great to turn the tables and hand out the punishment to other teams and being near the top of the table is a great thrill. I've never been on a losing team until last year.

Last year was hard for me, but now I'm back on the winning side it feels great, feels comfortable and it's great for the fans, cause we have a good fan base in Brighton.

Last year when were we 5 in 30, we still had a good core of fans that turned out to support us. Now they're being rewarded by having an exciting team that's near the top of the table.

What was your highpoint of the year?

The end of the season! Going home might have been the high point.

We had a nice group of guys who played hard. Practice was fun, we always had fun in practice, the guys we had last year were cool and it was fun being around them, it's hard when you lose and I wasn't happy losing last year. A high point for me was going to the All Star game last year.

Having my second daughter and bringing someone else into the world was definitely THE high point for me. Now I have two gorgeous little girls. That was definitely the high point.

How has having your family here helped you?

Family helps me a lot. Going back to last year, losing if you lose and you have nobody to be around, you can go crazy. I'm pretty emotional and I wear my heart on my sleeve. So a lot of times I came home dejected and depressed and having my wife and my child there made me feel better and cheered me up a bit. They kept me stable.

What are your plans for 2002?

I don't think I've been playing particularly well this season. Tonight was a good game and hopefully I will build on this game and finish off the season on a strong note. Hopefully I'll be able to get my passport next year and once I get it, some other doors and options can open up for me in this league or somewhere else. I want to keep playing well and see what happens.

How wil you spend Christmas?

My sister is coming for a week and it'll be my younger daughter's first Christmas so we'll have a nice family dinner at the house.

Sterling Davis, Brighton Bears forward.

So far, I can't complain about anything. I played basketball in South America last year and coming into Brighton I expected nothing.

I thought all overseas basketball was like South America, somewhat behind with the rest of the world. I felt that England would be the same way, but once I got here, and I saw how Americanised everything was and how in the flow it was with the rest of the world I was really happy.

At this moment, I can't really think of a low point, I get along well with my teammates, I like my coach a lot, there's plenty to do here and it's close to London. I really couldn't tell you a low point, maybe the games we've lost but overall it's been a good experience for me.

What are your aims for 2002?

I want to continue to win, you see coming to this league, I'm really confused about the competitions, the trophy, and all those different things so I just want to win since I don't know the difference between one and the other. I want to just continue to win and improve on the court.

How will you spend Christmas?

I'll probably go out and cut me down a tree in my back yard, get me a frozen pizza and sing Christmas carols around my tree.I am a big Christmas person when I'm with my family. I get excited, I'm up early on Christmas morning and I want to open my presents but all my family is in Dallas, it'll be different for me. But I've got to grow up, I won't always be around your family, but I'll be ok.

Randy Duck, Brighto Bears point guard and captain.

I've really enjoyed Brighton a lot. The seaside life is a little bit cleaner than London, fresher foods and a lot of things I like, they have here so I really enjoy being here.

Also getting to be with the guys on my team. I really like being around them and we enjoy each turning up for practice. Some teams dread being around each other, but that's not the case with our guys, we all get along, it's not like two or three of us get along, there are no cliques, it's one group and it's really fun.

It's so much more pleasant to be playing basketball with a group of guys who get along and we all try to help each other out and pick each other up when we fall down, everyday we get together to play is the best day.

What do you think of the response from the fans and the media?

Fans and the press have been really good, the people around here are accepting us really well and winning helps. I think we have a good opportunity to take this thing through the roof.

We're going to win a lot of games this year and we're trying to start something for years to come, a tradition, a style and a way that we play and I think we're really close to getting that done.

What's the inspiration for your novel poems in the game programmes?

I write everyday, it's something that comes out of me. I hear a word that someone uses one day and it'll spark something in my head and I go off on it. I read and write a lot, I don't do television much, I try to stimulate my mind as much as I can off the court and it's just another way of self expression.

What are your aims for 2002?

I'm going to go home for a bit and we're going to start some youth programmes, as well as working with Roger Hosanna (of Hosana Sportswear) to do some things incorporating youth and basketball.

How are you going to spend Christmas?

It is going to be just like any other year, eat a little drink have a nightcap and then go to bed.