Julius Hodge back in the NBL

Thanks to Mookie from A Stern Warning for posting it on Twitter ... it seems the most hated man in Adelaide is returning to the NBL to "save" the Melbourne Tigers. I heard a rumour about it earlier in the week but was waiting to see if it was true or not.

Considering the way Julius Hodge left the NBL last season, it'll be interesting to see how he's received by fans around the league, especially against the 36ers. Melbourne are certainly not trying to win any popularity contests with some of the most hated players in the league. The controversial Hodge joins Anstey, Worthington and Kendall ... expect them to cop plenty of "heat" on the road.

Hodge returns to NBL with Tigers

By: Melbourne Tigers

In a major coup the Melbourne Tigers have secured the signature of 25 year old exciting import Julius Hodge.

With injuries to key players Chris Anstey, Ben Knight and Nathan Crosswell, the Tigers have been forced to find a player to bolster the squad and have been lucky enough to acquire the services of Julius.

After a promising college career with North Carolina State, Hodge was selected at pick 20 in the 2005 NBA draft. Hodge went on to play the second half of the 2007/08 NBL season with the Adelaide 36ers picking up 3 consecutive NBL player of the week awards. He re-joined the 36ers for 8 games during the 2008/09 NBL season before leaving on the advice of his manager due to a pay dispute.

Player & Coach of the Month

I've been at home sick with a cold for the last few days and didn't have a chance to submit my votes this month for the NBL Player and Coach of the Month awards.

I see the news this morning that both the awards went to the Adelaide 36ers, Scott Ninnis (pictured right) for the coach and Julius Hodge as the player. Click on the title below to read the full story.

The awards just highlight what a strange situation it is as the 36ers were doing so well, they were climbing up the ladder and then the Julius Hodge incident happens and he's now no longer in the league.

NBL > News

The Adelaide 36ers have swept the National Basketball League’s monthly awards for December, with controversial import Julius Hodge taking Player of the Month honours, and mentor Scott Ninnis claiming Coach of the Month.

The double-honour is undoubtedly bittersweet for the 36ers, who saw Hodge walk out on the club recently over a pay dispute. Hodge played six games for the 36ers in December, averaging a league-high 27.5 points as well as 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks. He also shot the ball at 59% from the field for the month.

The NBL import roundabout

Following on from my last post about Julius Hodge leaving the Adelaide 36ers, I read today that they (Adelaide) have just signed Rod Grizzard. Grizzard was recently released from the Melbourne Tigers to make way for (ex-Tiger) Dave Thomas who was released from the Cairns Taipans when their financial woes came to light. Its good to see the NBL teams are sharing the import talent around! Click on the title below to read the full story.

NBL > News

The Adelaide 36ers have signed sacked Melbourne Tigers import Rod Grizzard, bringing to an end a successful but dramatic week down at the Distinctive Homes Dome.

Grizzard, who is due to arrive in Adelaide from America on Monday, will replace Julius Hodge who sensationally walked out of the club before the team's game against Wollongong on Wednesday.

It's believed Hodge left the club because of a delay in one of his monthly payments.

A tentative Adelaide coach Scott Ninnis tapped his desk in a gesture of good luck when he confirmed the Sixers' deal with Grizzard.

Julius Hodge goooone

I was at the parents on Wednesday night (they have Foxtel) and was watching the Hawks play the 36ers and was disappointed to see Hodge not playing. At first I thought he was injured but later saw that it was because of his pay dispute with the club.

Adelaide have really turned things around lately and its largely due to the stellar play of Julius Hodge (Luke Schenscher and Adam Ballinger have also been outstanding). Its hard to believe that a team could lose its best player and an MVP candidate because they failed to get his correct bank details.

Just when you thought nothing else could go wrong for the NBL, it looks like we will now lose one of the top players in the league this season. Oh well ... its always darkest before the dawn ...

Click on the title below to read the full story.

NBL > News

The Adelaide 36ers and import Julius Hodge have agreed to part company, the club announced at a media conference in Adelaide on Thursday afternoon.

In the wake of a pay dispute with the team, Hodge failed to show up for the 36ers home game against the Wollongong Hawks on Wednesday night.

