Umps, not coaches under the playoff pump
TweetTHE most scrutiny will not be on Joey Wright or Chris Anstey on Thursday, or Trevor Gleeson and Gordie McLeod on Friday, but instead on both officiating crews for the NBL semi finals.
The “clean up the game” campaign – driven by the league but prompted by club managements anxious the dour version of the game to which the NBL had degenerated be abandoned – had more than its share of teething problems early.
And they flared again occasionally through a torrid regular season when at various times, officials took their eye off the ball.
During the preseason, coaches familiar with the past had quietly predicted the points of emphasis – hand-checking, flopping, illegal defence etcetera – and strict calling of those infractions would drift away as the season wore on.
Well they hiccupped, for sure. But after referees boss Mal Cooper gave his men a figurative antacid, the whistles shrilled again on bumping and holding.
While some continued likening the new style to “netball”, they clearly missed the memos also circulating around NCAA, WNBA and European circles exasperated by the same degenerations the NBL had jumped away from.
Sorry, but you can no longer bash the living bejesus out of your opponent with impunity anymore in the manner South East Melbourne did to the Tigers in the 1996 Grand Final. That won’t track in 2014.
There will be no more “let’s test the umpires and see how many fouls they are prepared to call before they back off” strategies because, fact is, the team that tries that will be in a lot of foul trouble and its opponent back to shooting free throws.
The NBL has abandoned basketbrawl for basketball but now comes the biggest test of all.
Because you know what they say: “Defence wins the big games.” And “The refs allow a lot more latitude in finals”.
Yeah. They sure did in last year’s Championship Series when Daryl Corletto rode Kevin Lisch like a Melbourne Cup favorite and Brad Robbins intervened in a manner Brock Lesnar might have found disturbing.
Cooper insists that will not be happening in this post-season, even though it crept in during the last round as finals-bound clubs tried sending each other messages.
“Just because it’s playoff time does not mean we change anything,” Cooper said.
No hands-on or bumping the ball carrier, and protection for the shooter will be playoff priorities.
If that’s the case, both series easily could go the distance.
And we’ll be the biggest beneficiaries.
MELBOURNE Tigers star scorer Chris “Bubbles” Goulding last night won the club’s Most Valuable Player award.
It was no huge surprise considering Goulding led the league in scoring at 23.0ppg.
The man also known as The Unicorn took the award from Mark Worthington.
“Where did ‘The Unicorn’ come from?” Goulding asked me on Sunday, clearly having forgotten coach Chris Anstey’s description of him earlier this season.
Always great for a quote of substance, after one of Goulding’s early offensive explosions this season, Anstey said he was a unique talent to the NBL and unlike anyone we’d seen before – almost a mystical creature.
Now wow, if that isn’t a unicorn description, I don’t know what is.
(Do you suspect the first caucasian person to see a rhinoceros who tried to describe it - "It was like an armored horse with a horn" - actually started the whole unicorn myth? Seems feasible. But I tigress...)
The Dodo Electricity MVP, and several other awards, were announced at a gala function at Carousel in Albert Park.
Tigers captain Tommy Greer received the Lindsay Gaze Award; Nate Tomlinson named Defensive Player of the Year and Lucas Walker named Community Player of the Year.
Long-serving statisticians Belinda Mitchell and Kevin Mitchell were named co-winners of the Best Clubperson Award.
Congratulations to the Tigers – take note BA and Cairns Taipans – for announcing their season awards AFTER the regular season ended.
STILL with the Tigers, Melbournites in the city around lunchtime tomorrow should head to Parliament House where Sports Minister Damian Drum and various MPs will send off the Tigers for their semi final battles with Adelaide.
Drum will join Coach Anstey and the players outside Parliament House as the team bus rolls through the CBD en route to the airport ahead of the Tigers' road trip to play the 36ers at The Fortress on Thursday.
The Tigers actively have supported the Premier's Active April program, encouraging people to sign-up for half an hour's exercise each day.
Tigers players and politicians will shoot hoops on the unique portable hoop on the side of the Tiger bus.
The visit to Parliament House also will include the launch of the Spring St Melbourne Tigers Supporter Group, an initiative created by David Southwick (MP for Caulfield) and Murray Thompson (MLA for Sandringham).
So if you are in the vicinity around 1:20 tomorrow, get along and show your support.
SHAWN Redhage has had enough!
No, not enough scorn and derision from opposition fans but of his Wildcats team running up as bridesmaids for the past two years (and altar boys the year before that).
But those nemesis Breakers have been broken this season and Perth has returned to its dominating ways.
Redhage said the Wildcats were disappointed they had not built on 2010’s Championship success.
“We're pretty upset we didn't win a few more. But the past is the past,” he told AAP’s Justin Chadwick.
“There's a lot of hunger amongst the group.
“We're sick of watching the other teams put up the trophy at the end of the season.”
Wollongong has had its issues at Perth Arena, losing 47-87 there in November and 65-86 in Sunday’s last-round dead rubber.
But the Hawks DID win seven of their preceding eight games to come from the outhouse to the penthouse – Perth’s scalp among those they claimed along the trip.
“Wollongong's probably the best shooting team in the league,” Redhage said.
“Rotnei Clarke is one of those few guys who can take over a game.
“No matter how good a defence you're playing, he can still hit shots.
“And Oscar Forman really stretches the floor. He hit eight threes against Sydney, so he can really light it up.”
The Hawks chose to stay in Perth, rather than take a flight back to Wollongong, only to jump back on a return flight.
THE Sydney Kings – remember them? They were finals bound til they had to win a couple of games to ensure it and decided Mad Monday seemed a better idea.
But after signing up Ben Madgen and Tom Garlepp last week, today they added Cody Ellis and Kevin White to their 2014-15 mix, taking up their options.
Ellis played 16 games after completing his college education in the US and showed glimpses of a very exciting future.
“It was my first experience in the NBL and it was awesome,” he said.
“We have a core group of guys who can do something special and I’m really excited about the future.”
Ellis grew up in Perth and is the son of Wildcats legend Mike.
“I grew up in Sydney and the opportunity to continue playing with the Kings is great,” said White.
No word on Ben Allen’s future at this stage.
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