Thursday June 14, 2007

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Cast Your Votes

Who have been the best of Dominion Finance NBL’s best … now it’s time for you to have your say!

Over the next 12 days, you will be able to cast votes towards this year’s national league awards for Outstanding Guard, Outstanding Forward, Outstanding Kiwi Guard, Outstanding Kiwi Forward, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, the All-Star Five, Kiwi MVP and Most Valuable Player.

Deadline for votes is Monday, June 25, and winners will be announced in the build-up to the Dominion Finance NBL finals.

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

Chinese Puzzle

A raw and inexperienced NZ Tall Ferns outfit received an international wake-up call from hosts China as they fell 46-88 in their opening game of the Jin Quiang Cup in Chengdou.

Missing veterans Donna Wilkins, Aneka Kerr, Charmian Purcell and Angela Marino, the young Kiwis (average age 21) hung with their rivals until midway through the second quarter, before committing a series of errors that allowed the Chinese, ranked 10th in the world, to slip away.

“They really dominated the third quarter after Jessica McCormack got into foul trouble,” observed coach Mike McHugh. “Fatigue and pressure in the second half allowed China to get away to a big win.”

Pistons Hot

American Jason Crowe led U Park It Waikato Pistons into the 2007 Dominion Finance NBL semifinals with a 98-90 road win over regular season champions Appliance Shed Harbour Heat.

Crowe headed all scorers with 32 points (11/22 FG, 5/11 3pt, 5/7 FT), adding seven steals, five assists and four rebounds, as the Pistons overcame a 17-30 first-quarter deficit to sneak through in the final quarter.

Box Score

Gooding On Board

Australian Leigh Gooding had a surprise taste of things to come before his official appointment as NZ Tall Ferns assistant coach and head coach of the new Christchurch-based defencejobs Australian WNBL franchise.

Pending Basketball New Zealand board approval, Gooding (36) was included in the tour party when the national women’s team visited Japan last month and actually guided them in their final game after head coach Mike McHugh returned home early to attend a SPARC conference.

“It was a quick little learning curve,” acknowledges Gooding. “I had to try and get up to speed with the plays.

North To Alaska

NZ Tall Black forward Jeremiah Trueman has transferred to Anchorage University of Alaska after two seasons with San Diego Christian College.

Alaska mens basketball coach Rusty Osborne announced Trueman will join the Seawolves for the 2007-08 campaign with two more years of eligibility at UAA.

The 2.05m, 95kg Trueman was a starter his first two collegiate seasons at San Diego, where he averaged 6.8 points (64% FG) and 5.0 rebounds per game, helping the Hawks to back-to-back NAIA National Tournament appearances.

Rice Is Nice

Dominion Finance Player of the Week - Andrew Rice (Easy LPG Bay Hawks)
28 points (10/14 FG, 4/7 3pt, 4/4 FT), 11 rebounds, two assists, a block & a steal v Youthtown Auckland Stars

It is an oddity of this year’s NBL that Rice has already played more than a regular season schedule after transferring mid-season from Century City Wellington Saints.

His 20 games have been a mixed bag, but he can certainly step up when the occasion demands … as it did in this crucial rematch of last year’s finalists.

Includes Round 14 Stat Leaders & Player Power Rankings Top 50

Oasis In A Desert

Appliance Shed Harbour Heat co-captain Hayden Allen has been through high and lows in the National Basketball League … mostly lows.

Over a decade, he has endured six frustrating seasons with his home team, the Otago Nuggets, and more recently, a couple of tumultuous seasons with the Heat under firebrand coach Steve Done. Even when he won a title with Waikato in 2002, Allen started the season late with injury and never really found a niche in the rotation.

So capturing the 2007 Dominion Finance NBL regular season title has definitely been a career highlight.

Includes full Round 14 results

No Regrets

Back at the scene of the crime, Curves Harbour Breeze made up for the disappointment of losing last year’s national final with a comprehensive 82-63 win over Waikato Lady Titans for the 2007 Women’s Basketball League title.

On the same AUT Northcote court that saw them bow to Auckland by a point less than 12 months earlier, the home side were several levels above their playoff opponents on this occasion, the scoreline in the final in no way reflective of their dominance.

Briefs

With a Dominion Finance NBL post-season spot not quite secure, U Park It Waikato Pistons coach Murray McMahon can’t afford to get too cute in a possible semifinal preview with the league leaders.
Includes Dominion Finance NBL Playoff Projections
Dominion Finance NBL Guide (Round 15)
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Another Triple
Kiwi Zane Meehl compiled his second consecutive “triple double” to fuel Maroochydore Clippers’ 147-107 win over Toowoomba Mountaineers in the Queensland Australia Basketball League.
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Brooks No More
American Kevin Brooks has been stood down as coach from Century City Wellington Saints’ final regular season outing of the Dominion Finance NBL, effectively ending his rocky relationship with the franchise.
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Loss Likely To End Run
Steve Deane, NZ Herald
Dillon Boucher is facing up to the fact he may miss the NBL playoffs for the first time in his 13-year career after the Auckland Stars were dumped 110-99 by Hawkes Bay at ASB Stadium.
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Courses

Referee & Evaluator Workshop
June 22-24, Christchurch

Canterbury Basketball Officials Association, in conjunction with Basketball New Zealand, has arranged an exciting weekend of referee and evaluator education.

Read More ...

X's & O's - How To Coach Kids

Basketball Coachforce officers Trent Adam (Taranaki), Murray McMahon (Waikato), Dave Harrison (Canterbury) and Jamie Southey (Wellington) have produced this guide to coaching basketball to children, based on SPARC's Coach Development Resource.