Basketball On The Internet.

*FLASHBACKS, my irregular "lucky dip" where I just reach into my drawers of old Australian basketball stuff and transcribe whatever I find for you.

I have a confession to make. Last week when I reached into my drawers and pulled out the NBL's 1983 Media Guide - so random after 30 years ago - transcribing the Frankston and Coburg pages, it received such a positive reaction I have decided to just continue with it. I never put the Guide away so technically I'm not reaching into my drawers - it's still sitting here on my desk.

 

ILLAWARRA HAWKS : Coach takes on problems

THE Illawarra Hawks face a difficult year on and off the court in the 1983 National Basketball League.

On the court, the Hawks have lost mercurial point guard and Moscow Olympian Gordie McLeod to big-spending Sydney Supersonics.

The loss of McLeod, for so many years the Hawks' "tail feathers" in the NBL, sent shock waves through Illawarra fans.

McLeod was a favorite sporting son.

There is, even now, fierce feelings against Sydney for trying to "buy" NBL prominence at the expense of a nearby club, but arguments are academic.

Illawarra have managed to buy well and economically during the off-season, despite the loss of McLeod and the retirement of Ted Holcomb and Ray Hannett.

1981 NBL player of the year Michael Jones will be back from the US.

When told of McLeod's departure, Jones commented: "Have no worries, the Hawks will still be a force."

Illawarra have snared former Sydney coach, the "old fox" Charlie Ammitt, the only NSW coach to have consistent success against the powerful southern States teams.

Charlie coached Illawarra for one season many years ago in the Alan Jones-Adrian Hurley era.

"It's  great to be back - there's good spirit down here," Ammitt said.

If the Hawks do well on the court this year, they will owe a lot to the small highlands township of Moss Vale.

Moss Vale has produced two stars who could easily lower some NBL reputations this year - Simon Cottrell and Bret Flanigan, two tall, raw-boned Institute of Sport stars with aggression to burn.

"They sometimes foul during the anthem," Hawks manager Barry Lee said.

Cottrell played a match with Launceston before going to the Canberra Institute.

He is a fierce rebounder and the Hawks will play him at centre.

At 206cm, Cottrell doesn't like to be outrebounded and some of the tall poppies in the NBL will find out why.

To Bret Flanigan, also of Moss Vale and the Institute, will fall the responsibility of filling McLeod's shoes.

He will be playmaker and point guard. At 20, his promise is tremendous. He may not fast-break like McLeod but he'll pull down more possession and with a name like Flanigan, he can be expected to make his court presence felt.

Flanigan could be an NBL success story this year as will Tim Morrissey. Morrissey is Wollongong-born and bred and has already made his name as an under-20 international star.

He has played a bench season with the Hawks but he will be first lineup this year.

A swingman - guard/forward - Morrissey has the potential to be one of Australia's greats and this NBL season could be his making.

The Hawks' second US import is guard Gerry Steurer, a fine backcourt shooter and ball-handler but largely an unknown quantity at this stage.

He is a good team man.

Long-serving American Jim Slacke is back at centre/forward and he will still be one of the NBL's most accurate shooters. He has within his reach this season the NBL points score record.

The Hawks will have a reasonably strong bench with Rhys Bennett, NSW guard Jimmy Williams (on the comeback trail) and another homegrown youngster with loads of potential, Mick Roodenrys.

There is one match the Hawks want to win above all others - against Sydney in Wollongong.

The Illawarra Association is in the middle of $400,000 additions to the Beaton Park Stadium and they won't be completed until well into the competition.

The new stadium will seat more than 2,000 and more than 2,000 will be at every home match.

Assistant coach this year will be basketball tactician and fitness expert Tom Penrose.

Playing roster

Jim Slacke  29  198cm  Forward

Michael Jones  27  201cm  Centre/forward

Michael Roodenrys  22  193cm Forward

Gerry Steurer  25  196cm  Guard

Simon Cottrell  21  203cm  Centre

Bret Flanigan  21  188cm  Guard

Tim Morrissey  21  193cm Forward

Ian Bartholomew  21  198cm  Centre/Forward

Jim Williams  26  188cm  Guard

Alex Sakun  19  186cm  Guard

Rhys Bennett  21  196cm  Forward

Kevin Marsh    178cm  Guard

Coach: Charlie Ammitt

Manager: Paul Whiteman

Playing venue: Beaton Park Stadium

 

 

ADELAIDE 36ERS :  Man, can this Winslow play

DAVID Winslow may just be the best American in the NBL. In fact, he may be the best player the NBL has ever had.

Yet it would be typical of Winslow to cringe at such accolades - that's the type of low-key ballplayer he is.

It was all too easy to overlook his contribution to Adelaide's all-round game last year, what with "Rifle" Reg Biddings averaging 30 points per game and Darryl "Ice Man" Pearce chipping in with his delightfully soft outside bankers.

But make no mistake, Winslow can play. He can do it all. Rebound, reject, defend, pass and steal. Man, can he steal!

He's the most agile big man in the league today - an end-to-end centre.

"I played most of my college ball at forward but out here I've had to play in the middle," he said. "It gets pretty wearing banging against the big bodies of guys like Brad Dalton and George Morrow."

That may be the case but the articulate 198cm pivot still finished the '82 campaign hauling down 13.2 rebounds per outing - second only to Morrow - while averaging 24.3 points per game.

