Basketball On The Internet.

CANBERRA Caps coach Carrie Graf, former Sydney Kings administrator Andrew Lazaris and triple-Olympic superstar Rachael Sporn made today especially special for our basketball fraternity when they collected OAMs in the Australia Day honours.

Fabulous recognition of all they have given to the game, Carrie has been a huge influence in the women’s game as a past Sydney and Opals coach, as well as in her current role guiding Canberra back to the playoffs.

Andrew has been President of the Sydney Basketball Association since 1984 and is one of the nation’s best-known administrators. He loves the sport with the passion of the zillions of volunteers across time who have built it to what it is in Australia.

When Rachael isn’t calling WNBL games on ABC-TV, she remains one of the most instantly recognisable sporting identities in South Australia.

If you scroll through the link below, you will find a few words on the great
champion.

http://bit.ly/1D8Patq

Congratulations to you all, from the rest of us grateful colleagues and
friends in the basketball community.

 

IT would be unlucky if Josh Childress misses more games with a shoulder
injury he suffered against the 36ers.

But, just as his hamstring injury was the result of him goose-stepping after
sealing a win over Perth, it seems he did the shoulder injury to himself as
well.

JChillin threw a pretty poor foul at a surging Mitch Creek and got his arm
bent awkwardly as a result.

Josh is becoming his own worst enemy.

The Kings are in trouble again after briefly flirting with success.

Replacement big, Nick Horvath, stayed in New Zealand after Friday's win and
won't be back. Nick is a teacher and they don't get time off to run around
in shorts and singlets.

Plus he was limping pretty heavily in the win over the Breakers.

Pretty much looks as if Sydney has run its race.

 

WAS it just me on Friday when Sixers sub Tom Daly was defending Wollongong
import Jahii Carson and the callers uttered the classic: "Carson ... Daly?"

I had a whole bunch of flashbacks from the movie Charade.

No?

Nobody else?

OK. Just me then.

 

Basketball On The Internet, Player of the Week

WITH so much going on around the combatants for top four placings, it might
be understandable to overlook a certain result up in Cairns where the
finals-bound Taipans gave Perth a good old Australia Day weekend 92-66
bushwhacking.

I mean, there was Melbourne beating Perth in Perth, Sydney slapping around
the Breakers, the 36ers sneaking past the Hawks in Wollongong, Perth
escaping Townsville in overtime, before Adelaide thumped Sydney and the
Crocs took a bite out of Melbourne's playoff plans.

So who noticed Torrey Craig coming off the Taipans bench, playing 27 minutes
and delivering a game-high 21 points at 80 percent, including 4-of-5
three-pointers and a game-high 11 rebounds as Cairns staked its claim on
first place?

We did here at the decadent B.O.T.I. offices, ladies haberdashery and cake
decoration boutique which is why Torrey was our runaway choice as NBL Player
of the Week.

PotW Winners

Rd1 Scottie Wilbekin

Rd2 Brian Conklin

Rd3 Scottie Wilbekin

Rd4 Adam Gibson

Rd5 Josh Childress

Rd6 Jordan McRae

Rd7 Josh Childress

Rd8 Tim Coenraad

Rd9 Brian Conklin

Rd10 Josh Childress

Rd11 Jordan McRae

Rd12 Tai Wesley

Rd13 Brian Conklin

Rd14 Jamar Wilson

Rd15 Cedric Jackson

Rd16 Torrey Craig

PICKING the B.O.T.I. WNBL PotW has never been easier. Canberra Caps cap Abby
Bishop was outstanding as she led her club to a huge road win over reigning
champion Bendigo 73-70 with 25 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

But wait.

There's more.

While that alone probably was enough to win the award, she backed up some 18
hours later with a career-high 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting, 14 rebounds
and three assists as Canberra beat Melbourne 74-66.

So that's a two-game trip where Abs delivered an average of 30.5ppg, 12.0rpg
and 2.4apg.

Basketball Australia should save some time this year and mail out her A4
neatly-typed MVP declaration now and let us all know by fax.

