Crocs go LARGE!

For the last couple of seasons, the knock on the Townsville Crocodiles is that they have been under-sized. They've essentially had Russell Hinder and (insert import name here) as their only bigs, surrounded by a gaggle of guards and swingmen.

After announcing they wouldn't be resigning current MVP Corey Williams, they have dramatically changed the balance and the look of their team. Firstly they announced the signing of talented youngster, Ben Allen and today the rumour from last week was confirmed when they revealed they had also signed the biggest of the big men, Luke Schenscher.

Along with Hinder, these additions give the Crocs three bigs all 208cm or taller. Expect them to cause a lot of match-up and rebounding headaches for opposing teams. Add to that front-court, gunners like Peter Crawford, Michael Cedar and maybe Brad Williamson again and the Crocs have a potent inside-out offense.

We'll see what imports they add to the mix but based on their Australian talent alone, the Crocs are definite contenders for the 2010/2011 NBL title.

Five shooters to watch this season

Damn you JR, I had this idea on the weekend but hadn't got around to blogging it yet and then on Monday he releases his "Five I watch with interest". Sort of me reminds me of this.

Anyway, since our blog focusses more on the shooting aspect of the game, its time to have a look at the five shooters to keep an eye on this NBL season. Unlike JR, I didn't have the benefit of seeing any of the new imports in action in Darwin, so I'm going to stick with the local talent.

1. Kirk Penney - NZ Breakers
No surprise here, Kirk led the league in scoring last season and was regularly talked about in our blog. This season, the Breakers have been tipped as the favourites after getting knocked out in the semis last year and if they are to have any hope they'll need Penney to be at the same level as he was last season.

2. James Harvey - Gold Coast Blaze
Harvey (pictured right) had his moments last season but due to injuries missed a number of games. His team wasn't good and his frustration was evident. I know firsthand Harvey has put in plenty of work in the off-season and the experience he got with the Boomers should pay off this year. With a new coach and much better ensemble cast around him, look for Harvey to put up good numbers for the Blaze.

3. Michael Cedar - Townsville Crocs
Cedar had a break-out season of sorts last year. He's been in the league for a number of years but never seen enough minutes to really show what he can do. Last season he got that shot and delivered on a number of occasions. The Crocs cleared out veteran leader John Rillie to make room for the young guards in Michael Cedar and Brad Williamson and if they don't really step up and deliver there will be many disappointed people.

4. Tim Coenraad - Wollongong Hawks
I've mentioned him numerous times this off-season for his play with the Northside Wizards and also his strong start in the Top End Challenge. He might not see consistent minutes in the early rounds so look to him to provide a scoring spark off the bench for the Hawks. He's playing with old friends Rhys Martin and Cameron Tragardh so hopefully their off-court mateship will provide some good on-court chemistry.

5. Nathan Herbert - Adelaide 36'ers
I've rounded out the top 5 with a youngster who showed glimpses of shooting greatness last season. Herbert was a spark-plug off the bench for the champion Dragons but with that club no longer around he finds himself in Adelaide. The 36'ers have lost sharp-shooter Brett Maher and will need Herbert to be a threat from deep. If he gets consistent minutes, Herbert could be a candidate for Most Improved Player.

Now, I'm not saying these are the 5 best shooters in the league but these are 5 that could have a big impact on their team's fortunes. At the moment, I'd say the top 5 shooters in the league are: Kirk Penney, James Harvey, CJ Bruton, Phill Jones and maybe Oscar Forman. The last spot could go to Cedar, Williamson, Crawford, Kendall or a few others.

Let me know what you think of the five shooters to watch or even the my pick as the top five shooters in the league right now.

QABL weekend wrap

Yes, I have been VERY slack with blogging over the last week. It is the off-season, but I'll try and make up for it over the next few days.

Starting with a quick wrap of the QABL games on the weekend. Not a good weekend for the Brisbane teams with the Northside Wizards dropping both their games on the extremely tough far north Queensland roadtrip and the Brisbane Capitals losing one and winning one on the road.

The Wizards were always going to find it hard taking on two of the top five teams on the road. Game 1 was their chance to steal a win but they went down 119 - 131 verse the Townsville Heat. For the Heat it was a pair of young Crocs that did the damage, Michael Cedar with 36 points (including 8 triples), 7 boards and Cameron Tovey with 21 points (including a surprisingly good 5 of 6 from the line), 16 boards. For the Wizards, Cameron Tragardh had 45 points, 8 boards and Tim Coenraad had 28 points, 7 boards, 6 assists. Adam Gibson didn't make the roadtrip but Josh Darragh filled in nicely with 19 points, 6 boards, 5 assists.

