The Lions' share: Sam Dekker, Ryan Schmidt willing to leave long-lasting legacy in London / News - Basketnews.com

London Lions head coach Ryan Schmidt and star player Sam Dekker talk to BasketNews about their ambitions with the British club that has made significant strides in the EuroCup.

Credit: Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images Credit Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images

When basketball is the subject in the United Kingdom, the NBA inevitably dominates the conversation. And even though the world's best league offers premium content and remains the best showcase for the sport around the globe, the British will by no means give up on their football-related habits.

2-pointers this season

54%21,3Points made:21,3Accuracy:54,1%Place in standings:6Record max:31Record min:10Most made 2FGs:Sam DekkerTeamEuroCupStatisticsSchedule

In theory, that doesn't sound particularly helpful for those aspiring to grow basketball in the country, especially since football culture doesn't translate as easily to basketball as it happens in other countries where there's a 'transfusion' of fans from one sport to the other.

"Football matches in this country are almost like a religious meeting because everyone there has a strong connection to the outcome built through years of experiences of how they've connected to that club," Aaron Radin, CEO of the British Basketball League, succinctly put things in perspective.

How can, for instance, a Chelsea, Arsenal, or Tottenham fan identify with what London's basketball team stands for?

Well, that's where the London Lions want to have their say and share in rendering basketball more accessible to the common British fan, who has little or no ties with the sport.

"It's funny because when I was with the Wizards, I played at the O2 against the Knicks," Sam Dekker, the London Lions' star player remembers.

Credit Action Images via Reuters

"The first thing I noticed was that the fans didn't know quite how to cheer for basketball. It just seemed foreign to them."

Dekker says there's a big disparity between 2019 when he played that pre-season game in London, and now that the Lions have taken on the task of educating the Londoners about the way basketball is played and consumed.

"One thing we do well here is a pre-game, complete breakdown on video board of the simple rules of basketball.

If it's your first time at a game, they show you how it goes. They do a cool London Lions cartoon with it. They're explaining things almost all game long."

Sam Dekker

MIN:31.5PTS:18.87 (56.93%)REB:5.93As:3ST:1.2BL:0.47TO:2.33GM:15ProfileEuroCup2022/2023

Dekker is impressed by the amount of basketball information fans have been able to learn and absorb.

"They know basketball now. They're watching games; they're reacting the way they're supposed to," he notices.

The American forward praises the Lions' media and marketing team for getting into the roots of London culture.

"They're going to central London, different neighborhoods, schools, and academies, doing pop-up shots. They have a London Lions bus that they open up, where you can shoot hoops and buy merchandise. They've repaved local basketball courts with the Lions logo, handing out jerseys and basketballs," he describes.

Football culture starts at an early age. Dekker thinks basketball should follow the same path.

"If there are 7-year-olds at our games, who buy jerseys and want to play hoops, they tell their friends they want to play basketball," he notes.

"When they turn 15-16, they'll remember that they started playing by going to a Lions game, like 'Oh, I watched Sam Dekker play, this guy from the States.' That's how it grows.

All these football teams - Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham- all started somewhere. We're at the precipice of that, and hopefully, London culture will grow with it."

Lions' head coach Ryan Schmidt has a breadth of top-flight coaching experience, having spent four seasons as an assistant coach with Toronto Raptors NBA G-League affiliate, Raptors 905, before taking over the Hamilton Honey Badger of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

Schmidt is in his second season with the London Lions and has earned BBL Coach of the Month honors for September/October, December, and January. His team has been tops in the league all season before winning both the midseason BBL Cup on January 29.

Schmidt joined the Lions in a player development capacity during the 2021-22 season and was appointed head coach in July 2022. His work with Raptors 905 resulted in numerous players being promoted to the NBA and two players (Chris Boucher, Jordan Loyd) being named to the All-NBA G League Team.

Starting in May 2017, the American coach organized and led workouts with members of Canada Basketball's Junior and Senior Men's National team programs, with numerous NBA players.

Schmidt, 39, mentions that his grandfather was a big basketball fan who introduced him to the game. He used to take him to the Portland Trail Blazers games when they had Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, and Terry Porter. That's how and when he fell in love with the sport.

"I said, 'That's what I want to do.' I played football and baseball growing up, but from day one, basketball was always my first love and something I was passionate about as a player."

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Now, Schmidt is fortunate enough to have a career on the coaching side, which was molded in Toronto. That's a good starting point and an example to follow if you're an up-and-coming team in an environment where basketball isn't among the top sports in popularity.

"You hear a lot about how the Toronto Raptors got back in the early 2000s. They started in 1995, but in the 2000s, they had the Vince Carter effect. He played with the team, and that created an explosion of interest in basketball.

