Nurse vows to get Bears into shape

Bears were crushed 89-68 by Thames Valley Tigers last Sunday with the crowd at The Triangle stunned into near silence.

Coach and general manager Nurse was stunned too, but certainly not silenced, as he saw his men ease into a five-point lead midway through the second quarter, then capitulate.

It was just like old times as shots were missed and possession frittered away and Nurse reckons poor basic fitness had a part to play.

Bears had lost by just three points at champions Leicester the previous night having performed well for most of the game.

But they ran out of steam as they played their second match in less than 24 hours.

They did, of course, have a truncated pre-season, but that was no excuse.

Nurse said: "I was very disappointed. If there was one factor that was hammering us, that was it.

"We were five points up early on and it should have been more but from there on it got pretty ugly.

"We couldn't make shots because we were tired and we couldn't stop them playing.

"When you are a professional athlete you shouldn't come back just 70 per cent in shape.

"If the club only did 70 per cent of the things the players ask of them, we would soon hear about it.

"I told the players they would practise like mad and condition like mad this week. We will not play again the way we played on Sunday."

Wilbur Johnson was the player most obviously short of full fitness as he struggled to make the sort of close range shots he would normally sink with his eyes closed.

But Nurse insisted his big gun from Philadelphia was not the only culprit.

The coach added: "It wasn't everybody but there were quite a few who needed more weights room strength or more stamina or just to get their butts in shape running.

Nurse is hoping to give his third American Albert White a debut tomorrow night against London Leopards outfit coached by Chris Pullem, the man many fans wanted to see in charge of Bears.

White, 24, stands 6ft 5ins, weighs in at more than 16st and impressed in two seasons with Siouxfalls Skyforce in the CBA.

Nurse said: "He plays at two or three and can take control of games."

DANIEL Hildreth knows exactly what to expect when he returns to Brighton with Derby Storm next Thursday.

He will get a ribbing from Wilbur Johnson, a chasing from Michael Brown and enjoy a few sociable beers after the final buzzer.

The former Bears point guard was one of the few players to emerge with his reputation intact from Storm's opening day defeat by Chester Jets.

Now he is counting the days until his young side attempt to upset Nick Nurse's Bears on the south coast.

Hildreth, who still has a flat walking distance from the Brighton Centre, admitted: "I thrive on that kind of challenge.

"I know Wil will be teasing me the whole game and me and Mike will probably end up in a fight.

"That's just because we are so competitive but at the end of the game we will be best buddies again."

The former Bears skipper and his girlfriend Helen are currently lodging with Derby coach John Spezia.

Hildreth has also been settling into a new job co-ordinating basketball coaching at about 120 schools in Derby.

He also came back to Brighton to attend the funeral of his grandfather, who died recently.

Hildreth believes Storm's young side face a tough season but said: "It's a completely new challenge to anything I have experienced at Worthing or Brighton.

"The biggest thing I can bring is a calm head. I had 27 minutes in my first game and got eight points, five assists and three steals so I thought I did okay.

"We started with Shawn Kennedy, who had about eight games last season, and four rookies, so it's tough."

Hildreth witnessed Brighton's defeat to Thames Valley and was shocked, but he insisted: "Bears' squad is stacked. They have got a very good five and two or three English players coming off the bench who are more than capable.

"I would hope the fans will realise it was not my decision to leave Bears and give me a good reception but either way I am looking forward to it."