Via his agent Hodge requested a release from his contract on Thursday, which 36ers owner Mal Hemmerling told media the club had agreed to, subject to some conditions with regard to payments.


I remembered a little while ago there was mention of Hodge's blog. Reading his last post, has an NBA team come calling and he's using this pay fiasco as an excuse to get out of his contract with Adelaide?? Check out all the comments for his last post ... not surprisingly there are some very unhappy Adelaide fans.

Here's Julius's side of the story.

NBL wrap - round 16

Believe it or not, I'm STILL waiting for the videos from the Blaze to properly upload. Its been 36 hours and still no luck ... groan ...

Here are the numbers that matter from round 16 of the NBL:

Hawks 112 Taipans 105

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 28 points (12 of 16 from the field), 9 boards
Glen Saville 20 points, 6 boards, 6 assists
Dusty Rychart 17 points, 9 boards

For the Taipans:

Ian Crosswhite 27 points, 11 boards
Darnell Mee 14 points, 6 boards, 7 assists
Martin Cattalini 16 points, 5 boards

The Hawks shot an impressive 59% from the field while Cairns weren't too far behind at 48%. My guess is there wasn't too much defence being played. Cairns shot just 13 of 24 from the line. Is that a career high boards for Tragradh??

Blaze 103 36ers 94

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 35 points, 8 boards, 8 steals
Luke Whitehead 23 points, 17 boards, 4 assists
James Harvey 17 points

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 29 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
Jacob Holmes 18 points, 9 boards
Adam Ballinger 15 points, 7 boards

Adelaide have been strong lately so this win for the Blaze definitely came as a surprise. The foul count favoured the Blaze 27 - 17 and from it they had almost 3 times as many trips to the lines as the 36ers. Bowen was awful last week so not a surprise to see him bounce back strong ... he's inconsistent to say the least. The lack of numbers from Schenscher seems to have cost Adelaide.

Crocs 105 Dragons 95

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 19 points (8 of 8 from the field), 11 boards
Brad Williamson 16 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Corey Williams 15 points, 5 assists

For the Dragons:

Donta Smith 14 points, 5 boards
Adam Gibson 13 points, 4 assists
Tremell Darden 11 points, 9 boards

Mark Worthington shot just 1 of 8 from the field and had a game high 4 turnovers. Crocs dominated the second quarter 28 - 13 to set up the win. Balanced scoring from the Dragons with 6 players in double figures but no one scored more than 14. Dragons shot just 6 of 24 from deep.

Hawks 111 Breakers 94

For the Hawks:

Kavossy Franklin 26 points, 7 boards, 4 assists
Dusty Rychart 16 points, 13 boards
Glen Saville 13 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 30 points, 5 boards
Rick Rickert 15 points, 12 boards, 4 assists
Oscar Forman 17 points (including 5 triples), 4 boards

No CJ Bruton for the Breakers and they are a different team without him running the show. Ronaldson and Phull Jones combined for just 4 of 20 shooting. After losing 8 straight, this upset takes the Hawks to 3 wins in a row.

Spirit 86 Breakers 85

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 18 points, 8 boards
Jason Smith 16 points, 6 boards, 5 assists
Drew Williamson 12 points, 5 boards, 4 assists

For the Breakers:

Rick Rickert 19 points, 10 boards
Kirk Penney 23 points but 8 turnovers
Oscar Forman 10 points, 7 boards

Breakers were better from the field than the last game but were just 14 of 21 from the line, not good for them. Again, struggled badly without CJ Bruton and had to back up the next night after their loss to the Hawks. Sydney controlled the boards 46 - 33.

Wildcats 99 Dragons 90

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 25 points, 12 boards
Darnell Hinson 17 points, 12 boards
Shawn Redhage 15 points, 9 boards, 6 assists

For the Dragons:

Tremmell Darden 19 points
Mark Worthington 16 points, 7 boards
Adam Gibson 16 points, 4 boards, 3 assists

Wildcats shot 48% (Dragons 38%) from the field and 50 rebounds (Dragons 37). Victor should've had 30 points but shot just 6 of 14 from the line. Strangely, Wildcats had twice as many turnovers (20 - 9) but still controlled the game.