That's where you started seeing the influx of talent. Some of the Cory Josephs and Tristan Thompsons got drafted into the NBA," Schmidt points out.

London-based football clubs and organizations have been around for ages and laid a framework and foundation for growing the game since the 19th century. Now, basketball is claiming a part of the hearts and minds of a crowd that seems less inclined to treat it as a second-rate product.

"The popularity is here," Schmidt maintains. "Basketball is the second-most popular sport amongst the 16-35-year-olds. But the funding isn't there, and that reminds me of Canada."

The Lions' coach remembers that 20 years ago, basketball in a hockey-crazy country had to tackle a lot of the same issues: lack of funding, infrastructure, facilities, and coaching.

Schmidt thinks London and Toronto are very similar from a cultural standpoint.

"Kids need something to identify with. You see the popularity growing. Our games in the Copper Box arena are getting over 4,000 fans on Thursday night against Sheffield. Now, you see those kids coming back for a second and third game, wearing Sam Dekker's jersey. That's cool to see. That's how we all fell in love with the game."

The opportunity for basketball to grow some roots in the UK is here, and Schmidt is hopeful that 20 years from now, "that Sam Dekker guy will be the reason that you see an NBA player coming from London."

The former Sheboygan Lutheran High School standout, who was drafted No. 18 overall in 2015, spent four seasons in the NBA, appearing in 201 total games for the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, and the Toronto Raptors.

Last summer, a trip back to North America would have Dekker sign with the Toronto Raptors, making a single regular-season appearance before he was released.

He would finish the year in Turkey playing for Bahcesehir, averaging 13.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and winning the 2021-22 FIBA Europe Cup.

Now, he's leading the London Lions to several milestones, averaging 18.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.2 steals over 15 EuroCup appearances. But most importantly, the team has qualified for the Round of 16 in the European competition and is ahead in the BBL table.

Dekker jokes that the only thing separating him from becoming the Lions' Vince Carter, in the long run, is his jumping.

"I got to work on that," he laughs and adds that he has a platform in London as a result of his presence with the Lions.

"Now, seeing the fans, I see it as a lot of responsibility, and I'm loving it. I'm becoming passionate about growing basketball here. I like having my thumbprint on the game in this country. I'm not in any rush to go anywhere.

I'm having a blast with everything - from the relationship with my teammates to all our wives hanging out. We all have young kids, and it's a very good experience. I'm just taking all of this in stride and realizing how cool it is to be in the moment. To be a catalyst of that is really an honor."

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Last summer was busy for Dekker and his wife, Olivia Harlan Dekker, with son Harlan Wolf being born in early May. A well-known name in sportscasting and sideline reporting, Olivia is the daughter of Kevin Harlan, a television and radio sports announcer, and the granddaughter of Bob Harlan, a Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame inductee.

She began her broadcasting career while studying at the University of Georgia and has worked for Fox Sports South, ESPN, and CBS Sports.

With her husband being stationed in Europe for the past two seasons, it's rather odd she hasn't done any commentating or broadcasting in EuroCup or BBL games.

Sam, for one, surely hopes she would.

"She's met with some people for opportunities over here because she's knowledgeable on sports and especially on basketball. There's also an interest in American football here in the UK.

It's been fun to see the gears turning in her brain on how she can be as active in her work here as possible," he says.

However, playing or broadcasting isn't the only way one can make a living out of basketball in the UK. Over the past few years, including this one, there has been an infusion of NBA basketball into British territory.

Ryan Schmidt and Sam Dekker are both Americans with NBA and G League experience, but so are BBL CEO Aaron Radin, Lions' GM Brett Burman, and 777 Partners, the investment firm that put £7m into the league for a 45% stake and is also the Lions' major shareholder.

American capital and expertise have been invested in the venture called British basketball, and the trend isn't likely to wither anytime soon.

"It's nice to have people that care about basketball and about growing it in a great place," Dekker stresses.

"Promoting change is hard sometimes. But it's also nice to have that led by people who're passionate about this sport we love and play. All we try to do is grow the game."

Dekker sees the BBL and the Lions as an opportunity to break through.

"The potential is all there and is building up. We just need an ownership group behind us to push that boulder down the hill to get it rolling. It's cool to be part of that initial phase.

I see the BBL as a whole within the next 10 years to be a destination for guys to play because there's a lot to love in this country for people going overseas and taking a leap of faith in their careers," the 28-year-old athlete underlines.

His coach calls the whole process "a domino effect" because he thinks it takes just one person to come over, have a good experience and see the potential.

"This is a sleeping giant. If you get the right people and resources behind it, it's England. From an American standpoint, having the ability to communicate with English-speaking people in your daily life is important. Having a CEO like Aaron Radin come into the league with his vision has brought other people who want to invest," Ryan Schmidt says.