 

YEAH, NO KIDDING

ADELAIDE is such a tough word to spell, at least for our boys on the
television graphics.

That's why on Friday we got the following:

Hey, it was close!

Enjoyed the work done by Brad Rosen for ONE-Ten this weekend.

His explanation of high-low post play, for example, was just the kind of
insight and deconstruction of our game the television coverage has been
crying out for.

Yes, Brad was a bit of a "wise" guy but eventually - after a word to the
wise - he "wised" up that "offensivelywise" and "defensivelywise" are not
actually words and that, lo and behold, if you drop the "wise" it makes much
more sense, explanationwise.

Let's hope Brad retains his enthusiasm and never, um, gets cranky and
wizened.

(Even if Motum and Mottram can merge to become the same player at times.)

That said, still loathing the cross-to-the-player-on-the-bench crap.

Other than Adam Gibson rightly wondering about his "phantom fouls", I
haven't heard a positive or insightful word come out of a player's mouth
yet.

Why should we expect some though? They're supposed to be concentrating on
the game - the game is our entertainment, not a player/coach's in-game view
of it.

Whoever thought up this innovation needs to get a clue about elite sport and
its competitors.

And I think I've finally worked out why the ABC shows so many "dud"
lowlights in its WNBL compilations - you know, players falling over, players
intercepting a pass, players turning over the ball, players missing badly.

I'm guessing the director previously has worked or continues to work on
netball.

That makes some sense.

Other-wise (sorry Brad), they continue to have a quiet in-house laugh at the
viewers' expense.

 

REVIEWS

Breakers V Kings (M)

THE signs weren't good early for New Zealand when it turned the ball over on
its first offence, then fouled on Sydney's first. Heads were up
wind-Breakers, methinks. When Josh Childress seized control in the second
period - a 30-15 quarter for the Kings -  then had Cody Ellis and Jason
Cadee chiming in with the reliable Tom Garlepp, Sydney was en route to its
first win in Auckland since 2007, blowing away the Breakers 101-81.

 

Spirit V Capitals (W)

BENDIGO had built a 16-point lead late in the third but Abby Bishop (25
points, 10 rebounds) and Lauren Jackson (17 points, nine rebounds) turned
the game on its head and brought Canberra storming home for a 73-70 victory.
Kelly Wilson's last-gasp three for overtime missed and the Capitals not only
had the win but a major morale and confidence boost to go with it.

Hawks V 36ers (M)

ONCE again Wollongong managed to unravel Adelaide without coming up with the
W, the 36ers holding on 89-85 after seemingly in the boxseat ahead 78-67
with 6:29 left. Brad Hill made a trio of big shots and it eventually took
threes by Anthony Petrie and Brock Motum, plus free throws by Jamar and
Gibbo to rescue Adelaide.

 

Rangers V Lightning (W)

WHEN Dandenong opened with a 15-0 start, it was obviously going to be
another long night for Adelaide. The final 95-64 scoreline confirms that,
the Lightning mustering eight and 10-point quarters to trail 18-48 at
halftime. They had a crack after the break but eh, this thing was so over.
Jan Stirling must be crying somewhere, watching the great franchise
disintegrate this way.

Crocodiles V Wildcats (M)

TWO free throws by Jermaine Beal allowed Perth to force this into overtime
at 82-82 but in the extension, Townsville managed just three points to 11 to
see its finals dreams formally evaporate 93-85. Brian Conklin led the Crocs
with 28 points at 64 per cent and nine boards but Beal (21 points) and Jesse
Wagstaff (19 off the bench) halted the Wildcats' mini slide.

 

Boomers V Capitals (W)

THIS one was simply about Abby Bishop, the MVP favourite with a career-high
36 points, along with 14 rebounds as Canberra won its second road  game in
Victoria, beating Melbourne 74-66. The Boomers rallied a few times but could
do nothing to curtail Bishop's omnipresence. Nat Burton (six points on
2-of-7 shooting, six boards in 29 minutes) must hate the sight of Canberra's
frontcourt.

