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.

Crocs vs Wildcats ... and Corey Williams is talking the talk (again)

In the lead up to the first game of the 2009 NBL finals series, here are a few of the articles and pre-game talk from both teams. Not surprisingly, Corey Williams from the Crocs was one of the first to speak out about the do or die quarter-final.

As you can see below, Chris Pike has been a busy boy. Click on the titles below to read the full stories.

NBL > News

Williams ready to rumble
By Chris Pike, Sportal

Townsville Crocs guard Corey 'Homicide' Williams has ensured Wednesday's NBL quarter-final against the Perth Wildcats will be explosive as he arrived fired up for the cutthroat contest.

With the physicality of the clash becoming a big talking point in the build-up, Williams made no bones about his team, especially Rosell Ellis, being ready for it.

'I don't care what we showed the four times we played them, this is a whole new season and in order to beat them you have to play physical, rebound, push, hit shots from the outside and we intend to do that,' Williams said on Tuesday.

We know Perth is coming with it, we are coming with it and it's like a 12-round championship fight. If you don't play physical you are going to lose. It's going down and that's how Rosell plays. What are we going to tell him? Don't play like that? Come on, man, this is playoff basketball.



NBL > News

Henry: Let the best team win

By Chris Pike, Sportal


Forget any talk of physicality or referees, Perth Wildcats coach Conner Henry wants the best team to win Wednesday's quarter final with Townsville and is backing the NBL's most consistent team over the past 20 years to come out on top.


The Wildcats are entering their 23rd straight NBL finals campaign and are sure to be hosting the cutthroat game with the Crocs in front of a loud and full Challenge Stadium as success-starved Perth sporting fans get behind the team.


With other professional teams in the city such as the AFL's West Coast and Fremantle, Super 14 team Western Force, A-League club Perth Glory and cricket team Western Australia Warriors all struggling for success of late, the always contending Wildcats are a breath of fresh air.


NBL > News


Chemistry the key for Crocs
By Chris Pike, Sportal


If Townsville beats the Perth Wildcats in Wednesday's quarter final to advance in the NBL playoffs it will be its first win at Challenge Stadium in seven attempts and coach Trevor Gleeson has a team with great chemistry and confidence to do just that.


The Crocs' last win in Perth was September 18, 2005, and six losses since has included a defeat in last season's elimination final and two this season for a combined margin of 58 points, however, there is reason for Townsville fans to look at Wednesday's game with confidence.


The Crocodiles drew a line in the sand after losing to the Wildcats on December 27, and this year they have a 7-2 record which has included wins over playoff teams the South Dragons (twice) and the Adelaide 36ers.


Over that run, Townsville has seen Corey Williams, Brad Williamson (averaging 16 points over last five games) and John Rillie (48 points in last two), in particular, play at a higher level consistently.

Unlike rival NBL teams, the Crocs have kept their whole team together all season until Kelvin Robertson recently went down injured and it is that chemistry that Gleeson believes has led to the strong finish to the season.

NBL > News

Crocs prepared for physical 'Cats
By Jonathan Healy, Sportal

Townsville Crocodiles coach Trevor Gleeson is expecting a 'last man standing' affair in his side's cutthroat quarter-final against the Perth Wildcats on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats are well known for their physical approach to games and Gleeson knows his team must at least match it with their opponents to stand any chance of staying alive in the post-season.

"We all know Perth have a physical 'beat-you-up' mentality and they get away with a fair bit back in Perth," Gleeson said. "But we have been preparing for that. We know it is going to be a very physical encounter and we are not going to back down at all."

Who do you think will win tonight? I'm of course going for the Crocs!

NBL wrap - round 18

Here are the numbers that matter from round 18 in the NBL:

Tigers 99 Spirit 79

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 25 points
David Barlow 20 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals
Chris Anstey 4 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals

For the Spirit:

Jason Smith 18 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards
Matthew Knight 14 points, 11 boards
David Gruber 12 points, 13 boards

With scores tied up at half-time the Tigers dominated the second-half 52 - 32. Sydney had way too many turnovers (22 - 10) and shot just 30% from the field after the main break. Chris Anstey only scored 4 points?? Really??

