The season started with the analysis of the James Harden trade and now it concludes with a similar notion. The Thunder were admirably assisted by Kevin Martin throughout the regular season, but just like the man he replaced (James Harden), Kmart came up short in the post-season. With the NBA Draft lottery upon us, this trade is back in the spotlight as the Thunder look to gain the late lottery draft pick from Toronto that came to them along with Martin from Houston.

So this leaves a gigantic question to be asked by the organisation front office, stakeholders, staff and fans – should the Oklahoma City Thunder re-sign Kevin Martin. Let’s have a look.

Kevin Martin’s arrival in OKC meant that the Thunder had another scoring option. He was efficient and effective and didn’t need the ball in his hands a lot or a heap of shots to be happy. He filled a role very well, and the Thunder were rolling with this new line-up. Other players were also able to develop in the absence of Harden and his ball dominating ways (Reggie Jackson and Serge Ibaka most noticeably) so it seemed to be a win-win for everyone involved. In fact had it not been for the knee injury to Westbrook and we may very well be singing a different tune right now (perhaps how much to re-sign Kmart for!) – but it did happen, the Thunder bombed and now we have to analyse why.

The entire reason for moving Harden on, was to limit the luxury tax paid by the franchise and to keep the small market team competitive for a number of seasons, building around Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, with a host of rookies and role players they had drafted and / or pieced together. This means that signing players will be at a premium and therefore the Thunder will not spend too much money on players that don’t directly benefit them and make them contenders. So, can we expect to see the #23 back in OKC next season?

There are a number of shooting guards that are to be free agents at the completion of this season – Kevin Martin isn’t the only one – however, there doesn’t appear to be a ready-made fit at the price OKC would be willing to pay. The names that jump out are players like JR Smith (New York Knicks) and OJ Mayo (Dallas Mavericks). Could the Thunder make a play at these guys who are currently earning less than $5mill per year? They are certainly the scoring / shooting threat that OKC would love to have coming off the bench and are both adept at handling the ball if required and creating their own shot.

KMart would no doubt be willing to take a pay cut to stay on a contender. He is in the twilight of his career and this is really his best chance at playing a major role on a team that has the talent to win it all. He bought into the system when he got there and improved his defence. He also has a good chemistry with Nick Collison – but is that enough to save his job? And if he does in fact want to stay, how much is he going to ask for (considering he was paid $12.5mil this season)?

The Thunder have a sensational young guard that they feel they can transform into the Harden role, and his name is Jeremy Lamb. He won’t be ready to take the mantle for a season or two yet, but Martin could play a wonderful mentoring role for him if re-signed. The same could be said for OJ Mayo as well who was a highly touted pick and has had to come to terms with different roles on different teams. (JR Smith is not and would never be a mentor to anyone – but that’s another issue!)

Now that you have read a fair whack of info, I would like to hear your thoughts. I personally believe that JR Smith will re-sign with the New York Knicks, Tony Allen will stay with the Grizz (plus OKC already have 1 defensive minded shooting guard, they can ill-afford another), Kyle Korver wants to stay in ATL and they want him back, and Manu isn’t coming to a foe. So if they don’t re-sign Martin, what are they going to do? I believe that Martin comes back with quite a discount after disappearing in the playoffs and with Russell Westbrook back healthy and they young stars from OKC starting to shine, they may make that return to the NBA Finals, albeit a year later than expected.

Kevin Martin’s season high 28 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder

The post Should the Thunder re-sign Kevin Martin? appeared first on Aussie Hoopla.

“I’m proud to say that I’m an Australian American,” he says. “And it’s truly an honour and a blessing to represent such a prestigious continent.

Now into his second NBA season, one that saw him develop into an NBA All-Star, the first Australian born player to do so, but even more impressive than that is how he has made many of the Cavaliers fans already forget about a player called Lebron.

“Some of my friends in the US didn’t believe that I actually played for Australia – they never believed me ever until I bought my birth certificate in and showed them the continent on the back of my birth certificate. Knowing that I’m an Australian-born NBA basketball player now is fun to think about and it adds a little bit more to my career.

Kyrie’s father Drederick Irving was one of the most prolific scorers in Boston University history where he helped bring national attention while rewriting the team’s record book. He graduated in 1988 as the school’s all-time leading scorer (1,931 points, 15.8ppg) and has since had his jersey retired in the schools rafters.

After a failed attempt to make the Boston Celtics roster the 6’4” Drederick was then lured to play for the Bulleen Boomers by their coach at the time Brett Brown who played alongside Drederick at Boston University. Drederick was dominant in the SEABL averaging 30 points and game in 1992 while a young Kyrie cheered from the sidelines.