Taipans V Wildcats (M)

CAIRNS turned on one of the marquee quarters of the year to turn a one-point
lead into a massive 92-66 rout of reigning champion Perth. The Taipans' 31-6
final quarter was one for the time capsule, the Wildcats with a solitary
field goal for not only the period but back into the third, their 1-of-25
attempts in the final 13:59 their worst ever finish to a game. Their six
points is their lowest scoring fourth quarter in history. Yeah, Cairns fans
had reason to feel happy.

 

Fire V Flames (W)

SYDNEY's finals hopes took a massive blow with Townsville rolling to a 93-60
rout. A 33-12 first quarter put this one on ice early, Steph Cumming leading
the Fire and the Flames struggling to find any way to deal with the
onslaught. Jill Harmon had 13 for the quarter on her way to a season-best 20
at 69 per cent, Cayla Francis with a 20-10 double-double.

Kings V 36ers (M)

JAMAR Wilson's 100th NBL game was memorable for all the right reasons for
Adelaide as it iced Sydney 105-86 after leading by as many as  33 points in
a complete performance. With Angus Brandt out and back-up Nick Horvath
staying in NZ, the Kings had no answer for the 36ers' boards dominance,
40-25 flattering Sydney. The Sixers had winners everywhere and looked a
scary proposition.

 

Waves V Spirit (W)

KELSEY Griffin stepped up with a 28-point, 11-rebound double to spearhead
Bendigo to an 80-55 "revenge" game against West Coast. The Spirit needed
this one to get Dandenong's breath off its top-two neck, second and third
quarter returns of 23-8 and 24-14 ensuring the Waves could only look back on
their previous Perth fixture and sigh: "remember when?"

United V Crocodiles (M)

MELBOURNE slipped out of the top four when Townsville doled out an 81-69
beating behind a 27-point, 13-rebound return from swingman Todd Blanchfield.
The State Hockey and Netball Centre - where the Tigers once thrived - again
proved an unhappy hunting ground for United which could not retain a
double-digit lead, Brian Conklin also putting in a man's performance.

 

BIGGEST WINNERS/LOSERS

ADELAIDE has kept the mantle of the NBL's biggest winner for a further week
after another important road double, claiming Wollongong and killing Sydney.
With Townsville unseating Melbourne, the double success has moved the 36ers
into the top four.

TOWNSVILLE guaranteed this would be Melbourne's week to be the biggest
loser. Having beaten Perth in Perth to clinch that series, beating the
Crocodiles should have been little more than a formality. Instead United
squandered a chance to keep a jump ahead of Adelaide and now have swung the
pressure back onto themselves.

CANBERRA cleaning up Bendigo from a 16-point deficit, then further
debilitating Melbourne's finals dreams makes it easily the WNBL's biggest
winner of the round, both successes achieved on the road.

UNUSUAL for Bendigo to be here but losing to Canberra at home after still
leading by 10 with a quarter to play has kept the candle burning for
Dandenong's hopes of pinching the double chance. That makes the Spirit the
round's biggest loser.

 

BEEF of the WEEK

CAN'T help it. The officiating across the NBL and WNBL is no-where near
where it was last season.

Tim Coenraad was having a blinder for the Hawks - Player of the Week stuff -
but he collects a pile of phantoms ... and I mean fouls, not Lee Falk's
treasured character.

So too Adam Gibson. Fouls for being a conscientious objector more or less.

Last season in the NBL when Mal Cooper took charge, there was a teething
period but, right upto Game 3 of the Grand Final (when basketball season
ended and flop season reopened) it just seemed to be much better across the
board.

Whistles blow and everyone stands still, wondering what the call might be.

Players initiating contact getting the calls. Players bewildered, coaches
frustrated.

It's not a good look.

Time to revisit my "sub the refs" idea but not for the right reasons.

 

Online

http://bit.ly/1BdXrtL

 

PS

WHAT he said.

What he really meant.

Bendigo coach Bernie Harrower after Canberra came from 16 points down to
beat his reigning champion 73-70.

SAID - "I don't want to take anything away from Canberra, they were great,
particularly down the stretch, but the refs changed the game."

MEANT - "I can't believe we got screwed in our own gym! That's not s'posed
to happen."