Crocs 105 Blaze 88

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 25 points, 5 boards
Cameron Tovey 17 points, 10 boards
Rosell Ellis 17 points, 9 boards

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 27 points (including 5 triples), 4 boards
Justin Bowen 16 points, 6 boards
Luke Whitehead 14 points, 12 boards but 9 turnovers

For the recap of the game, check out my last post here.

Not a good week for the teams at the top of the NBL ladder with both the Dragons and the Breakers losing 2 from 2. Dragons are still 1st and Breakers are 2 wins behind in 2nd with the Tigers and Wildcats not far behind. Blaze got a win but their still 2 behind the Taipans.

The Player of the Week went to Isiah Victor for his dominant performance off the bench to lead his team to a win against the league-leading Dragons. His full line was: 25 points, 9 of 16 from the field, 1 of 4 from downtown and 6 of 14 from the line, 12 boards, 4 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block. Victor has really stepped up his game over the last month but he won't be getting our Shooter of the Week award with free-throw shooting like that!

Now to our Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. There are a few honourable mentions as always. Mark Worthington from the Dragons (1 of 8, 4 turnovers in a loss to the Crocs), Tony Ronaldson and Phull Jones from the Breakers (both shot 2 of 10 from the field in a loss to the Hawks). The winner this week is Joe Ingles (pictured below) from Dragons for going M.I.A (missing in action) in his team's two losses over the weekend. He averaged just 5.5 points (on 26% shooting), 3.5 boards, 2 assists and 2.5 turnovers per game. Far from good enough when you're a young star in the league with supposed hopes of wowing NBA scouts.

There weren't any "outstanding" basketball shooting displays in the league this week ... other than Rosell Ellis' 8 of 8 from the field. If you've seen Rosell shoot a free-throw, you'll know why I can't give him the award. So we'll respect the integrity and the honour of the Shooter of the Week title and hold off until next round.

Have you seen this man? He failed to show up for the Dragons on the weekend and we NEED to talk to him about that horrible shooting form.

Hodge wins Player of the Week

Finally I agree with the NBL head office and correctly picked Julius Hodge (pictured below) from the 36ers as the Player of the Week. Click on the title below to read the full story. (side note: Nice to see the league misspelling one of their young star's surname. In their defence, Luke's isn't an easy one.)

Most of the NBL blogs seem to have shut down over the festive season but John Rillie is still going strong. Click here for an article he's found questioning the strength of the league restructuring plan.

Speaking of JR, I'm likely heading down the coast on Sunday to see the Crocs take on the Blaze. This will be my 2nd NBL game this season and hopefully I do some blogging of it or at least get some decent game footage to show you. Stay tuned ... and hopefully the "good" Crocs show up for the game this weekend.

NBL > News

Adelaide '36ers star import Julius Hodge has taken out the National Basketball League’s Player of the Week Award for Round 15. This is Hodge's second Player of the Week honour after taking the award in Round 10.

Hodge scored a game high 31 points and pulled in eight rebounds to lead the '36ers to a crucial road victory over the Melbourne Tigers 109 – 91 at the Cage on Saturday night. Hodge shot an amazing 13 of 19 from the field at a 68% clip.

In a round of NBL action where no team played twice, Hodge's efforts narrowly edged out his team mate Luke Schensher who compiled a stat line of 21 points and 15 rebounds.

NBL wrap - round 15

Not surprisingly being the festive season, round 15 in the NBL was one of the shortest you're likely to see. Here are the numbers that matter:

Dragons 117 Blaze 87

For the Dragons:

Adam Gibson 18 points
Nick Horvath 16 points, 5 boards
Joe Ingles 17 points (6 of 8 from the field including 4 triples)

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 25 points (including 6 triples), 7 boards
Luke Whitehead 19 points, 8 boards

This game wasn't ever close with the Dragons up by 15 at the first break and then 29 at the half. All 12 Dragons that stepped on court scored ... even Tariq Naqqash (development player maybe?) who played less than 4 minutes but scored 5 points. Dragons welcomed new import Donta Smith. Shane Heal returned for the Blaze ... it didn't help.

