Bucks Hornets have been invited by Basketbull to play in the U16 First Eight and the U15 Hall of Fame National Invitational Tournament during July 2010.

The LIVE National Invitational is the only NCAA-sanctioned tournament in New England during the month of July attracting Division I, II and III college coaches to recruit for prospects. This event has hosted national teams such as Florida Rams, New Heights, Grassroots Canada, Team Philly, Metro Hawks (NY), Long Island Lightning, HP Elite (Louisiana), Illinois Wolves, Delaware Sharpshooters, BABC, New England Playaz, and many more. New England Recruiting Service, NE Hoop News, Rivals.com and Scout.com will also be invited

This is another great opportunity that we are able to offer our players through overseas links that we have been forging for some time. The guys will really need to step their game up to compete against some of the best players in the US and in view of some of the best college coaches that the US has to offer.

This tournament will give great exposure for the top players currently at our club as well as the those coming through the younger ranks in future years.

Author: Lee McCarthy

Hornets will be running two basketball camps during the Easter break in partnership with Bucks Sport.

The two camps available will be for U13's on 6th/7th April and U16's on 8th/9th April. Both camps will take place at The Grange School, Wendover Way, Aylesbury from 11am - 3:30pm and will cost thirty pounds per person.

The camp will include:

- Quality Coaching from County, Regional and National League Coaches.

- Basketball Fundamentals making you a better player

- Special techniques to improve speed, agility, balance and power

- Games

- 3 point shoot out

- MVP (Most Valuable Player)

Unfortunatley places are only limited to 30 per camp and will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. To avoid disappointment email Joe Manley : jmanley@buckshornets.co.uk Request a booking form and complete and return it as soon as possible.

Author: Joe Manley

The first ever County Performance Centre (CPC) session in England got off to a fantastic start with 30 young people attending the 1998 Born Boys session for what would be the first of several pilot sessions of this pioneering new programme which is fully supported by Buckinghamshire Basketball and The Bucks Hornets Basketball Club.

The purpose of this programme is to identify those with particular talent and potential in basketball early and provide them with sound fundamental coaching, focused around individual performance ahead of County Squad selections later in the year.

If you are born in 1998 (or an exceptional 1999) and feel that you might qualify for the CPC and you would like further information visit Buckinghamshire Basketball

Author: Lee McCarthy

Congratulations to Chris Owen and Morayo Soluade who have been called up by the England U15 Coach, Andreas Kapoulas, to attend the first National Team Training Camp to be held over 3 days in Bristol during the February half term. Similarly, Ely Heinrich, from Hornets U14 Girls has also been called up to train with the England U16 squad.

There is a wealth of talent from across the country attending both camps and our guys will now need to work even harder if they are to maintain and establish themselves as England Internationals.

This is great news for our players and the club, we will be watching carefully and supporting them every step of the way.

Author: Lee McCarthy

The Hornets had two tough back to back games at the weekend v Aylesbury Dux and Hertfordshire Warriors. Victories in both games would have seen the girls knock the Warriors off of the top spot and move into first place in the league.

The girls played some excellent basketball in their first game versus the Aylesbury Dux and by no means wanted to walk away from this game without the win. This was to be the case as the girls went on to beat their local rivals 39-25. Showing early signs of fatigue from their previous game, the second game versus Warriors didn't quite go to plan as the girls struggled from the tip to keep up. However the girls battled to the end and created countless scoring opportunities but tired legs meant the shots just wouldn't go in the basket, 45-17 for the Warriors.

Hornets now sit in 2nd place with a 4-1 record and will continue to try and knock the Warriors off of that top spot before the end of the season!!! Well done!!

Author: Lee McCarthy

Hornets U15's boys were put out of the U16 Sureshot National Cup yesterday by Solent Kestrels. The Kestrels U16's are a very experienced side, having reached the Final 4's in previous years and they also feature current U16 England players. That said it was by no means a one sided affair as the final scoreline of 47-61 may suggest and Hornets gave the older Kestrels a serious run for their money.

