- Fabulous Flournoy
Fabulous Flournoy (born
July 31 1973 inNew York City ,New York , U.S.) is a player and the head coach forbasketball teamNewcastle Eagles , who compete in theBritish Basketball League .The 6ft3
Small forward /guard, noted for his tenacious defence and very high standards, attended Panola Junior College and was a student at NCAA Division 1 collegeMcNeese State University , also the home college of NBA legendJoe Dumars , member of the USA Dream Team, player and now Vice President of theDetroit Pistons .After finishing college in 1996, Flournoy signed for
British Basketball League team, theBirmingham Bullets making his debut against theGreater London Leopards onSeptember 15 ,1996 . In his first season alone he clocked up 780 minutes averaging 8.50 points-per-game and 7.00 rebounds-per-game. Although his minutes were marginally shaved the following season, Fab still featured in all of the Bullets' 36 games, while helping his team to runners-up sport in the Championship and success in the Play-offs, beatingLondon Towers in the final.The following two seasons, saw his appearances drop, featuring in only 23 games in the 1999-2000 season, although he still featured in the Play-off final against
Manchester Giants where he posted 12 points in the Bullets' 65-74 loss. At the end of the season Flournoy signed for rival franchiseSheffield Sharks where he spent one year playing 34 games. With Flournoy's help, the Sharks won the BBL Northern Conference and again for Fab, finished as runners-up in the post-season Play-off's, this time losing out 75-84 to theLeicester Riders .Flournoy moved again in 2001 when he signed for the
Newcastle Eagles . After two mediocre seasons, Fab achieved two career high records in the 2003-04 season, where he played 1258 minutes with a 10.75 PPG average. This was also the season when his career took a different turn accepting the role of head coach of the Eagles, while still a player, leading the team to a 6th place finish and a Quarter-final Play-off exit with a 94-96 defeat to the Towers.Not disheartened however, Flournoy returned the following year with a renewed sense of ambition and previous mid-tablers Newcastle took the British Basketball League by storm. Clocking up 1018 minutes, 6.92 PPG and 4.95 RPG in the 2004-05 season, Flournoy had a less than outstanding season on court, but off court he lead the Eagles victories in both the Play-offs and the BBL Trophy, while finishing as runners-up to the
Chester Jets in the Championship, while Fab himself picked up the BBL Coach of the Season award.The 2005-06 season would prove to be even more remarkable for Fab, averaging 8.80 PPG and picking up 1121 minutes of action while leading the Eagles to the "Clean Sweep" of victories in the BBL Cup, Trophy, Championship and Play-offs. The incredible season was capped off by wining the Bronze medal with the England national team at the
2006 Commonwealth Games inMelbourne .
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