Kyrie Irving has openly said his love of the game was developed as a toddler while his father was playing professional basketball in Australia.

“I started dribbling before I was even two, my dad built me a court in the backyard” Irving said.

Now an assistant coach with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, Brett Brown recalls those days when a young Kyrie Irving scuttled along the basketball courts of Bullen. “I coached his dad. I remember when he (Kyrie) was born. I remember him coming into our practice, “It’s amazing how old I am when I have to think back at that.” Brown said.

Simon Mitchell, head of basketball operations for the Frankston and District Basketball Association and a former teammate of Drederick Irving during his time with Bulleen has orchestrated a series of basketball clinics with the Australian born NBA star, scheduled for July 1-5.

“Kyrie is keen to come to Australia and explore where he is from,” Mitchell said and this was echoed by Kyrie in reports during the week

“When I go visit there for my first time (since being kid) I’m pretty sure I’ll fall in love with it. I haven’t been back (to Australia) since I was two so I’m really excited to come there in July and meet all the great people there”.

Although Irving does seem genuinely honest about his love of Australia don’t be too excited about the possibility of him wearing green and gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“Right now, no… but you never know what can change over the next three or four years,” he says.

As a result of having dual citizenship technically Irving is eligible to play for the Australian Boomers or Team USA but for now he says his current loyalties lie with the United States.

In his first season he was named Rookie of the Year, his second he become an NBA All-Star and before his third season in the NBA he is coming home to share his experiences with young Aussie basketball players.

Perhaps the 1st Australian born NBA All-Star can give some advice to some future Australian born All-Stars this July.

The post Kyrie Irving to run basketball clinics in Australia appeared first on Aussie Hoopla.

Three of the starting five for Adelaide who came dead last in the National League is picked. Daniel Johnson should be picked, he is one of the top 3 centres in the league no question. I think he has come along way this season and is only going to get better. Hopefully new assistant coach Luc Longley can show him some mental toughness he needs to go that extra step. Adam Gibson has taken a step backwards after the Olympics. Adelaide needed him to be big time this season but he didn’t show it. I think maybe being dropped from the squad might have been a good kick in the backside. Jason Cadee should not be included in any Australian squad. This is the pinnacle of our sport. Jason is not up to this standard, not even close in my opinion.

They are calling Cameron Gliddon the headline name of the squad. He averaged 7 points and 2 assists per game in the NBL this season. Are they handing out Boomers jerseys for fun?

Ben Madgen thoroughly deserves his spot after a break out NBL season. Ben is a born leader and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do on the international stage. Ben is the type of player the Boomers need, not just guys that are going to fill the numbers. His tenacity and leadership should get him a spot in the 12 man final squad. I think they are going to need his scoring ability as there isn’t many guys that can create quality shots for themselves on this squad.

How is Chris Goulding a Boomer? Unless he is jacking up 25 shots a game his attitude is horrendous and plays zero defense. The same can be said for Clint Steindl. He barely got minutes in the NBL and now he is a Boomer. I’d love someone to explain this to me. It’s not like Andrej Lemanis didn’t coach the NBL. He watched all these guys play, he probably targeted their inefficiencies and now he picks them on his squad. This is mind-boggling.

I think Jesse Wagstaff deserves a chance at a Boomers jersey. The guy gives 100% every night and brings that aggression that is needed on the world stage. Many fans don’t like how the Perth Wildcats play but this is what is needed when playing against the physical European teams. I’m hoping Jesse brings this physicality into camp. If so he will make this team no question and play a big part in this challenge.

I’m happy that Andrej has brought in some college guys to gain some experience but this is too many. Six out of 20 guys in the squad don’t play professional basketball. I’d understand if they were standout players for their college but they aren’t.

If Australia were a top 5-basketball nation in the world I’d understand this make-up squad, but we aren’t. We continue to under achieve at the Olympics and World Champs but we still pick weak squads and hope that when our full strength guys come back from overseas they can just click. It doesn’t work like that at all. We don’t have an all-star team like the USA or Spain.

I believe not one of the guys in this 20-man squad will make the World Championships team let alone the squad. This does nothing to help our chances at any world event and this is purely a waste of time for Lemanis and Longley. They will have to start all over again when the big name players eventually come back.

I look forward to seeing how Lemanis is going to approach this series. In the past it has been butt ugly with score lines even worse than the NBL put up this year. If I were in his position I’d be running and gunning and making it entertaining for the fans. I don’t see how this squad is going to create offense and good shots for each other.

Here is to hoping the Chinese bring a weaker squad than we have put up. Basketball Australia needs some big results. It will look absolutely horrendous if we are losing exhibition games to China especially with Aussie players in the news playing in the NBA and Euro-League Finals.