Wildcats 97 Crocodiles 76

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 23 points, 6 boards (in just 25 minutes off the bench)
Peter Crawford 19 points, 7 boards
Shawn Redhage 15 points, 11 boards

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 21 points (8 of 11 from the field)
Cameron Tovey 13 points, 6 boards

When things go bad for the Crocs they go very bad. Townsville shot just 36% from the field, 10% from downtown and 57% from the line. The foul count favoured the Wildcats 23 - 35.

36ers 109 Tigers 91

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 31 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
Luke Schenscher 21 points, 15 boards, 4 blocks
Brett Maher 19 points, 7 assists
Adam Ballinger 18 points, 7 boards
Jacob Holmes 13 points, 13 boards

For the Tigers:

Rod Grizzard 25 points, 6 boards, 3 blocks
Ebi Ere 20 points, 10 boards
Chris Anstey 12 points, 12 boards

Adelaide jumped Melbourne early leading 62 - 38 at the half. 36ers shot 50% from the field while holding the Tigers to less than 40%. This win on the road stamps the 36ers as serious contenders in the league.

Hawks 121 Spirit 117

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 25 points, 4 boards
Glen Saville 22 points (including 6 triples), 7 assists, 6 boards
Lindsay Tait 20 points, 5 assists

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 23 points, 12 boards
Blagov Jenov 21 points, 4 boards (in just 19 minutes off the bench)
Jason Smith 15 points, 7 boards

The Spirit stormed home in the final quarter but it was too little too late. In a high-scoring game, both teams shot above 50% from the field. Good to see the Hawks finally get a win again.

After round 15 in the NBL, the Dragons still lead the league 2 wins (having played 2 more games) ahead of the Breakers in 2nd place with 3rd to 7th pretty tight. Blaze still stuck on the bottom.

I'm in early again so my pick for Player of the Week (if they have one for such a small round) is Julius Hodge for his game against the Tigers. If you picked him up in your fantasy league you must be killing it now!

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The nominations this week go to David Barlow from the Tigers (3 of 14 from the field in the loss to the 36ers), Jason Smith from Sydney (4 of 15 from the field and 5 turnovers in the loss to the Hawks) and I hate to say it ... my boy John Rillie from Townsville (1 of 9 from the field in the loss to the Wildcats). The award however goes to Justin Bowen from the Gold Coast for his 0 of 10 from the field and 3 turnovers in their flogging by the Dragons. Yes, Bowen has won this award before and his 0 of 5 from downtown proves that he still thinks he has an outside shot.

Our Shooter of the Week as always is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. The runner-up on a countback is the red-hot James Harvey from the Blaze. Harvey shot 50% from the field including 6 of 10 from downtown but his team lost and he only hit 3 of 6 from the line. Honourable mention goes to Blagov Jenov from the Spirit from his shooting explosion off the bench against the Hawks (6 of 7 from the field, including 4 of 4 from downtown). But the winner is Glen Saville from the Hawks (pictured below when he played for the Sydney Kings) for leading his team to their first win in 9 games thanks to his 22 points, 7 of 14 from the field, 6 of 9 from downtown and 2 of 2 from the line. As a shooter, Glen is streaky to say the least ... he can either be good or very bad at times. Thankfully for the Hawks, this week he was on, especially from downtown.

NBL wrap - round 13

Getting in early this week, here are the numbers that matter from a small round in the NBL:

36ers 100 Crocs 79

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 25 points, 12 boards, 7 assists
Luke Schenscher 19 points (8 of 11 from the field), 12 boards
Adam Ballinger 20 points, 11 boards

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 15 points, 5 assists, 4 boards
Russell Hinder 11 points, 7 boards

Just an ugly game for the Crocs shooting 36% from the field, 16% from downtown and 55% from the line. Solid numbers across the board from the Sixers with 5 players scoring 14 points or more. Adelaide also dominated the boards 66 - 46.

Wildcats 129 36ers 120 (in double OT)

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 23 points, 10 boards
Alex Loughton 23 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
Peter Crawford 20 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 28 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals
Adam Ballinger 26 points, 6 boards
Luke Schenscher 22 points, 11 boards, 4 assists

Adelaide would've had their chances to win this game but shot 20 of 29 from the line and Maher, Bruce and Holmes combined for just 13 of 39 from the field. Good team effort from Perth with 6 players scoring more than 15 points.