Kestrels no13 Chris Scarlett caused Hornets problems all night and led the scoring for the away team with 29pts including 16 of their first 18 points in the game. At the end of the first quarter Hornets lead 19-16 and mid way through the second were up 30-23 although a late surge from Kestrels put Hornets down at the half by 3 points, 32-35. The 3rd quarter saw the Kestrels take a 12 point lead at 34-46 but the home side came back fighting as their supporters got behind them and drove them onto an 11-2 run and put them back into contention early in the 4th quarter 45-48. However a relatively poor 4th quarter for the Hornets was costly as shots rimmed out from all angles meaning they would only score 2 more points taking their total to 47 as the Kestrels totalled 61.

The boys done great in this competition and to make the last 16 playing against bigger, stronger opposition was some achievement. The experience will prove valuable for them in this years playoff's as well as in next years attempt in the National Cup. Scorers: Owen (16), Soluade (12), Sharpe (10), Stuart (6), Dickinson (3).

Author: Lee McCarthy

With all 3 teams in action this weekend, Hornets U14's Girls, U14 Boys & U15's Boys make it 6 wins out of 6!! 2 great wins for the Girls, 57-14 & 62-25, a massive 127-7 victory for the U14's and a 95-53 victory for the U15's Boys end a marvellous weekend of Basketball for the Bucks Hornets.

For more news and information including photos and videos join our facebook fan page.

Author: Lee McCarthy

Bucks Basketball have announced the launch of the U12 County Performance Centre which is fully backed by the Bucks Hornets.

The (CPC) based on the EB Player Performance Pathway will help to identify and develop the best talent that Bucks has to offer for future involvement in the game at county and regional level or beyond.

For further information visit www.bucksbasketball.org.uk or email: performancepathways@bucksbasketball.org.uk

Author: Lee McCarthy

Almost the entire Bucks Hornets U14 Girls Squad were selected at the weekend to represent the South Region in the National Tournament held at Lilleshall. With very few nominations from the neighbouring counties it was down to the Hornets Girls to represent the whole Region. The girls did us proud and finished 6th overall out of the 10 regions which was a great achievement.

Special congratulations must go out to Ely Heinrich who was selected at the Tournament to train with the England U16 National Team. All the girls will now be hoping to attend APC's where their progress will be monitored for future England Squad potential. Well done girls!!!!

Author: Lee McCarthy

The Hornets U15 Boys continued their journey in the U16 National Cup yesterday by beating Spelthorne Atoms - London Utd by one point 70 - 69 in a very close game.

Down by 4 points with just under a minute to play Hornets stepped up the defensive pressure and Mo Soluade hit a 3 point shot to put the team within one point. A foul on Ben Geddes with only seconds on the clock meant he had a chance to give Hornets back the lead with two free throws. Both free throws were a perfect swish putting Hornets up by 1pt and the game was wrapped up with Hornets holding the ball to see out the clock.

In the previous round Hornets had another close encounter away to Oxford Brooks Eagles. This time it was Ben Geddes' 3pt shooting that broke open the game as he hit 3 in a row in the final minute to help secure a significant lead that could not be closed by Oxford as Hornets won 61 - 54.

Both victories now mean Hornets progress to the last 16 of the National Cup and will face Solent Kestrels U16 at Home on 13th December. Come and support your team and bring the noise!!!

Author: Lee McCarthy

Login to Facebook and become a member of our fan page. You will find match reports and photos of all our games plus other interesting stuff relating to your club.

Author: Lee McCarthy

Would you like your own personalised Hornets replica game kit? Shirts will have printed names on the back. This could make a great Christmas present!!!

If you are interested in ordering a personalised kit, please could you conact Joe Manley. The cut off point is this Sunday 8th Nov as the order needs to be made ASAP from the USA.

When we have recieved a response from everyone we can calculate a price and let you know how much before you confirm your order.

Author: Joe Manley

Morayo Soluade has been called up again to be a member of the England U16 Training Camp that takes place during the half term, 28th - 30th October. This is a great achievement for Mo who is also eligible to be a member of the England U15 Squad. Congratulations!!

The England U16 Coach, Simon Fisher, says there will be another opportunity for those talented players that have slipped through the net to try out for the England Team. These trials will be taking place towards the end of November.