The "Chairman of the Boards" can certainly score. He hit a career-high 74 points in an exhibition game last year. It was one hell of an exhibition!

"I enjoyed the NBL last year and the satisfaction I derive from the level of competition compensates being away from home," he said.

At 23, there's no doubt Winslow misses his family and friends. But he throws himself into the game with an intensity that belies anything may be plaguing him off court.

This year he'll return with the girl he married while at home in the US during the off-season - a man at peace, ready to tear the NBL to pieces.

Yet, like his team, Winslow was largely the forgotten man of the league in 1982.

"We were a new team coming in for Forestville at the last minute and I guess the local public took a while to accept us," he said.

This year the club will undergo a facelift, switching from the Adelaide City Eagles name to the jazzier Adelaide 36ers. The nickname refers to the founding date of the city - 1836.

It's a much-needed name change and will help Adelaide shed its "SA's other NBL team" stigma almost as much as its impressive debut season results did.

Adelaide's credibility was often under fire in 1982. They replaced Forestville who finished in the cellar in 1981 after changing their name from West Torrens in 1980.

In that year, Torrens had improved on Glenelg's 1979 cellar finish, moving up one whole rung after replacing the hapless Tigers.

The consistent chop-and-change of "SA's other NBL team" and its subsequent abysmal failures, followed by the hasty formation of the composite Adelaide City Eagles last year, hardly engendered a feeling of confidence through the discriminating SA public.

By late in the season, Adelaide's results - including comfortable wins over eventual league champion West Adelaide and final four side Nunawading - made such a bang that the noise was too loud to ignore.

"We came out of it with a 15-11 record and were a playoff chance late in the season. When you weigh it all up, that was a pretty fair debut," coach Mike Osborne said.

"It would be fair to add that David was the heart and soul of the team. He leads by example."

Which is probably why, when the dust settled, his statistics were always so amazing.

"When we're on the road and things are looking grim, you see the hang-dog look creeping onto the face of some of your teammates. Sure, you've got to lift, overcome your own fatigue and lead the way," Winslow says.

"I try to give the team what it needs at any particular time. If we need more boards or defence or baskets, I'll try to provide it."

And he does it with a combination of the skills of Larry Bird, Moses Malone and Magic Johnson. High praise? Watch him play. Study him. He toils, he works.

To David Winslow, the team means everything. Perhaps that's why he's the consummate team player in the NBL.

"The thing that gets me going out there is Darryl Pearce hitting his smooth jumpers from the outside. When he's on, we're cooking," Winslow says.

Pearce, a 21-year-old novice who shot 34 points for his club team South Adelaide against St Kilda as a 15-year-old prodigy, has never looked back. Any side that wants to witness his prowess at close range - and quickly blow a ball game - needs only to play a zone for five minutes.

The "Ice Man's" impact last year was immediate. "Who is this guy?" was the common lament of many a burned defender.

Now everybody knows and that means he'll face a far more gruelling second year with the NBL's foremost defenders swarming all over him.

Have no doubt he'll answer the challenge and make no mistake Chris Stirling's steadiness in the playmaking role will provide him sufficient opportunities.

Stirling, a veteran of the Forestville years, knows what it's all about. He's been through the good and the horrendous and remained as reliable as rain in Melbourne.

"We'd expect another good year from our guards and our frontcourt will receive a tremendous boost," Osborne said.

That boost will come in the form of 196cm, 100kg Doug Murray, a 23-year-old starter with San Jose State last year, who comes to Australia with possibly the most daunting reputation of any imported player.

The Spartans were ranked in the top 20 in US college ball and Murray was picked up by Golden State Warriors as a ninth round draft choice.

He made it through Warriors' preseason and rookie camps and played in the pro exhibition games before being cut.

He'd just come off a senior year in which he averaged 17 points per game, hitting more than 50 per cent from the floor.

Described in his resume as an outstanding leaper and excellent shooter from six metres, he should be just the man Winslow needs to combat the NBL's rampant big men.

After laying the foundation last year, Ian "Stanley" Grigg and Kym Borrett - provided the latter can avoid foul trouble - should give the 36ers the impetus to again be a contender in 1983.

The team will be a competitor which, like Winslow, can no longer be ignored.

Playing roster

Darryl Pearce  22  185cm Guard

Andy Amberg  23  203cm  Forward

Kym Borrett  21  195cm  Centre/Forward

David Winslow  23  201cm  Centre

Chris Stirling  27  178cm  Guard

Mark Sykes  23  178cm  Guard

Ian Grigg  24  198cm  Forward

Eriks Drizners  21  198cm  Forward

Doug Murray  22  200cm  Forward

Paul Hyland  21  176cm  Guard

Karl Luke  20  193cm Guard/Forward

Gerry Clarke  26  182cm  Guard

Lutz Heim  25  196cm  Forward

David Ingham  17  178cm  Guard

Jamie Madigan  18  180cm  Guard

Malcolm Penno  19  180cm Guard

Dean Kinsman  23  182cm  Guard

Ian Kneebone  21  195cm  Foirward

David Kubank  17  193cm Guard/Forward

Coach: Mike Osborne

Manager: Jeff Coulls

Playing venue: Apollo Entertainment Centre