The post New Australian Boomers Squad Looking Underdone appeared first on Aussie Hoopla.

Attitude

The attitude you bring to practice will determine how good of a practice you and your team will have. If 1 player is down, you need to pick them up because 1 player can affect the others. Michael Jordan had a great philosophy when he was having a bad day – “fake it”! It’s important to know you are either an energy maker or an energy taker. Your attitude affects your energy and, energy makes a practice successful. A positive attitude brings forth positive results. Over the course of the season the negativity that is within the team can cause the team to break. It will be so draining and detrimental to the cohesiveness and togetherness of the team that when the chips are down in a game you will more than likely give up. Things like having a smile on your face, giving high fives, patting a teammate on the butt, words of encouragement can help in more ways you can imagine.

Togetherness

When Duke’s and Team USA’s Coach K talks about the fist philosophy of five fingers working together as one fist he means not only on the court but off the court. It’s true that 1 fist is stronger than 5 fingers alone and you should be mindful of this with your team. Be a friend to everyone. Work as one with one goal with one mindset of the goals that your team has in place. When you screen for someone or be unselfish with an extra pass to someone who is open you will probably get the ball back more times than not in the next play. We all know the teams that have one star player but never seem to win. Most likely it is because that star player is selfish and doesn’t want others to have any glory or success. The Kentucky Wildcats who were National Champions last year were a great example of what one team who are unselfish and who don’t care who gets the credit can achieve. Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist who were the most talented players on their team and who were number 1 and 2 respectively in the NBA draft shot the ball 4th and 5th most on their team. They sacrificed their own ego for the betterment of the team. John F. Kennedy once said, “As the tide rises, all boats rise”, and the same can be said about a basketball team.

Toughness

When you hear the word toughness you probably think of physical toughness first before the mental side of it. However, the most important aspect of toughness is in fact the mental side. Mental toughness is the way you enter a game. The refuse to lose attitude, the never give up motto, and the “I’m going to win at all costs” mentality. Jay Bilas an ESPN analyst wrote an amazing article a few years ago entitled “Toughness” it is used throughout basketball regarding toughness and what it can mean to your team. He defined toughness as “setting a good screen”, “Talk on defense”, “running the floor”, “diving after loose balls”, and “taking charges” among others outlined in the article. Mental toughness is doing the little things. The little things add up to big things. It’s the difference between winning and losing, the difference between losing by a point or winning by 3. The little things matter to a winning basketball player and team. I recently was at the University of Illinois where I stayed with a friend and mentor the Head Coach John Groce. During one of the practices he stopped a drill and said to his team this about toughness,
“The secret to be tough is to do the tough stuff well. You guys do understand…all these little things that’s what’s going to give us a chance to be successful. I know you guys want to win, we’ve worked too hard. But the little things like guarding your yard, not getting beat to the outside, not letting the ball into the post easy, challenging every shot…make a big difference. They’re the difference between winning teams and losing teams. Jogging back in transition defense…instead of sprinting back. You think “oh it’s just 2 times I have jogged in the game”, but what if we lose by one point. All the little things matter. All the little things matter at a really high level. If they didn’t I promise you I wouldn’t be on you about them. If I didn’t think they affected our ability to play well I wouldn’t say it. Being where you are suppose to be on the catch, closing out,…we will guard better, if we guard better we get more stops if we get more stops we win. All the little things matter.”

Your team may have the talent to win a championship, you may have worked hard every day in getting better as individuals and as a team but it is going to be the mental toughness that is going to be the difference maker between winning it all or the remorsefulness of ‘what could have been’.
Work harder than the rest. Have a competitive edge that will set you and your teams apart from the rest. Have a great attitude, and find joy in the journey of every practice, and every game.

The post The 3 keys to winning a championship appeared first on Aussie Hoopla.

You might question the point I am getting at here… I haven’t reached it yet.

The problem I have is NOT with the agreements put in place, but the criticism that has flowed in, and  the major stakeholders in each league that are being detrimental to each league’s deal.

Here are five complaints that have surfaced over the course of the 2012/13 NBL and WNBL season…

Complaint number one: “The NBLTV commentators are bad”

Call me biased (being one and all..), but watching basketball on mute is hardly a gratifying process. The fact that punters have the opportunity to watch their team on a weekly basis is a plus, jumping down the throat of broadcasters less than a year into the deal is really not helping the game ‘grow’. Gratitude is the best attitude.

Complaint number two: “The NBLTV agreement is so much better than the WNBL agreement”

This has baffled me for months. The Wildcats fill a 12000 seat stadium regularly, and the Waves (I say this with the utmost respect) battle to get 500 to a game. Why would basketball Australia implement a WNBL TV format when some teams battle to fill a stadium with an audible crowd?

