Thursday 29 November 2012

Friday Round 9 preview and Betting Tips

Round 9 is looking like it will be another tight round with some well matched teams. This round will see a 5 game rounds due to the by Adelaide had last week.

First up this friday is the New Zealand Breakers vs Melbourne Tigers game. This is looking like a great match up with two of the best guards in the league going at each other in Jonny Flynn (Melbourne) and Cedric Jackon (Breakers). The breakers are at second on the ladder with a 7-2 record with their only losses coming from the Perth wildcats. The New Zealand breakers are coming off a loss in Perth last week and will be keen to get another win in their home arena. The Tigers are also coming off a loss to the Wollongong Hawks and need to get some wins to get their season going.
Both teams have been affected by the flu this week with Alex Pledger missing training and Adam Ballinger had a small role last week due to sickness. Lucas walker also has a small knee injury however is likely to play.
You cant go past the Breakers at home to get the W so my tip wil be the Breakers by 7. However as a betting man i think the tigers will be closer then expected and if they can get a lead out early may be able to hold off the clutch plays of CJ Bruton and Cedric Jackson to get the win.
Gambling sites are placing the new zealand breakers at $1.18 and the Melbourne tigers at $4.85 for the win. These are odds i cant pass up. If Flynn finally starts draining some of his field goals they definitely can get up over the breakers. Worth a small bet for the punters out there.

The second game on friday night will see the Perth Wildcats face up against the Sydney Kings in Perth. Last week the Wildcats destroyed the New Zealand Breakers in Perth and then backed that up by taking down the Townsville crocodiles in Townsville. The Sydney Kings are coming off of three straight wins and want to keep that streak going. Shane Heal is doing an excellent job of coaching this team who many believed to be playing for the wooden spoon. Ben Madgen is one of the main reasons the Kings are doing so well and is having a stand out season scoring 29 points last week. Perth will be missing powerhouse big man Matt Knight for some weeks with a calf injury and are also missing back up guard Brad Robbins. The loss of Knight can not be understated. He has been a force in the paint and have carried the Wildcats through many games this season. It should be another great game in the Perth arena with hopefully another sell out game of over 11,000. If sydney can hold their nerve in that arena i am going to against the majority and tip the Sydney Kings to scrape over the line to win by 3
Gambling sites have tipped Perth to get the W this week paying $1.35 while the Kings pay out at $3.20. This is a good bet but will still be a tough game when perth are playing at home in that huge new arena.

Thirdly on Friday night Townsville Crocodiles are going up against the Adelaide 36ers. Townsville are at 0-10 for the season and need a win badly for their fans. They have just recruited former Perth big man Luke Neville who is coming off a trial with the Huston Rockets in the NBA. Neville stands at just over 7 foot and will hopefully bring some much needed rebounds that the Crocs have been missing. Adelaide however are a great looking team that need to gell and work together to establish the role player in the team. They are a very deep team with Adam Gibson leading the floor with Jason Cadee as back up it is hard attempt for defender with 2 quality ball handlers. This game should see the 36ers take down the crocs only having a week to introduce Neville into the Crocs offence and may need a another week befor they can finally notch on up in the win column. Im tipping the 36ers to keep the Crocs winless up by 8. The 36ers at paying at $1.60 and the crocs at $2.35 for the win. Not sure if its worth a gamble on this one. Neville's influence may get them over the line with a desperate team behind him but its hard to pick.


Monday 26 November 2012

Kevin Lisch wins round 8 Player of the Week


Kevin Lish was named the Player of the week for round 8 of the 2012/13 IInet NBL championship. Lish led the Perth Wildcats to two victorys over the weekend, starting with the 18 points and 6 rebounds at home in the 89-64 win against the New Zealand Breakers and then with a 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block in the 68-63 victory over the Townsville Crocs in Townsville.

Lisch was given the POW award to the dissapointment of many fans of the NBL with Ben Madgen once again having a stellar performance in the Sydney Kings victory over the Cairsns Taipans with 29 points and 4 rebounds. Following from Madgen Adris Deleon got a mention in the award though he was probably another more worthy candidate getting the better of the NBA player Jonny Flynn with his 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assist game leading his team to a close victroy in Melbourne. Even Flynn would have come close over the Perth star totalling 19 points and 8 assists against Wollongong. However the NBL seems to like to share the player of the week award around it was Lisch's turn perhaps. Just another bush league mistake in the NBL...

The Wollongong Hawks And Adris Deleon take down Jonny Flynn's Melbourne tigers

The Wollongong Hawks have defeated the Melbourne tigers on sunday, led by Import point guard Adris "2Hard2Guard" Deleon. It was a hard fought victory for the Hawks being down for the majority of the contest. Mellbournes point guard NBA player Jonny Flynn put on an impressive performance to try to lead his team to victory however the hawks were to composed down the stretch with Deleon putting on a late poinds explosion with a display play of skill and clutch to seal the victory.
This was a game I had been looking forward to with Adris Deleon to match up against "Mr Basketball" Jonny Flynn. Flynn put on a great effort to finish with 19 points and 8 assists while Deleon had 18 points 5 rebounds and 5 assists. It looked like Deleon had the upper hand against Flynn in this match up with his speed and skill with the ball. Deleon pentrated at will and set up plays for his team mates. He is currently the leading scorer for the Hawks but still doesnt get a starting spot on the team. He doesnt start but he definitly finishes leading his team to another win going 7-1 for the season.

Jonny Flynn has become the benchmark for guards in the NBL and they all look like they cant wait to show what they can do against a star of his calibre. So far the guards of the NBL have played well and been very competitive.
Next week we will see another great guard match up when Cedric Jackson goes up against Jonny Flynn in New Zealand on Friday. Jackson and Deleon have been the two best point guards in the league this season with Flynn coming in behind them. It will be interesting to see if he can step up and stamp his skill on the league and start winning some games.

Monday 12 November 2012

Cedric "the action" Jackson wins round 6 player of the week


Cedric Jackson led the New Zealand breakers to 2 wins across 24 hrs in round 6 of the NBL championship and was awarded the player of the week. Jackson averaged an impressive double double with 17 points, 11.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 3.5 rebounds.

On friday night the breakers defeated the Townsville Crocodiles in a closer then expected game where Jackson filled the stat sheet with 14 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
He then backed up on on saturday night to help the Breakers destroy the Cairns taipans 73-54 with an impressive defensive game. Jackson finished the game with 20 points, 12 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. His definitely looking like the best point guard in the league and if he can continue his form he may take out the league MVP at the end of the season. Cedric jackson is the first person since Derek Rucker in 1998 to have double figure assists on consecutive nights.
Runner ups for the award this week were Chris Goulding (Melbourne) who drained 24 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists against adelaide, Seth Scott (Melbourne) with a tidy double double of 18 points and 10 rebounds and Corin Henry (Sydney) who had 19 points 6 rebounds and 3 assists in Syndey's defeat of Wollongong.