The hard work at the Lions' camp started in the off-season with the recruitment of the most impressive array of talent the BBL has seen, including Dekker and Kosta Koufos; alongside Great Britain internationals Ovie Soko, Luke Nelson, Devon van Oostrum, Mo Soluade, Kareem Queeley and Josh Sharma, in addition to Czech international Vojtech Hruban.

Resources that weren't there have suddenly played a big part in bringing over NBA veterans. Schmidt is sure more big names will visit the UK in the coming years, and not just for holiday.

"Guys with their pedigree come in, have success and enjoy the experience. Players are the best form of advertisement. So, these guys will talk to their friends and former teammates. Word starts getting around very quickly about what's growing here," he assures.

As a matter of fact, Dekker is getting messages from people in the States on what it's like to play in England. He admits he can't curb his enthusiasm and is quick to share it with his teammates and coaches.

"A lot of people are like, 'You guys look so happy,' or 'Your social media team is super cool'. They're also jealous that I get to live in London. It's funny I'm getting messages from players across the world and former coaches.

So being an advocate for it, I'm not afraid to show things on my social media pages. As the years grow here, people will start giving the UK a longer look to advance their careers," he repeats.

Dekker says he doesn't want to name any of his former teammates that have reached out to him, asking him about the experience.

"I don't need to get a call from them saying I threw them under the bus," he jokes.

"But I talked to Blake Griffin the other day, and he was like, 'You look very happy, and I'm happy for you.' He was my teammate with the Clippers, and we were very close.

OG Anunoby and Austin Rivers have reached out and said, 'You look like you're having a blast. It's fun to see your highlights.' It's nice to have those guys keeping tabs on me and supporting me from afar."

Traditionally, ex-NBA players have been hard to come by in the UK, with salary cap restraints and the lack of stature proving a stumbling block in attracting any of the more noticeable faces.

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However, Dekker has arguably been the BBL's best player in his brief career thus far, and his highlight plays and NBA-level explosiveness often gets fans in arenas and out of their seats.

Dekker and Koufos are currently the only two players in the BBL who had been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft (Dekker at 15 in 2015, and Koufos at 23 in 2008).

Only two other players in the UK are ex-NBA-draftees, with Tomislav Zubcic and Miye Oni, both also of the London Lions, taken late in the second rounds of 2012 and 2019, respectively.

Dekker recalls that last summer, he got a call from his agent, and the first thing he asked him was, "How does London sound?"

"I perked up at it. Obviously, I knew the Lions didn't have a high-regarded tradition like some other teams across Europe. But I said, 'Hey, I'm willing to talk and listen to anyone. Everyone deserves to have a conversation.'

So, my first call was with Brett Burman, our GM. The way he spelled it out, what they want to do, where their priorities are, and what infrastructure they're trying to grow - immediately got [me] excited about it," Dekker recounts.

Then, Burman set up a call with coach Schmidt. Dekker was driving to a youth camp he was doing, and the two chatted for almost 90 minutes about the potential that he saw in what the club is trying to build.

"They reiterated that they wanted me at the center of that, and I took that very seriously. I thought that was a huge thing for a coach and a GM to just plainly say. Sometimes in Europe, that doesn't happen. It was a really cool feeling that they valued me as a person and a player," Dekker acknowledges.

Ryan, Brett, and the rest of the staff started talking a little more. Every conversation would have Dekker think all that sounded too good to be true. But since he arrived in London, things turned out even better.

"It's been a better fit than I could even imagine. I credit our coaching staff and front office for unleashing the most potential out of me. They've allowed me to do a lot of things that have made me feel like a really good player. It's been as good of a situation as I've ever been in."

Dekker describes how he and Schmidt have built a special type of trust.

"We're sitting in film rooms around the court. Everybody has a voice. It doesn't matter if you're a young guy and barely getting minutes. You can ask a question, and no one's going to make you feel like you're wasting their time. We have a group that wants to see each other shine and play well. That starts from the top and our coaching staff," the Lions' star player highlights.

Credit Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

"Coach Ryan wants us to feel like we have a say in everything. That's rare in Europe. He wants us to succeed piece by piece. When you feel that, you just go out there and play freely. It's been amazing to see a lot of guys step into this new situation."

Dekker goes on to emphasize how Schmidt and the Lions' staff have been trying to make the best out of his presence on the court, unlocking his potential.

"It's about using my speed and ball-handling ability, spreading the floor, opening up the court. We play a different style compared to other EuroCup teams, but it has worked for the roster we have. It's a hell of a lot of fun too."

Ryan Schmidt can definitely attest to that. He calls the Lions' style of play "unique" and explains that the philosophy he brought over from the Raptors was of spacing the floor out and having multiple players who can handle the ball, "which is something that Dekker is alluding to a little bit."

