Wednesday April 18, 2007

Hi there

Welcome to another edition of "In The Huddle" ...
This weekend sees the first of Basketball New Zealand's national tournaments - the Oreo NZ U21 Championships in Christchurch, featuring nine men's teams and five women's teams. If you're around QE2 Stadium, check it out. Updated results and coverage will feature in the BBNZ website.
Also, the Conference Basketball League looms nearer with six teams gathering in Rotorua on Saturday for a Mini BLITZ pre-season hitout.
Keep an eye on the website for the impending announcement of NZ Tall Fern, NZ Junior Tall Black and NZ Junior Tall Fern teams for upcoming tours.
Cheers
Chappy

Leap Of Faith

Even as he became the winningest coach in league history last season, Nenad Vucinic learnt a thing or two about following his gut instinct.

That lesson has resulted in perhaps the most unexpected break-up of the 2007 Dominion Finance NBL so far, one that has seen Vucinic cut well-performed American Faron Hand from the Blue Chip Nelson Giants.

“Faron is a good player and a good person,” insists Vucinic. “He has worked hard to get fit.

“I just felt after the first seven games, the composition of this team was not enough for us to contend for the title and the imports are the only things we could really change.

Dominion Finance NBL Guide (Round Seven) (pdf 1.2KB)

Reward Overdue

Dominion Finance NBL Player of the Week - Michael Joiner (Scenic Circle Canterbury Rams)

16 points (7/18 FG, ¼ 3pt, ½ FT), 14 rebounds, four steals, two blocks & an assist v TET Taranaki Mountain Airs

All season long, Joiner and fellow American Mychal Green have toiled hard for the Rams … their efforts were finally rewarded with their first win.

Joiner has often been the Lone Ranger in the paint and finished this game on the ground, writhing with cramps. He also provided the basket that finally ended Taranaki’s comeback hopes, rebounding his own missed dunk attempt that ballooned over the backboard and converting a reverse lay-up with little over a minute left.

Includes Player Power Rankings 50 & Round Six Stat Leaders

2007 Oreo NZ U21 Championship Coaching Clinic

Sunday, April 22
QEII Stadium, Christchurch

Basketball New Zealand is pleased to present its ongoing series of national championship coaching clinics.

The 2007 Oreo U21 National Championship Coaching Clinic will feature Basketball New Zealand coaching & development manager Ollie Dudfield and Scenic Circle Canterbury Rams coach Chris Sparks.

Suzie May Be Fern Of Other Code

Geoff Longley, Christchurch Press

Last month talented Otago sportswoman Suzie Bates was playing for the White Ferns at a mini-world cricket cup in India; at the weekend she was trying out for the Tall Ferns’ Olympic basketball campaign.

The versatile Bates, 19, experienced her first Tall Ferns squad clinic at Christchurch during the weekend, having made a swift sporting switch in style.

Bates only had a few weeks warning to turn her mind from the summer game to winter sport and then was expected to perform at a top level among some of the Tall Ferns players who were reassembling for the first time since their silver medal success at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne last March.

Jones Scores, Cantu Lose

NZ Tall Black Phill Jones led Tisettanta Cantu in scoring as they slipped to their second straight loss – 78-83 to Angelico Biella – in the Italian Lega A.

Jones had 14 points (6/15 FG, 1/5 3pt, 1/1 FT), four rebounds and a steal in 27 minutes off the bench, but Cantu lost their way during a 17-36 second quarter, falling to 14-14 for the season.

They are one of four teams tied with the same record for places sixth to ninth with six games remaining in the regular season.

Triple Trouble

NZ Tall Fern Lisa Pardon had a pair of “double doubles” for Launceston Tornadoes, but couldn’t prevent them dropping all three games of a challenging mainland triple header in the South East Australia Basketball League.

Pardon had 14 points (5/15 FG, 1/2 3pt, 3/7 FT) and 14 rebounds in a 61-74 defeat by Knox Raiders. She also had 11 points (5/20 FG, 1/6 3pt), 10 rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal against Kilsyth Lady Cobras.

Kiwi Gemma Kerr had 11 points (3/12 FG, 1/7 3pt, 4/4 FT), three rebounds, two steals and a block for the Lady Cobras against Launceston.

Free Birds

For the first month of the 2007 Dominion Finance NBL, the titleholders have borne the burden of unreasonable expectations, their own and the world’s.

“This group was carrying a lot of weight on their shoulders for no reason,” observes Easy LPG Bay Hawks coach Shawn Dennis.

“This team are not the defending champions … that was last year’s team. This is a different team that need to put their own mark on the competition.

“I didn’t think they had done that.”

Last Friday’s 83-64 annihilation of Century City Wellington Saints may be the performance that eases this Hawks outfit over the psychological hump.

Includes full Dominion Finance NBL Round Six Results

Women's Basketball League (North)

Saturday, April 14
CCNZ 77 (Kyler Parai 28, Donna Fermanis 17, Cody Hippolite 11, Meike Elkington 10) Counties Manukau 76 (Neeley Davie 24, Leigh Paitai 12, Jordan Hunter 10)
Quarter 21-14
Halftime 45-41 (24-17)
Threequarter 60-49 (15-8)
Fulltime 77-76 (17-27)
Box Score

CCNZ 93 (Cody Hippolite 25, Kyler Parai 17, Corban Parata 17, Donna Fermanis 15, Mieke Elkington 12) Massey Fever 76 (Georgia Cummings 20, Stevee-Rose Theyers 19)

Wanted - CoachForce Development Officer

Sport Bay of Plenty, in association with Bay of Plenty Basketball (Inc.), is seeking registrations of interest in their CoachForce Basketball Development Officer position.

The successful applicant will work extensively in recruiting new coaches, developing existing coaches and recognizing the contribution of volunteer coaches for Basketball in the Bay of Plenty region.

BBNZ Development Cluster Camps

April 28
Timaru, Christchurch, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Auckland

Basketball New Zealand will conduct three Development Cluster Camps in 2007, forming a key part of BBNZ’s player, coach and manager pathway, and providing opportunities for identification on a national level.

X's & O's - Defending 94 Feet

The aim of this defence is that it can be used to change and control the game primarily through controling the tempo of the game and forcing the offensive team out of their comort zone.

The primary teaching points of this defence are:

* deny entry passes; safe passes increase time pressure

* force the ball to the outside, trap from the middle

* pressure over players; pressure requires rotating and scrambling to guard various players

* defend from the basket out

* two ways to defend 94 feet - "on" (pass lanes) or "off" (penetration lanes)