Complaint number three: “Why can’t WNBL teams stream their games live on to the internet when ABC are not broadcasting their game?”

It might seem logical to think that this is holding back the ‘exposure’ of the WNBL, but why have an exclusive broadcast rights agreement with a provider like the ABC, when any team any time can broadcast their games live? It defeats the purpose of an agreement…  I praise BA for not allowing teams to do this.

Complaint number four: “I don’t want that mic in on my time-out” + “I don’t want an interview, get my assistant to do it” – WNBL coaching staff.

The biggest advocates for WNBL exposure are often those heavily involved at a club, yet when radio and TV broadcasters try to ‘expose’ their team and league, they do not want a bar of it. Does Carrie Graf think that teams are going to use the audio to scout her plays she has been running for the last ten years? Let people do their job, allow listeners and viewers to enjoy their experience, and maybe just focus on coaching. PS a half-time interview for thirty seconds really is not that difficult.

Complaint number five: “The NBLTV stream always lags and is not very clear”

It is in its FIRST YEAR people! Everything happens in steps. If BA tried to implement NBLTV with the best possible stream (expensive), best possible commentators (expensive) and best possible technology (expensive), do you think it would even have gone ahead? It will progress with time, but it has to happen progressively. Don’t forget you can pay $40 for a ticket to go watch your team in real time.

Less complaints and more praise for BA. We are a nation that can watch more of our sports live, at a fraction of the cost the rest of the world pays.

Let’s all just relax, be patient, and just enjoy the fact that we can watch our men and women perform at all…

The post Let’s make a positive change, and then complain about it; NBL and WNBL exposure. appeared first on Aussie Hoopla.

Names from every decade since the 1980′s were present and it included a list of NBL legends like Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Lanard Copeland and Rob Rose. But with over 80 players across 35 season we asked the question “who among of this elite group of players stands out as the player to have had the greatest career in the NBA?

Honourable Mentions

Rick Brunson

On Draft night 1995, Brunson was not drafted by any NBA team despite an impressive college career where he led Temple to four straight NCAA Tournaments and finished up 5th in the schools all-time assist numbers. In order to find his first professional basketball gig  he had to look overseas and was quickly recruited by Mike Dunlap and the Adelaide 36ers. Brunson combined fellow import Leon Trimmingham and was able to take the 36ers to NBL semi-finals.

Brunson left quickly after the season was done to pursue an NBA career and in 1997  was signed as a free agent by the Portland Trail Blazers. He went on t0 play nine NBA seasons for seven different NBA teams.

Rick Brunson’s finest moments in the NBA included a 19 point haul against the Lakers in 1998, his breakout season with the LA Clippers in 2005 in which he averaged a career-high 5.5 points and being a member of the 1999 Knicks squad who lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the championship, a team which featured Aussie Andrew Gaze on the roster.

M

FG%

3P%

FT%

OFF

DEF

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PPG

NBL Career

31

42

33

71

1.7

2.4

4.1

6.5

2.5

0.1

4.4

3.7

21.6

NBA Career

337

38

36

69

0.3

1.1

1.3

2.6

0.6

0

1.06

1.1

3.2

Doug Overton

In 1992 the Illawarra Hawks’ search for a second import dragged on throughout the entire pre-season before coach Dave Lindstrom stumbled across a recently drafted Doug Overton who had been told he wasn’t ready for the NBA yet and to play a year overseas. Overton only played one season in Illawarra but what a season it was as he led the Hawks to the playoffs, was named All-NBL First team and averaged 24 points, 6.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals and still is remembered fondly in Wollongong.

Considered one of the finest talents to ever play in our league and after the game where he lit up the North Melbourne Giants for 33 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 steals notch up a 113-95 victory, it’s hard to argue otherwise.

Overton went on to play in 11 NBA seasons for 8 different teams including the Washington Bullets, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers. He had career-high 30 points and 6 steals against the Orlando Magic in 1995.

M

FG%

3P%

FT%

OFF

DEF

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PPG

NBL Career

26

49

38

82

0.7

4.2

5

6.2

1.6

0.1

3.9

2.5

24.3

NBA Career

499

41

32

82

0.3

1

1.3

2.1

0

0.4

1.2

0.9

4.5

Todd Lichti

Todd Lichti played four seasons for the Perth Wildcats (1996-99), his arrival due in part to his relationship with former Stanford teammate Andrew Vlahov. His biggest game came in 1998 when he dropped 31 points on 11 of 15 shooting (73%) and dished out 7 assists against the North Melbourne Giants. He was integral in guiding the Wildcats to the playoffs all four seasons he played there.

However the Todd Lichti we saw in Australia saw was very different to the man who was drafted by the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. Finishing his college career as Stanford’s all-time leading scorer (2,336 points) he averaged 8 points as a rookie.

