Halls, balls and new smalls
TweetONE of the less pressing but no less important issues for the new NBL to address will be the structure of its Hall of Fame.
Ever since it was consumed into Basketball Australia's Hall of Fame, the regular admission of inductees has become haphazard, with NBL inductees often lost amid the clamor to add someone who once wiped a whiteboard or bought a coffee for a BA administrator.
Sure, the NBL Hall of Fame has its WTFs in there too but they are very much in the minority.
There's a blog in the works about that but in the meantime, toupees tilted to Basketball NSW for its inductees at next month's Hall of Fame celebrations.
A couple that leapt out to me - and with no disrespect intended to any of the other inductees - were Gordie McLeod, Ken Cole, Brad Dalton, Roger Shiels and Melva Hancock (nee Saunders).
Gordie needs no introduction, playing for Illawarra Hawks in their inaugural NBL season in 1979, representing Australia at the 1978 Worlds and 1980 Olympics.
He could play a bit - was the next stage of the Denis Kibble evolution - before ever turning his hand to coaching and two sets of Grand Final appearances running West Sydney.
That was before steering Wollongong into the 2009 Grand Final while winning Coach of the Year honors.
"It's a real honor to be recognised alongside some of the great names of Australian basketball, who have all contributed so much to the sport in this country," McLeod said.
The 2013 Hall of Fame dinner will be held in Sydney at the Albert Palais Function Centre in Leichhardt on July 5 and also celebrate the 75th anniversary of Basketball NSW.
Cole in December was inducted into the BA/NBL Hall of Fame and his inclusion now in NSW's Hall should also prompt revisits in Victoria and SA where he also made a profound impact.
Dalton won an NBL championship with West Adelaide Bearcats in 1982 before returning to Sydney where he first played with City of Sydney Astronauts before Sydney Supersonics.
A stop with Geelong Supercats eventually brought the Olympian back to Sydney Kings.
Shiels is sure to dish out several tech fouls and maybe even expel the night's MC (let's hope it is Steve...) if given half a chance, the NBL referee known as the "hanging judge" another worthy recipient after a storied career in officiating.
Had the great pleasure of meeting and interviewing Melva Saunders for my book "High Flyers" back in 1988.
She was one of the members of the Australian women's team who competed in the 1957 World Championship in Brazil, a trip they made by ship which also necessitated a long stopover in New Zealand.
They raised money in myriad manners, battling bureaucracy and some jealousy within the BA of that era, considering the women had qualified and would play a Worlds before our men.
Good thing times have changed, right?
Congratulations as well to inductees Colin Dewhurst Sr, Ken Harvey, Harry Burgess, Evan Bennett, Terry Charlton, Troy Sachs and Vickie Croucher for their contributions and services to our great sport. And to Al Ramsay and the late Dr John Raschke for their elevations to "Legend" status.
JASON Kidd was an NBA championship winner, a 10-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First Team member, and a nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team member.
He also won two Olympic gold medals - one of them in Sydney when he was the most approachable of the US nightmare team - and is second on the NBA's career list in assists and steals.
His retirement this week at 40 was no huge surprise, even though he walked away with two years and more than $6 million left on the deal he signed last summer with the New York Knicks.
But he struggled in the playoffs and after 19 seasons, knew the day had come.
"As I reflect on my time with the four teams I represented in the NBA, I look back fondly at every season and thank each every one of my teammates and coaches that joined me on the court," Kidd said through a statement.
There's a nice symmetry to the fact he entered the league with Grant Hill, they shared Rookie of the Year honors in 1995 and announced their retirements within 48 hours of each other.
JUST to let you know the Hudson Maher Foundation Gala Dinner is coming up on Saturday, August 3 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
Jungle Jooce will be playing and the theme is Pop Stars and Rock Stars.
For more details, go to: www.hudsonmaher.com.au
TOM Kyle will coach Australia's Gliders women's wheelchair basketball team in a fulltime capacity.
Kyle will be based at the BA National Wheelchair Centre of Excellence at the NSW Institute of Sport in Sydney.
BACEOKK said she expected the team to build on its international standing under Kyle's leadership.
"The Australian Gliders have been one of the most successful sporting teams in this country over the past two decades, regularly winning Paralympic and World Championship medals, including medals at the past four Paralympic Games," Keneally said.
"In Tom, we have a coach who has the ability to lead the team to future success and understands the expectations on the Gliders program."
KK also may have added: "The Gliders have been nothing short of (fill in the missing adjective)" but Max Bennett did not write the press release.
Kyle has put together a spectacular resume coaching the Australian Under 23 men's wheelchair team for the 2013 IWBF U23 World Championship in September and as an assistant with the Australian Rollers men's team from 2009.
Kyle has the job until the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
DARNELL Lazare will have a sophomore NBL season after all, replacing Will Hudson with reigning champion New Zealand Breakers.
New Breakers boss Dean Vickerman said Lazare, 28, had signed a one-year deal with the threepeat champs and that Jeremiah Trueman also had returned after spending the past three years with Perth Wildcats.
"While playing for the Kings, we knew each game against the Breakers was going to be a massive challenge and we had some good battles," the athletic Lazare said.
With Dillon Boucher retiring, Trueman should slot seemlessly into the Breakers' roster.
No word yet on league MVP Cedric Jackson, who will continue his quest for an NBA gig.
Club icon Paul Henare also returns to the team in an assistant coach capacity.
Meanwhile Sydney Kings will announce their new import on Saturday.
Signing the new point guard ends any speculation Corin Henry might return for a second season with the Kings.
LAUREN Jackson today launched the Lauren Jackson Basketball Academy in North Melbourne for basketballers aged 15 to 18.
Her academy's 12-week program will provide coaching including key tactics for on-court success, techniques to improve conditioning, and guidance through drills to improve overall performance and skill-set.
The Academy also will emphasise teaching students how to research and prepare for their future career and study options.
You just can't have enough academies...