Ben madgen and Geordie McLeod win monthly awards

Ben Madgen has taken away the player of the month award along side Geordie McLeod coach of the Month for October in the 2012/13 NBL championship.
Madgen has had a stellar start to the season and has stepped up to fill the hole left in the Sydney Kings by injured veteran James Harvey. Madgen averaged 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists a game for the 5 games the Kings played through October. Madgen helped the Kings to a 3-2 record for the month with three 20 plus point games. Madgen was shooting at a blistering 55% from the 3 points line 52% field goals and 81% from the free throw line. The South Australian has his eyes on making the Australian team in the future and if he continues playing as he has been may get the chance. Cedric Jackson was a close runner up to Madgen this month.
Geordie Mcleod lead his team the Wollongong Hawks to a perfect start to the NBL championship season going on an 8-0 run. The team McLeod put together has been viewed as underdogs going into the season but has had a impressive start with exciting new import guards Lance Hurdle and Adris "2Hard2Guard" Deleon and teams know the powerhouse they go against in the coming matches. 
The October player of the month awards took into account rounds 1-4 of the IINet NBL championships.  

Friday 9 November 2012

Jonny Flynn and the Melbourne Tigers demolish the Adelaide 36ers


Was the addition of star point guard Jonny Flynn exactly what the tigers were missing or was his addition to the tigers just good timing. The Melbourne Tigers demolished the Adelaide 36ers by 30 points with a high scoring 96-66 game. Jonny Flynn had a slow start missing his first 8 shots but as a professional that didn't slow him down going on to finish with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.  Melbourne have started to come together as a team and are playing some good basketball after their win against Townsville last week and now the 36ers. The tigers may just string a few victories together. One of the big differences was the the decrease in turnovers, the Tigers had only 6 turnovers compared to last weeks total of 21. This was due to the ball handling abilities of Jonny Flynn who has brought some class to the Tigers and the players around him have stepped up to another level. Whether they can maintain this run will be something to see in the coming weeks with Flynn adjusting to the NBL game style. Going into the game Gibson was competing well against Flynn and containing him. However Flynn stepped up his game and utilised the players around him. Chris Goulding had a hot hand shooting at 75% from the field and finished with 24 points. Seth Scott also had big game recording a tidy double double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
For Adelaide Anthony Petrie put in a big effort as he does every week and finished with the highest points for Adelaide with 15 points and 7 rebounds but it wasnt enough with Adelaide just looking like they weren't putting in the effort that was required in the fast up and down game.
With the fast game style Chris Anstey said “There wasn’t a hell of a lot of coaching done tonight,” 
“The tempo of the game was faster, our wings were rewarded for running, our bigs were rewarded for working hard. It allowed our personality to come out a bit."

But Marty Clark was not happy with the effort put in by Adelaide stating,
“It’s an emotional league, emotional game. They caught fire and it was like a death by a thousand cuts."

It will be great to see how Melbourne back up next week with Flynn getting a chance to adjust to Melbourne's style of play and how well Anstey can coach the team now that they have possibly the best guard in the league.

Melbourne Tigers 96
      (Goulding 24, Scott 18, Flynn 12)
Adelaide 36ers 66
     (Petrie 15, Johnson 12, Cadee 10)

Crowd: 5283 at Hisense Arena, Melbourne

Monday 5 November 2012

Adris "2Hard2Guard" Deleon wins player of the week for Round 4


Round 4 in the IINet NBL championship saw some big inputs from a number of players across the round. But this week the weekly honour goes to Adris "2Hard2Guard" Deleon for his 26 point capitulation of the Perth wildcats in only 21 minutes of court time. The Wollongong Hawks remain the only undefeated team in the league this season after defeating the Perth wildcats 100-68. This was a top of the table clash both teams going into the game undefeated but the Hawks were to good for the slower Wildcats. The First quarter saw the hawks break out to a 24 point lead and never looked back from there. Deleon coming off the bench in every quarter looked like he had something to prove and increased his performance from his last weeks 23 points to take out the player of the week.
Ben Madgen was unlucky to not win back to back player of the weeks averaging 25 points, 3 rebounds and 3.5 assists across the two games the Kings lost over the weekend.  Cedric Jackson is another runner up in their win over the Kings with 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and 4 steals.
But Deleon was all class in his 26 points shooting at 70% from the field. At the end of nearly every shot clock Deleon had the ball to make the play and came through on most occasions. I predict the Deleon jersey will be the Highest bought Jersey for the Hawks this season. He penetrates to the rim at will off those high ball screens and makes the plays when the team needs him to. I missed out on a Gold Coast Blaze Deleon Jersey last season as they only made one extra which the owner kept.
I cant wait to see the match up of Adris Deleon vs Jonny Flynn in the coming weeks. 

Sunday 4 November 2012

Ex NBA player Jonny Flynn to play for the Melbourne Tigers


Former NBA player Jonny Flynn may suit up for the Melbourne Tigers this friday. The Melbourne Tigers have had a dismall start to the season under their new Coach Chris Anstey and have fired their current import guard Kevin Braswell. Jonny Flynn will fly in to take over from the aging and still injured Brasswell and may play in the friday game against the Adelaide 36ers. Jonny Flynn was the No. 6 overall draft pick in the 2009 NBA draft after a stellar performance at the unviversity of Syracuse. Since then he has played for Minnesota, Houston, Portland and most recently Detroit.
Chris Anstey said that Flynn is the one of the highest quality players the NBL has seen in some time.
"He's in his prime and wanted to reinvigorate his career and we're really excited about what he's going to bring,"

Releasing Brasswell who has had some big games for the Tigers Anstey had this to say, "Kev has been an absoute pro this whole time but he has been playing hurt and we need someone with a few different capabilities to really help us build on what we are doing here," Anstey said

Jonny Flynn stands 6ft at 1.83m and in his prefessional career averages 9.2 points and 3.9 assists per game at around 22min a game.

This is a huge pick up not only for the Melbourne tigers who are trying to turn their season around but also for the NBL as a whole to still recruit NBA players. From last season's Patty Mills to now Jonny Flynn hopefully NBA players who may be having a slump in form may see Australia as a place to turn around their carreer and get some big contracts out of it as Mills did when he went to play in China. 

Check out some of Flynns highlights below. He will definitly be one to see in his coming matches and I'm sure the other point guards in the league will love a chance to run at him and test him every chance they get.