Breakers 95 Crocs 86

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 28 points, 9 boards
Rick Rickert 19 points, 9 boards
Phull Jones 17 points, 4 boards

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 18 points, 4 boards
Rosell Ellis 12 points, 9 boards
Cameron Tovey 10 points, 10 boards, 4 steals (but 2 of 6 from the line with 5 turnovers)

The Crocs scored just 9 points in the 2nd term (Breakers had 24). It was turnover central in this one, the Crocs had 20 turnovers and only 18 assists while the Breakers had 20 turnovers for 20 assists. CJ Bruton had 8 turnovers ... career high maybe? The two teams combined for just 11 of 43 from deep ... John Rillie was 3 of 7 on his own.

Tigers 116 Blaze 107

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 24 points (including 5 triples), 5 boards, 3 assists
Chris Anstey 22 points, 9 boards
David Barlow 17 points, 5 boards

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 22 points, 9 boards, 4 assists
Justin Bowen 17 points, 8 boards
Shane Heal 17 points (5 triples), 6 assists

Blaze shot an impressive 53% from the field but were by too many turnovers (21 - 8). They were also on the wrong side of the foul count (32 - 21) which resulted in the Tigers getting an extra 16 trips to the line. After a few very quiet games, its good to see Anstey troubling the scorers again.

Taipans 79 36ers 70

For the Taipans:

Darnell Mee 19 points, 6 boards
Ian Crosswhite 12 points, 12 boards, 5 assists
Aaron Grabeau 15 points, 6 boards, 4 assists

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 18 points, 13 boards
Brett Maher 15 points
Brad Hill 10 points, 7 boards

Ugly game with both teams shooting at less than 40% from the field. Like I mentioned last week, this style of game obviously gives the Taipans the best chance of winning. Player of the Week Luke Schenscher gets held to just 7 points. Adelaide score just FIVE points in the 3rd quarter.

Wildcats 114 Spirit 84

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 32 points (11 of 15 from the field), 7 boards
Darnell Hinson 19 points, 7 assists
Peter Crawford 19 points (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 7 from downtown)

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 20 points, 7 boards
Tony Rampton 17 points, 7 boards
David Gruber 11 points, 7 boards

Perth shot an outstanding 62% from the field and 50% from downtown, Sydney were just 37% for both.

Crocs 128 36ers 105

For the Crocs:

Brad Williamson 22 points (8 of 12 from the field including 6 triples)
Corey Williams 20 points
Rosell Ellis 17 points, 9 boards, 5 assists

For the 36ers:

Luke Schenscher 21 points, 9 boards
Brad Hill 20 points, 4 boards
Brett Maher 7 points, 9 assists

Crocs somehow outrebounded the much taller 36ers (50 - 41) and took much better care of the ball (8 turnovers to 19). The turnovers explain why the 36ers shot 58% from the field in the first half and still found themselves down by 18 points.

Tigers 108 Hawks 94

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 36 points (including 7 triples), 6 boards, 4 assists
Chris Anstey 20 points, 9 boards
David Barlow 16 points, 7 boards

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 24 points, 7 boards
Glen Saville 8 points, 12 boards, 7 assists
Kavossy Franklin 18 points, 6 boards

The Tigers dominated the second half 59 - 37 to come from behind to get their 3rd win for the round. They didn't shoot well from the field but were solid from deep (42%) and accurate from the line (85%). The two teams combined for just 20 turnovers for the game.

At the end of round 18, the Dragons are still on top of the NBL ladder with 18 wins followed by the Breakers on 16 and the Tigers on 15 (4 in a row). Blaze still on the bottom with 5 and the Taipans and Hawks in front of them on 9.

I'm in early again so I get to speculate on who will win this week's NBL Player of the Week. I think Shawn Redhage will get an honourable mention for his performance (32 points, 7 boards) in his team's win over the Spirit. The award (in my opinion) tho will go to Ebi Ere from the Melbourne Tigers for leading his team to 3 wins in a row through this round. Ebi scored 25 points against the Spirit, 24 points against the Blaze and saved his best for last with 36 points (on great clips) against the Hawks.

Now, to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. Dishonourable mention goes to the Crocs starting back-court of Michael Cedar and Brad Williamson for their combined 0 of 11 from the field with 5 turnovers in their team's loss to the Breakers. The award this week goes to 36ers duo of Jacob Holmes and Aaron Bruce for their combined 2 of 14 performance from the field in their team's loss to the Taipans and they then backed it up with a combined 4 of 12 from the field and 8 turnovers in a loss to the Crocs.

