In The Huddle, June 21 2007

Friday June 22, 2007

Hi there

Good luck to all the Dominion Finance NBL semifinalists.

After a ripper of a regular season, we are down to four teams and a couple of games that are too close to pick.

Home advantage could be huge ... but then, so could playoff experience.

NBL awards voting closes on Monday, so downloard the voting form from the link below and ensure your favourites are among the winners.

Cheers

Chappy

2007 Dominion Finance NBL Awards Voting Form (xls 24KB)

Giving Thanks

This week is Volunteer Awareness Week, for us a time to acknowledge all the volunteers who give their time to make a difference to basketball in New Zealand.

Basketball New Zealand relies on volunteers to deliver our programmes, tournaments and events, and it is with gratitude that we recognise those who have contributed to basketball in all areas of the game.

Thank you for all your hard work!

Through Good Times & Bad

With time running out on U Park It Waikato Pistons’ unsuccessful comeback bid against NBL champions Easy LPG Bay Hawks in March, coach Murray McMahon subs in one of his favourite players.

He needs a very specific job done – foul the ball handler, put them on the free throw line quickly and regain possession. It’s not a glamorous task, but it must be performed in such a way that it doesn’t look intentional, even though everyone in the gym (including the refs) knows it is.

And it’s only reflection on the stat sheet will be another unwanted personal foul.

After 16 years in the league, journeyman Jeff Niwa is not going to light up the scoreboard for you …but he is smart and will give you the little things that every team needs to succeed. He’s glue.

Women's Tournament Scrapped

Basketball New Zealand has had to pull the plug on the Women’s National Basketball Invitational after two of the four teams withdrew at late notice.

The two round-robin tournaments were designed to provide Kiwi women with another high level of competition after the Women’s Basketball League ended this month. They were scheduled to start this weekend.

But the concept founded when Waikato withdrew and, with no viable replacement available at such short notice, Otago chose not to contest a three-team draw.

Breakers On Maori TV

The Harvey Norman NZ Breakers are thrilled a move to “free to air” television will give more New Zealanders the opportunity to view home matches live on TV.

All 15 of the Breakers’ Thursday night home games in the 2007/2008 Philips Championship, starting on September 20 and finishing on February 7, will be broadcast live by Maori Television.

New Zealand’s national indigenous broadcaster was working with Sky TV on replay opportunities. It is anticipated that replays of the Breakers’ matches, along with other Australian NBL content, will be carried on Sky TV.

Trialists Named

NBL success has thrust Appliance Shed Harbour Heat duo Hayden Allen and Daryl Cartwright back into national team consideration.

New NZ Tall Black coach Nenad Vucinic has selected 19 players for his first selection camp, beginning July 1 in Napier. The group will be trimmed to 16 (July 5), and then to 12 (July 11) for a three-test series against Venezuela, starting June 20 at Napier’s Pettigrew Green Arena.

The Tall Blacks main assignment this year is to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and they will face the Australian Boomers in a three-game qualifying series across the ditch in August.

Henare Makes History

Easy LPG Bay Hawks point guard Paul Henare has become the first player to secure four National Basketball League assist titles.

At the end of the 2007 Dominion Finance NBL regular season last weekend, Henare had again secured the Dave Taylor Trophy with the highest average of 6.4, clear of Youthtown Auckland Stars challengers Lindsay Tait (5.6) and Dillon Boucher (5.3).

The NZ Tall Black regular had previously won the title in 2001, 04 & 05, tied with Wellington Saints legend Kenny McFadden for the most seasons on top. Henare’s latest triumph edges him ahead of McFadden for outright supremacy and his 12 assists in the Hawks’ 88-86 home win over U Park It Waikato Pistons was the highest single-game tally of the season.

Read More ...

2007 Dominion Finance NBL Awards Voting Form (xls 24KB)

Major Gains

The result may not seem flattering, but coach Mike McHugh walked away from the NZ Tall Fern’s 49-78 loss to the home team content that his inexperienced squad had made significant improvement over their week in China.

Even on the scoreboard, the result was better than the 42-point drubbing the young Kiwis had suffered in their opening game six days ago.

“But the scoreline probably doesn’t reflect our performance,” said McHugh. “We actually played them pretty well and although the score was a marginal improvement, it was a vastly different performance.”

Saints Win Number Games

Toby Robson, Dominion Post

Wellington Saints supporters have driven a big increase in National Basketball League crowd numbers this season, but the big Auckland fan base remains elusive.

Figures show the Saints nearly doubled their total attendance this season with 23,200 people watching their nine home games at TSB Bank Arena.

Wellington’s average crowd of 2577 a game was up on about 1400 in 2006 and was 160 per cent up on a paltry 994 in 2005.

BBNZ Aims At Europe

Toby Robson, Dominion Post

Basketball New Zealand is launching a two-pronged assault on the international men’s stage with plans for more tours to Europe and the establishment of a new Commonwealth tournament.

After attending several high profile Fiba events in Europe last month BBNZ chief executive Bryn McGoldrick said the Tall Blacks could not afford to sit back and wait for international teams to travel down-under.

Semi Safe But Not Finals

U Park It Waikato Pistons will enjoy the benefits of home advantage for their Dominion Finance NBL semifinal this Saturday … but they’re not completely out of the woods yet.

If the rampant Pistons, riding a five-game winning streak into the playoffs, happen to beat the Blue Chip Nelson Giants, they would still need to find another venue for the best-of-three final series.

Shared Honours

Dominion Finance NBL Players of the Week - Jason Crowe (U Park It Waikato Pistons)
32 points (11/22 FG, 5/11 3pt, 5/7 FT), seven steals, five assists & four rebounds v Appliance Shed Harbour Heat
and
Link Abrams (TET Taranaki Mountain Airs)
25 points (11/13 FG, 3/8 FT), 13 rebounds, five blocks, two steals & an assist v Cartridge World Otago Nuggets

Fittingly, the top two players on the season’s final power rankings produced their best performances in the final round to share this award.

Includes Stat Leaders (Round 15) & Player Power Rankings Top 50

Briefs

Angela Ashen Over Choice
Boti Nagy, The Adelaide Advertiser
As the daughter of Vince Marino, owner of Adelaide’s WNBL franchise, she knows if she is approached to play by the Lightning, charges of nepotism are sure to follow.
Read More ...

NBL Milestones (Semis)
Appliance Shed Harbour Heat forward Daryl Cartwright needs 12 more rebounds to achieve 1000 in the NBL. He is currently averaging 4.5 boards over 219 games.
Read More ...

Forman Hamstrung
Appliance Shed Harbour Heat have suffered an injury scare ahead of their Dominion Finance NBL semifinal next Sunday, with Aussie forward Oscar Forman straining a hamstring on the Boomers’ tour of China.
Read More ...

Study Break
While her international team-mates were touring China, NZ Tall Fern point guard Angela Marino was scoring up a storm for Sturt Sabres in the Central Australia Basketball League.
Read More ...