Thursday May 10, 2007

Hi there

It's a sobering thought.

Amidst the trash talk, the thrown elbows, the dancing girls, the loud hip-hop music and the contracts, it pays to remember that basketball was a game played 50 years ago with the same endeavour and enthusiasm, but without the excesses of today.

In 1957, the Hamilton team won the national men's championship and will gather next week to reminisce and watch the local team attempt to repeat their achievement in the Dominion Finance NBL.

You wonder what they think of it all ...

Meanwhile, the Conference Basketball League tips off this week with games in the northern, central and capital regions. Women's Basketball League action also begins in the central conference.

The NZ Tall Ferns squad to tour Japan has been named and particular congratulations to Otago guard Suzie Bates, who becomes a double international.

An invitation to attend The Main Event tournament in Las Vegas also means added opportunities for the NZ Junior Tall Blacks to prepare for next year's world championships qualifying bid.

Meanwhile, the NBL rounds the turn into the home stretch and the competition for semifinal berths heats up.

Enjoy!
Chappy

Cooling Off?

The illusion of invincibility has been shattered, but no one, least of their vanquishers, believes this is the beginning of the end for Appliance Shed Harbour Heat.

“They are a tough team to play,” insists Blue Chip Nelson Giants coach Nenad Vucinic. “They are physical and tough, and run some good structure as well.

“I don’t think their bubble has burst. They’ve got a lot of away games coming up, but they’re still the number one team in the country.”

The Heat belied their franchise’s underachieving reputation to rattle off seven straight victories to start the 2007 Dominion Finance NBL, including two over champions Easy LPG Bay Hawks and another over last year’s runners-up Youthtown Auckland Stars.

That streak came a cropper last Thursday when the Giants ran away with an 83-59 win at the North Shore Events Centre.

Dominion Finance NBL Guide (Round 10)

New Blood

Five new caps, including teenage Harbour centre Rebecca Dew (16), have been included in the NZ Tall Ferns team to Japan later this month.

As the Kiwi women begin their build-up towards the Beijing Olympics, the touring squad contains just one survivor from Athens in 2004 – pint-sized point guard Angela Marino. Veteran forwards Donna Wilkins (netball) and Aneka Kerr (injury) were unavailable for selection.

“Due largely to the absences of Donna and Aneka, who would normally be in the programme, we’re looking at this as a development opportunity with a view to our China trip in June,” says Tall Fern coach Mike McHugh.

Juniors To Vegas

The NZ Junior Tall Blacks will contest The Main Event Pioneer Summer Shootout in Las Vegas in July as part of their build-up towards next year’s FIBA Oceania U19 Championships, a world championship qualifying event.

Last year, the tournament attracted 550 teams from the United States, Canada, Australia and France, spread over 10 age groups, and offers college coaches a perfect chance to scout scholarship prospects.

After last month’s national age group camp, Basketball New Zealand has named two Junior Tall Blacks squads for this year – one for The Main Event (July 22-26) and another for the Australian U18 Championships in Launceston (July 7-14).

The 2007 national age groups teams are …

Guess Who

Dominion Finance NBL Player of the Week – Lindsay Tait (Youthtown Auckland Stars)
32 points (9/19 FG, 2/6 3pt, 12/14 FT), 10 assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block v Century City Wellington Saints

OK, we can hear the complaints from here … is it healthy to have the same player as POW three weeks in a row?

Look at it this way, in those three weeks, Tait has averaged 35.0 points (55.9% FG, 40% 3pt, 91.1% FT), 8.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals at a time when the Stars needed their Kiwi players to step up.

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

Read More ...

Pistons Pumping

While the world was distracted, the U Park It Waikato Pistons suddenly (and quietly) became the hottest team in the Dominion Finance NBL.

Old school Pistons coach Murray McMahon winces at the suggestion, but while the Giants were ending the Heat’s seven-game winning tear, and the Stars and Saints were (literally and figuratively) beating each other up, his team peeled off their fourth straight victory, 88-58 over Inspire Net Manawatu Jets on Saturday night.

And they did it without one of the key figures in their dramatic recent change of fortunes – American centre Jason Fraser – who flew home Friday with a broken finger.