Tuesday 16 October 2012

2012/13 NBL season round 2

The basketball has kicked off and i have not made one post. It has been a great start to the season especially for all those with NBL.tv. Every game to watch on demand is awesome, since channel ten has dropped down to 2 games a week.
The Perth Wildcats are looking unbeatable to start off the season having one their first two games by over 15 points. Round 1 saw the Wildcats face up against the New Zealand Breakers which was a big game for round 1 as it was a rematch of the NBL finals from last season. But the Wildcats trampled over the Breakers winning by 22 points. The Breakers are missing their inside outside threat Gary wilkinson this season and looks like they will feel the impact starting out the season. Round 2 saw them face off against the Finally full strength Townsville Crocodiles and pulled off a 16 point victory after a close first 3 quarters. The wildcats did not re-sign their 7 foot centre from last year Luke Neville but have remained a powerhouse team in the league. Since departing from the Perth wildcats Luke has signed on to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA. The Wildcats may feel that departure having a harder time on the rebounds. Will Hudson from the breakers had a big game against the Wildcats taking full advantage from Lukes absence. Through the season we will see if teams can get a handle on the Wildcats and take some advantage of the hieght advantage that some teams will have.

The Adelaide 36ers were looking like a new team to take the championship at the start of the season having heavily recruited from the Gold Coast Blaze, signing Jason Cadee, Anthony Petrie and Olympian Adam gibson, they also picked up the big 7 foot tall Luke Schencher and look like a strong team. Round 1 saw them comfortable defeat the Melbourne tigers. Anthony Petrie and Chris Goulding were ejected from the game after a scuffle that saw both teams get mixed up in some pushing and shoving. After the game it sounded like that's what Petrie was signed on for, with Marty Clark happy with his passion. After this incident the 36ers blew away the tigers limiting them to just 5 points in the final quarter.
Round 2 saw them face off against the New Zealand Breakers in the match up of the week. The Breakers however were to good and defeated the 36ers 73-59. Cedric jackson lead the breakers with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. He could be someone to put down for league MVP i was surprised he didnt get it last year.

Woollongong are looking like a strong team having picked up some good import guards this year in Adris "2hard2guard" Deleon and Lance Hurdle. This is a massive improvement over their imports from last year and having gone 2 from 2 to start this season I think will be the dark horse of the competition.

Melbourne and Sydney are looking to be in the fight for the wooden spoon this season as many people have not rated their teams. Both had losses in the first round and came up against each other in round 2. Sydney pulled off a come back victory lead by player of the week Corin Henry. Sydney's imports look to be a couple of very good new additions from Shane Heal in a smart pass first point guard in Corin Henry who can nail the jump shot and a strong forward in Darnell Lazare who has had over 20 points in his first 2 games. Sydney could come good later in the season if James Harvey starts hitting that jump shot of his to go with these scoring imports. Melbourne however still havent shown that can compete with the best in the league. But we will see next week when they face up against the Perth Wildcats how well they can compete agains the best at the moment.

Townsville and Cairns both seem to be adjusting to their team and may get better over the season. Townsville only just had their imports for round 2 but look to be a couple of good players in Gary Ervin (NBL league MVP from 2010/11) and "the birdman" Larry Abney. Abney was renouned for his athleticism when he last played in the NBL and looks like he has added a nice jump shot to that arsenel. But we will see if he can keep up for the rest of the season. Cairns have retained Jamar Wilson the league MVP runner up from last year and I think they will come good after they get used to the NBL pace.

Monday 27 August 2012

NBL announce landmark television deal

The national basketball league announced today that they have signed a landmark television deal in which every game can be viewed live. Channel 10 shall play a Friday night game at 9.30 and have live game on Sunday at 2pm. All other games can be viewed on the nbl.tv website where you can view all games live or at a later date and time. A membership fee will be required for this nbl pass at the cost of $79.95 for the season or $59.95 for preregistered members. This membership is a landmark deal in Australia and the first professional sport to have all games available to watch live or whenever you have time online. To pre register for this NBL pass here is the link http://www.nbl.tv/earlyRegister

Wollongong Hawks sign import guard Adris "2hard2guard" Deleon

The Woollongong Hawks have signed import guard Adris Deleon for the 2012/13 NBL season. Deleon played for the gold coast Blaze last season in the NBL and was one of the most exciting players in the tournament. On any given night Deleon could blow the competition away with his excellent ball handling abilities and pin point shooting. Deleon is a know quantity in the NBL and is a good change from Geordie McLeod who often recruits unknowns to unearth a gem of a player. Deleon was a top 5 leading scorer for the league last season averaging 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Deleon was easily my favorite player last season and am looking forward to seeing his jaw droppingly awesome ball handling skills back on the court.
"We looked at our group and what we needed to go with this season and we know what we’re getting with Deleon and what he can bring to the NBL this season. We feel our fans are going to enjoy his style of play and the charisma he brings on court.” He added.  said head coach Geordie McLeod.

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Townsville Crocodiles complete playing roster


The Townsville have signed on their two import players for the season and have completed their playing roster.
The Townsville Crocodiles have signed new Power Forward Curtis Withers from the NBA d league for the 2012 NBL season. This is the final signing from the Townsville crocs having finalised their playing roster for the season. Curtis Withers is 28 yrs old 203cm and will play as a forward/center. Having graduated from North Carolina Withers played with Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA d league and averaged 9.5 points per game and 6.4 rebounds. “The league hasn’t seen many guys of Curtis’ mould in recent times, so we feel we have an angle that can be quite potent,” said crocs coach Paul Woolpert.
Withers averaged 55% shooting from the field in last season in the NBA d league and the Crocs will look to exploit this height and shooting advantage.




The second import in the roster is guard/forward Jason Forte. Forte is coming from the Alaska Aces from the Phillipines. Standing at 196cm and the age of 28 Jason Forte averaged 23.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
“Jason can play point guard through to power forward, he is very versatile and an explosive athlete. He takes it to the rack hard and he can set guys up,” said Head Coach Paul Woolpert.
Having completed their playing roster the Townsville Crocodiles have some time to mesh as a team and establish their player positions going into the 2012/13 NBL season.

The entire roster stands at 

#
Name
Position
Height
DOB
Birthplace
00
Jason Forte
Guard/Forward
196cm
07/02/1984
Laurel, Mississippi, USA
3
Guard
185 cm
18/10/1988
Townsville, QLD
6
Guard
180 cm
1/4/1993
Townsville, QLD
8
Curtis Withers
Forward/Centre
203 cm
02/08/1984
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
10
Forward/Centre
208 cm
10/07/1979
Sydney, NSW
12
Guard/Forward
200cm
7/11/1991
Mackay, QLD
17
Guard/Forward
193 cm
06/11/1979
Mt. Isa, QLD
24
Guard/Forward
190 cm
11/05/1986
Townsville, QLD
31
Forward
201 cm
14/08/1983
Adelaide, SA
41
Centre
211 cm
30/12/1987
Melbourne, VIC
 *
Guard/Forward
190 cm
Josh Myles *
Guard
178 cm


Wednesday 8 August 2012

USA defeat Australia 86-119


Team USA has defeated Australia by 33 points at the Olympic Quarter finals today. Australia were coming out of a win over Russia in the preliminary rounds only to face team U.S.A at the Quarter finals. The Boomers played well for 3 of the 4 quarters, not letting team U.S.A get to far out in front. The last quarter was where the Boomers fell and team U.S.A just surged ahead.

