Fab ends speculation with pledge to play on
Men can lie, women can lie but numbers don’t. As a coaching staff we focus on the numbers.
Fab Flournoy
FAB Flournoy has quashed speculation he will hang up his BBL vest for good after revealing he plans to play a full part in Newcastle Eagles’ bid to score silverware this season.
The most decorated coach in British basketball history turned 45 last month and broke his foot towards the end of a frustrating 2017/18 campaign.
Yet in his first interview since May, a typically-forthright Flournoy confirmed he will again have a key role to play – on court and off it.
He said: “I am part of the team as a player and a coach.
“The big questions over the summer were whether I was going to return and, if I was coming back, would I play on.
“There were all sorts of things going on in the background and some of those things were not in the public domain.
“I could not comment and neither could the club.
“It is always the case, every summer, every position is reviewed and that includes my own. Nothing has changed in that respect.”
Flournoy has guided the Eagles to 24 domestic titles during his 16 years as player-coach.
Although it always seemed improbable the New Yorker would not be leading the club into the Eagles’ Community Arena in December, his position is far from untouchable.
He added: “Newcastle Eagles are in a unique position where there is a player-coach and at some point that is going to change. “Whether that change will come due to my own physicality or the club moving in a different direction, who knows? One thing is certain – eventually it will happen.”
Flournoy’s confirmation he will suit up for a 18th season in Newcastle colours follows a flurry of transfer activity during August.
Excluding their player-coach, the Eagles have confirmed nine signings so far this summer, with rumours of a tenth set for this week.
Flournoy insisted he remains in a strong position to battle for BBL minutes following an intense period of close-season self-reflection.
He said: “As I do every year I assess myself as a coach and I assess myself as a player,.
“The club’s coaching staff also assess me as a player and they will tell me what I need to know but I have always been able to take the emotion out of the situation and take a step back.
“Men can lie, women can lie but numbers don’t. As a coaching staff we focus on the numbers.”
Flournoy accepts he faces a battle to force his way off the bench – starting with this week’s pre-season double-header in Belgium.
However, the versatile forward has always loved intense competition and cannot wait to work with his new team from today.
He added: “It is always a bit of a step into the unknown at this time of year but I am extremely excited by what I have seen and happy with what we have.
“I needed to put together a team able to deal with the disruption of a mid-season move to the Eagles’ Community Arena and assemble a group who can handle the excitement around that move.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Dave Forrester, Ian Macleod and Paul Blake for putting in so much work over the summer to pull together the roster we have.
“Thanks to that effort I am very positive about the new season.”
Newcastle face Spirou Charleroi and Okapi Aalstar next weekend in what promises to be a stiff test of another new-look Eagles’ roster.
Fournoy said: “We are being thrown in at the deep end but what I love about the trip is it is both a no-pressure situation and an extremely pressurised situation.
“It is a chance for all of the guys to shake off the close-season cobwebs.”