Developing into a starter his sophomore year he averaged 14 points a game which included a 29 points and 4 assists effort in a high scoring 153-161 game which Denver lost to San Antonio. 25 games into his second NBA season Lichti suffered a serious knee injury which he never fully recovered from.

After he was never able to return to his impressive 1991 form and bounced around with NBA destinations Denver, Orlando, Golden State and Boston where he had minimal impact before retiring from the NBA and eventually ending up in Perth.

M

FG%

3P%

FT%

OFF

DEF

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PPG

NBL Career

82

50

40

83

1.5

3.9

5.4

2.7

1.6

0.3

2.4

2.8

16.8

NBA Career

237

46

24

80

0.8

1.4

2.1

1.4

0.2

0.8

1.8

1.1

7.9

Top 5 players from the NBL to play in the NBA

5. Jonny Flynn

No one with NBL experience has ever had had the kind of debut season liked Jonny Flynn did. Starting in his very first game he had 18 points against the Nets. He was a hero after making a driving game-winning layup to beat Utah 110-108 mid season  a game where he had 28 points and was also selected to the All-Rookie 2nd team in 2010.

After his rookie season however Flynn underwent hip surgery and never returned to his rookie form, his numbers dropping from 13 points and 4.4 assists to 5.3 points per game and only 3.4 assists per game.

Last season with an eye on returning to the NBA he signed with the Melbourne Tigers, a team floundering near the bottom of the ladder which he dragged to a top four finish while being named to the leagues All-Star team. Flynn averaged 17 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists per game and quite possibly earned himself a return to the NBA in the process.

M

FG%

3P%

FT%

OFF

DEF

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PPG

NBL Career

18

40

30

79

0.6

3.3

3.9

5.9

0.7

0.4

4.1

1.9

17.4

NBA Career

163

40

34

81

0.3

1.6

1.9

3.9

0.8

0

2.34

1.1

9.2

 4. Curtis Perry

Curtis Perry was selected by the San Diego Rockets in the third round of the 1970 NBA Draft. Perry played for the NBA’s San Diego Rockets/Houston Rockets (1970–71), Milwaukee Bucks (1971–74) and Phoenix Suns (1974–78). In 8 seasons he played in 480 games, his finest in 1975 where he faced off against another man on the this list Ollie Johnson, then playing for the Kansas City Kings. Perry led Phoenix with 27 points and delivered a 122-11 win going head to head with Kings star Tiny Archibald who dropped 39 points in response.

Perry helped the Bucks win the 1971-72 and 1972-73 NBA Midwest Division titles, the 1973-74 NBA Western Conference championship, as well as helping the Phoenix Suns win the 1975-76 NBA Western Conference championship.

After retiring from the NBA he arrived in Australia in 1983 and played two seasons for the Perth Wildcats. Perry has the record for playing in the most games in the NBA before playing in the NBL, but he certainly wasn’t the same player in Perth as he was in the NBA. Only once did he score over 20 points while in Perth while averaging a mere 9 points per game during his NBL career. Perry is also the father of former NBA player Byron Houston.

M

FG%

3P%

FT%

OFF

DEF

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PPG

NBL Career

39

52

0

80

1.4

1.8

3.2

1.1

0.5

0.1

1.8

2.3

9.3

NBA Career

237

46

0

70

3.2

6.1

8.8

1.9

1.2

0.9

1.4

3.5

9.5

3. Ollie Johnson

Ollie Johnson debuted in 1972 with an amazing 20 point performance as a member of the Portland Trailblazers. Impressive as this achievement was it was overshadowed at the time by Milwaukee’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who delivered 49 points in the same game and also gave the  Bucks a 111-108 victory.

Johnson, who averaged 7.7 points per game in his NBA career, went on to have a ten year career (1972–1982) as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Jazz, Kansas City Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, and Philadelphia 76ers. He finished his career with a homecoming of sorts signing with his hometown Philadelphia 76ers for his final two seasons in the NBA.

Although playing in only a handful of playoff games once he was a part of the 76ers he was there as Philadelphia lost to the Celtics in the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals and the LA Lakers in the NBA Championship in 1982.

He arrived in Australia in 1985 where he was relied upon to carry a Hobart Devils team without a great deal of Australian talent. His 44 point, 13 rebound, 5 assist effort against the St Kilda Saints is one not to be forgotten in a season where he averaged 32.5 points and 13.5 rebounds.

Ollie Johnson was not retained by Hobart but returned to the NBL in 1987 when he signed with the West Sydney Westars (Now Sydney Kings). He played one more season down under before returning to Philadelphia as is now the director of athletics for the Community College of Philadelphia.

