Basketball On The Internet.

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

Found another copy of "The Cannon" - the home match program for the Canberra Mazda Cannons, this one from April 13, 1985 when they hosted the St Kilda Pumas.

 

PALACE PREVIEW

St Kilda have not been without their problems over the last two seasons. The Pumas just beat Bankstown out of the 1983 finals on percentage. In 1984 they failed to qualify for the finals for the first time in six years of NBL.

The Pumas are undertaking a rebuilding program based on junior players. Coach Andy Blicavs will be looking for an improvement in '85 despite experiencing recruiting and financial problems in the off-season.

Lost from the St Kilda line-up are Steve Breheny, David Leslie and Brendan Joyce. Gains include American Steve Brekke and three star juniors.

The key players for St Kilda will be evergreen big man Mike Slusher, South Australian Player of the Year in 1984 Steve Brekke and Dean Templeton. In the backcourt will be the sharp-shooter Peter Wain and spark-plug Wayne Larkins.

The Cannons after a solid performance against Brisbane will be at full strength for the first time after a series of inuries. Dufelmeier and Nelson may still be 3 or 4 weeks away from full recovery and peak fitness. However the strength of the bench should allow them the time.

Coach Turner will likely use his greater depth to apply both defensive and offensive pressure. He has shown in the preseason that a fullcourt press will be an important part of the Cannons' tactics. The overall height advantage should also provide the necessary rebounds to run their fast break.

The Cannons have never lost the opening game of an NBL season at home so Turner will have the players primed up to keep that record intact.

 

LIKELY MATCH-UPS

Mike Slusher - Andy Campbell

Steve Brekke - Dave Nelson

Dean Templeton - Mark Dalton

Wayne Larkins - Phil Smyth

Peter Wain - Herb McEachin

 

TONIGHT'S ACTION

6.00 Gates open

6.15 Prelim. Warm-up

6.30 Prelim game

8.00 Warm-Up

8.15 Tip-off CANNONS v PUMAS

 

LINE-UPS

Cannons

4 Jamie Kennedy G 186cm

6 Phil Smyth G 183

7 Tad Dufelmeier G 186

8 Mark Dalton F 198

9 Mark Sinderberry F 198

10 Chris Appleby F 198

11 Tim Morrissey G/F 195

12 Garry Ball F/C 206

13 Andy Campbell C 218

14 Dave Nelson F/C 204

15 Herb McEachin G/F 198

Coach: Bob Turner  Asst: Ian Ellis  Managers: Gary Evans, Ron Hendry

Pumas

5 Mike Slusher C/F 200

6 Steve Brekke F 200

7 Chris Dimattina G 178

8 Wayne Larkins G 172

9 Peter Pollock G 190

10 Toli Grigiordis G 190

11 Bill Mijovic F 201

13 Dean Templeton F 195

15 Peter Wain F 197

Coach: Andy Blicavs  Asst: Ken Burbridge  Manager: Kevin Logan

 

SWISH - Stories, sayings, snaps, stats, snippets from the NBL scene

NBA LINK FORGED

Everybody in Australia has heard of the NBA club the Seattle Supersonics. Funnily enough, everyone in the USA has not heard of the Sydney Supersonics. Not even everyone in Seattle had heard of the Sydney NBL club. Not even everyone in the Seattle Supersonics organisation.

But Sydney head owner Mike Wrublewski has changed all that. He flew into Seattle, introduced himself, took part in media promotions, established a "sister team" link between the two cities and started negotiations to bring the Seattle Supersonics to these Australian shores in 1986.

All in a day's work, or two, for this man who is making Sydneysiders realise basketball is played in the Harbor City.

SMILE!!

After the Newcastle Classic which the Cannons won, netting the NBL premiers their first ever win in Newcastle, the local paper ran the following paragraph:

"We didn't come to Newcastle expecting to win the title but we like it just the same," the ever-smiling Turner said.

Ya gotta try to frown more Bobby. They're on to your 'ever smiling' ways.

 

TRAVELLING TEAM

Spare a thought for the Bullets this weekend. The Cannons were grumbling about the Friday night match at Sydney being backed up to tonight's home match but their opponents, the Supersonics from last night are tonight playing in Newcastle and tomorrow play in Illawarra.

But Brisbane makes that look like nothing at all. The Bullets reckon after three days they'll return home with 8,000km of travelling under their belts.

First to Perth last night, tonight in Adelaide and topped off by a Sunday jaunt to Melbourne and then crawl back on the plane bound for sunny Queensland. Long odds on they'll crawl into beddy-byes Sunday night for a deep sleep.

