Gary Smith knows all too well how basketball teams can come and go.

He holds the appearance record for a club who disappeared overnight.

He challenged for major British honours with Calderdale, who have long since vanished from the top flight.

And the Bullets, from his home city of Birmingham, slipped out of existence a few years ago, a golden era which turned to dust.

That track record is not unique. Most players and coaches who have been around a while have suffered something similar.

So Smith knows the pitfalls. That is why he reckons the venture he is currently leading through the National League could be built to last.

The former Worthing Bears player and Worthing Thunder coach is now in charge at Sussex Bears, who have tipped off in division four of the National League this season.

They make no apology for using the defunct Bears name. In fact, they are keen to revive it.

If ambitions come to fruition, that revival would mean a return to the top-tier BBL.

But they insist that would only happen on a sound financial footing.

Bears operate from, and in association with, the Sir Robert Woodard Academy (SRWA) in Sompting.

Their home games start at 5pm on Saturday, making them ideal for a basketball double bill for supporters who also want to take in a game at Worthing Thunder (7.30pm)

Video: Gary Smith talks about Sussex Bears

Smith, whose team includes a handful of former Thunder players, said: “Our vision is to play at the highest level.

“For that to happen we need to have the right players and we need a foundation.

“We’ve got a National League under-13 team we have put together.

“Four or five years from now those guys will be playing for the Bears senior men if they don’t go on to university or anywhere else.

“We’ve got the senior men these guys can look up to.

“We have tied in with the Sir Robert Woodard Academy and produce a pathway for young players.”

Smith also heads the specialist basketball academy at SRWA, which combines basketball coaching with more conventional studies.

He added: “They get eight or more hours of coaching plus strength and conditioning per week, timetabled.

“Those guys look up to the men’s team.

“It is all in place. We also have local league teams from under-18s so we have a massive pathway and contingent of players.”

Bears’ fifth-tier matches currently attract an attendance numbered in tens rather than hundreds.

The gameday operation is slick – essentially a small version of a BBL game – and there would be room within the bright and modern SRWA sports hall to install temporary seating down one side of the court.

They look strong contenders for promotion and, on Saturday, brushed past Folkestone 83-51 with 19 points from their American Marcus Tullis and 16 by Bud Johnston.

For all their glories on the court, the original Bears left the professional game under a cloud in 2006.

As the sums failed to add up, owner Nick Nurse – now assistant coach with NBA pacesetters Toronto Raptors – took them out of the league overnight.

Fans who had bought season tickets in good faith were left high and dry.

Smith knows all about that. But he also knows many people will have fond memories of the Bears.

After all, Nurse's teams produced some fantastic on-court entertainment, as did the Worthing Bears of the 1990s.

Smith reckons this incarnation can be built on a solid footing.

The man who played 232 games for the Worthing Bears added: “We have such a foundation we can’t see it failing.

“It’s a club that’s about longevity, not just today or next year.

“My players have bought into this. They know this isn’t just Gary Smith’s team."