M

FG%

3P%

FT%

OFF

DEF

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PPG

NBL Career

51

51

33

81

4.5

8.6

13.1

1.6

0.8

1.7

3.8

3.0

27.9

NBA Career

690

50

15

83

1.0

2.1

3.3

1.8

0.7

0.3

1.2

2.2

7.7

2. Luc Longley

There is slight conjecture on this next player who despite being recorded by the NBL to have played two games for the Perth Wildcats in 1986, Luc Longley himself has said that these games were actually pre-season games. In saying that a pre-season game is still technically an NBL game so we will give Longley the nod and include him in this list.

Luc Longley had his best season in 1997/98 when he capped of his run with the Chicago Bulls with a third consecutive NBA championship while averaging a career bests with 11.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 2.8 apg. He recorded career-highs of 24 points (9-12 FG) and 8 assists and grabbed 9 rebounds against the Milwaukee Bucks on 1/2/98. He appeared in 87 career NBA Playoffs games, averaging 6.6 ppg and 4.3 rpg.

Longley’s success however has always been measured by his success in the NBA post-season and few players have resumes like Longley’s in that respect.

Luc Longley is the trailblazer that allowed many Aussies to make the NBA and perhaps it is this feat which is his greatest achievement as a player. Without him we would not have Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills and Aron Baynes currently playing in the NBA, this is for certain.

M

FG%

3P%

FT%

OFF

DEF

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PPG

NBL Career

2

50

0

0

1.0

0.5

1.5

0.5

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

1.0

NBA Career

567

46

0

1

1.5

3.4

4.9

1.5

0.5

1.0

1.7

3.1

7.2

1. Stephen Jackson

He is known as “Captain Jack” in many circles and has been scorned as an NBA team’s cancer as many times as he has been lauded as an NBA Teams savior.

It seems strange to think that the guy who once was the “franchise player” for NBA teams in Atlanta, Golden State, and Charlotte actually started his career in the Kings purple and gold.

After a tumultuous college experience which saw him drafted in the second round by Phoenix, he wasn’t signed by any NBA team and was forced to look overseas to start his professional basketball career. A mere 19 year in 1998 when he arrived down under, he played 4 games in Sydney before breaking his leg and disappearing from the league.

Two years later he reappeared in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets, started 40 of his 77 games as a rookie and was also part of the NBA rookie game during All-Star weekend.

Signing with San Antonio next Jackson played a huge role as the teams third leading scorer in Spurs 2003 championship squad. He played a pivotal role in the Championship series deciding Game 6 by nailing 3 clutch three point shots in the 4th quarter which maintained the Spurs lead and delivered them the title.

Stephen Jackson then signed with Atlanta in 2003, a move deemed risky by many however one which delivered his finest season so far, including a 42 point, 7 assist game against Jerry Stackhouse and the Washington Wizards. In the 29 games following the All-Star Break, Jackson averaged 24.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. During this stretch, he was the NBA’s 6th leading scorer.

Jackson then signed a huge 6 year, $38.3 million contract and was traded to the Indiana Pacers, where he would become “infamous” for his role in the Pacers-Pistons Brawl in 2004. He was suspended 30 games and lost $1,700,000 for his role in the melee. Jackson was traded to Golden State shortly after that where was a big part of the Warriors 4–2 series upset of the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. And by 2008 it was about face for Jackson as he awarded the NBA Community Assist award and named Warriors team captain shortly after.

Jackson also played for the Charlotte Bobcats and Milwaukee Bucks where he displayed moments of brilliance like his 43 point, rebound game in 2010 or taking lowly Charlotte to the NBA playoffs but then moments of dysfunction like his  publicized clashes with coach Scott Skiles in Milwaukee.

Recently waived from San Antonio Stephen Jackson currently sits 35th all-time for 3 pointers made and his NBA career isn’t over yet. Although his career is not quite over it is already evident that Stephen Jackson is clearly the greatest player we’ve seen to have played in the NBA who also played in the NBL.

M

FG%

3P%

FT%

OFF

DEF

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PPG

NBL Career

4

53

50

50

0.3

0.3

0.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

0.8

1.8

6.0

NBA Career

849

42

33

80

0.8

3.1

3.9

3.1

1.3

0.4

2.5

2.4

15.3

The post Who are the greatest NBA Players to play in the NBL appeared first on Aussie Hoopla.

The competition featured 28 teams, 26 boys and girls teams from Australia and two from New Zealand who battled it out to become the best in Oceania.

After 110 games the grand finals were decided with Victoria Metro facing the defending champions New South Wales Metro in the Men’s final and Queensland North taking on Victoria Country in the women‘s final.