Our Shooter of the Week as always is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. Runner up this week is Brad Williamson from the Townsville Crocodiles, not for his goose egg against the Breakers but he bounced back (8 of 12 from the field, 6 of 8 from deep) in a win over the 36ers. The Shooter of the Week award goes to Ebi Ere (pictured below) from the Melbourne Tigers for his outstanding weekend but mainly for the show he put on against the Hawks. Ebi was rolling with 36 points, 13 of 19 from the field, 7 of 10 from downtown, 3 of 3 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 steal, zero turnovers. Having watched on during his time with the Bullets, when Ebi is on a roll there's not much the opposition can do but try and keep the ball out of his hands.

NBL wrap - round 9

Its been a busy couple of days so I'm only now getting around to the weekly NBL wrap.

Here are the numbers that matter from Round 9 in the NBL:

Dragons 97 36ers 82

For the Dragons:

Matthew Burston 25 points, 14 boards, 3 steals
Mark Worthington 20 points, 11 boards, 3 steals

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 14 points, 11 boards
Luke Schenscher 11 points, 11 boards

The Dragons controlled the game winning the first 3 quarters and cruising to an easy win. The Sixers had way too many turnovers 28 (to 16 from the Dragons). 3 points and 7 turnovers from Mark Tyndale spelled the end of his NBL season.

Spirit 115 Blaze 93

For the Spirit:

Derrick Low 22 points (including 5 triples), 7 boards, 4 assists
Julian Khazzouh 15 points, 14 boards, 4 blocks
Jason Smith 16 points, 5 boards

For the Blaze:

Daniel Joyce 24 points (8 of 9 from the field, including 5 triples)
Shane Heal 20 points, 5 boards
Luke Whitehead 14 points, 8 boards

Daniel Joyce scored 24 points?? Really?? No ... really?? Good team performance from the Spirit with 7 players in double figures. New Blaze import Justin Bowen stunk it up going 1 of 6 from the field with NINE turnovers. Blaze shot just 12 of 26 from the free-throw line.

Breakers 93 Taipans 81

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 22 points (including 4 triples)
Rick Rickert 16 points, 12 boards
Oscar Forman 19 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards

For the Taipans

Gary Boodnikoff 19 points (including 4 triples) off the bench
Larry Abney 12 points, 12 boards
Dave Thomas 10 points, 10 boards

Breakers came from behind (54 - 35 in the second half) to get the W in this game. Cairns shot just 34% from the field.

Blaze 111 Hawks 110

For the Blaze:

Ben Melmeth 21 points, 13 boards
Justin Bowen 20 points, 6 boards, 5 assists
Casey Frank 13 points, 8 boards

For the Hawks:

Dusty Rychart 21 points, 6 boards
Kavossy Franklin 20 points, 7 assists
Glenn Saville 19 points, 10 boards

Daniel Joyce hit a 3 to win the game ... really?? No ... really?? Hawks looked in control of the game but made a few questionable decisions down the stretch proved costly. They also shot just 25 of 37 from the line-up. Blow-ups after the game with the Joyce's click here to read more about it.

Wildcats 86 Taipans 78

For the Wildcats:

Alex Loughton 21 points, 6 boards
Shawn Redhage 15 points, 10 boards
Isiah Victor 13 points, 9 boards

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 17 points, 6 boards
Larry Abney 12 points, 7 boards

Wildcats came from behind to win this game outscoring the Taipans 29 - 15 in the final quarter. Redhage is still playing well but his numbers haven't been massive over the last week or two. How much do the Taipans miss Stephen Black?? They have to be the lowest scoring team in the NBL right now.

Breakers 119 Crocodiles 108

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 34 points (including 5 triples)
Rick Rickert 26 points (10 of 13 from the field), 10 boards
CJ Bruton 19 points (6 of 8 shooting including 5 triples), 5 assists, 4 steals

For the Crocodiles:

Brad Williamson 26 points (8 of 11 shooting including 6 triples), 4 steals
Homicide Williams 18 points
Kelvin Robertson 17 points, 6 assists, 5 boards

This high-scoring, free-flowing game would've been entertaining to watch. The Crocs lost it in the 2nd quarter getting outscored 33 - 15 and made a late run in the final term 36 - 24 but it was too late. Brad Williamson explodes in the final quarter as only he can. John Rillie needs to get more than 6 shot attempts in a game. Kirk Penney, Kirk Penney, Kirk Penney ...

