“Nice haircut, you trying to be like me?” “You skinny, black runt, what are you talking about, I’m not trying to be you, I’m 6’1″ and all of me… All Aussie” “Well you’re nothing like Luc”, “Well you’re nothing like Jordan” – CJ Bruton shares banter from his days in Portland with Scottie Pippen. Head to…
Read More“I have just as many fans as Kobe, Lebron and D.Wade, it’s just my fans can’t afford to get tickets to the games, that’s why you’ll see me in places where you don’t see too many celebrities because I like to connect with the real people” – Stephen Jackson discusses how the fans see him….
Read More“They still let me play basketball (while I was n jail). One time I had a one o’clock game then I had to check into jail at six o’clock that night and I was watching my highlights in jail that night” Isaac Burton talks about playing basketball for the Las Vegas Silver Bandits during the time…
Read More“Adrian Hurley brought Longley, Bradtke and Vlahov in at the same age and the Australian program was rewarded ten fold by doing that… I think if you are gonna take an eleventh or twelfth man you should go with some young guys and give them some experience” – Brett Maher’s thoughts on whether Ben Simmons should have been…
Read More“At the start of the year the NBL players totalled 576 points, by the end of the year the same group of players were rating over 600, which was over the points allowed for the league. So no matter if there are better players to take an NBL players job or not at the end…
Read MoreListen to Aussie Hoopla podcast on the links below. iTunes – Spotify – Stitcher – Libsyn – TuneIn “I forgot a sock, didn’t want to stand out and tell anyone I’d forgotten a sock. I thought I can get away with this, took off my jocks, wrapped them around my foot and taped it up with some ankle tape. I trained,…
Read More“After my second year with the Tigers Lindsay retires, Drewey retires, Copes and Bradtke went on to Brisbane and Chris Anstey had come in. I hadn’t talked to anybody and nobody came and spoke to me so I signed a deal with Wollongong” – Darryl McDonald shares how he agreed to play with Wollongong Hawks…
Read More“He was trying to find out how much power did he have, he’d try things and no one would say no to him, I think if he had an older player or coach to guide him through those things he would have developed into a different player. He’d take off his seatbelt and run up and down a private…
Read More“It was a different time… the worst racism often came from the white american imports, one said I thought I left America to get away from you n*ggas… that was when the fight broke out, and the league took a bit of a stand after that” – Cal Bruton discusses racism in the early days of…
Read MoreDownload and listen to Aussie Hoopla podcast on the links below. iTunes – Spotify – Stitcher – Libsyn – TuneIn “You look at the growth of the A League and stars that they’ve been able to bring in… a few years ago basketball and soccer were on an pretty even playing field and now they’ve just signed a very impressive TV…
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Former 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…
READ MOREPerth Wildcats head coach John Rillie joins the podcast to discuss the pressure that comes with coaching one of the NBL’s most successful clubs, the challenge of moving forward after Bryce Cotton’s departure, and what Perth needs to build its next championship contender. Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Host Dan Boyce chats with Rillie about taking over the Wildcats after the club missed the finals for the first time since 1986, the expectations of the Red Army, and how Perth’s three…
READ MOREFormer Sydney Kings and Townsville Crocodiles big man Rolan Roberts joins the podcast to reflect on his time in Australia, including joining the Kings mid-season and helping them complete their historic 2005 NBL three-peat. Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Host Dan Boyce chats with Roberts about playing under Brian Goorjian, becoming a key interior presence for Sydney, and being part of the Kings team that became the first in NBL history to win three straight championships. The episode also dives into…
READ MOREAt some point over the next 12 months, the Boomers are going to have to make a decision that Australian basketball has managed to avoid for almost two decades. Who exactly is this team built around now? Since 2010, that answer was simple. It was Patty Mills’ team. Mills has been the primary scorer for the Boomers for nearly two decades and few Australian victories have been recorded without a major scoring performance from Patty. But as the Boomers move toward the 2027 FIBA World…
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