The latest BBL All-Star 5 includes a pair of representatives from each of the Cheshire Phoenix and Plymouth City Patriots as both teams have hit winning runs to start 2022, with the weekly team led by well-established big scorers in Namon Wright and Rashad Hassan.
Namon Wright – Cheshire Phoenix
Cheshire have won three in a row to start the year, and went through the century in beating Glasgow as Namon Wright – the sixth leading scorer in the BBL – paced all scorers in this game, making his third All-Star 5 appearance of the season. The American guard had perhaps his best all-round performance of the campaign with 22 points, shooting 7-9 (77%) on the inside, with eight rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots, including a three-pointer to open the third quarter that sparked a game-winning 16-0 start, as he also scored the last four points in that spell.
Rashad Hassan – Plymouth City Patriots
Patriots have also opened 2022 with three consecutive wins and lifted themselves off the bottom of the BBL Championship table with an impressive road win at second-placed Manchester Giants on Sunday, as the ever-efficient Rashad Hassan proved difficult to stop. He had a double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs, shooting 10-14 (71%) from the field – Hassan is second all-time in the BBL in field goal percentage. He scored consistently through the game, including six points in the first quarter to get the visitors off to a solid start and five points in four minutes in a second stanza that they won 30-14.
Patrick Whelan – Leicester Riders
Leicester remain an unbeaten 9-0 at the top of the BBL Championship table, and the continued good form of British guard Patrick Whelan is a big reason for that as he makes his second All-Star 5 appearance in the last five weeks following a road win at Bristol Flyers. Fifth in the league in three-point percentage, he led the scoring in this game as 4-5 (80%) from beyond the arc fired him to 25 points in just 25 minutes, equalling his BBL career high, including an astonishing 16 points in the first quarter as he made a pair of ‘and-one’ plays that sparked a 13-0 surge to put Leicester in front for good.
Antonio Williams – Plymouth City Patriots
New American guard Antonio Williams is the second Patriot to make this week’s team, and he did it courtesy of a big performance live on Sky Sports on Friday night in victory over the Surrey Scorchers at Plymouth Pavilions. He finished with 25 points on 9-13 (69%) shooting, with six rebounds and four assists, including six points in a 13-2 burst that broke the game open in the second quarter when his consecutive baskets put Plymouth up double-digits, with an emphatic dunk providing an exclamation point on that run.
Mike Ochereobia – Cheshire Phoenix
British big Mike Ochereobia, the fourth leading rebounder in the BBL, posted an efficient double-double in Cheshire’s home win over Glasgow as they jumped up to fourth in the BBL Championship table with a fifth win of the campaign. He missed just once on his way to 14 points on 5-6 (83%) from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the line, also snagging 12 rebounds including four at the offensive end as Phoenix had 15 second chance points – they scored nine points, six for Ochereobia himself, directly off his offensive boards.
Off the bench: Stanley Davis Jr (Surrey Scorchers), Darius Defoe (Newcastle Eagles), Jaycee Hillsman (Glen Luss Glasgow Rocks), Kylor Kelley (London Lions), Boban Jacdonmi (Glen Luss Glasgow Rocks), Lamar Hamrick (Surrey Scorchers), Isaiah Reese (London Lions).