What's The Difference SLB (pro) - NLB1 (semi-pro?)

[johnjack]

Just reading Hoopsfix regarding Vince buying into TVC, and with the absolute cr@pery that has happened with 777/BBL/"Pro" League the last year or so.

Other than the implied pro/semi-pro what are is the difference between SLB/BBL (ie the pro league) and NBL1 (the semi pro National League)?

Obviously there is a bit of money difference, but some its not like the SLB are actually massive behemoths of organisations. Some NBL teams seems to have arenas (Rebels?) that are comparable to if not bigger than some of the pro league teams.

Attendances seem to be comparable in some cases as well. Bristol Flyers only hold 700 ish at a squeeze and they are playing in the ENBL this year? (might be wrong). That seems on par with some of the NBL games you see.

I have seen reports of NBL teams "importing" players, there seems to be allot of American/Canadian types playing in the NBL. 

What would the extra costs be for an NBL Team to become an SLB team (transport etc etc seems to be comparable). Is it purely wages? 






 

[SamH]

I'd think wages is a big part of it - obviously the more you can offer to pay, the better the standard of player you expect to get. Some NBL teams do get good crowds and have decent venues but a lot don't, or at least not on par with the SLB teams. There is an obvious difference in quality, reflected by the trophy results over the years, with NBL teams seldom winning those games. Whether SLB will continue to be on par with BBL remains to be seen, but I would expect it to be close.

[D44]

NBL has always struck me as a bit odd, effectively it's a hybrid between semi-pro and the top tier of Uni basketball. Newcastle's NBL team has usually managed to be pretty competitive and is made up entirely of unpaid scholarship players. Compare this to say the Kestrels team of a few years ago who were a good BBL quality team just down a couple of imports.
The gap between the top semi-pro NBL teams and the worst BBL teams have been pretty minimal for years. I feel like big difference is lack of venue or not having the funds/willingness to step up and be fully professional. The old BBL allegedly (I say that as it's been mentioned before but I've never seen the actual written rule) had a £1m entry fee for new franchises, presumably to prove the team entering have long term funding in place, despite the fragility of BBL funding in general.

[johnjack]

Sept 3, 2024 10:22:53 GMT D44 said:

NBL has always struck me as a bit odd, effectively it's a hybrid between semi-pro and the top tier of Uni basketball. Newcastle's NBL team has usually managed to be pretty competitive and is made up entirely of unpaid scholarship players. Compare this to say the Kestrels team of a few years ago who were a good BBL quality team just down a couple of imports.
The gap between the top semi-pro NBL teams and the worst BBL teams have been pretty minimal for years. I feel like big difference is lack of venue or not having the funds/willingness to step up and be fully professional. The old BBL allegedly (I say that as it's been mentioned before but I've never seen the actual written rule) had a £1m entry fee for new franchises, presumably to prove the team entering have long term funding in place, despite the fragility of BBL funding in general.

I read the joining fee too. Seems a bit daft doesn't it? Prove you have funding by giving us a huge chunk of it?

[tallerman]

The main differences relay in the training really. Most nbl teams will train twice a week in the evening, usually Tuesday and Thursday. This allows the players to have full time jobs to support their playing. The imports are usually full time and will often be smaller than bbl players. A 6'6 centre in the nbl isn't far from the norm and most imports can compete at slb level. Malcom Smith and Aaron Rai being perfect examples.

I personally think the way to make the slb and gb basketball a lot better is to make the nbl better. If you look at Germany, Spain, France etc they have different professional leagues that can develop players. Leicester use Loughborough really well for this but imagine a proper 4 tier professional league where younger players could develop. It would be brilliant

[dandayr]

one has clear regulations published for anyone to read and one doesn't and folk second guess them and then comment as if factual