Vince Macaulay’s basketball journey has been nothing less than extraordinary...
I was introduced to the game of basketball at Paddington Comprehensive, my school in Liverpool. I was looking to bunk off classes for the afternoon, but this guy runs in and asks if I want to play basketball. I said no, but they only had four players and needed five to start the game. He hooked me with that, so I went to play, and we won the game.
Watching the game unbeknown to me, was the legendary Jimmy Rogers. I went on to play for Rogers at Liverpool Atac and would eventually form the Brixton Topcats with Jimmy, a few years later.
As the first ever captain of the Topcats while studying at film school in Covent Garden, I got a phone call from Nike. They were launching Michael Jordan’s first shoe - the red, black, and white Air Jordan 1 - and were looking to launch the product in South London. So we had all the shoes, clothing, and kit, but we also got Michael coming to Brixton to run a clinic. It was an incredible way to launch a basketball club.
Some years later, an opportunity arose to take my latest basketball club into the BBL. Roy Childs and I were building something in Tower Hamlets, but we needed a venue. I met with Frank Warren, and he allowed us to use the Docklands Arena. We became London Docklands and entered the BBL. We had a good run and eventually sold the team, which became the London Towers - an iconic British Basketball franchise., coached by the legendary Kevin Cadle.
I started the coaching and management part of my career at Hemel Royals and was fortunate enough to have a number of influential mentors.
The North Carolina coach Dean Smith really lit the fire in me. He showed me how to help people with coaching and how to share knowledge so others can achieve. He was an incredible man. I also met a gentleman by the name of Jon Spoelstra, in a lift in London. He is the father of NBA coach Eric Spoelstra and, when I met him, he was a marketing director for the Portland Trailblazers. He taught me the business of basketball, the way to build a club so it is successful and engages people with an entertaining product. I also count Kevin Cadle as another mentor of mine.
Through twists and turns, I took over the Hemel Hempstead Royals and three years later we end up as MK Lions in Milton Keynes.
After a disappointing early playoff exit in 2007, I stepped in to coach the team for the coming season. I was mad with our departing coach as I thought the team were better than displayed. After we lost in the playoffs, I called the team together and asked them if they thought they had the tools to win like I did. They collectively said yes, so I told them I was coaching next season, and we would deliver. I added a player called Yorick Williams to our team, and we won our first trophy the next season - the first of my coaching career.
After a stint as BBL Chairman, I moved the Lions to London, to the Olympic Park in Stratford. We had been promised an arena in Milton Keynes for years, but it never came, so we moved in search of new partners. Following Cup Wins and the League Title, I ended up negotiating the biggest deal in British basketball with 777 Partners, who I originally met when they rang up asking about tickets for a game.
Wherever I went in my basketball career, I never went alone. I have loved being able to help people. I remember Jordan Spencer picking up a basketball with us at the age of six in Milton Keynes and being our point guard when we won the British Basketball League.
I had Dru Spinks play for me in Hemel when he was 16, and he was our captain when we won our first trophy. I loved helping Justin Robinson build his legacy by bringing him back to England in 2017 (when top-class British players didn't play at home) and watching him become a two-time MVP. For me, that’s what this sport is about. The people.
Now, I have my eyes set on helping people who want to forge their own path in basketball. Part of basketball is about access and ambition, but most of it is about relationships. You can give any speech to any player, but no one will act on what you say unless they know who you are, what you’re about, and what you think of them.
Kevin Cadle was probably my favourite mentor because he had this way of pushing me all the time. He built our relationship to get the best out of me - I did not see it at the time, but he was always moving me forward. I’d like to do the same for others. I’d like to help you.