The first half saw a nervous Boomers squad miss many open opportunities, missing free throws and lay ups; but they still held a respectable 21-28 first quarter. The second quarter was very similar to the first with the U.S.A getting up by a further 7 points to take the lead to 14 going into the second half.
Starting the second half was some impressive play from Patty Mills who scores a 3 pointer and then makes a steal on the to finish a lay up within 25 seconds of the half beginning. The Boomers picked up their game and managed to get it back to 6 points, but some excellent 3 point shooting from team U.S.A; which saw that lead stretch back up to 12. The Boomers held on through the third quarter and it looked like they might win a quarter, but they managed to finish it 28-28 with team U.S.A still holding onto a 14 point lead 84-70. Through the game the ref's did a good job, but for many plays they were initimidated by the reputations of the U.S.A players and gave them several advantages in calls. As Newly stated to the ref, "He yells every time I touch him" (talking about Lebron James to the ref). Andrew Gaze on commentating tried to stay diplomatic, stating
"The players have lost confidence in the ref's ability not to be intimidated by the reputations of Team U.S.A. Not that I'm saying that the call was incorrect."

The final quarter saw the Boomers fall apart and team U.S.A capitalize. From 12 down Kobe Bryant hit his hot streak and sunk three 3 pointers in a row without any points made from the Boomers. From there it was all downhill. James Hardin made some huge alley oops and dunks. Every play became a show for team U.S.A displaying their incredible skill to finish the game up by 33 points, at 86-119. I was surprised that Brett Brown did not give the bench players a run in the dying minutes just to get to play against the best in the world. Adam Gibson and Peter Crawford were the only two players not to get any minutes on the court. Patty Mills was the top scorer for the night finishing with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists followed by Kobe Bryant who finished with 20 points. Kobe had a slow start to the game going 0 from 4 but was on fire later in the game. Joe Ingles played the full 40 minutes and was probably our best player for the game finishing with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Lebron James had a triple double with 11 points 14 rebounds and 12 assists. Aaron Baynes had a highlight in the dying seconds of the game, with a huge block on Anthony Davis to close out the game. Matthew Dellevadova played well for the majority of the game, but gave up a couple of turnovers in the last quarter. He is a strong point guard and the team looked better when he was playing the point and Patty was in the no. 2 spot.

It was a good game that should have been closer for how the Boomers played for the majority, but they were out classed in the final quarter. It was unfortunate we did so poorly in the preliminary rounds. If Australia had won one of those losses we would not have faced America so early and could have faced an easier team in the quarters finals. After Russia was defeated by the Boomers, they defeated Lithuania 83-74 and are now set to play Spain in the semis for a shot at the final.


Monday 30 July 2012

Australia loses to Brazil 75-71


In a game that ended up going down to the wire Brazil came up triumphant 71-75. Channel 9 did a terrible job on the broadcast as usual but at least showed the last quarter which unfortunately was all I got a chance to catch. Brazil took control in the third quarter of the game after a close first two halves the had an early 10 point lead. Australia's 3 point shooting was woeful in those first 3 quarters but managed to hit a few in the fourth, combined with some fast transition plays got us back to a manageable figure. Some big shots and plays from Anderson continued the trend till we were down by 2 with 28 seconds left on the Clock. From here some good defence held Brazil from scoring till a foot fault from Australia restarted the Shot clock to 14 second with 9 seconds left in the game. On the inbound pass Patty Mills nearly made a miracle interception but missed and had to foul the Brazil player who made both shots to finish the game 71-75. It was good effort to get back into game and took it to the wire but just fell short. I was surprised they did not play Peter Crawford he would be their best three point shooter and when they needed some big shots to go in Brett Brown didn't give him the nod. I Was dissapointed in his coaching their, the boomers really looked liked they needed an offensive presence that could drain the long ball. Their were some questionable technical foul calls through the game but it was a good close game that in the end could have gone either way and was a great effort from the Boomers who were playing a strong Brazil line up with a couple of NBA players.

Brazil
Barbosa 16pts, 4 rebounds
Huertas 15pts, 4 rebounds
Varejao 12pts, 7 rebounds
Nene 10 points, 7 rebounds
Splitter 7 pts, 7 rebounds

Australia
Mills 18pts, 7 rebounds
Ingles 15pts, 3 rebounds
Andersen 14pts, 8 rebounds
Baynes 10pts, 5 rebounds
Dellavedova 6pts, 3 rebounds

Thursday 26 July 2012

NBL all stars game, North vs South


The National basketball League has announced today that they will bring back the all stars competition this year to be held on the 23 of December this year. This competition is back by popular demand after a poll was held on the NBL website. It was also decided that the All star format would be north vs south from a Poll on the NBL website where by 45% of basketball fans voted for the return of the North vs South all star league. This will split the league into two conferences whereby players from the Cairns Taipans, Townsville Crocodiles, Sydney Kings and Wollongong Hawks will make up the North and the the New Zealand Breakers, Melbourne Tigers, Perth Wildcats and Adelaide 36ers will make up the South. Two teams of ten players will be chosen from these two conferences with viewers getting to be involved in the selection of the players in these teams with details yet to be announced. The coaches will be those with the best win percentage from the two conferences. The venue for the All star even is yet to be announced.

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Adelaide 36ers sign Boomers star Adam Gibson




The Adelaide 36ers have announced that they have signed current boomers team member and former Blaze player Adam Gibson for a 1 year deal with the team with the option of a second year. Rumours had been circulating for a while that this deal was going to go through but today it has become official the Adelaide 36ers have now recruited 3 of the Blaze' top players, Adam Gibson, Anthony Petrie and Jason Cadee. Last season Gibson averaged 11.4 points, 4.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game with the Gold Coast blaze and won the best defensive player award for the 2008/09 season. 36ers CEO Leanne Grantham was very excited with the signing and said,
“We have been in discussion with Adam since the demise of the Blaze and only today did he finally sign with us.  Adam is an aggressive player who demands attention in offense, he is the type of player who will take control and finish off those close games we know the team will experience this coming season”

Head coach of the Adelaide 36ers Marty Clark said,
“Having Gibbo in the team adds that excitement and aggression we need.  He can now focus heavily on his Olympic campaign and look forward to a really exciting season in the NBL with the 36ers”. 

The Adelaide 36ers start their preseason on August 4th when they take on the Nicholls State Colonels a Division 1 College team from the USA. Gibson however will not be able to join the team untill August 20th as he is playing for Australia with the Boomers at the Olympics. 
The Adelaide 36ers also do a 4 team tour through China as part of their preseason in September.  

