Nottingham Hoods Media Day Recap 2026

The Nottingham Hoods held their 2026 Media Day on August 18th 2026 at the Mercure Hotel in Sherwood. 

Team Captain Elliot Bailey met with the media first and new signings Cameron Polak, Faaris Mughal, Luke Triggs, Jacob Hannick and Joshua Smith-White followed.

Here are some highlights from Media Day 2026:

Elliot Bailey

on the inaugural season in the BCB:

“It was great, obviously the first season of the BCB. So at the beginning there were a lot of question marks....a lot of wondering what things would look like and how the new league would play out. We had a tough start to the year - some things didn’t go our way. We had lots of new circumstances that we as a club had to understand a bit and learn how to manage. We had a few injuries as well and the changing rosters. Once that settled down in the second half of the year we really sort of picked up and showed really what we were capable of.

I was disappointed and still am about how it ended last season. We really didn’t do ourselves justice at the end of the year but you know we have to take lessons from that and learn from it so I think we’ll come back stronger.”

on coaching the University of Nottingham Basketball 2nd Team:

“It has changed my perspective a lot. I think the first lesson is that coaching is harder than I thought it was. There’s lots of small challenges that I wasn’t really aware of that I was able to then learn from through the process of the season, managing an entire group of guys who have their own goals, issues, personalities and lives. There’s a lot of little things in there which I learned throughout the year which gave me the perspective to really understand those challenges. Now I understand as a player how I could perhaps help Ben (coach Stanley) and all the other coaches with their jobs because I know sometimes these things aren’t simple. It’s also helped me with my spirit. It was nice being surrounded by guys fueled purely by passion. Obviously everyone’s passionate about the game in the BCB but , having played professionally now for a few years, knowing these guys have different motivations that maybe don’t involve recognition or money it does change my perspective. It’s nice being in that sort of environment. They’re all the same age, going through the same experiences at university all got similar day-to-day lives. They're all a friendship group and it’s refreshing to see that, reminding me of my roots, where I came from and what’s more important.”

Cam Polak

on his debut season expectations:

“My biggest expectation is getting back playing to my brand of basketball. I sacrificed a lot of my playstyle during college to help better the team but Coach Stanley has brought me in to play how I play to help the Hoods win. Looking forward to getting after it.”

Faaris Mughal

on his 3pt shooting confidence going into the season:

”Massive amount of confidence. Feels like every time I catch it, it’s going in. Carrying that over into Nottingham, I'm trying to help out however I can.”

on who he’s looking forward to playing with the most:

“Looking forward to playing with everyone but probably Micah the most to be fair. We spoke beforehand and crossed paths a couple times the past few years. Finally good to be on the same side.”

Luke Triggs

on his role this year for the hoods:
“Honestly I don’t have a definitive answer. I’m a big team guy. Whatever the team needs from

me I’m willing to do. Whatever the team needs, whatever coach needs I can be that guy.”

Jacob Hannick

on who he’s looking to learn from as the youngest player:

“I’d say a lot of Americans. I understand they’ve all played at a high level competing in the NCAA.”

on playing in China the past offseason for UKFifty:

“It was a great experience, very different out there. Really proved that I could compete at a high level playing ranked Americans but also the top players in China. I learned that every

possession counts, one loss came down to a buzzer beater and some of our wins came down to one or two important possessions. It’s given me a higher level of understanding.”

Joshua Smith-White

on his offseason development:

“I’ve worked on my shooting ability, off the dribble, movement, movement off the ball. Looking forward to showing off that.”