Sunderland Maestros



BarnesPark said:
Not sure if anyone on here used to watch the basketball at Crowtree when Sunderland were a major force (and playing in Europe) but very sad news today.


Thanks for the memories Ken. RIP.
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I am sure we won the national final under him. Remember us watching it on channel 4, mid 80's I think. We beat hemel Hempstead in extra time, and had a cool as f#ck player called art wearin I think.
 
Butcher's Coat said:
Sunderland Sunblest?
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Was Sunblest just before my time- Austin Rover and then Reg Vardy were the shirt sponsors I remember.
Skylon said:
I am sure we won the national final under him. Remember us watching it on channel 4, mid 80's I think. We beat hemel Hempstead in extra time, and had a cool as f#ck player called art wearin I think.
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Art Wearin was called the “Ice Man”- as you say- cool as F@&k! Jim Brandon (JB) was the other US player (only allowed 2 and 1 dual national then)
 
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When I was in junior school at English Martyrs me and my mates decided we should start a basketball team. The school supported us, got someone to coach us, and arranged an exhibition game between us and the Sunderland team to raise money for kit.

The Sunderland lads, including Ken, were great and we had a fantastic night.

It all went awry for our team as we were basically just a bunch of idiot lads from Suddick and Redhouse with no commitment to anything, but I always remember how cool the Sunderland team were with us. RIP Ken.
 
That is sad news. As a 12/13 year old, one of my strongest sporting memories was watching Sunderland match a Yugoslavian team in European Cup at Crowtree, the atmosphere was buzzing that night.

The English league then, maybe still now, was a bizarre mix of players who were on the brink of NBA and local lads who worked for the council!

Channel 4 used to show the second half of a game on a Monday night when there wasn’t loads of live sport those days.
 
Undisputed Truth said:
Got to the finals in about 84/85 ish and whiped the floor with crystal Palace, the man City of British basketball at the time. Live on Channel 4 anarl. Went to most games. Was about 13 at the time. Got photos took with Ken. Great days. Top player too. RIP Ken Nottage.
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That was the one I watched. Thought it was hemel Hempstead for some reason, I think they had a good team around this time, but you are right it was crystal Palace. I loved watching it, I was proper proud of Sunderland that night.
 
A bit off the subject of Ken, but does anybody remember a player from back then called alton bird? Dunno who he played for but he was brilliant. Tiny fella, I remember him in a timeout saying confidentially 'I'll win the tip off boss'. I thought no way will he win it ,he is tiny. Sure enough, he won it against a fella about a foot bigger than him.
 
Skylon said:
A bit off the subject of Ken, but does anybody remember a player from back then called alton bird? Dunno who he played for but he was brilliant. Tiny fella, I remember him in a timeout saying confidentially 'I'll win the tip off boss'. I thought no way will he win it ,he is tiny. Sure enough, he won it against a fella about a foot bigger than him.
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Yeah- probably the closest there was to a household name in the UK game. Played in Scotland mainly I think.
 
Very sad news. I worked with Ken, off and on, for a while in the early to mid 90s and had a, all too brief, spell when he was my manager. He was an absolutely cracking bloke and easily the best gaffer I had (out of many over the years). Had a very good head on him but, more importantly, he had excellent interpersonal skills, a commodity sadly lacking in so many other management types.

RIP Ken. Top man.
 

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