Taipans 97 Blaze 88 (in OT)

For the Taipans:

Ian Crosswhite 16 points, 17 boards
Gary Boodnikoff 17 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards
Martin Catallini 18 points, 5 boards

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 17 points, 14 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
James Harvey 20 points
Ben Melmeth 12 points, 13 boards

Congratulations to the Taipans for getting a win, on the road, with an under-strength team, despite everything going on with their franchise at the moment. Bowen, Heal, Whitehead and Melmeth combined to shoot just 13 of 53 (24.5%) from the field ... UGLY. Blaze also committed 26 turnovers (Heal had 9) to just 14 from Cairns.

Dragons 107 Tigers 98

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 24 points, 8 boards
Adam Gibson 12 points, 5 boards, 4 assists

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 21 points, 5 boards
Chris Anstey 14 points, 11 boards
David Barlow 16 points, 8 boards, 5 assists

Tigers won the battle of the boards (52 - 40) but the Dragons stormed home in the final quarter 38 - 19 to get the win. Dragons seem to have the Tigers measure of late and definitely have bragging rights in the Melbourne rivalry.

Crocs 104 Hawks 99

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 23 points, 8 assists
Rosell Ellis 15 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals

For the Hawks:

Dusty Rychart 17 points (7 of 9 from the field), 6 boards
Cameron Tragardh 16 points, 8 boards
Anthony Petrie 17 points, 6 boards

Hawks jumped the Crocs early (37 - 22) in the first quarter but credit to the Crocs for fighting back. To my boy John Rillie ... he needs to teach his teammates how to shoot a free-throw because Williams and Ellis combined for just 6 of 18 from the line! Hawks won the boards 50 - 35 but committed too many turnovers 22 - 11 (Saville had 7).

After round 13 in the NBL, the Dragons now have a 2 game lead on the Breakers (who have played 2 less games) in second place, the Tigers are in 3rd and the Crocs are currently 4th. The Blaze are still on the bottom with 3 wins and the Hawks are second last with 6 wins.

As I'm getting in early, I can again speculate about who will win the NBL's Player of the Week. My prediction is that Mark Worthington (24 points, 8 boards in a a win over the Tigers) and Ian Crosswhite (16 points, 17 boards in a win over the Blaze) will get honourable mentions while the winner will again be that man Julius Hodge from the 36ers. Hodge had 25 points, 12 boards, 7 assists in a win over the Crocs and 28 points, 8 boards in the double OT loss to the Wildcats.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The runner-up is Rosell Ellis from the Crocs who went 5 of 14 from the line against Adelaide and then 3 of 7 against the Hawks. That's a combined 8 of 21 or just 38%. With Tovey, Ellis and Williams on the same team, are the Crocs the worst free-throw shooting team in the league?? The actual winner of the Flop of the Week tho is Justin Bowen from the Blaze who shot a woeful 1 of 11 from the field against the Taipans and committed 4 turnovers (with just 1 assist). Bowen had a good game last weekend but I held off giving him Shooter of the Week because I've seen him in action. He's been extremely inconsistent for the struggling Blaze and may be thankful we're this deep in to the season and it would be very hard to find a replacement.

Finally, our Shooter of the Week brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips goes to Dragons youngster Nathan Herbert (pictured below) for his 15 points and 4 of 5 from downtown effort against the Tigers. I've noticed Nathan provide valuable scoring off the bench a number of times this season for the Dragons and those 4 triples (3 in the final quarter) were big against the cross-town rival Tigers. To find out more about Herbert, click here.

New Zealand Pair Sweep NBL Monthly Awards

Its just been announced that one of our favourites here, Kirk Penney has again taken out Player of the Month in the NBL. Kirk also won the previous month's award but is this time joined by his Breaker's coach Andrej Lemanis who won Coach of the Month.

As I'm still on the NBL's media list, I was able to vote. Surprisingly, I didn't actually vote for Kirk ... here is who I gave the points to:

3 votes: Ballinger (Adelaide)
2 votes: Anstey (Tigers)
1 vote: Matthew Knight (Sydney)

And for the coaches:

3 votes: Lemanis (NZ)
2 votes: Beveridge (Sydney)
1 vote: Goorjian (Dragons)

Click on the title below to read the full story about why the Kiwis won and who else received votes. I'm SHOCKED to see that I was the only one that gave any points to Anstey. His fg% wasn't great but the rest of his numbers were stellar ... I guess the rest of the league takes his numbers for granted.

