Basketball On The Internet.

CONGRATULATIONS to Melvin Thomas and Matthew Dellavedova today for vastly different achievements but no less significant.

Big Melvin today has his singlet No #33 retired by Wollongong Hawks on the eve of the club's landmark 1,000th NBL game.

Like so many of the Hawks' faithful - including a couple of others with their numbers retired, namely Gordie McLeod and Glen Saville - the star import also dabbled briefly with the Sydney Kings before "returning home".

He best will be remembered for the 235 games - including the 2001 championship - he played for Wollongong.

For the record, he played 432 NBL games in 15 seasons from 1992 to 2006.

In 1993 with the then Illawarra Hawks, Melvin averaged 26.0ppg (5th in the league), 7.9 defensive rebounds (4th) and 1.6 blocks (5th) to be NBL All Star Five First Team.

In 1994, he moved up to fourth in scoring with 26.7ppg, his 11.0 rebounds was fourth, his 2.2 blocks third.

It only improved again in 1995 for the robust power forward with the sweet jumpshot

In the Hawks' championship year he delivered 18.8ppg and when he left the club in 2003, he was its all-time leader in points, rebounds and blocks.

His 20.8ppg and 9.9 rebounds remain the highest career scoring and rebounding averages of any Hawk to play 100 games for the club.

His uniform's retirement is an appropriate accolade for one of the club's all-time greats.

DELLAVEDOVA has done it, securing an NBA contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a roster regular.

If you're a regular reader here, you know there was some confidence he would achieve it but until it was signed, you can understand his own reluctance to get ahead of himself.

He no longer has to worry, and while the 193cm Maryborough star and London Olympian will be one of the lowest paid players in the NBA with a two-year partially-guaranteed $1.35 million contract, I'm pretty sure he doesn't care and is fairly stoked.

He tweeted a pic of his Cavs locker today.

Australia now has four NBA players, Delly joining Golden State Warriors' Andrew Bogut and San Antonio Spurs' pair Patrick Mills and Aron Baynes.

No, I'm not counting Kyrie Irving.

BEST wishes to hospitalised basketball folk Matt McQuade and Nathan Jawai.

The Sydney Kings media manager and broadcaster is in hospital until Monday while he has a little turn properly checked out and has the basketball community well and truly sending him its best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Big Nate was having a blinder for Galatasaray against Olympiakos but suffered a blow to the chin which caused neck trauma. He too is expected to make a quick recovery.

BIT concerned about some of the TV commentary coming our way lately.

Last night's Cairns-Adelaide NBL game had Jeff Van Groningen waxing lyrical about "the prodigious talent of young Stephen Weigh" on a night the 26-year-old went 0-of-10.

That, and speculation 36ers import Jarrid Frye had "injured a groin" when he looked ginger in the third were not JVG's best moments, and usually I like his work.

Considering Frye missed the season opener against Perth with an ankle injury, maybe that would have been more prudent speculation.

For the record, Frye DID indeed tweak his ankle but should be satisfactory to play against Melbourne tomorrow.

Of course, Narelle Fletcher was even better today on the ABC coverage of the Sydney-Adelaide WNBL game when, speaking of how the game had transformed from its ugly, poor-shooting start to a high-quality affair, she said it had done a "full 360 degrees".

Oh dear.

And so to tomorrow, Brad Rosen, just take a deep breath. You are going to be brilliant at this color commentary gig and being beside Steve will always make you look good.

Just don't think you have to tell us every single thing. It's TV, not radio. Like most, I'd rather hear your insights than your descriptions of what we also can see.

Good luck.

FOR those asking, there will be a service for the late Ken Richardson in Darwin on November 1.

When I have the details, I will post them.

FUN FACT: DO you think Ayinde Ubaka is heading for a restless night's sleep tonight?

The last time he was at The Cage, playing for the Tigers against a Joey Wright-coached team, he was sacked post-game!

An omen?

I think not.