JR is most commonly remembered as a Croc but to me he was the heart and soul of the Razorbacks. Despite winning a championship in Adelaide, his time and input was limited by (Phil) Smyth and the move to West Sydney really saw him make his mark on the league.
John Rillie teamed up with Derek Rucker for the West Sydney Razorbacks to form one of the best back courts of the 90s. JR led West Sydney to the finals in 2002 an...d 2004 but fell just short of the title both times. In 2002 he averaged 22 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists while hitting 3.5 triples a game at a 47% clip. In 2004 he averaged 19 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists while hitting 3.5 triples a game at a 46% clip as well as shooting 90% from the line.
Gather round and let me tell you about a time when the NBL was booming and there were not one but two teams from Sydney!
Growing up as a Bullets fan it was natural to hate the Sydney Kings. I wasn’t alone tho and there were plenty of bask...etball fans even in Sydney who didn’t like the Kings. So much so, they needed another team in their hometown that they could support and the West Sydney Razorbacks entered the NBL.
The Razorbacks played their first game in the NBL on October 10, 1998 defeating the Kings 103-97 and a great rivalry was born. They qualified for the playoffs in their second season and then made history in 2001/2002 as the first Sydney team in the NBL to make it to the grand finals. They had the chance to beat the Kings in the race to an NBL title but unfortunately it wasn’t to be as they fell short against the 36ers.
The Razorbacks soon built a great team that ran and were fun to watch. I’ll admit, around that time they became my team as I tired of the Bullets stinking it up post-Leroy. Depending on your favourite player, West Sydney’s nickname soon became either the Rilliebacks or Ruckerbacks.
Hate the Kings? No problem, we’ve got you covered with our tribute to the West Sydney Razorbacks. Representing them in our “Legends” series is Derek Rucker, John Rillie, Sam Mackinnon, Bruce Bolden and Simon Dwight.
Sydney, its time to represent, show your support for our game, and remind everyone that your town is not just about football! Like, share and shop!
Gather round and let me tell you about a time when the NBL was booming! So much so, there were some cities that had more than one team!! Yes, it’s true!
For basketball fans in Melbourne, they once had a choice of teams to support. (Side note: after a bit of research, I found out that there was a time when there were 5 Victorian teams in the league at once!)
Back in the 80’s, despite the legendary father and son combination of Andrew & Lindsay Gaze, the Tigers weren’t a winning franchise. The team to beat on court were the North Melbourne Giants.
The Giants won the championship in ’89 and again in ’94 as well as making the grand final series on two other occasions. They would later merge with the South East Melbourne Magic and continued their winning ways on court before eventually folding in 2004.
Hate the Tigers? No problem, we’ve got you covered with our tribute to the once great North Melbourne Giants. Representing them in our “Legends” series is the starting five of Darryl McDonald, Chris Jent, Paul Maley, Scott Fisher and Paul Rees.
Melbourne, its time to represent, show your support for our game, and remind everyone that your town is not just about AFL! Like, share, shop and represent!
Gather round and let me tell you about a time when the National Basketball League of Australia was in fact a national competition. Did you know there used to be teams in Brisbane, Canberra and even Hobart?! Yes, it’s true!
Its time for us ...to pay homage to the greats of the game and especially those teams that are no longer with us, by unveiling our "Legends" series of t-shirts … starting with my hometown of Brisbane.
Before the Broncos and the Lions, the only professional sports team in town was the Brisbane Bullets and everybody used to pack Boondall to cheer on our team. There were legends such as Loggins, Radliff, Woodberry and so many more.
Brisbane, its time to represent, show your support for our game, and remind everyone that this town is not just about football! Like, share, shop and represent!
Sing it with me: "Boom, boom, boom, booooom we’re the Bullets Boom, boom, boom from Brisbane town … "
Could Allen Iverson be ending his career in Australia?? I came across this article this morning and by the sounds of it, there is a chance it could actually happen. I won't believe it until I see him in an NBL uniform, but it would be a fantastic coup for the league not to mention the team that signs him.
ALLEN Iverson has announced to his fans he intends to finish his illustrious basketball career playing in Sydney, presumably for the Kings.
It's all news to the only Sydney franchise in the NBL, but 'AI' - also known as 'The Answer' - responded to rumours that he wants out from his contract playing in the Turkish league.
He wrote on Twitter: 'I am very happy here in Istanbul, but if I don't return to the NBA I am considering a move to Australia after my two-year contract is up.
'I hear Sydney is a real good city to live in. my boy Rodney O asked me to come over. I am comin!'
Iverson, 35, is an 11-time NBA All-Star who topped the season scoring in the NBA four times. His 26.7 points per game ranks sixth all-time, and his playoff career scoring average of 29.7 points, second only to Michael Jordan.
Its been a while since I've worn it, but it could be time to get my Allen Iverson Georgetown singlet out again!
In a landmark day for Australian and New Zealand basketball, today saw the first NBA game with THREE ANZAC's in it. With Milwaukee playing in Portland, Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills and (Kiwi) Sean Marks all played in the same game.
It wasn't a great night for Bogut who's team was on the wrong end of a beating (80 - 106). Without his starting point guard Brandon Jennings (fractured left foot), Andrew had just 5 points 5 boards. Sean Marks had 6 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks in 24 minutes of court-time which are all good numbers for him. Patty was also solid with 8 points, 3 assists, 2 boards and 2 triples in 18 minutes.
I watched a little bit of the game tonight and it was funny to see Patty actually look tall for the first time on an NBA court ... when he was matched-up on Earl Boykins (5 foot 5). I checked Mills stats on ESPN and he's officially listed as 6 foot ... hmm, I think that's an exaggeration.
If you look very closely in the photo below you can see all three on-court at the same time. Bogut attempting the block, Marks on the left and behind him on the left is Mills.
I'm sitting here watching the replay of the Bucks vs Mavs game on OneHD ... I know the result because I was following the box-scores during the day. I've just text a friend of mine who's a Dallas fan, he's devastated that they lost this game at home (despite being up 42 - 22 in the middle of the 2nd quarter) ending their 12 game winning streak.
Anyway, I mentioned the other day about Andrew Bogut's free-throw shooting shame against the Orlando Magic and it was interesting to hear the commentators address that issue. Apparently due to the severe elbow injury that ended last season for him, he can't bend or raise his elbow to the right position to shoot free-throws properly. After seeing the fall he took, that certainly shines light on his struggles from the line this season ... apologies big fella.
But ... it wasn't long after that Shawn (the artist formerly known as The Matrix) Marion got fouled and went to the line. I know I haven't seen a lot of NBA games over the last few years pre-OneHD but I was shocked to say the least when I saw his free-throw shooting form ... or lack there of. Now, Marion has always been criticized for his general shooting technique, but I had never realised this continued at the line.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Now, I know these clips are both from a couple of years ago, but trust me ... it hasn't improved any. His "flicky" style is how I'd shoot a free-throw after not picking up a ball for over a year. Five minutes later tho, my form would be looking drastically better.
In Marion's defence, he's shooting an impressive 83% from the line this season and is 81% on his career. The average free-throw shooting percentage in the NBA is around 75% so Marion is definitely ahead of that. So I guess it really doesn't matter "how" you shoot free-throws ... as long as you make them.
