Heat Prepare for the Rocks

The Heat play host to the Glasgow Rocks the Sunday (4th April) knowing that defeat will almost certainly take them out of play-off contention. The all-time series between the 2 sides is tied at 9-9, although it is the Rocks who hold the season head-to-head over the Heat, as they beat them 82-63 back in December 2009, and 88-64 in mid-January. Rocks' player-coach, Sterling Davis, said he feels that his side match up well with the Heat: 'I think we will match-up pretty evenly, Guildford have a good combination of athleticism and talent and even though they have not had the ideal season, they can still put out very good performances.' He added: 'We have got Rob (Yanders) back playing, definitely not one hundred percent, but very productive. Mike Crowell was out last game because of a viral infection so we will have to keep track of him this week.'

The Rocks come into the game brimming with confidence after their last result, a 106-82 defeat of Airwaves Plymouth Raiders. The fixture followed a tough 82-91 loss to Newcastle Eagles, and 6'7'' forward Davis was happy with the way his side responded: 'We played very well considering just coming off a disappointing loss against Newcastle three days before. We really responded well to that setback.'

Despite early-season victories against the likes of Newcastle Eagles, the Heat have struggled as of late with their consistency under player-coach Chad McKnight. Last time they faced the Rocks at Kelvin Hall, it was Yanders who was a thorn in their side, as he scored 18 points, including 3/6 three point shooting. Also, Sterling Davis went 5/5 from the free throw line and 5/7 from the field on his way to 15 points and Mike Copeland contributed 14 points. However, Texan born Davis will be well aware of British veterans Julius Joseph, and Mike Martin, both former Rocks players. Joseph led all scorers in the last meeting between these teams with 20 points, and Martin currently averages over 17 points per game.

Both teams have players featuring highly in the BBL statistics charts, as Joseph ranks one behind Martin in scoring with an average of 17.3 points per game and 'LA' Aaron Drakeford is fifth in the league for assists with 5.1 per outing. For the Rocks, Yanders is having another dominant season averaging 20.1 points per game, as well as leading the league in three point percentage, and his back court partner Jessie Sapp leads the BBL in assists with an outstanding 7.3 per game, whilst Yanders dishes out almost five assists a game himself.