Adelaide arena reposessed by CBA

Rumours have spread with little to no media attention that the Adelaide Arena has been reposessed by the Commenwealth bank. This is due to massive >$8mill debt Eddy Groves (Adelaide Arena owner) owes to the Commenwealth Bank. It is unclear what this will mean for the Adelaide 36ers as this is their home court. However with such instability through the league with the Gold Coast blaze going under it could mean dark days for the National Basketball League. The Arena is a purpose built facility for basketball and should mean that it will remain as the 36ers home gym and whoever buys will continue to allow them to use it. At a marked up rent cost though would be likely.

Update: The Adelaide 36ers released this statement about the situation:
Today we were advised by Ferrier Hodgson that they have taken possession of the Adelaide Arena on behalf of the Commonwealth Bank, from former owner Eddy Groves.  This has surprised all of us at the Adelaide 36ers and Basketball SA.
Over the next week we will be working closely with Ferrier Hodgson to determine what this means for the future of basketball in South Australia, including the Adelaide 36ers, the Adelaide Lightning, Basketball SA and SA Country Basketball.
We will keep our members, the public and other key groups informed as soon as we have further information and better understand what the repercussions are for our sport.
The Adelaide 36ers CEO Leanne Grantham stated that they have been looking into alternatives should the Adelaide Arena be taken off of the team. Locations such as the ETSA Park (Netball SA Stadium) & the Adelaide Entertainment Centre may be viable alternatives.

Anthony Petrie signs with the Adelaid 36ers


Anthony Petrie has signed a deal to play for the adelaide 36ers for 2 years. Petrie joins former Blaze player Jason Cadee with the Adelaide 36ers and it is rumoured that Adam Gibson may also end up in Adelaide. The 36ers have done a good job in recruiting this offseason having now nearly completed a strong all Aussie line up. It is unclear at this stage whether the coaches will stick with an all aussie line up if they manage to get Gibson or if they will go for a strong import instead. The import shot can be tricky not knowing what your going to get when they play in our league. The 36ers experienced this first hand with their import recuit last year Showron Glover, who did not stack up and ended up getting sent home. In my opinion Petrie is one of the most underated players in the league and his contribution to the 36ers line up has formed a very strong front court, combining with Daniel johnson last years most improved player and the big red Luke Schencher as the centre. As it stands the Adelaide 36ers line up looks like:
Center: Schenscher, possibly a Backup Big to be recruited
Forwards: Johnson, Petrie, Weigh, Creek
Guards:, Cadee, Crosswell, (possibly Gibson and back up shooter)
A strong recruiting season and hopefully a strong season will be ahead for the Adelaide 36ers.

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Spain defeats Australia in a close pre olympic game


Before you read ahead and find out the score if you would like to catch a replay here is the link (its only in Spanish however but still enjoyable. Think of it as a spanish lesson:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/baloncesto/

Its a great game if you get a chance to watch it.

Spain the current number 2 team in the world this morning defeated the Australian Boomers 75-69. This is a big statement for the Boomers it shows that they can run with the big boys even without Andrew Bogut and that Brett Brown was not full of shit when he said he thinks they can win a medal. Many expected The boomers to go down by 30. Spain was led to the victory by NBA star Pau Gasol from the LA lakers who was the game leading scorer finishing with 22 points. It was a close game with scores tied at half time 35-35. The Patty Mills and Mathew Dellevadova guard match worked well with Mills scoring 14. Brad Newley was the top Scorer for the Boomers with 16. It was a team effort from the Boomers with 4 players in double figures. Australian NBL players Mark Worthington and Adam Gibson got a decent amount of minutes and made some big plays, Peter Crawford however did not get to see the court. You could see why Worthington would be going overseas next year, he really has some skills and ball smarts, Excluding one airball in the last quarter. Going into the final break Spain was up by 1, but played better in the final quarter winning it 21-16 and winning the game 75-69. The Boomers can take a lot of confidence from this game as it was close and either team could have gotten the W. The Boomers may well be the Dark horse of the Olympics this year and do better then anyone expected.
Iv included a game boxscore at the bottom of the page as well. if you would like to see individual players points.

75 - España (19+16+19+21): Calderón (4), Rudy (9), Navarro (-), Reyes (12), Pau Gasol (22) -cinco inicial- Rodríguez (3), Llull (9), Claver (7), San Emeterio (4), Ibaka (5) y Sada (-).

69 - Australia (16+19+18+16): Mills (14), Worthington (-), Ingles (10), Andersen (12), Maric (1) -cinco inicial- Crawford (-), Gibson (4), Newley (16), Dellavedova (5), Barlow (3), Baynes (4), Nielsen (-).

Blaze finally burn out

The gold Coast Blaze owners the Tomlinsons have withdrawn the submissions for the Blaze to stay in the competition late last night. It has dragged on over several weeks as to if the Blaze will manage to stay in the league for the 2012/13 NBL season. The blaze have gone under as they were not able to produce the $1 mill bank guarantee for the league. Not all teams have had to pay this guarantee, however due to the Blaze's unstable funding situation it was imperative for the Blaze to do so should the team go under mid season and not be able to play its players and employees. Below is the media release from the director Owen Tomlinson. Its a sad day for the Blaze fans who have been waiting to see if they would still have a team to go for next season.
The contracted players Adam gibson, Anthony Petrie and Chris Goulding from the Blaze have been left in limbo and must now try to find a new place in the league late in the off season. Their is rumors that Adam Gibson may find a place in the melbourne tigers, Anthony Petrie will be with the Woollongong Hawks and and Chris Goulding may find a place with the Adelaide 36ers but at this stage it is all up the air. Personally I'm hoping to see at least two of them end up with the 36ers which would give something the blaze fans could get behind having 3 of the core blaze team members. Or else the NBL might just lose a lot more viewers and will still likely lose a lot since basketball is a sport most enjoyed live.

Media Release

It is with much regret that we announce that we have decided to withdraw our submission to Basketball Australia to be included in the 2012/13 NBL season.

We have been asked to provide further information and given an extension until 31 July 2012 to do so. We feel that we have already done enough to satisfy all requirements and the drawing out of this process has gone on long enough.

We are proud of the contribution we have made to basketball in South East Queensland over the past five seasons and we feel that the Blaze has contributed in a very meaningful way to the community.

The company administration period has been a terrible strain on our loyal coaches, players and staff and their families. They, along with our Pyromaniacs and Corporate Sponsors, have supported us throughout this difficult time and we deeply regret that we have had to make this decision.

We thank everyone for their unwavering support.

Owen Tomlinson

Director

Gold Coast Blaze

Sunday 15 July 2012

Gold Coast Blaze update

The Gold Coast Blaze may still be in the NBL next season. They were given until friday the 13th of July to find the funds to maintain the team and propose a business plan to basketball Australia. At the eleventh hour on friday a mystery investor appeared and supplied the final $500,000. Late on Friday a Community based plan was put forward to Basketball Australia and is pending a decision to made on Monday the 16th of July. Tomorrow a final decision should be made concerning the Blaze and I shall try to update the site promptly. 

