“He was one of the most driven players I’ve ever seen and highly misunderstood. He’d push people to the ground but that was because he was a winner and he’d only accept 100%… he felt you had to dive on the loose balls, you had to get after rebounds and run the floor, that’s who he was” –…
Read MoreSam Young’s signing with the Sydney Kings this week should deliver a strong message that the demerger between the NBL and Basketball Australia has already proven to be the jump start needed to return the league to its former glory. The potential benefits of investing in a higher quality import to help market the NBL…
Read MoreThe “Hyping the Hoopla” team of Dan Boyce and Cairns Taipans NBL.tv commentator Matt Smith (who also has 150 games of NBL experience) welcome new addition Rhys Carter (2009 NBL Championship player) to the Hyping the Hoopla team to discuss the what’s what and the who’s who in Australian Basketball news over the past month. Head…
Read MoreAndrej Lemanis has named his first Australian Boomers squad this week to take on China in the Sino-Australia Challenge. I have written in regards to weak Boomers squads in the past but this takes the cake. Three of the starting five for Adelaide who came dead last in the National League is picked. Daniel Johnson…
Read MoreThe WNBL and NBL are two ‘no-go’ zones for writers when it comes to discussion about free-to-air coverage (all it does is create havoc on your twitter account). I enjoy the havoc, so I welcome this topic with open arms. Last year the NBL announced a landmark agreement where all NBL games will be broadcast…
Read MoreThe NBL All-Star game is back, something fans have been waiting for since 2008. The league’s annual showcase has given us unforgettable performances from the greatest players to ever grace these shores, but in the game which features our league’s brightest stars, which players have shone brightest? To coincide with the return of the NBL’s…
Read MoreDecember 15th is a significant day on the NBA calendar. It is the first day that free agents signed in the offseason can be traded. For the San Antonio Spurs, that means it’s the first day Boris Diaw, Pat Mills and Tim Duncan (unlikely) can be traded. So since they can, should the Spurs look…
Read MoreLiam Quinn discusses what effect David Stern’s plans to make the Olympics an Under-23 competition will really have in his entry to our weekly Article of the Week Cash Giveaways! Written by Liam Quinn Twitter: @LiamQuinn23 As Team USA continues to impose their international dominance on the East London hardwood, talk across “The Pond” continues to revolve around the…
Read MoreThe Australia Men’s basketball team lost a nail biter in their first game of Olympic Competition 75-71 to Brazil, a team which boasts four NBA players in Leandro Barbosa (Indiana), Anderson Varejao (Cleveland), Nene Hilario (Washington) and Tiago Splitter (San Antonio) and has experts predicting them as medal chance. NBA Superstars Kobe Bryant and…
Read MoreWritten by Kevin Pelton During Sunday’s exhibition game between the USA men’s national team and Argentina, NBA TV’s duo of Steve Smith and Larry Smith repeatedly noted that Argentina is ranked third in the world. But what does that mean? FIBA’s rankings are based on performance over a two-Olympic cycle, which means that Argentina’s lofty ranking–behind…
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Jensen Bradtke wearing his father Mark’s famous No. 50 should be one of the great stories of NBL27. Instead, it has again exposed a question Melbourne United has never properly answered: when does Melbourne Tigers history belong to United, and when doesn’t it? Seeing BRADTKE and No. 50 together on a Melbourne basketball jersey again should be nothing other than a celebration. Jensen Bradtke is beginning his first season with Melbourne United, wearing the same number his father Mark wore through one of the great…
READ MOREEvery NBL pre-season, there is plenty of attention on players around the league who could take the next step in their professional basketball journey. A breakout can happen in different ways. For some players, it’s getting more opportunity. For an established player, it can mean building on what they have already achieved and elevating their game to another level. For others, it may simply take a new home where their skills can be maximised. Below are four players who I think are ready to break…
READ MOREFormer Sydney Kings and Canberra Cannons import Mario Donaldson joins the podcast to revisit his time in the NBL, including competing in the famous 1994 NBL Dunk Contest, the highs and lows of his seasons in Sydney and Canberra, and the success he found playing around the world. Host Dan Boyce chats with Donaldson about arriving in Sydney in 1994 and playing alongside Leon Trimmingham, helping the Kings return to the playoffs and establishing himself as one of the league’s best outside shooters. Visit dunk.com.au…
READ MOREFormer NBL champion and Australian Boomer Mitch McCarron joins the podcast to reflect on retiring from professional basketball at just 32, what went wrong during his three seasons with the Adelaide 36ers, and narrowly missing out on representing Australia at an Olympics or World Cup. Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Host Dan Boyce chats with McCarron about the injuries which ultimately ended his NBL career, his transition into coaching and player relations, and why he continues to play basketball with Eltham…
READ MORETwo-time NBL champion and five-time NBL Best Defensive Player Darnell Mee returns to the podcast to revisit the unfinished stories from one of the greatest careers in Australian basketball, including Adelaide’s heartbreaking 2001 playoff exit, his decision to leave the 36ers and the fight to keep the Cairns Taipans alive. Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Host Dan Boyce chats with Mee about watching his son Micale build his own basketball career in Australia, the chemistry behind Adelaide’s back-to-back championships, becoming teammates…
READ MOREJunior basketball development is where the Australian basketball journey begins. Before players represent Australia or reach the NBL, most first learn the game through their local basketball association. While hundreds of rookies have entered the NBL over the years, the same junior basketball programs regularly appear in their backgrounds. Some associations have developed significantly more NBL talent than others, establishing themselves as important pathways into professional basketball. Until now, a complete record of the junior association responsible for developing every player to have competed in…
READ MORETwo-time NBL champion Matt Garrison joins the podcast to reflect on winning back-to-back championships with two different teams, helping the Wollongong Hawks claim their first NBL title in 2001 before joining the Adelaide 36ers and winning it all again in 2002. Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Host Dan Boyce chats with Garrison about arriving in Wollongong as a mid-season import, adjusting from being a high-scoring starter to an important role off the bench, and being part of the Hawks team that…
READ MOREIn 1984, the NBL introduced the three-point line, forever altering the geometry of Australian basketball. Since then, the league has seen traditional snipers, stretch bigs and volume scorers completely revolutionise how offenses operate and defenses scramble. But as the modern game places a premium on spacing and perimeter shooting, a critical question arises: Who are the most efficient and devastating shooters in the 40-year history of the NBL? To cut through the noise, we have to look beyond raw percentages. By combining historical spreadsheet data…
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