Plumb excited to compete again, shoot for a title

In his return to London, Lightning basketball head coach Doug Plumb is recruiting for conditioning and hard-nosed talent to hit the ground running in 2022.

(Photo: Bruce Laing).

Doug Plumb was just getting started when it all shut down.

Last week, the London Lightning tapped Plumb as the team’s head coach for the 2022 season. When we last saw him, the B.C. native was leading the Lightning to a 15-8 record, as they sat atop the central division before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2019-20 season.

“There is an element of unfinished business,” Plumb said of his return to the Forest City. “(The way last season ended) did leave a sour taste in all of our mouths. We were on a trajectory where we didn’t have the best record in the league at that time, but we had the best team when we were healthy. The guys had been there before, and we had great chemistry. It was really unfortunate, but who are we to complain with what everybody has been going through for the last two years.”

A familiar name to Bolts fans, Plumb served as the team’s assistant coach in 2016-17 before taking over as head coach for the 2019-20 season.

He now sets about the business of constructing a team, along with Lightning GM Mark Frijia, to compete for the franchise’s fifth championship. Hired with 73 days (and counting) until tipoff, Plumb is going to lean on groundwork already set.

He stays in touch with players via text and social media, and he has numerous connections from both his time in the league and through his coaching and training business. He has a good idea of who he’d like as the Lightning core, but he’ll also be searching for “diamonds in the rough” across Canada, the United States, and Europe.

With a list of 100 or so possible players in mind, the coach knows the type of guys he needs.

“If you have to get ready to head into a season that’s starting in February and you don’t a base level of conditioning, then it’s a recipe for disaster. You’re going to be fighting uphill battle with injuries all over the place,” he explained. “That lends itself to the type of guys we want anyways.

“Whether they’re walking on the street or they’re playing professional basketball, we want guys who keep themselves at a level of conditioning that at a moment's notice they could pop in and play. That’s more of a lifestyle thing which lends itself to the type of guys that I want – hard-nosed guys who take basketball as a way of life.”

Plumb is excited at the possibilities for the roster, as there has never been a better (or odder) time to find talent.

“There are more guys sitting at home right now than there ever has before – and not necessarily deserved,” he continued. “In a typical situation, if you were sitting at home in November/December, I would be very worried. There’s got to be a reason why you’re sitting at home, right? That’s not the case this year. It’s just so hard to come by jobs at this point to get people back into that. There are a lot of guys available.”

Plumb during a Feb. 29, 2020 win over the Windsor Express. The Lightning played just two more games before the COVID-19 shutdown. (Photo: Luke Durda).

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For the 2022 season, the NBLC has partnered with The Basketball League (TBL) for interleague contests against U.S. opponents. For its interleague schedule, London faces four U.S. opponents, including visits from the Lansing Pharoahs (March 6), Syracuse Stallions (March 19), and Flint United (April 3), as well as road trips to Albany Patroons (March 31), United (April 8), and Pharoahs (April 9).

All wins and losses will be counted in individual records, and teams will compete for their respective league championships at the end of the regular season.

Plumb likes what the twist brings to the league’s 10th anniversary season.

“I think it will be pretty cool for a lot of the Canadian guys and the fans,” Plumb said. “It’s also a great way for the league to remain financially viable during this time while it figures everything out, including hopefully the relaunch of the Atlantic Division next year. It will be a welcome challenge.”

The 33-year-old Plumb’s resume includes stints as both an assistant coach and head coach with the St. John’s Edge and elite skill development work with the likes of Nike Basketball, NBA players, and some of Canada’s talented young high-school and college athletes.

From his previous stint in the NBLC, he knows the eyes of the league and its fans are on the young guy stalking the sidelines. In fact, he embraces what that scrutiny has done for his coaching and his character.

“I enjoy that pressure,” Plumb explained. “On a human level, that added pressure forces me to be the best version of myself. Ultimately, I’m a young coach, and having people look to you who are about your same age, you need to be perfect all the time, you need to walk the walk. If you don’t, you can lose that respect that you’re getting from the players.

“That is something I try to pride myself on – being who I say I am. There’s certain shifts that being in the public eye forces you to make, and I think that, for myself, it’s been something that’s made me a better person and a better coach.”

Plumb is a competitor at heart – on and off the court. He qualified for the 2020 Boston Marathon, and while the event was canceled, he continues to use running to maintain focus. In fact, many times during the 2019-20 season, by the time his players rolled into practice, a sweat-soaked Plumb would be 15 km deep into his morning run.

“Running keeps me sharp,” he said. “Once you can’t play your sport of choice anymore, and you're not good at it anymore, you need something. Running has been therapeutic for me. When you’re running that fast and that long, there’s no time for anything else. You can’t think about anything else going on in your life, anything else going on in the world. You’re thinking about getting that next step.”

His next steps onto the basketball court, however, will be two years in the making as the Lightning prepare for what he sees as a title run.

“I have really missed the element of competition,” he said. “I’m a competitive dude at heart.”

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AROUND THE PERIMETER

The Lightning named six players to its protected players list: Marcus Capers, Cameron Forte, A.J. Gaines Jr., Xavier Moon, Jaylon Tate, and Terry Thomas. Protected player status – think restricted free agent – means that London retains the rights to these players should they decide to return to the league this season. … Fun fact: As of Nov. 19, 167 professional basketball players have played for both the NBLC and NBA G League, including four active players like former Lightning guard Xavier Moon with the Auga Caliente Clippers. … Former London Ramblers standout (among other impressive places like, say, Team Canada) Bridget Carleton was named Israeli Division I Player of the Week. Carleton is playing for Ramat Hasharon during her WNBA offseason. Come on, Bridget, do I have to write about you every week?

BEYOND MY BYLINE

We are way past big speech time – The Rewatchables podcast runs the picket fence on Hoosiers. … Some wonderful life lessons (outside the pool) from Penny Oleksiak’s Q&A with Glory. … Nice read on the increasingly bizarre and complex story about tennis player Peng Shuai co-authored by sport historian Mac Ross. Read #WhereisPengShuai: Totalitarianism, violence against women and an overdue Olympic boycott? … For the record, I am pro-telephone call. … Maybe it was my age in the era, of growing up in the baseball-mad Midwest, but my vote is for the Bad News Bears. Slap Shot, however, pretty solid flick.