Storm’s road run begins with Halloween trip to Yorkshire
Hemel Storm’s three-game road stretch begins with a trip to Yorkshire Dragons on Saturday evening.
Tom Baker’s side continued their perfect start to the season with a 101-93 victory over Bristol Hurricanes last weekend, their eighth straight win in all competitions to commence the campaign.
They remained second, behind Reading Rockets having played one less game, and are one of only two sides yet to lose this term.
They’ll hope to preserve that record against the Dragons, who come into the clash off the back of three straight defeats.
Opposition Focus
It’s been a season of ups and downs for the Dragons so far under new Head Coach Michael Wilson.
After securing qualification from their BCB Trophy group with three wins from four, booking a quarter-final date with Storm in the process, they’ve struggled in their league campaign so far.
Their lone victory came against Newcastle Knights in their second outing, but since then they have lost three on the bounce to fall to a 1-4 record, including a pair of losses last weekend.
A four-point loss to Loughborough Riders on Saturday was followed by an eight-point defeat against Reading Rockets, despite Corey Johnson’s 30 points.
He leads their scoring, backed up by the returning Jordan Jefferson and American recruit Jackson Dudek.
Others to watch include British guard Greg Wild, who has yet to have the impact he’d have liked since signing from SLB side Cheshire Phoenix in the summer, and big man David Ulph, with an exciting battle under the basket with Ty Nsangu expected.
Key Matchup
There’s rarely a better sight than a sharpshooter honing in on their target, sending the ball swishing through the net in style, and these two sides have some masters of that craft.
Former Leicester Rider Corey Johnson is averaging in excess of 20 points, having converted 19 times from behind the arc, the second-highest tally in the league, and is off the back of a 30-point showing in which long-range hits counted for over half of his total.
William Kemp’s seven three-point conversions have come at an impressive 63.6%, albeit from a small sample size, and Jordan Jefferson is shooting the long ball at 45.5%.
Storm’s Jared Small, meanwhile, sits joint-fifth in the league’s three-point shooting charts at 50% and also finds himself in the top five for average three-point makes per game at 3.3, while Brayden Inger has also been impressive from long range.
He’s been shooting the three at 40%, and the likes of Victor Olarerin, Sam Newman, Kai Walker and Jabari Nurse are all more than capable from behind the arc.
In Numbers
Head-to-Head Record:
Storm wins: 8
Dragons wins: 5
*All competitions, since the start of the 2021/22 season.
BCB League Position:
Storm: 2nd (4–0)
Dragons: 11th (1–4)
League Top Scorer:
Storm: Jabari Nurse – 19 PPG
Dragons: Corey Johnson – 20.4 PPG
From the Locker Room - Kai Walker
“It has been a good start to the season as we now start a string of away games which will test us, and we are ready.
“We have had a good week of practice off the back of the Bristol game, where we dug deep and got a gritty win.
“We are prepared for the long road trip to Yorkshire, and are ready to go out there and leave it all on the court.
“Also a big thank you to all the fans so far this year, you guys have been amazing!”
Haunted Halloween
Storm will head to Yorkshire hoping for a happier Halloween than they’ve experienced in the past.
Their spooky season record of late makes for rather scary reading, having lost four of their last five Halloween weekend outings.
Coincidentally, they were also in Yorkshire this time last year, where they lost 103-92, and fell short against Milton Keynes Breakers in the KitKing Trophy quarter-final the season before.
A pair of defeats to Derby Trailblazers were interrupted by victory against Reading Rockets in the 2022/23 campaign, so Storm will be hoping to muster up a treat, rather than a trick, this time out.
Game Information
Tip-off at Calderdale College’s Inspire Centre is at 6.15pm, and there’s free entry for anyone in a Halloween costume!
Alternatively, if your outfit didn’t arrive in time, you can follow along using our social media channels, the livestream or the livestats.
Written by Callum Humphrey