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holding court
the nike world basketball festival is coming to brixton – and you can’t ball in brixton without celebrating the topcats They call him the Godfather. Jimmy Rogers is founder, owner and general manager of Brixton Topcats, perhaps the most famous basketball club in the country. It all started when Rogers, who was born in Wales in 1939 and raised in an orphanage in Liverpool, chose to make Brixton, south London his home. Against a backdrop of the riot-torn early ‘80s, Jimmy was determined to do something positive for the community. And so the Topcats were born, using Brixton Recreation Centre as their training base, an arrangement that persists ‘til this day. Jimmy regards basketball as more than just a game – it’s a slice of life. “It’s teamwork, relying on your teammates, and we always say to them if you’re unreliable on the floor, you’ll be unreliable off it – that is the pattern.”
Jimmy Rogers: I wanted to run a team in Brixton and in those days it was quite unusual. There were no other teams in London, let alone a place like Brixton, which had just been hit by riots. At first we couldn’t think of a name, but then this 10-year-old girl said Top Cats, from the cartoon where these cats ran rings around the police, which was great. But our philosophy is all about hard work and application.
JR: Basketball is about relying on your teammates. And fitness: that and conditioning are obviously important. A lot of parents think once a week is enough, but if you wanna make it to the highest level, it’s nearly 24/7. Am I a Coach Carter type? That’s what they said!
Equipped with a name – suggested by a young schoolgirl, based on the cooler-than-cool cartoon hero of the time – and a pool of talented players, they set about building an enviable reputation. Soon the great and the good came calling, including Prince Charles, Lennox Lewis, R Kelly and Ian Wright, as well as basketball superstars Michael Jordan, Robert Horry and Allen Iverson. They came to see this brilliant team that doesn’t even have its own court and still has to make way for a badminton team after every training session. The Topcats also have a women’s team, producing such stars as Andrea Congreaves, and they encourage their players to pursue an education and other interests. “It’s about more than just the basketball,” says Jimmy. “We have two QCs, barristers, doctors, solicitors, journalists, even Marsha Ambrosius, singer with the Grammy-nominated Floetry.”
Words Robbie Cisneros 20
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Words Christian Adofo 23
But of course, what they are really about is basketball – and they’ve produced some of the biggest names in the business, including Luol Deng, who is currently playing for Chicago Bulls in the NBA and expected to be the main man for the British Olympic squad. Over the next few pages, Jimmy and the Chairman of the Topcats, Andy Powlesland, take us through some of the many highlights of their hoop dreams – and how they have become a reality.
JR: I met Michael Jordan when he was just becoming big and told him about what we were doing in Brixton. He said, “I’ve never been to England, I’d like to come over.” Then Nike signed him and said, “You’ve got to go to Europe and tour around the world.” Michael replied, “I wanna go to Brixton!”
JR: I’ve seen small players who are so skilled it’s ridiculous. One of these guys is the most capped player in the history of the game in England. Ronald Baker (front row second from the right) is a great player and he coaches for us now down here in Brixton.
For the latest updates on the world basketball festival go to www.facebook.com/theLSB
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