Saturday 14 July 2012

Will Hudson signs with the New Zealand Breakers


Will Hudson has signed on with the New Zealand Breakers for the 2012/13 NBL season. Will Hudson played for the Gold Coast Blaze as one of their two imports last season and its said he was a rather cheap import for the Blaze so the Breakers may have saved some money and can spend big for their second import/guard. The New Zealand Breakers are attempting to win the NBL championship for a third time in a row. The Breakers already have their starting five planned out excluding the point guard spot and the signing of Hudson looks to be as a back up big for a the two big starters Mika Vukona and Alex Pledger. Gary Wilkinson was the import forward for the New Zealand Breakers for the last two years however he has signed on to team in europe for a larger salary. Hudson is a proven entity in the NBL who can bring in some rebounds and some points in the paint. Its thought that the New Zealand breakers are planning on waiting to try to re-sign Cedric Jackson or  sign on Adam Gibson as their starting point guard. However they must wait to see if the Blaze stay in the competition as Gibson is hoping to stay with the Blaze and Cedric Jackson is trying out with the San Antonio Spurs. 

Sunday 8 July 2012

USA defeats Australia to win the under 17 World Championships


Australia was handedly defeated by team USA today 95-62 to take home the silver medal ar the FIBA Under 17 World Championships. Conner Frankamp for the USA was the leading scorer of the game finishing with 22 points followed by Australia's Dante Exum who finished with 21 points and 6 rebounds and was also named in the all tournament team at the official medal cermony. Australia's shooting was not what it was against Croatia at only 32% field Goals and 21% three pointers. Australia looked to rely to heavily on the three point shot hitting 9 from 42 and were decimated on rebounds 43 to 23. Australia could not get into the keyway with team USA's zone defence being to strong with points in the paint at 46 -18. It shows the strength USA have on the Basketball world with the second placed team going down to such a deficit to the Under 17 World Champions, Team USA. It is still a great result for these young players and I can see Dante Exum having a bright future in basketball.

Adelaide 36ers to play US college team Nicholls State Colonels

The Adelaide 36ers are going to play the touring US state college team the Nicholls State Colonels as a pre season game on sat August 4th at the Adelaide arena. NBL Rookie of the year Anatoly Bose played for the Colonels and competed in the Southland Conference in the NCAA divison one tournament. This will start out the pre season games for the Adelaide 36ers as they train for the 2012/13 NBL season starting October 5th

Australian Under 17 mens team play for Gold


The Australian under 17 mens basketball team have defeated the number 1 ranked European team, Croatia to continue on to the Finals in the FIBA Under 17 World Championships. Australia defeated Coratia 83-71 and was led by the sharp shooting of Mirko Djeric who finished with 7 from 11 three pointers and finished the game with 21 points followed closely by the other half of the back court Dante Exum who finished with 18.
The Australians shot exceptionally and proved to be the difference in the teams, shooting at 47% from the field, 42% from the 3 point line and knocking down 71% from the foul line. The defensive intesnity was also very high with Australia forcing 19 turnovers slowing the Coratians offensive opportunities.
Croatia had a quick start and led by 10 with some outstanding plays by their star player Mario Hezonja who led all scoring finishing with 28 points. Australia fought back and managed to lead 42-35 going into half time and held the lead for the win. Australia will play Team USA in the Final and it is turning out to be a great opportunity for a chance at a gold medal for these young players. And with international exposure like this a great opportunity for their careers.

Thursday 5 July 2012

Gold Coast blaze offered a lifeline to play at Carrara



The Gold Coast Blaze have been handed a lifeline by the local council and may move there games to the Carrara indoor stadium. The Gold Coast City Council have agreed to give the Blaze free use of office space and training facilities at Carrara stadum next season. This will cut a 6 figure sum from the Clubs budget next season. Currently the Blaze play exorbitant fees for their plush office space in Broadbeach, training facilities throughout the coast and use of the Broadbeach convention centre. From here it will only cost the Blaze another $500,000 to participate in the 2012/13 NBL season.
The blaze are transforming into a community based model similar to that for the Cairns taipans and Woolongong Hawks. Owner Owen Tomlinson is feeling confident that they can stay in the league.
"I'm feeling a lot more hopeful now that maybe there is some agreement we can reach to ensure the club is here next year." However the Blaze are still very much on life support. The Blaze still have till the 13th of this month to pay league costs to participate in the 2012/13 season however it is unknown how much of the players cap the Blaze will spend or if they will manage to keep any of their old players.
The Carrara stadium was the home to the Gold Coast Rollers while they were in the NBL during the 90's however went under due to finances and poor stadium facilities. The prices will have to be cheaper having games at a smaller and downgraded arena and it will be intersting to see if they manage to improve the facilities at all coming into the 2012/13 season, as their were talks of improving the stadium for the 2018 commenwealth games. Carrara is a lot further from the main strip of the Gold Coast and attendances may drop substantially. Broadbeach was ideally located, close to public transport, pubs and restaurants and still could not manage big audience turn outs. Lets hope the Blaze manage to stay a float and that people still attend the games

Thursday 28 June 2012

Gold Coast Blaze sack playing roster



The Gold Coast Blaze have sacked their contracted playing roster and administration as the club awaits confirmation of a deal worth more then $10 million. Coach Joey Wright along with players Mark Worthington, Adam Gibson, Anthony Petrie and Chris Goulding have a been sacked from their current contracts. If the team can stay in the league and this new investor funds them into next season then we may see them get re-hired. However Mark Worthington and Adam Gibson may chase better pay in Europe having gotten some international attention playing some decent minutes in the Olympic Boomers Squad. Anthony Petrie in my opinion is one of the most underated players in the league and would make a handy player on any team and im guessing a few NBL teams would now be chasing his signature. Chris Goulding can shoot the lights out on any given night but having given such late notice in the year for a signing it may be difficult for Goudling to find an equivelent position in the league. Wherever these players choose to go im sure they will find a team within this league or bigger leagues throughout the world. And it will be interesting to see if the Gold Coast Blaze can manage to stay in the NBL for 2012/13 season or if the league will be reduced to an 8 team roster. On Monday we will see if The Gold Coast Blaze are still in the competition and what NBL teams snatch up these off contract players.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Kevin Smith signs with the Sydney Kings


The Sydney Kings have signed on the American born Kevin Smith. Kevin is coming to the NBL as a local player as he became naturalised during his time playing in the New Zealand NBL playing for the Auckland Pirates, Harbour Heat and the Bay Hawks. At 32 Kevin still is looking very athletic and standing at 6'6" will a good back up for James Harvey and can possibly swing to the forward position when required. During the 2012 NZ NBL season Kevin Smith played for the Harbour Heat and averaged 16.3 points, 4.7 robounds, 1.3 assists and 1 steal per game. Check his game below. But with an experienced, athletic 6 foot 6 player who can shoot it is a decent signing for Shane Heal. However looking at the line up James Harvey, Ian Crosswhite, Aaron Bruce, Ben Madgen, Graeme Dann, Luke Martin, Tom Garlepp and Corin Henry (import). They are going to need a good second import to make them a real title contender next season.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