NBL > News

New Zealand Pair Sweep NBL Monthly Awards

New Zealand Breakers shooting star Kirk Penney has won his second consecutive National Basketball League (NBL) Player of the Month award, while Breakers mentor Andrej Lemanis has taken out the Coach of the Month honour for November.

In seven games for the month of November, Penney averaged 20.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists. The former NBA player shot the ball at 42% from the field and 42% from three-point range, while connecting on 78% of his free-throw attempts.

Most importantly, Penney led his team to a league-best 6-1 record for the month as the Breakers established themselves as a legitimate title contender in the NBL. Penney has also firmly established himself as an early favourite to take out the Andrew Gaze Trophy for the NBL’s Most Valuable Player at the end of the season.

Penney polled a total of 48 votes to take out the award from Sydney Spirit big man Matt Knight on 39. Adelaide duo Adam Ballinger (38) and Julius Hodge (33) finished third and fourth respectively. In all 14 players received votes for the November award.

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.

NBL wrap - round 11

A big week in the NBL with 8 games (after only 6 last week), here are the numbers that matter:

Crocs 113 Tigers 105 (in OT)

For the Crocs:

Michael Cedar 27 points (9 of 14 from the field, including 7 triples), 7 boards
John Rillie 24 points (including 6 triples), 5 boards
Rosell Ellis 22 points, 11 boards

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 31 points (including 5 triples)
Chris Anstey 19 points, 16 boards
Rod Gizzard 19 points, 9 boards

This would've been a great game to see. Ebi Ere hitting a triple to push the game in to overtime. Michael Cedar exploding offensively as we said he would and JR coming off the bench and shooting the lights out. Somehow the Crocs managed to keep up with the Tigers on the boards (52 - 52). The Crocs could've ended it in regulation but shot just 10 of 21 from the free-throw line.

Dragons 102 Taipans 64

For the Dragons:

Matt Burston 19 points (9 of 10 from the field), 8 boards
Nick Horvath 12 points, 11 boards
Joe Ingles 12 points, 7 assists ... 6 turnovers

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 17 points
Larry Abney 15 points, 8 boards

No Dave Thomas (he went down injured after 7 mins), no chance. If this was a boxing match they would've let Alan Black throw in the towel, unfortunately it was not. Dragons shot 57% from the field, Taipans shot 29%.

Breakers 108 Wildcats 94

For the Breakers:

CJ Bruton 22 points, 7 assists
Phill Jones 22 points (including 5 triples)
Rick Rickert 17 points, 13 boards

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 25 points
Darnell Hinson 18 points, 4 assists
Ben Knight 15 points, 6 boards

Breakers dominated the second half (61 - 39) to come from behind to win this game. NZ controlled the boards 51 - 36 and the two teams combined for a red-hot 25 of 49 from downtown. Kirk Penney and Shawn Redhage showed they are human, both superstars scoring less than 10 points each.

Tigers 108 Wildcats 95

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 21 points, 15 boards, 4 assists
Ebi Ere 23 points
Stephen Hoare 22 points, 5 boards

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 20 points, 5 boards
Peter Crawford 17 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Shawn Redhage 12 points, 6 assists

Very balanced team effort from the Tigers with 6 of their 8 man rotation scoring in double figures. Foul count and free-throws both went considerably in the Tigers favour. Shawn Redhage controlled again, Wildcats lose again ... you do the math.

36ers 101 Hawks 96

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 26 points, 8 boards
Brett Maher 21 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards
Julius Hodge 19 points, 11 boards, 6 assists
Luke Schenscher 18 points, 10 boards

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 23 points (11 of 15 from the field), 5 boards
Larry Davidson 13 points, 7 boards
Glen Saville 16 points, 10 boards

Close game throughout. Hawks shot just 3 of 21 from the field and 13 of 23 from the line. Adelaide's big 4 all fired, except for Hodge from the field (just 8 of 26 shooting). Aaron Bruce ... MIA.