Author: Lee McCarthy

A total of six Bucks Hornets players were selected at the weekend to represent the South Region in the coming National Tournament to be held at Lilleshall on 24th/25th October. All the boys now have hopes to progress for selection into the England 1996 Development Team.

Congratulations to the following boys in thier achievement: George Emms, James Bowers, Joe Warren, Tye Pistak, Tristan Devereux and Ashley Firmin. Congratulations also to Luke Townsend who highlighted his potential to play for next years 1997 regional team.

Author: Lee McCarthy

Hornets came away from London O2 at the weekend as under 15 Champions of the NBA 5-United Tournament. The tournament ran over two days with group games played on 12th September and playoff Finals being played on Sunday 13th September.

Some of the best players in and around London were on show accross all the age groups. The Hornets team that was represented by: C Thomas, J Shaw, M Soluade, R Searle, C Owen, C Stuart and M Sharpe were undetered by this and were able to match the opposing teams physical 'streetball' style and outplayed everyone.

The toughest game came, as you would expect, in the Final versus Youngbloods. In yet another physical encounter Hornets found themselves down by 1point with 13 seconds left in the game. A timeout from the Hornets gave them possession and time to evaluate the situation. From the timeout M Soluade crossed up his defender and took the ball to the basket, putting up a floater that dropped nicely to put the Hornets up by 1pt. In the last nail biting seconds Youngbloods got a shot off that missed, Hornets secured the rebound and held onto the ball to run out the clock and win the Finals.

A big thank you to all the players, parents and coaching staff that made the weekend a great success!!

Author: Lee McCarthy

Hornets' (11) Chris Owen was voted into the All Star Team at the recent International Tournament in Bulgaria. Coaches from Turkey, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Russia all voted for their top players of the tournament and Chris was included as a well deserved member of the top 5.

Also included in the top 5 were: Gladowski (16) Janik (14) of Komorow, Hristov (12) of Yambolgaz and Tosun (10) of Cankaya.

Chris had an excellent Tournament showing great leadership on the court and playing the role that was needed for the team as required. During the duration of the Tournament Chris played all positions 1 through to 5 showing his great versatility. Chris also showed some great imrpovements off the court over the duration of the tournament which is also reflected in his All Star selection....!!!!

Author: Lee McCarthy

Hornets returned from Bulgaria on 18th August with a bronze medal in the Poseidon 2009 International Youth Tournament. The Tournament featured some tough opposition from Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Russia.

The hornets were not phased by this as they made the perfect start to the tournament with 3 wins from 3 games behind some solid play from Mo Soluade, Chris Owen and Guy Dickinson. The 4th game of the competition versus Cankaya of Turkey would be the group 'A' decider as they also had a pefect 3 of 3 record. In a game surrounded by controversy the Hornets were unable to keep their composure and came out of the game versus Cankaya with a 5 point loss and a disqualifying foul against Mo Soluade that meant he would miss the Semi Final. This defeat would prove costly as Hornets finished second in their group and so would have to play the 1st place team in group 'B', Komorow of Poland in the Semi Final.

The Polish giants proved to be too strong for the now under strength Hornets as they handed Hornets their heaviest defeat of the tournament, despite a very spirited team effort and some encouraging performances from Chris Owen, Cameron Thomas, Ben Geddes and Matt Sharpe. This meant Hornets would now play Yambolgaz of Bulgaria the following day for 3rd/4th place and still had a chance to return to the UK on a high.

Determined to make a statement against the team that narrowly lost to Cankaya in their semi final the back to strength Hornets put in an excellent defensive team performance to lead 19-2 after the first quarter. With the score at 39-15 in favour of the Hornets at half time the statement was made and both teams decided to run their bench as Hornets finished in 3rd place and secured their first ever European Trophy!!!

Author: Lee McCarthy

Just a reminder to all those successful in being selected for one of the Bucks Hornets Teams for the 2009/10 season. Can you please complete and return your membership forms and fees by 31st July 2009. CONGRATULATIONS on your selection and good luck for the season ahead.

Author: Lee, Dave, Joe