The Basketball Journalists’ Association is shocked and saddened by the untimely passing of our colleague and friend Kevin Cadle.
He passed away in the early hours of Monday morning following a brief illness. He was 62.
The Buffalo native arrived to the UK 30 years ago and in that time, enjoyed coaching spells with Falkirk, Glasgow, Manchester, Kingston and finally London Towers, winning five BBL titles and countless other domestic honours.
He coached almost 500 BBL games during his career and finished with a staggering overall record of 397 wins and 97 losses (2 ties). His 80 percent win record remains the best in British Basketball League history.
Cadle oversaw a period of dominance at the helm of Glasgow and Kingston between 1988 and 1992, when he masterminded a stellar run which collected 14 out of the 15 pieces of silverware on offer.
During the same period, he took Kingston to the last eight of the Champions Cup – the equivalent of the modern-day Euroleague. Cadle came up with victories against some of the most established sides of the European game including the likes of Maccabi Tel Aviv Aris, Scavolini, CSKA Moscow and Limoges.
He also took charge of Great Britain’s 1992 Olympic qualifying campaign and had stints in charge of England and Scotland.
Cadle’s larger than life personality made him a natural as a broadcaster where he was the lead presenter for the BBL, NBA and for the NFL on Sky Sports until two years ago.
Cadle made a one-off return to Sky for the Basketball All Stars Championship last month at the O2 Arena, where he was in good spirits and happy that the British game was getting the recognition it deserved.
He also served as a commentator for IMG, who front the Euroleague coverage. He called CSKA Moscow’s home clash with Milano last Thursday from the Stockley Park offices.
“Kevin Cadle’s love for basketball and in particular basketball in the UK was unmatched,” said BJA secretary John Hobbs.
“His knowledge of the sport was evident in his coverage of the British Basketball League and NBA on Sky in the 90s and 00s and he always had a smile on his face. Just last month at the Basketball All-Stars event, he was in good spirits and making people laugh. That was Big Kev.”
“He pushed the boundaries in English basketball more than anyone else – taking Kingston into the European Champions Cup final eight was huge and he followed that up with England victories over Bulgaria and Russia,” reflected BBC journalist Rob Dugdale.
“His teams were always tough defensively and the way he developed role players was exceptional. For journalists like me, he was frank, funny and always approachable. I saw him in August at Great Britain’s EuroBasket warm-up game against Greece and had a chat with him. Can’t believe that was it.”
Cadle is survived by his wife Lorraine and daughter Toia.
The SJA charity partner for the British Sports and British Sports Journalism Awards is Alzheimer’s Society. Unite now – text UNITE to 70677 to donate £3 a month or visit alzheimers.org.uk/donatetoday