Crocs 94 Taipans 90

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 24 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals
Rosell Ellis 14 points, 10 boards
John Rillie 16 points (14 in the final quarter)

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 25 points, 8 boards
Ian Crosswhite 17 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks
Gary Boodnikoff 16 points, 5 boards

Townsville got off to a slow start (18 - 26) but stormed home in the final quarter behind 14 from JR to get the win. Without Dave Thomas it shouldn't have been this close but Ian Crosswhite stepped in and filled DT's shoes. Brad Williamson seems to be struggling to find form since getting promoted to the starting line-up for the Crocs.

Spirit 103 Dragons 94

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 27 points, 11 boards
Luke Martin 13 points, 5 assists
Drew Williamson 12 points, 5 boards

For the Dragons:

Adam Gibson 15 points, 10 boards, 6 assists
Matt Burston 17 points, 9 boards
Mark Worthington 15 points, 7 boards

How the Spirit win without Low or Khazzouh ... I don't know?! Who said Goorjian doesn't have a heart?? Gibbo with his best game this season but the Dragons shoot just 19 of 37 from the free-throw line thanks to 2 of 10 from Mika Vukona. In a game that almost didn't go ahead, the Spirit had a season high 2572 fans in attendance.

Breakers 110 Blaze 88

For the Breakers:

Tony Ronaldson 25 points, 5 assists
Phill Jones 23 points (including 7 triples)
Oscar Forman 15 points, 9 boards

For the Blaze:

Shane Heal 27 points, 5 boards, 5 assists
Justin Bowen 17 points, 8 boards ... 6 turnovers
Daniel Joyce 16 points

Shane Heal and Ronaldson were on fire early and the teams were tied at the end of the first quarter. From there it was all down-hill for the Blaze. The Breakers didn't even play well but they still won this EASILY.

After round 11 in the NBL, the Breakers are now on top of the league one win ahead of the Dragons (thanks to their sympathetic loss to the Spirit). Tigers move in to third and after 2 straight losses the Wildcats are in 4th. The Blaze are still at the bottom with just 2 wins and the Taipans have now lost 6 in a row to be second last.

I'm in early this week so the NBL's Player of the Week is yet to officially be announced. My pick goes to Phill Jones ... see below for more details.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the week. Runner-up should go to Mika Vukona for his 2 of 10 shooting from the free-throw line against the Spirit. Mika is all-hussle and has never been known for his shooting but 2 of 10?? But the Flop of the week goes to that man Cameron Tovey from the Crocs ... AGAIN. In his game against the Tigers he shot 2 of 10 from the field and 0 of 2 from the line and then followed that up with 1 of 8 from the field and 1 of 6 from the line against the Taipans. Trevor Gleeson, its time to send the kid back to the bench!

Before we get to our Shooter of the Week ... a few honourable mentions must go to a pair of Crocodiles. Michael Cedar for his individual explosion against the Tigers and John "Don't call it a comeback!" Rillie for both his games on the weekend, especially the clutch/game-winning 4th quarter shooting against the Taipans. But this week's winner is none other than Phill (from now on to be referred to as Phull, thanks to JVG and Nick) Jones from the Breakers. In his team's two wins he averaged 22.5 points and 6 triples and shot over 50% from the field with ZERO turnovers!

NBL wrap - round 10

Only 6 games on tap over the last week in the NBL, here are the numbers that matter:

Tigers 99 Taipans 98

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 22 points, 5 boards
Chris Anstey 17 points, 11 boards, 3 blocks
Sam Mackinnon 10 points, 7 boards, 7 assists

For the Taipans:

Dave Thomas 20 points, 8 boards, 4 assists
Martin Cattalini 18 points, 5 boards
Larry Abney 20 points

The Tigers only beat the Taipans by one point?! The Snakes must have played out of their skins (pun only partially intended). Dave Thomas with a beat of old-team rule production. Tigers dominated the boards 49 - 32 but the Taipans were a very efficient 18 of 21 from the free-throw line.