MENS FINAL

NSW Metro reached the final behind the spectacular play of Jonah Bolden, son of NBL Legend Bruce Bolden, who led the way by averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds for the tournament. New South Wales stepped into the game clear favourites after winning the past three titles in a row.

Jonah Bolden, son of NBL Legend Bruce Bolden

Victoria Metro reached the final after a much more evenly based attack having five players who were all scoring between 9 and 11 points per game, Melbourne Tigers players Dejan Vasiljevic (11ppg, 2.4apg), Thomas Wilson and the team’s captain Geremy Mckay (11ppg, 8rpg) being a big part of that Fab Five unit.

As expected NSW came out strong and controlled the first half, opening up a 13 point lead at one stage before a strong comeback by Vic Metro, who closed the gap to be a mere 27-23 NSW lead at halftime.

Vic Metro Captain Geremy McKay (12 points & 10 rebounds) continued to work hard in the 3^rd Quarter as Vic Metro went on a 22-11 quarter to hold a slender lead at the last change. Dejan Vasiljevic (15 points & 2 assists) hit a number of clutch baskets, whilst Thomas Wilson (9 points & 11 rebounds) and Joel Smith (13 points & 4 rebounds) rounded out an even attack for Vic Metro which was incredibly hard to stop down the stretch and enabled Vic Metro to gain a 3 point lead with 8 seconds to play. New South Wales had a chance to steal victory with a side ball play that resulted in a 3 point attempt which ultimately missed and ensured that Vic Metro claimed an emotional 63-60 win to claim the title.

Jonah Bolden (21 points & 8 rebounds) and Jaden Weldon (15 points & 3 rebounds) were stand outs for NSW Metro.

“I am unbelievably proud of what we achieved in Brisbane. To come back from 13 points down in the Gold Medal Game was a fantastic effort and proved that the players were playing solid team orientated basketball and would not give in” said Nick Abdicevic, coach of the championship winning Victoria Metro team.

WOMENS FINAL

NSW Metro Women who had won the past five national championships in a row were unable to make the final which saw the finest talents from Victoria Country face Queensland North.

In another game which went right down to the wire way three point victors also behind spectacular play from Townsville sisters Alicia and Keely Froling. Keely Froling poured in an impressive 26 points and 18 rebounds whilst Sister Alicia added 17 points and 16 rebounds.

Seventeen year old identical twin sisters Alicia and Keely Froling, come from quite a basketball pedigree. Dad Shane played 271 games in the NBL and was also an Assistant Coach for several years with the Townsville Crocodiles. Mum Jenny is a former AIS basketballer and 4 time WNBL champion. They both made their WNBL debuts with the Townsville Fire earlier in 2012.

Q&A with Alica and Keely Froling

Standouts for runner-up Victoria Country were Gippsland pair Danni Pearce (15 points) and Rachel Antoniadou  (12 points) who are representatives for Traralgon and Warragul Basketball Associations respectively.

2013 U18 Australian Junior Championship Grand Final Results

U18 Vic Metro Men defeated NSW Metro Men                        63 – 60

U18 Qld North Women defeated Vic Country Women             55 – 52

2013 U18 Vic Metro Men’s Team

Abi Akintola – AIS/Diamond Valley
Lachlan Anthony – Waverley
Geremy McKay – Melbourne
Fraser Pearce – Waverley
Jock Perry – AIS/Melbourne
Joel Smith – Keilor
Marek Toman – Knox
Dejan Vasiljevic – Melbourne
Michael Wearne – Dandenong
Thomas Wilson – Melbourne

2013 U18 Queensland North Women’s Team

Kee’ahn Bin Dol – Townsville
Caitlyn Biondi-Howarth – Townsville
Natalie Bruce – Townsville
Eqxelle Evans – Cairns
Alicia Froling – Townsville
Keely Froling – Townsville
Brittany Fuller – Townsville
Tahnee Guinea – Gladstone
Ainsley Walsh – Townsville
Tiarna Wood – Townsville

The post 2013 Under 18 National Junior Championship Results appeared first on Aussie Hoopla.

There are players like Acie Earl, Darnell Mee and Kevin Brooks who arrive on our shores with extensive NBA resumes and tear up the league.

There are also players like Awvee Storey, Chris Munk and Martin Muursepp who come with impressive credentials but fail to deliver much to an NBL team.

And then there are the players like Stephen Jackson, Doug Overton, Rick Brunson who come to our shores as young, naive ballers and after a year or two of brilliance they leave the tiny dot which is the NBL for the bright lights of an NBA career.

The list of NBL players who have played NBA or NBL players who have NBA experience is something which continues to grow and often of great interest to NBL fans.

Here at AussieHoopla we’ve compiled the list of every NBA player to step foot in the NBL and every NBL player who went on to have success in the NBA.