Against the league leading Cairns Marlins, the Wizards went down 89 - 108. For the Marlins, Kerry Williams led the way with 31 points, Aaron Grabau had 23 points, 10 boards and Dean Brebner had 23 points, 6 boards. For the Wizards, Tragardh was "restricted" to just 35 points, 9 boards and Coenraad had 20 points, 7 boards.

The Wizards will looking to bounce back next weekend when they host the second place Rockhampton Rockets at my old stomping ground, the Boondall Sports Centre.

John Rillie ... still getting it done

John Rillie is no longer the same player he was in his 20's but the veteran is still a key player (and captain none the less) for the Townsville Crocs. He showed it on the weekend with his great basketball shooting (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 7 from downtown) off the bench in the win against the Blaze and is gradually adjusting to his new role off the bench.

JR is getting plenty of love today, I just came across this article (below, click on the title to read the full story) on the NBL website and young-gun Michael Cedar is also giving credit to "The Real Deal" in this other story from the Townsville Bulletin.

NBL > News

Townsville Crocodiles' captain courageous

By Josh Alston - Townsville Bulletin

After a glittering career spanning 15 years and 451 games, Crocs skipper John Rillie has a burning desire to notch up one more accolade – an NBL championship in Townsville colours.

And he is happy to do so in any capacity possible, even if it is off the bench.

The 37-year-old former Olympian's numbers have been down this season, averaging 10.2 points compared to a career average of 16.51.

And as a result coach Trevor Gleeson has rotated his roster and utilised Rillie at different times from the bench.

He has played there for all three of the Crocs recent wins and produced a sublime performance on Sunday against the Blaze with 17 points on six from eight shooting _ including five from seven from beyond the arc.

Do you think John Rillie can win a title before he finishes his career? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

NBL wrap - round 14

Here are the numbers that matter from a big round in the NBL:

Tigers 69 Taipans 63

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 19 points, 14 boards
Chris Anstey 18 points, 13 boards

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 16 points, 9 boards
Ian Crosswhite 10 points, 9 boards

This is the lowest scoring game in NBL history and both teams shot under 35% from the field ... ugly. Both teams around 20% from downtown. Ian Crosswhite was the only player in the game to shoot 50% (or better) from the field. The less said about this one the better.

Blaze 91 Hawks 88

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 37 points (including 8 triples), 5 boards
Luke Whitehead 20 points, 14 boards
Justin Bowen 15 points, 4 boards, 3 steals

For the Hawks:

Anthony Petrie 21 points, 5 boards
Dusty Rychart 16 points, 9 boards
Glen Saville 12 points, 13 boards, 4 assists

No Heal, no problems for the Blaze. Harvey shoots a red-hot 8 of 13 from downtown. Harvey's 37 points is the most by a Blaze.

Breakers 114 Spirit 70

For the Breakers:

Phull Jones 24 points, 3 boards, 3 assists
Kirk Penney 19 points, 8 boards
Tony Ronaldson 18 points, 7 boards, 4 assists

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 14 points, 6 boards
Jason Smith 14 points, 5 assists

Breakers smashed the Spirit in the second half 68 - 29. Breakers hit 14 of 25 from downtown while the Spirit made just 2 of 21. Spirit shot less than 30% from the field.

Breakers 118 Wildcats 94

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 32 points (including 6 triples)
Tony Ronaldson 31 points (including 4 triples)
Rick Rickert 20 points, 7 boards

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 30 points (8 of 10 from the field, 12 of 12 from the line), 7 boards
Peter Crawford 29 points (including 7 triples)
Darnell Hinson 12 points, 8 assists, 6 boards

The Breakers again smashed up the second half 67 - 33 and held Perth to just 9 points in the 3rd term. The teams combined to shoot 29 of 65 from downtown and the Wildcats shot an un-Perth like 20 of 21 from the line.

36ers 107 Blaze 104

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 31 points, 10 assists, 4 boards
Adam Ballinger 22 points, 12 boards
Luke Schenscher 16 points, 8 boards

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 23 points (including 4 triples)
Daniel Joyce 22 points (including 4 triples), 4 boards
Luke Whitehead 14 points, 15 boards, 6 assists

Sixers come from behind at home to get the win. Again, no Heal for the Blaze and they almost win the game. Both teams shot just 60% from the free-throw line.

