CJ Bruton (Adelaide 36ers coach) on building this years roster, Kai Sotto’s NBA future and the Next Stars Program

CJ Bruton is currently building his first NBL roster as an NBL head coach, and he joins Dan Boyce on the Aussie Hoopla podcast to talk through his process and how he’s managed to land some big names like Robert Franks and Antonious Cleveland.

 

Bruton took over as the team’s head coach just prior to last season’s tip-off, with the roster having already been finalized by former 36ers GM Jeff Van Groningen and Coach Connor Henry.

Bruton, a six-time NBL championship winner as a player, joined Adelaide after a stint as an assistant coach at the Brisbane Bullets.

Prior to that, he played 17 seasons in the national league, winning 6 NBL championships as well as being a dual Olympian, playing for the Boomers 104 times.

He was part of Australia’s gold-medal winning Commonwealth Games team at the 2006 Melbourne Games and was an assistant coach for the Boomers when they also won Commonwealth gold in 2018 on the Gold Coast.

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• The day-to-day grind of CJ’s first time recruiting as an NBL head coach (2:00)
• How the 36ers were able to sign both big-name free agent targets Robert Franks and Antonius Cleveland (8:00)
• Background on Kai Sotto’s decision to enter the NBA draft early and his return to Adelaide for 2022-23 (11:00)
• CJ Bruton’s thoughts on the Next Stars program and whether Adelaide will sign a Next Stars player for this season (15:00)
• CJ’s attempt at bringing Scoot Henderson, the projected #1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft (17:00)
• How close are the 36ers to signing some of the big names linked to them right now ie. Scotty Hopson, Cam Bairstow, Travis Trice (19:00)
• What went wrong during the 36ers’ 2021-22 season (27:00)
• The biggest learning moment from last season and what changes CJ has implemented as a result (38:00)