The list is sortable so if you want to see which player played the most NBA games or averaged the most points you can find that out.

The post NBL players who have played in the NBA appeared first on Aussie Hoopla.

Barcelona had plenty to be concerned about prior to the game as Panathinaikos had delivered two last eight knockouts in the past three years, Barcelona however rose to the occasion on defense and dominated on the boards. The teams 46-32 rebounding edge was huge in determining the games outcome, 28% of which were hauled in by the Aussie Boomers Duo.

Nathan Jawai started the game despite playing with a back problem and provided 9 points on perfect shooting in a mere 18 minutes. Joe Ingles experience and leadership was depended on throughout the entire game with the swingman being on the court for 31 of the games 40 minutes. Ingles finished the game with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists and was huge on defending Panathinaikos long range shooters. Panathinaikos, the Top 16 leader in three-pointers made with 129, shot just one of 16 from the distance against Barcelona in Game 5.

We are happy, but this is not the end. Panathinaikos took us to five games. They played well, but we found a way to beat them. We fought hard during the season for home-court advantage and we won at home” said Jawai who also delivered 6 rebounds and 3 blocks and a game-high performance index rating of 21.

Barcelona never trailed and was ahead by as much as 19 in the second quarter. Panathinaikos rallied in the fourth quarter to get within 6 points but behind some long range three’s from Euroleague’s all-time leading scorer Juan Carlos Navarro and Brazilian Marcelinho Huertas, Barcelona’s hold on the game was never really in doubt.

Barcelona will now face CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid, which includes former Sydney Kings import Dontaye Draper, who qualified for London earlier in the week.

Melbourne Tigers Chris Anstey, who played in the Euroleague for Ural Great Perm in 2003, took to twitter to say “Congrats to @Joeingles7 and @Natejawai on huge win today. Still not sure many people here realise how big an effort making the Final 4 is!”

Jawai and Ingles now join David Andersen and Aleks Maric as a very small but illustrious group of Australian basketballers to have ever been a part of the Euroleague Final Four.

Barcelona Regal Vs Panathinaikos Game 5 Recap

Nathan Jawai’s vicious swat earns him the Euroleague Block of the Night

The post Joe Ingles and Nathan Jawai head to Euroleague Final Four appeared first on Aussie Hoopla.

Canberra’s Darcy Malone measures in at 213cm and currently for the Canberra Gunners. He made big news in July last year when AFL club Greater West Sydney decided to target him and try to influence him to switch sporting codes. Malone, whose grandfather played for Carlton declared he had no interest in swapping to the oval shaped ball.

“Even if they started throwing million-dollar contracts or something at me, I’d still be saying no,” Malone said.

“‘I haven’t got any passion, I haven’t got any love for AFL at the moment – I’m still quite focused on doing the best I can with what I like doing. ’If I can make it to the NBA or play in the Olympics with basketball, then that’s what I want to do, I don’t want to run around on the football field.”

LSU coach Johnny Jones is already impressed with Malone’s talent and feels he will be a big addition to the Tigers front line this season.

“Darcy gives us the much needed presence and depth in a position that was absent with our team last year,” said LSU Coach Johnny Jones. “His ability to step out and shoot the ball at his size will help to prevent double teams that we faced so much in the post last year. We look forward to his arrival in Baton Rouge. Darcy will be an impactful player at LSU for years to come.”

Manly basketball product Nicholas Duncan, a 208cm small forward will fit in nicely at Boise State alongside fellow Australians Anthony Drmic and Igor Hadziomerovic, both of whom came from the Australian Institute of Sport, where Duncan is a current scholarship holder.

“When I first saw Nick, I had flashbacks to Bishop Kelly’s finest, Cory Violette,” laughed Boise State coach Leon Rice. “He gives you some size, some toughness, and seems to be a real good feel-for-the-game kind of guy. He’ll really fit into our program.”

Rice was quick to credit assistant coaches John Rillie and Jeff Linder for the Australian pipeline. Rillie played professionally in Australia from 1995-2009 and represented the country in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

“John and Jeff have gone over there and both of those guys have done a great job recruiting these guys,” Rice said. “John is dialed in to Australia, and so is Jeff, and they know a lot of people there and get to know a lot of the basketball people there.”

Duncan averaged 17.6 points and 14.9 rebounds per game in leading NSW Metro to the gold medal at the 2011 U18 National Championship. He then played a huge role in the 2012 U17 World Championships, where he averaged 7 points and 8 rebounds.

Darcy Malone was used sparingly off the bench in Kaunas, Lithuania averaging only 1 point and 1 rebound per game, but will be sure to produce bigger numbers during his time in Louisiana.

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