Basketball On The Internet.

OK. Just between us? The aspect I found most impressive today in my interview with new Basketball Australia CEO Anthony Moore was simply this – he is genuine.

Reporting directly to you, the basketball fan, let me tell you I liked what he had to say, his take on the game, its direction, its mistakes, its possibilities.

And what I liked most, beside the fact he is a prominent sports administrator roundly endorsed by a number of people experience has taught me to trust, is the fact he is one of us.

By that I mean he has played, he has coached, he has built a basketball club from the ground up – none of which is necessarily mentioned in his fairly imposing resume.

And because I say he is “one of us” – by which I mean a genuine lover of our sport – I believe he will stick.

And to be clear, by “stick” I mean, hang in for the long haul.

He won’t be a fly-by-nighter padding a resume en route to something better.

(Or if he is, I will be deeply disillusioned because he struck me as a man with a plan and a vision for the sport.)

His predecessor, former NSW Premier Kristina Keneally lacked that.

The mistress of rhetoric with a politician’s ability (no surprise there) to churn out impressive but ultimately irrelevant facts, she made a splash when first revealed as BA Chairperson.

KK immediately got stuck into excessive Government funding for soccer in Sydney’s western suburbs and her vehemence was such that many of us thought we finally, ironically, had a leader with some onions.

It was a great start. But sadly, as time peeled the layers away, it became all too evident there wasn’t much vision and ultimately, even less passion.

It’s a shame because away from the 15-second sound bite for which she was exceptionally prepared, Keneally had far more to offer than she truly explored.

When Fraser Neill won the CEO role with the demerged NBL, again basketball landed someone with a vision and passion.

Whether everyone agrees with his plans is largely irrelevant because the point is, he has some!!

The league launched in 1979 when men of vision decided the game needed it.

Passionate visionaries have been in short supply of late, supplanted by resume-stuffers stepping on basketball’s face to move somewhere higher.

That isn’t Neill.

And today I spoke with another man who gave me hope the game can (finally) be steered in a direction we’d all love to see.

Moore is aware of the 300-400 Aussies playing college ball in the USA.

He knows what they potentially can offer our game.

He has a grassroots perspective, a corporate vision and an elite overview.

Sure, it is easy to stand up ahead of time with great ideas and sincere commitment to them, only to be scuttled by the realities of indolence, in-fighting and the backroom machinations of empire-builders who won’t relinquish the gains they have made.

You don’t have to look far to site examples of how even the best intentions and hope can be sabotaged by the self-serving.

But presuming basketball people want basketball to re-emerge, then fingers crossed but it finally seems we have a committed leader at the helm.

Here’s the gist of what we spoke of for my News Corp report: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/new-basketball-australia-boss-ready-to-spread-the-gospel-on-how-our-elite-are-changing-the-game-internationally/story-fnii09gt-1227028442386

HOW about those Boomers, eh?

Is it starting to take some sort of shape for them ahead of the World Cup?

Here was my summary today at News Corp in what turned into a busy day news-wise. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/aron-baynes-leads-boomers-comeback-as-aussies-stun-european-champion-france-in-world-cup-leadup-match/story-fnii09gt-1227028181244

NO, it didn’t end there, with NBL championship-winning coach Joey Wright voicing a strong opinion in the Melbourne United debate.

That club and its 2014-15 team, led by Daniel Kickert, is going places according to the 36ers boss, who saw them first-hand on Friday in Ballarat.

Here’s what he had to say today: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/daniel-kickert-for-mvp-and-melbourne-united-in-the-thick-of-the-nbl-title-hunt-says-adelaide-36ers-coach-joey-wright/story-fnii0am9-1227028101190

AND before you think I’ve forgotten the women – which never could happen – the latest in the WNBL sees Lightning completing its first roster in the new era of rookie coach Jeremi Moule.

Here’s what it looks like at: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/lightning-sign-quality-guards-kerryn-harrington-and-amy-lewis-for-newlook-adelaide-team-for-its-wnbl-assault/story-fnii09gt-1227028043748

TOMORROW: Really? You’re surprised Delly got the pick-and-roll working with Baynesy again?