Tigers 128 Hawks 101

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 28 points (10 of 13 from the field, including 8 triples), 4 boards
Daryl Corletto 17 points, 7 boards
Chris Anstey 12 points, 9 boards

For the Hawks:

Glen Saville 25 points (including 4 triples), 4 boards
Kavossy Franklin 20 points, 7 boards
Cameron Tragardh 19 points

Tigers shoot a solid 14 of 29 from downtown and dominate the boards 49 - 27. Hawks slip-sliding away and have now lost 8 straight.

Dragons 88 Crocs 84

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 22 points, 10 boards, 4 assists
Tremell Darden 16 points, 7 assists
Joe Ingles 17 points

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 27 points, 11 boards
Rosell Ellis 10 points, 12 boards

Crocs led by 8 after the first quarter but lost the next 3. Townsville shot just 13 of 22 from the line. I'm not sure what is more surprising, Corey Williams hit a 3 pointer or that he attempted 3 of them.

Spirit 101 Crocs 90

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 22 points, 11 boards
Jason Smith 20 points (including 6 triples), 8 boards, 4 assists
David Gruber 12 points, 5 boards, 4 blocks

For the Crocs:

Michael Cedar 27 points (including 7 triples)
Cameron Tovey 8 points, 9 boards, 3 blocks
Daniel Egan 13 points, 4 boards

Tough for the Crocs to back-up after the close loss to the Dragons the night before. Sydney dominated the boards 54 to 35. The teams combined for 42 turnovers. If Michael Cedar keeps this up he will be hard pushed not to win most improved player.

After round 14 in the NBL, the Dragons are still number 1, 1/2 a game ahead of the Breakers. The Tigers are in 3rd with Perth and Townsville tied in 4th. Blaze are still bottom with 4 wins and the Hawks have dropped 8 in a row and are 2nd last.

Player of the Week was announced earlier today as "The Bear", Tony Ronaldson from the Breakers. He averaged 24.5 points, 5 boards and 3.5 assists in two big wins for NZ. He shot 53% from the field and 55% from downtown. Runners up were apparently Julius Hodge and James Harvey.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. Dishonourable mentions go to Rod Grizzard from the Tigers (for shooting 1 of 7 against the Taipans), Dwayne Vale from Cairns (for shooting 1 of 7 from the field and 0 of 2 from the line against the Tigers) and Kelvin Robertson from the Crocs (for shooting 0 of 6 against the Dragons). The award however goes to funny-man Russell Hinder from the Crocs for his 1 of 7 from the field, 3 of 6 from the line and 6 turnovers in his return to Sydney. "That's what I do!"

Finally, our Shooter of the Week brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. There were a number of outstanding shooting performances this week:
* Peter Crawford (Perth) for his 29 points including 7 triples
* Shawn Redhage (Perth) for his 30 points, 8 of 10 from the field, 2 of 3 from downtown and 12 of 12 from downtown
* Ebi Ere (Melbourne) for his 28 points, 10 of 13 from the field, 8 of 10 from downtown
* Michael Cedar (Townsville) 27 points including 7 triples
The winner tho is James Harvey (pictured below) from the Gold Coast Blaze for leading his team to a very rare win against the Hawks with 37 points including 8 of 13 from downtown. He also had 23 points with 4 triples in their narrow loss to Adelaide.

Townsville Crocodiles - Doing it for the kids

With the NBL in a "transitional" phase this season, many have commented that part of the problem over the last few years is that the league has lost touch with its grass roots. I read an article (I think by Tim Morrissey) about the death of the Sydney Kings and it mentioned the team no longer did school visits and over recent seasons they had little to do with the local community.

So, when I dropped in on the Townsville Crocodiles training session yesterday it was refreshing to see that this was not infact a league-wide trend. After the team had a full practice session, the whole organisation (all the players and the front office including the CEO) spent another two hours running a "Rookie Club" camp with about 30 local youngsters. The team played games with the kids, signed autographs and did pretty much anything that was needed to keep the kids interested and entertained.

In other notes from Crocs training session:

• Recent 200 gamer Kelvin Robertson may be short but he is a UNIT! It looks like he spent much of the off-season in the gym and has the AFL arms/guns to show for it.
• Michael Cedar may not see much court-time in games but continues to show flashes of brilliance
• Rosell Ellis plays WELL above his height
• New Croc, Brad Williamson seems to be paying hommage to John Rillie with his new buzz-cut hair style (quite different from what we were used to from Brad in Brisbane)

Thank you to the Townsville Crocodiles coaching staff (Trevor and Lyndon) and the organisation for allowing me to sit in during their practice.