Australia defeats China 3-0 in the YouYi games



Australia defeated china 3-0 in the friendly Olympic warm up YuYi games. The games were played last saturday 9th of june, Monday the 11th and wednesday the 13th with Australia taking out each game. I was only able to watch game 1 so far with game 2 not televised and game 3 having a delayed telecast on saturday on channel 9 at 2:00PM. Game 1 was close with the boomers shooting abismally at 27% at half time. And the score line showed it going down by 10 in the third. But they showed that they can shoot and took out the victory by 11 at full time 55-66. This was largely due to the impressive shooting display of Peter Crawford in the last half finishing the game with 21. Mark Worthington played good hard basketball throughout his time on the court and if it wasnt for his poor shooting would have been the best player on the court finishing with 11. I hope people who doubted his effectiveness on the Boomers squad now see his skill and effectiveness. China played some impressive zone defence that seemd to stifle the Boomers who could not get access to an inside shot.

Game 2 was not televised so I did not get to see the game. Australia won 69-65 in a closer game with top scorer Aron Baynes 15 follwed by Mathew Dellevadova and Mark Worthington with 11. The game high scorer was Sun Yue from China with 22 followed by Wang Shipeng finished with 12. It was a close game throughout the first half with China at one point getting up 13, till the Boomers went on a 14-0 run and closed out the half 1 point in front. The final half was close in a high pressure defensive effort, but Australia finished on top 69-65.


Game 3 is going to be televised on free to air on channel 9, Saturday at 2:00pm. For now all i'v heard is that the boomers won but apart from that I'm trying not find out, sorry.

Gold Coast Blaze saved by credditors



The Gold Coast Blaze will remain in the National Basketball League in the 2012/13 season which kicks of on October 5. The Team was saved from liquidation today following a credditors meeting at the Jupiters Hotel and Casino. The majority of the companies creditors voted in favour of a deed of company arrangement, put forward by the administrators which means they will revieve 7 cents to the dollar that they are owed. Not sure if this rights off the debt still owed to Brendan Joyce after being released from his 3 yr contract after 1 year, but it is good to see that the team will stay alive for at least one more year.

Sunday 27 May 2012

Sydney Kings sign Corin Henry


The Sydney Kings have made the first of their two import singings. Taking on Defensive player of the year in Denmark Corin Henry. Standing 5'11" Coring Henry is a fast point guard who can shoot the ball make some passes and a good defender. But coming from a weaker league like Denmark it will be interesting to see how he stands up to the NBL. It could be another Showron Glover scenario. I have added a clip below and you can decide for yourself.

Monday 21 May 2012

Uncle drew pepsi ad

I know its a commercial but I thought they did quite a good job on this one.

Thursday 17 May 2012

2011/12 Adris "2hard2guard" Deleon highlights


Probably the most exciting player on the floor in the 2011/12 IINet NBL championships was Adris Deleon for the Gold Coast Blaze. On his night he could tear any team apart with his excellent speed, shooting and ball handling ability. I just found this highlight clip from this season thought you guys might enjoy it.
http://vimeo.com/41836527

Ill add others if I can find them

Tigers stand down on Trevor Gleeson


Trevor Gleeson is on paid leave after the Tigers have released that they do not intend to keep him on as head coach of The Melbourne Tigers in the 2012/13 season. The tigers have stated that Trevor Gleeson will step down with pay, as he still has another year left on his contract. He was not given any reason for being stood down.Gleeson has been head coach of the Melbourne Tigers prior to the 2011/12 season and lead his team to 11-17 and finished sixth place and missed the playoffs for the third straight year. This is just more unprofessional behaviour coming from the team thatacted unprofessionally all season.Seamus McPeake stepped down as CEO after firing Ayinde Ubaka one of the best guards in the league mid season and it was hoped that the organisation would look after their employees after this resignation. Perhaps they will do the right thing and pay out Trevor Gleeson in full and it was an agreed parting of ways. It seems everyone in that organisation is jumping boat.
Meanwhile Adam Ballinger has been recruited by the Melbourne Tigers. He played very few games the last two seasons due to injury concerns but if he is fully fit he can be a very good player. I just hope the Tigers get the organisation under control and stop losing players, coaches and administration staff.

Wednesday 16 May 2012

LeBron James NBA league MVP for third time


Lebron James has taken out the NBA's league MVP for the third time. He has become the 8th player to ever win the MVP award at least 3 times. James joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Michael Jordan and Bill Russell (5), Wilt Chamberlain (4) and Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone (3) on the list of players with at least three MVPs. With three MVP awards and not one championship ring it puts a lot of pressure on James to perform in the finals series. With Bosh out indefinitely for the season, the Miami Heat are still going into most games as the favourite, but James has been the favourite in games since coming into the NBA. The partnership of Dwayne Wade and Lebron James can bring a championship but will still probably be the most hated team in the league. It cant be denied that he is a great basketballer and i'm sure he will get one in the years to come but it takes a team to win a championship and a great leader. It will be interesting to see if the heat can come up with the goods this year but i'm doubting there chances as this finals series continues. 

Thursday 10 May 2012

Gold Coast Blaze go into voluntary administration



UPDATE: NBL has released the statement that the blaze are looking confident to continue the club into next season.
“Clearly, we still need to allow the Administrator to analyse these plans and the overall position of the club in detail before we can be certain that Gold Coast will continue to play on in the NBL.  However based on the information we have so far, those who have been forecasting the demise of the Blaze since Friday are certainly premature and quite possibly wrong.”

The Gold Coast Blaze have opted to go into voluntary administration to combat their financial difficulties.
“The ownership group of the Gold Coast Blaze advised me late yesterday that they had placed the club into voluntary administration, and had appointed Roland Robson from Aggs Robson as Administrator,” said Basketball Australia's interim chief executive officer Scott Derwin. “The League understands that the Blaze took this difficult decision in order to act in a responsible, legal and ethical manner to try and find an appropriate way past their present financial difficulties."

This would all have come about due to the club owing Brandon Joyce a large sum of money from his contract which he was fired from in 2009. Also the extensive legal fees from trying to get out of paying Joyce the money that is owed to him. NBL has not made a final statement on the mattter but says that they will once they have spoken to the Gold Coast Blaze administration. It is unclear if this opens the Blaze players to other deals in the NBL teams as the team may go under. This must be bring back harsh memories for Blaze MVP Mark worthington being a part of 2 other teams that went bankrupt the South Sydney Dragons and the now back Sydney Kings. Gold Coast has an excellent arena and a solid team and coaching staff but could not get sufficient turnouts to the games. Sport on the Gold Coast is in a massive decline this year has seen the Gold Coast United football club go under, the Gold Coast Titans are owing millions and the Suns have not yet shown they can stand on their own two feet. For the fastest growing area in Australia it is severely lacking in the sporting arena. Perhaps it was a bad choice for the 2018 Commenwealth games.

