NBL update

With the NBL season just over 6 weeks away, there is starting to be some news and things happening.

Firstly, Fox is back on board saying they "back basketball". Whether this is good news or not I can't say, but since they took back their $35 million offer, I'd much prefer to see the NBL on OneHD. By now, a lot more households would have access to OneHD than Foxtel and this would really help bring the sport back in front of the viewing/sporting public. Look at how much netball is shown, its ridiculous ... its on so often I almost find myself watching it ... almost.

Now that most teams have their rosters close to completed we're at the point where import spots are announced. Over the last week there have been a number of announcements:

1. The Adelaide 36ers have confirmed the signing of American point guard John Gilchrist, agreeing to terms with the exciting import after a successful two-week trial period with the club.
2. The Gold Coast Blaze NBL basketball team have unveiled their first US import for the up-coming season. In a move designed to provide a bridge between the more experienced and the younger players, twenty seven-year-old 6’6” forward Michael Joiner will play in the blue and gold strip in season 2009/10.
3. Skytrans Cairns Taipans fans are in for a treat with the team today announcing the signing of powerhouse American Richard Melzer for the 2009-10 National Basketball League season. Melzer, 29, a 202cm power forward, was a standout performer in his only season with the New Zealand Breakers in 2005/06 averaging 18.6 points and 7.4 rebounds an outing before heading back to the US.
4. The Adelaide 36ers are excited about the arrival this Sunday of NBL excitement machine Cortez Groves. Groves will take the vacant import spot and play alongside the already secured John Gilchrist, giving Adelaide an exciting all-American starting backcourt.
5. The Perth Wildcats signed St Louis University shooting guard Kevin Lisch. Lisch is a 6’2 shooting guard who will provide the team with some much needed scoring power, speed and toughness. He has just completed a four-year stint at St Louis University and comes highly recommended by legendary St Louis Head Coach Rick Majerus, who is a good friend of Rob Beveridge’s.
6. American power forward David Gruber has been signed by the Wollongong Hawks for the 2009/10 NBL season. The 27 year old from Iowa, USA has spent the past several years playing in Victoria for the SEABL Frankston Blues and played his first year of NBL with the now defunct Sydney Spirit last season. He played out his college career in his home state representing the University of Northern Iowa until graduating in 2004.

New Blaze import Michael Joiner

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 12

Better late than never, here are the number that matter from round 12 in the NBL:

Dragons 112 Hawks 78

For the Dragons:

Joe Ingles 23 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards 4 steals
Mark Worthington 20 points, 4 boards, 5 turnovers
Adam Gibson 12 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 21 points
Dusty Rychart 16 points, 9 boards

The game was never close ... Dragons dominated from the get-go. Nice to see Gibbo now consistently putting up solid numbers for the Dragons.

Crocs 104 Breakers 88

For the Crocs:

John Rillie 18 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards
Brad Williamson 18 points (including 4 triples), 4 boards
Rosell Ellis 14 points, 12 boards

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 26 points, 7 boards
Oscar Forman 16 points (including 4 triples), 4 boards
Rick Rickert 13 points, 11 boards

The hot-shooting Breakers shot just 33% from the field and were always going to find it hard to win when CJ shot 1 of 10 and Phull Jones was 1 of 9 from the field. Crocs shot a very nice 13 of 25 from downtown (Breakers were just 5 of 25).

Spirit 92 Taipans 78

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 25 points, 13 boards
David Gruber 20 points, 11 boards

For the Taipans:

Larry Abney 19 points, 7 boards
Martin Cattalini 12 points, 6 boards, 4 steals

The match-up of two teams on the brink. Matthew Knight has had a massive last few weeks. David Gruber is really stepping up without Low and Khazzouh in the line-up. For the Taipans ... not much to say after the events of this week, its not pretty.

36ers 102 Tigers 94

For the 36ers:

Luke Schenscher 17 points, 22 boards
Julius Hodge 21 points, 8 assists, 4 boards
Brad Hill 19 points, 6 boards

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 23 points, 5 boards
Rod Gizzard 18 points, 7 boards
David Barlow 16 points, 5 assists

With Hodge in the line-up, the Sixers are starting to roll. Tigers looking much more human than everyone thought at the start of the season. Adelaide dominated the boards 51 - 37.

Crocs 92 Spirit 87

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 18 points, 10 boards
Brad Williamson 17 points, 5 boards
Corey Williams 5 points, 12 assists, 6 boards

For the Spirit:

David Gruber 18 points (9 of 12 from the field), 10 boards
Matthew Knight 15 points, 10 boards

The Spirit made a run in the second half (55 - 43) but it was too little too late. They committed 23 turnovers (Crocs 16) and shot just 2 of 17 from downtown.

Dragons 101 Hawks 83

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 19 points, 10 boards, 7 assists
Mika Vukona 10 points, 12 boards
Joe Ingles 14 points, 8 assists

For the Hawks:

Glen Saville 20 points, 12 boards but 6 turnovers
Lindsay Tait 11 points, 5 boards, 5 steals

Dragons dominated the second half 56 - 35 and the boards 49 - 33. Dragons had 7 players score in double figures.

Blaze 129 Wildcats 97

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 35 points (12 of 17 from the field), 5 boards
Luke Whitehead 24 points, 9 boards
Ben Melmeth 17 points, 8 boards

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 21 points, 13 boards
Alex Loughton 20 points (8 of 11 from the field)
Isiah Victor 11 points, 8 boards

Yes, you read that score right ... Blaze KILLED them. Blaze outscored the Cats 45 - 17 in the 3rd term. Wildcats lost the boards (39 - 52) and the turnovers (25 - 18).

After round 12 in the NBL, the Dragons are back on top with 14 wins just ahead of the Breakers on 13. Tigers, Crocs and Wildcats are all on 9 wins. Blaze are still on the bottom but now have 3 wins, Cairns and Hawks are ahead of them on 6.

Player of the Week went to Justin Bowen of the Gold Coast Blaze for his performance against the Wildcats. His stat line was 35 points, 12 of 17 shooting, 3 of 4 from downtown, 8 of 8 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 2 turnovers. Impressive game!

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The award could go to the Hawks team for losing their games by 35 and 18 points respectively but instead they are the runners up. The award this week goes to two NZ Breakers ... Phull Jones and CJ Bruton for their combined 2 of 19 "shooting performance" against the Crocs ... even Paul Henare managed to shoot 2 of 5 in that game!

Finally, our Shooter of the Week brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips was a tough one this round. Honourable mentions go to Joe Ingles for his 5 triples against the Hawks and Brad Hill from Adelaide for his 8 of 11 shooting off the bench against the Tigers. Justin Bowen, Player of the Week is unlucky not to get the nod but I know from watching him ... he's not a shooter. This week the award goes to much-improved Spirit import, David Gruber (pictured below). Now, I haven't seen him play but I think he's a hard-working banger rather than a shooter ... but his clips this round were outstanding, 9 of 14 against Cairns and 9 of 12 against the Crocs.