Prentiss Nixon on life at Sheffield Sharks and how they can turn around sudden drop in form

The Sharks were motoring along nicely in the British Basketball League with six wins from seven games at the new Canon Medical Arena, climbing into the top four of the table in the process.

But at Bristol Flyers last Saturday they squandered a 15-point lead to lose in overtime before starting so sluggishly at home to Cheshire Phoenix on Sunday that they found themselves 38-10 adrift midway through the second quarter.

Not even the best efforts of forward Nixon with a 10-point burst either side of the third and fourth quarter could help rescue the situation as the Sharks lost by 19 points having pulled to within seven at one stage.

"I wish I had an answer for why we came out flat," Nixon told The Yorkshire Post.

"I think that’s what we’re trying to figure out. We’ve had a couple of weeks with the right energy and the right base, maybe the end of the game last week carried over into the beginning of the game this week.

“We’re missing stuff, breakdowns, that we have to clean up.

“We didn’t have enough effort the first half, really for the first 25 minutes of the game.

"When we upped the effort it looked a lot different, so we need to go back to the drawing board and get ready for next week.

"That’s the biggest part, if we play hard on the defensive end the offence becomes easier.”

Nixon, though, is not unduly concerned – provided he and his team-mates stamp out any issues. "We need to lock it in and get back together as 12 guys,” said the 26-year-old.

"We’ve got a lot of talent, we can do a lot of good things.

"We’re probably the deepest team in the league, every night it’s going to be somebody different. We have to get out of our own way at times."

It was Nixon who sparked the Sharks into life on Sunday with a deep three-pointer from just inside the Cheshire half that he followed up before the buzzer with another shot that led to him being fouled and three free-throw attempts. "I don’t take credit for anything like that,” he said, shaking his head. “The five guys on the court did a lot and I just found open looks. It happened to be my night and I made them.

"Defensively, the energy was better from the five guys on the court, we just got to carry that over.

"We got from 25 points to within seven, so it just shows you, it’s a tale of two different teams in a 10-minute span.

"The more we can stay locked in and take that 10-minute span into the next games, we’ll be fine.”

No matter how much he plays it down, statistically it was Nixon’s most impactful game (20 points) since coming in five weeks ago to replace Terrell Allen on the roster.

For someone who previously played in Kosovo, there was a nervous wait back home in Chicago hoping for a call to come in to go and play somewhere.

"This summer was the first summer I didn’t have too many calls coming in, but I didn’t let that discourage me,” he said. “I got it out of my mind and every day I just kept working until I got the call – I knew the call would come eventually.

"I’m appreciative of the Sheffield Sharks for giving me the opportunity. I’m not here to take anyone’s job, I’m not here to do anything crazy, I’m here to win basketball games. I’m settling in well here in Sheffield. My team-mates are amazing.”