Breakers 112 Dragons 98

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 27 points (including 6 triples)
CJ Bruton 20 points (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 5 from the line), 6 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals
Oscar Forman 12 points, 13 boards

For the Dragons:

Adam Gibson 16 points (including 4 triples), 3 assists
Matt Burston 14 points, 4 boards
Joe Ingles 16 points, 4 assists

The "blockbuster" didn't pan out as such as the Breakers just outplayed the Dragons. All of the Breaker's players put up good numbers while Worthington, Groves and Darden were well contained. In a very efficient game there were only 15 turnovers between the two teams.

Spirit 110 36ers 108

For the Spirit:

Derrick Low 24 points (including 5 triples) but 7 turnovers
Matthew Knight 19 points, 11 boards
Julian Khazzouh 12 points, 16 boards, 2 blocks, 2 steals

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 26 points, 13 boards, 4 assists
Adam Ballinger 29 points, 3 assists
Luke Schenscher 16 points, 17 boards, 4 assists, 4 blocks

The Sixers got off to a great start but the Spirit came from behind 59 - 45 in the second half to get the win. Looking at the numbers this would have been an entertaining game to watch. There was even a David Gruber sighting as he had 19 points, 7 boards (possibly his most productive game so far). Julius Hodge seems to LOVE playing for the Sixers and was outstanding in his first game back this season. With Hodge back, Jacob Holmes returns to the bench where he belongs.

Dragons 106 36ers 100

For the Dragons:

Joe Ingles 27 points (including 5 triples), 4 assists
Adam Gibson 15 points, 4 boards, 3 assists
Mark Worthington 14 points, 12 boards

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 27 points, 8 boards, 8 assists
Adam Ballinger 29 points, 7 boards

The Dragons bounced back well after losing to the Breakers. Hodge does what he does ... dominates. Herbert explodes off the bench for the Dragons with 21 points while Matt Burston and Luke Schenscher looked to have nullified each other.

Crocodiles 121 Hawks 113

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 25 points, 5 assists
Rosell Ellis 14 points, 7 assists, 6 boards, 3 steals
Daniel Egan 21 points (9 of 11 from the field), 7 boards

For the Hawks:

Glen Saville 28 points, 6 boards, 4 assists
Cameron Tragardh 14 points, 7 boards
Kavossy Franklin 15 points, 4 boards

The game was a shootout from downtown with the teams combining for an impressive 25 of 54 from deep. The controversial benching of JR, Homicide and Hinder looks to have had the desired result with the Crocs flying out of the gates in the first quarter. Tovey seems to have loved the opportunity to start putting up 20 points on a good clip.

Wildcats 101 Taipans 85

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 22 points (8 of 10 from the field), 6 boards
Isiah Victor 18 points, 11 boards
Ben Knight 9 points, 13 boards

For the Taipans:

Larry Abney 20 points, 10 boards
Martin Cattalini 12 points, 10 boards

Redhage back to his efficient best. Perth controlled the game and one every quarter. Perth are quietly going about their business and putting together a solid season. They're definitely in the top 4 teams for mine.

At the end of round 10, despite losing to the Breakers, the Dragons are still on top of the NBL ladder albeit just on percentage now. The Breakers are just 3.5% points behind in second with the Tigers in 3rd. The Blaze are still last with 2 wins and the Sixers are now 2nd last with 5 wins 9 losses.

Not surprisingly, in news today Julius Hodge was named Player of the Week for his outstanding 2 games in his return to the league. The Sixers didn't get a win in either game but look for them to move up the ladder with Hodge back and look for Hodge to have a triple-double in the next few games.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flops of the week. The runner-up goes to one time Shooter of the Week, Gary Boodnikoff for essentially not showing up for the game against the Wildcats. In 21 minutes he went 0 of 3 from the field, had 1 board, 1 steal and 1 turnover ... not very productive! The award this week however goes to Matt Burston for his 1 of 7 from the field, 1 of 4 from the line and 5 foul "effort" against the 36ers.

Our Shooter of the Week goes to none other than our current man-crush, Kirk Penney. To be a truly good shooter you have to come through in the big games and with their reputation on the line in the blockbuster against the Dragons, Kirk delivered for the Breakers. He had a game-high 27 points including a very nice 6 of 10 from downtown, 3 of 3 from the line and zero turnovers. Fittingly, Kirk is the first NBL player to win our Shooter of the Week award twice in a season.