36ers 108 Blaze 96

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 31 points (including 5 triples), 8 boards
Luke Schenscher 17 points, 12 boards
Aaron Bruce 16 points, 14 assists

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 19 points, 10 boards
Luke Whitehead 16 points, 12 boards
Shane Heal 13 points (just 2 of 14 shooting), 11 assists, 8 boards

Brett Maher returns to the starting line-up and plays well, this is probably the best game of the season from Adelaide with most of their starters putting up good numbers. Daniel Joyce returns to the "player" we know scoring 0 points on 0 of 4 shooting in 26 minutes. Tough week for the Blaze playing 3 games (2 on the road) in 5 days.

At the end of round 9 the Dragons are still on top with 10 wins 2 losses (8 in a row) and the Breakers remain in 2nd half a game behind with 10 wins 3 losses. The Dragons are still on the bottom with 2 wins while the Crocs are now 2nd last with 4 wins (5 losses in a row).

Announced yesterday was that NZ Breakers bigman Rick Rickert was Player of the Week. In their two games this week he averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds and the Breakers won both.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flops of the week. The nominations of the week are both from the Gold Coast Blaze. I was tempted to give it to Shane Heal for his 2 of 14 shooting effort against the 36ers but he did flirt with a triple-double despite struggling from the field. The award this week however goes to new import Justin Bowen for his awful performance against the Spirit ... 1 of 6 from the field and 9 turnovers ... ouch! In his defence, he did do much better in their other two games.

Shooter of the Week goes to Brad Williamson (below) for one of his trademark shooting explosions against the Breakers. 26 points in just 27 minutes, 4 steals, 8 of 11 from the field, 6 of 9 from downtown ... en fuego!!

(It shouldn't be this hard to find action shots of NBL players)

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.

Rillie vs Williamson - Crocs practice

I'm up in Townsville doing some work with my boy John Rillie for the Members Only Workshop of the website. I bought a video camera on the weekend and this is my first effort, so be gentle with the criticism ... my fingers are crossed it actually works. Also, I shot it from the stands so wasn't able to use a tripod and after a while my arm got a bit tired.

Here's some footage from the end of Crocs training this afternoon. The team is divided in to pairs and they have to make 100 shots to finish the session. With one of the pairings being JR and Brad Williamson, you know the other teams were shooting for second place. Not surprisingly these two finished well before everyone else.

Brad is a renowned shooter and while he puts in a good performance, there was no way he could keep up with one of the best in the league. He may not have shown it yet this season but watch the video and you'll see why Rillie is still the "Real Deal".

Night of upsets in the NBL

It was a night of upsets in the NBL ... and I'm not just talking about basketball fans that didn't get to see either of the games! Firstly, the Crocs bounce back from their slow start in Adelaide to knock off the Dragons in Melbourne but the major upset for the night was the NZ Breakers beating the much-talked about Melbourne Tigers.

Firstly the Crocs - Dragons game (91 - 89). Looking at the numbers, its unfortunate my boy JR failed to bounce back (from an ordinary night in Adelaide) and finished with just 5 points on 2 of 10 shooting. Trying too hard John, need some home cooking? Homicide Williams top scored with 28 points (as well as 12 boards) and ex-Bullet Brad Williamson (holder of the worst nickname in the NBL, B-Rad ... I hate it) came good after a shaky start in his first game for the Crocs with 16 points (including 4 triples).

It looks like the Crocs caught the Dragons on a bad night with star import Cortez Groves fouling out with just 2 points and Joe Ingles (nickname I heard last night, Jingles ... don't mind it) shooting just 2 of 13 from the field. Mark Worthington was good with 20 points and 12 boards while another ex-Bullet Adam Gibson had 13 points, 8 boards, 3 assists and 0 turnovers. Can the Dragons 36% shooting be credited to pressure defence from the Crocs? We'll have to wait till we hear more ...

Now ... to the big upset, Breakers - Tigers (120 - 111). In a much higher scoring and free-flowing game, the Breakers are the first to claim the scalp of the NBL defending champs. In a balanced performance from the Kiwis, CJ Bruton (6 of 12 from downtown), Ronaldson (4 of 4 from downtown) and Forman (7 of 10 from downtown) all had 23 points while player of the week Kirk Penney chipped in with 20. The Breakers shot an outstanding 54% from deep compared to just 26% by the Tigers.

It wasn't that the Tigers played badly ... Anstey had 32 points and 9 boards, Ebi had 21 and Barlow had 17. They just couldn't stop the outside shooting of the Breakers and maybe had the tempo and style of play dicated to them, which you don't want NZ to do when they're hitting their shots and on their home floor.

From a personal point of view, with strong games from CJ, Gibbo and Williamson, its great to see the (ex) Bullets back-court doing so well.