July 17, 2019

The past two weeks has seen Oaklands College alumni Ben Lawson shine on the worlds biggest basketball stage as he continues his monumental rise in the sport. Ben was selected by NBA franchise Memphis Grizzlies to compete in the NBA Summer League; a competition which showcases all draft picks and free agents vying for regular season NBA playing contracts.

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The Grizzlies were crowned champions on Monday night after defeating Minnesota Timberwolves in a thriller 95-92, with Ben making a big impact throughout his summer debut in the competition.
On the Sunday, in a crucial semi-final contest, Ben faced off against fellow Brit Kavell Bigby-Williams and came out on top with a 9 point and 9 rebound haul in 20 mins to help the Grizzlies reach the finals.

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The 7’1 Center entered the summer competition off the back of a successful second professional season playing in Japan with Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka. No matter the outcome from this summer we are all excited and proud of Ben and his ongoing development under the Wolfpack academy!

May 30, 2019

We celebrated a special evening and the 2018/19 award winners were named!

The 2018/19 season saw many achievements - the junior club achieved a milestone this season as the only program in the country to have all National League teams competing in the premier level for their respective age groups, all teams made playoffs for the first time and all retained premier status for next season.
The WBBL team had another year of growth, winning more games and reaching the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, losing to eventual champions Sevenoaks Suns in the first round.

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See below all of the 2018/19 winners!

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U12

MVP - Vince

Most improved - Milic

Coaches Award - Larry 

MVP - Cameron 

Most Impoved - Jeremy 

Coaches Award - George

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U14 Girls

MVP - Deborah James

Most Improved - Neve Mulrooney

Coaches Award - Lili Palmer

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U14 Boys

MVP - Alex Okpoyo

Most Improved - Jeremy Biodun Bello

Coaches Award - Ricardo Di Trolio

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U16 Girls

MVP - Onyinyechi Okoye

Most Improved - Emily Martin

Coaches Award - Millie Moore

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U16 boys 

MVP - Kane Daley 

Most Improved - Tallis Zacharias

Coaches Award - Lewis Thulbourbe

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U18 Women

MVP - Louise Rouse

Most Improved - Kaitlyn Martin

Coaches Award - Maisie Moore

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U18 Men

MVP - Darren Ainembabazi

Most Improved - Rich Ashu

Coach Award - Toby Gastaldi-Davies

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Div 2 Women

MVP - Naomi Turner

Most Improved - Eheda Hassan

Coaches player - Sami Brown

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WBBL

MVP - Roya Rustamzada

Most Improved - Bethany Sarson

Coaches Award - Lizzy Harrison

May 05, 2019

National League Division One basketball will come to St Albans for the first time next season as Oaklands College and Leopards have announced an exciting new partnership.

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While the Big Cats will continue to play some home games at the Brentwood Centre, all other club activities will be based at the St Albans college, including at least eight games at Oaklands.

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The two organisations previously worked together between 2015-2018 but a strengthened link will now see Oaklands' employee Thomas Baker coaching Leopards and some games taking place at the college.

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"We are delighted to partner with Leopards for the 2019/20 season" said Oaklands College Director of Basketball Michael Ball.

"We worked closely with Leopards in the past and players like Evan Walshe, Dom Scott-Robinson and Jose Morais have developed better by being stretched outside of their Oaklands College academy environment.

"The two keys for us were the confirmation of Thomas Baker at the helm for the upcoming season as head coach and the agreement of all training sessions taking place at Oaklands College.

"This now means that some of our Oaklands College academy players will have the opportunity to be part of a positively coached Division One men’s programme where they are going to have to compete and train even harder, which can only help them grow further as young men.

"This now means that, just like with our women’s programme, male players from six years upwards can come through our community Elevate sessions into our under-12 and then junior national league premier teams into the EABL academy and now D1 men with Leopards.

"That’s really exciting for our local community and club players as well as our current academy student athletes and could also, like our WBBL team, give senior professional players the opportunity to give back and coach within our academy and community to help with their career development."

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Coach Baker is excited about the new link-up: "This partnership marks exciting times for the club moving forward. We are 100 percent committed to building from last season's success and working with Oaklands is going to help us do that.

"It is going to be great to work with an academy that has a proven track record of developing elite level players and I am confident that the outstanding facilities at Oaklands will help us continue to develop that talent.

"From our early conversations it is clear that all involved are aligned in thinking when it comes to how we approach training, player development and coaching philosophies and I look forward to see how our journey continues with our new partnership."

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Leopards' general manager Dave Ryan was also enthusiastic about the new partnership: "I've spent the last year at Oaklands as my daughter plays there, it's a fantastic programme with a great club atmosphere. Having the chance to become part of that is an absolute no-brainer. I hope everyone involved with Wolves will come along and support us.

"It's genuinely exciting to work with a great programme. When we won the treble in 2012 we had a great blend of senior players and youngsters who gave us some fantastic energy,

"We're not going to replicate that instantly, but we have the chance to build something that can be a real success. Playing in front of big crowds at the Brentwood Centre is an important part of Leopards, but I believe we can create something special at Oaklands.

"It's been great to see players from the other teams watching the Wolves' sides play and I hope that everyone involved with Oaklands and anyone in the St Albans area interested in basketball will adopt and support us as we become part of the local sporting community."

April 28, 2019

The WBBL season came to a close over the weekend after a tough 96-60 loss against the formidable Sevenoaks Suns. Despite exiting the playoff race in the first round, the Wolves showed the same fighting spirit we've come to expect from them. This season continues the growth of the franchise in the WBBL as they made yet another milestone by reaching the playoffs for the first time.

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Lee Ryan reflects on the 2018/19 season. "This season has been difficult at times, but throughout all the challenges we have strived for consistent performances and wins. We did enough to reach our goal of the playoffs and I appreciate all the players efforts to achieve this milestone."

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Follow us on social media to stay up to date with new signings of next season.