 

INTERESTING FACT TIME

Here's an interesting fact for all you budding basketball stats freaks. Did you know that nine times a player has hit 50 or more points in an NBL match?

Who did that feat four times?

Al Green - that was easy.

But on two other occasions, other SA club players hit that magic figure - Ken Richardson and Reg Biddings. Plus on two other occasions, SA teams were on the wrong end of 50-point performances.

This means that in only one game where 50 or more points were scored by an individual, an SA team was not involved.

How about that? Eat your heart out Norman May.

SHAPE UP OR SHIP OUT

All is not well at Sydney.

After a recent 32-point drubbing at the hands of Newcastle, Supersonics coach Paul Coughter blasted his much-vaunted all-star line-up.

He said: "Sure we looked good in Newcastle during the warm-up. Our uniforms were pretty and nine of the ten players excited the crowd with their variations of slams. But that's where it ended.

"There was no intensity, no commitment. It was embarrassing. It's a long time since I've coached a team like that."

A week later at the NSW Championships, they failed by two points in their semi against Bankstown, who then lost by eleven to Newcastle in the final. An improvement for sure. Maybe another blast or two and the Supersonics will be back on the road to superstardom.

SIR REG DETHRONED

Reg Biddings, holder of the most points scored in a 40-minute NBL match by an individual, is most unlikely to improve on that record.

Known as Sir Reg by his admirers, he was to have played for Perth this season after travelling around the past few years from Forestville, Adelaide, St Kilda and Broadmeadows. However financial wrangles with Broadmeadows (both transfer and monies outstanding) coupled with Immigration Department hassles (temporary visas are not enough any longer chum - ask ex-Spectre Ron Lemons for confirmation) meant that Sir Reg is on the outer.

You see his temporary visa sponsor is the Broadmeadows Broncos and they are bucking against renewing that sponsorship. And Perth signed Sir Reg under the impression he had permanent residency.

Possible replacements for Biddings include ex-Devonport, now in Adelaide, Mark Leader who would have been a great acquisition. But the spot appears to have gone to US college star Roland Brooks from the University of Minnesota. More should be known within the week.

SONICS + MEDIA = SUPERHYPE

The media hype machine in Sydney is rolling well and had a field day when Tiny Pinder finally arrived from Raleigh, North Carolina to Sydney via London in a 43-hour marathon plane flight.

As the ex-Harlem Globetrotter bounded, well, staggered off the plane and into his hotel, to the strains of "Sweet Georgia Brown" no less, he was full of the good news for Supersonics supporters.

"I hate to lose so championships is my goal." Six years ago he was at North Carolina State. In '79 he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks but failed to come to terms with them. He instead went to Israel, hit 40 points per game plus 17 rebounds. A year later the Chicago Bulls expressed interest and offered him a three-year NBA contract which Tiny turned down, or, as one newspaper report claimed, he talked his way out of the three-year deal so he could play with the Globetrotters and see the sights.

He visited Australia three times during his Harlem stint. Last year he played for Finnish club Turku where he led that league with 38ppg and 16rpg.

His Turku coach was none other than another globetrotting type Paul Coughter who is now coach of Sydney. It surely is a mighty small world!

3000 - HERE WE COME

The seventh National Basketball League season will undoubtedly see the first player in League history break the 3000-point individual barrier.

In fact it will almost certainly be achieved in April, just three games into the season. Before the end of the season, we could have 5 or 6 players breach this mark.

In 1983, Herb McEachin became the first player to breach the 2000-point mark. During the '84 season, Al Green from West Adelaide overhauled McEachin and looks certain to be the first player to reach the 3000-point batrrier.

Green, with only 44 required and a career average of 30.16 per game, could well claim his trophy next weekend in Adelaide's second game of the season against Geelong.

McEachin needs 123 points, which, given his career average of 20.55 per game, suggests he will have to wait until May 3 against Cobrug in Melbourne to become the second player.

With McEachin in top preseason form and scoring above his career average in both '83 and '84, he may reward the fans at The Palace on April 27 against Illawarra.

Third in line to accomplish the task is Leroy Loggins, who is 381 points short. On career average (24.9) Leroy will take 16 games to get there.

Others likely to make it are Benny Lewis, Ian Davies and Cal Bruton.

 

FOR THE FANS

The opposition is not a hated enemy but an opponent to be respected.

The game is not a battle but a contest of spirit where determination and talent are to be appreciated.