I hope the Blaze manage to navigate their financial woes and stay in the league, as the NBL is finally starting to make a come back into Australian sport. If the Blaze do go bankrupt it would be good to see the Brisbane Bullets step up and take on the players and coaching staff and sustain the league at its current 9 teams.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

3 on 3 comp in Geelong, "Whoosh at the waterfront"


Corey "Homicide" Williams the streetball legend will be hosting a 3 on 3 comp in Geelong in June. It is a FIBA world qualifying tournament with the top two teams winning a chance to compete at Valdivostok, Russia to compete in the grand final. Their is an Elite division with the top prize worth $5000 and flights to the finals and their is a participation level for fun. There will be scouts and recruiters from various leagues at the games. It costs $220 for an elite team to register and $120 for a participation team. Its going to be cold in Geelong in June.

Thursday 3 May 2012

Cairns Taipans sign college stars


Clinton Stiendl has also been recruited by the Cairns Taipans. Clinton is returning from australia at the end start of the 2012/2013 season after completing college at the NCAA mid major powerhouse St Mary's college. Clinton is renowned for being a world class shooter as assistant coach mick downer believes, “Clint has a reputation as being a world class shooter, but I think he will really surprise people with his versatility as a player,’’ Downer said.
Head coach Aaron Fearne is also excited about the prospect “Perimeter shooting is an area of the game that we felt we needed to improve on and Clint’s proven he is amongst the best in college basketball from behind the arc,” Fearne said “He has obviously had a taste of the Boomers program and will be highly motivated to continue his development towards future selections.”
Clinton is also excited about getting back and starting into the Taipans program.
“I’m really excited about everything that’s going on in Cairns, from the team that is being put together, to the club and the amazing support by the community."

The Cairns Taipans have nearly finished with their recruiting for next season having secured
Clinton Steindl, Cam Tragardh, Cam Gliddon, Dusty Rychart, Aaron Grabau and Jamar Wilson as contracted players for the 2012/13 season, with more player announcements expected in the near future it looking to be a decent team with a few new players in the professional basketball arena and the NBL. Cairns still has another import spot but the team as it stands is looking strong.

The Skytrans Cairns Taipans have signed NAIA college player Cameron Gliddon on a 2 yr deal as he finished College. The NAIA league is comparable to a div 2 NCAA league. But Glidden comes into the league with an impressive resume, he was named to the First Team All-American and won the prestigious Chuck Taylor award-the National tournament Most Valuable player. Gliddon came out in the preseason last year and trained with the Taipans so Fearne got a close look at the young Athlete. “He (Gliddon) really impressed me with his ability to shoot the ball consistently from depth and his overall smarts on the court.”
“The fact he had such a fantastic senior year with the (Concordia) Eagles proves to us that he can handle the big stage and is ready to be a contracted as a full time NBL player.”
Fearne commented on what fans should expect from the college star.
“Cam is a straight shooter. If he gets going, he will be pretty hard to stop,” said Fearne.
“He will surprise a few people with his athleticism as well, something that I felt we lacked a little bit with this season.”

Gliddon returns to Australia after a great college career. His team got the chance to play against some NCAA div 1 teams and the managed a few wins and some close losses, losing to UCLA by 1. Standing at 6'5" and able to hit the three point shot it is a great signing by the snakes and i think he will definitly give some surprises next season with his height, athleticism and shooting ability. Iv attached a highlights reel of his MVP performance at the 2012 NAIA national tournament.

Saturday 28 April 2012

Derrick Rose ACL knee injury

Derrick Rose sustained an ACL knee injury in the Bulls game 1 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers. The bulls won the game 103-91 but the victory was spoiled with this injury as Rose will be out for the rest of the season.  Losing possibly the best player in the league will have an impact on the team and may hinder their championship hopes. But i guess we'll see how well they bounce back in game 2 of the series.


Friday 27 April 2012

Metta World Peace Throws an elbow - will miss 7 games

Metta World Peace has been suspended for 7 games and showed a little of the Ron Artest of old with a big elbow after a strong break away lay up.


Thursday 26 April 2012

Patty Mills gets good minutes in a depleted Spurs Roster. Career high game's


Patty Mills had another career high game against the Golden State Warriors. In his second chance as a starter he filled the stat sheet with 34 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block. The Spurs had an all bench starting 5 and Mills finished the night getting 43 minutes on the court. This was the highest score for any Australian in the NBA and the highest number of assists for an australian in one game. He really showed what he can do in this game and led the Spurs to the win with some big baskets down the stretch."Chances don't come up very often where you send your three big dogs back to San Antonio," Mills said. "I was very pumped to have this opportunity. I felt very comfortable to just slide in there and take it on with both hands."
Here is the highlights from the game. Lets hope after this performance he can get some playoff court time.


He has ended the regular season averaging 10.3 points per game and is not bad for a third string point guard.


The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Phoenix Suns 110-106 on April 25th. The Spurs have won 23 from their last 26 games and have guranteed the No.1 western conference playoff spot going into the finals. They played with a depleted line up to rest their stars going into the finals. They sent Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili home to rest as well as head coach Gregg Popovich. This gave assistant coach Brett Brown the ability to give some of the other players a chance off the bench, giving Patty Mills a big shot at showing what he could do as a point guard in the starting line up.
"It's one of those funny situations, end of the season and resting guys," Mills said. "As crazy as it is, it does make a lot of sense. I thought for the main guys to go back and recharge the batteries before the playoffs, that's a chance to give the other guys a great opportunity."
Mills was on court for 35 mins, scored 27 points with a low 9 of 23 field goals and 3 of 8 three pointers. He also finished with a decent 5 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.
It may however have been Suns star point guard and 2 time league MVP Steve Nash's final game with the suns or final game in the NBA. The Crowd responded rising in the chant of "we want Nash" over and over till coach Alvin Gentry sent the 38 yr old back onto the court.
"It was obviously amazing to get that type of reception and support," Nash said. "It's very special because it's not something I asked for or imagined to get that type of spontaneous reaction. It means it's authentic, the relationship that I thought we had."
With just 17 minuts on the court Nash finished with 8 points 7 assists and 3 rebounds. Closing out the season second in the league for assists behind Rajon Rondo who is averaging 10.8 assists per game.
It will be interesting to see what Nash chooses to do next season as he is still playing some very good basketball.
Patty Mills had a good game as his first role as a starter but may have a second chance as the Spurs will continue to rest their stars for their next game against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

Highlights from the game can be seen below.