Includes Full NBL Round Nine Results

Aucks' Comeback

NZ Tall Ferns Lisa Wallbutton and Jess McCormack combined to rally Auckland from 18 points down entering the final quarter to deprive Waikato 78-70 in the Women’s Basketball League northern conference.

The result gives Auckland an edge in the hunt for a berth at the league finals next month.

Waikato have already beaten their rivals once this season and were quickly on top with a 24-13 opening quarter. They also dominated the third term and seemed to be cruising towards success.

Blast From The Past

Fifty years on, Colin Agnew remembers it (most of it, anyway) like it was yesterday.

The bits he’s hazy on, he has more than a week to make up before reuniting with his mates from the 1957 Hamilton team that won the national basketball championships on their home court at Bledisloe Hall.

“Back then, we used to have a North Island tournament, a South Island tournament and a national tournament … that was our representative basketball for the year.

“Sometimes, we might have home-and-away games against Auckland, Tauranga or Rotorua, but the national championships were the peak of the season.”

Players Suspended, Warned

Auckland Stars forward Casey Frank and Wellington Saints import Bakari Hendrix are on official notice after their ejections from a fiery NBL encounter in Wellington on Thursday.

Both players were involved in a struggle that spilled into the corridor after they were tossed from the game during the final quarter of Auckland’s 108-106 win.

After considering game reports and video evidence, Basketball New Zealand has handed mandatory one-game stand downs to Frank and Hendrix for their ejections, and issued formal written warnings that reprimand them and stipulate that any further infractions this season will result in potentially season-ending suspensions.

Read More ...

Latin Showdown

The NZ Tall Blacks will face Venezuela in three home tests as part of their build-up towards the FIBA Oceania Olympic qualifying series against Australia in August.

Basketball New Zealand has confirmed games on July 20 in Napier and July 22 & 24 in Wellington.

“They are a strong team,” observes new Tall Black coach Nenad Vucinic. “Typcially South American … athletic and some very good individual players.

“They are primarily trying to prepare for the Americas qualifying tournament for Beijing and are certainly a capable team.”

Kench A Hawk

Scenic Circle Canterbury Rams point guard Jeremy Kench will play for the Wollongong Hawks in the 2007/08 Australian NBL.

Kench (22) debuted in the Phillips Champions with the Singapore Slingers last summer after a breakout season in the New Zealand NBL in 2006.

“I was very impressed with his play during his rookie season,” says Hawks coach Eric Cooks. “He’s a tough guard and is willing to put his body on the line on the defensive end.

Briefs

New Imports For Stars
The long and the short of it is that the Youthtown Auckland Stars will field import players for the first time in three weeks when they travel to New Plymouth to take on TET Taranaki Mountain Airs on Saturday.
Read More ...

Watts' Stint Short-lived
Pete McNae, Nelson Mail
Marcus Watts joined the ranks of the ex-Giants on Monday, the 23-year-old forward becoming the second import cut this season by Nelson’s national basketball league franchise.
Read More ...

Hamilton Venue "Absolute Crap"
Gifford Lee, Waikato Times
Hamilton’s YMCA basketball facility has been labelled a national embarrassment with Waikato Basketball chief executive John Davey threatening to move the city’s national league team to Te Awamutu.
Read More ...

King, Mackay Rule
Former Basketball New Zealand High Performance head coach Leonard King is off to a winning start in his new professional coaching career, guiding the Mackay Meteors to two victories in the opening rounds of the Queensland Australia Basketball League.
Read More ...

K-Mac In Upset
NZ Tall Fern Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe helped Frankston Lady Blues to an upset 76-55 win over Nunawading Spectres in the South East Australia Basketball League.
Read More ...

Risings Suns Shine
Massive centre Kumiko Yamada and dead-eye outside shooter Ai Mitani brought the Japanese women’s team through for a hard-fought 80-75 win over a Northern All-Stars team to wind up their four-game tour of New Zealand.
Read More ...

X's & O's - Individual v Team Development

A common issue faced by coaches at all levels and especially the developmental and amateur level is the limited contact they have with athletes.

This dilemma often forces a decision between spending time developing individual athletes or working on team concepts and tactics.

Often the balance will depend on a coach's goals (team success v player development), phase of the season (early v late) and age of the athletes (youth v senior athletes).