"You see a guy who's 6'9" (2.06 m.) and was a shooter or a cutter in the NBA, while in Europe, he's used a pick-n'-pop 4. But he can do a lot more, having the ability to handle the ball, play pick n' roll, isolate from different spots on the court, and draw a lot of attention," he adds.

It's no secret that both Paris and London are important commercial stakes for Euroleague Basketball. But if the London Lions want to reach the EuroLeague next season, they will have to make at least the EuroCup final.

With a one-off contest against Joventut in Badalona in the Round of 16 deciding everything, there is obviously still a very long way to go for Sam Dekker and his teammates, who had an 8-10 record in the group stage.

"Every game has been coming down to 2-3 possessions. But the cool thing about EuroCup is that if you miss a couple of shots or defensive assignments, you can lose any game," Dekker says, and that's how he foresees the playoffs going.

"Hopefully, we'll come off on the right side. With our record, people might not think much about us. But I'm very confident in us," he points out.

Credit Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

"In a one-game playoff situation, anything can happen," coach Schmidt concurs.

"We got blown out in Tel Aviv and Gran Canaria, but three months later, our games came down to one possession. We lost, but you could see that we had closed the gap a little bit."

Still, every effort is being made toward closing that gap. It is never easy to come into a new competition and make an immediate impact, but that's exactly what the London Lions have accomplished, creating a great buzz inside Copper Box Arena.

The club has lofty ambitions, but one of them has already been achieved. The EuroCup playoffs aren't a dream anymore, they're a reality.

"Any time you have an opportunity to do what hasn't been done before, it's an honor," Ryan Schmidt admits.

"It's been exciting and fun from a coaching standpoint to work with the group that we have. They have completely bought into the big picture and take a lot of pride in doing so. For these guys, to have an opportunity to be the first British team to qualify for the EuroCup playoffs is what we've worked for."

Credit IMAGO/Claus Bergmann

Schmidt says in the Lions' first few games, there was a lot of first for the team: the first British team to win at this level in 18 years, the first road win, etc. But the biggest challenge has been the schedule.

While most EuroCup teams are playing their domestic games during the weekend, the country's sole representative in Europe might have to play two BBL games every week.

"It's really unorthodox for us," Schmidt observes.

But the good outweighs the bad.

"It's been fun to see the support we're getting from the British basketball community as a whole. Coaches from the league reach out to me and congratulate us, wishing us luck. Viewership has increased week to week in EuroCup games. Overall, the excitement outweighs the difficulties."

Dekker, an avid social media user, says he's getting Twitter and Instagram messages from random fans from Glasgow or Manchester. That has helped him come to the conclusion that the British do love basketball in a lot of cities more than one would realize.

"There's always going to be some doubt or haters within what you're doing because people don't like change and trailblazers. It's cool to be at the forefront of this for the UK - and seeing the growth of the sport spurs you on a little more," he stresses.

For Dekker and Schmidt, the Toronto experience - albeit lived differently and at different times - has been extremely helpful. For the player, it was a chance to come to terms with the fact that once you leave the league, it's hard to go back.

For the coach, it was all about learning and development.

"Getting that chance reiterated in my brain the idea that I have the talent and that I belong in the best league in the world," Dekker figured out.

"You realize that sometimes, things don't always work in your favor. Do I still believe that I belong there? Yes, of course. But I can also use it as a chip and be special in the situation I'm in now."

At first, getting cut by the Raptors seemed like horrible news to Dekker, but now he's not sure it was all that bad.

"I mean, look where the journey has brought me. I'm utilizing the things I learned in past places to be as happy as I've ever been, doing my job," he remarks.

Schmidt has realized that the NBA is different than the European game, but when he first came to Europe, he knew what he wanted to do and how. It's been a fun adjustment going to a new country and competition.

If it hadn't been for Jerry Stackhouse, the former player, who hired Schmidt in Toronto, and current Raptors coach Nick Nurse (who had previously worked in the UK), things might have played out differently.

"I learned a lot from Stackhouse. He was my boss, and he doesn't get enough credit for how well-prepared he is as a coach. His level of detail and preparation stood out to me.

I didn't have a close relationship with Nurse because I was on the G League staff. But I was observing him from afar. He's a guy that worked his way up the ranks and took the opportunity to become a head coach."

Now, as the Lions' play-caller, Schmidt is following the likes of Quin Snyder or Erik Spoelstra.

"That's the fun part of coaching - you can take some things you like from certain ones while putting a different spin on other things."

The Lions hope to put that spin to good use and make more strides. Any way you look at it, they are deservedly considered one of the teams to watch this season.

Read more: Flagship for the UK: London Lions GM explains how a British powerhouse was built

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