Basketball On The Internet.

YOU recall the NBL's preseason Oceania eligibility rule fiasco? (Has that even been formally amended yet?) Well get ready for another oversight from the league head office.

This one can be put down to paperwork - or something - but so far the NBL paperwork has Melbourne United development player Chris Patton (below) as born on November 2, 1991.

No problem there.

Except his AUSTRALIABASKET profile has him born on February 11, 1991.

Now we all know Americans can give birthdates we think of as 2-11-91 instead as 11-2-91.

But which is it? Because if Chris is born on February 11, he turns 24 next year.

To be a development player, he has to be UNDER 24 years of age on April 30, 2015 (NBL rule 12.2).

If that is indeed his birthdate, United has been playing an ineligible player.

Having checked United's own player information, the club lists Chris' birthday as November 11, 1991.

So we have three different dates!

I am sure it is all very easily clarified - someone should maybe just ask Chris his birthdate - but in the meantime he can enjoy three parties and the NBL can again scratch its figurative head and wonder how such simple things can get fouled up.

 

Basketball On The Internet, Player of the Week

TOWNSVILLE power forward Brian Conklin has claimed his second B.O.T.I. Player of the Week award, averaging 20ppg at 52 per cent, 7.5rpg and 2.5 apg in the Crocodiles' 1-1 weekend.

The Conk (below) had 19 of his 23 points after halftime in a match-winning performance against Adelaide, and went down fighting against United in Melbourne with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double.

This was a tough round sorting a PotW, with several decent efforts but not too many leaping off the stats sheet. The Conk however, stood out.

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

IN contrast, this week's B.O.T.I. PotW for the WNBL is a piece of cake, preferably Dobos torte.

Anytime someone scores 30 or more, they have to come under your immediate notice. So Bendigo's Belinda Snell drilling 41 in a road win over Sydney stands apart.

Ah, but what about her other game of the weekend, I hear you ask?

Well that was a game-high 22 at 58 per cent, seven boards and two assists in the rout of Adelaide.

If you have done your maths correctly, that's 31.5ppg over the weekend for Snelly.

She wins PotW by a standard kilometre. For the record, her 41 points came at 68 per cent too.

 

YEAH, NO KIDDING

OK, Mr Basketball, Steve Carfino has called his last NBL game with his tandem effort alongside Andrew Gaze yesterday for the Melbourne-Townsville fixture.

Some will lament his decision to return to the USA, others will be blazing the "Hallelujah"  trail!

The point is though, ONE-Ten has known for months Carfino would be departing, taking his one notable catch phrase - "Yeah, no kidding" - with him.

After 22 years ruining, er, calling games, Carfino deserved better than to have the pathetic halftime "tribute" Ten cobbled together.

OK. The churlish among you may say the research and effort made by Ten only mirrors the research and effort made by the man himself but, as I said, that would be churlish.

Still, it looked as if some intern had been charged with finding a bit of footage because a couple of random shots of his days with the Kings and some fumbling, bumbling: "Well done mate" comments from Gaze did not a tribute make.

Frankly, it was disgraceful and reinforces just how miniscule ONE-Ten's commitment is to basketball when it can't even be bothered properly acknowledging one of its own.

Carfino the player was a decent import at a time when there were a lot of them. Today, he would be a superstar but then, he was amid a long list of quality names such as Leroy, JC, Mark Davis, Mean Machine, Black Pearl, Bennie Lewis, Tiny Pinder, Alphonse "Who says I am Jamar Wilson's twin?" Hammond and a holy host of others.

A few of the Aussie kids such as Phil Smyth, Darryl Pearce, Mike Ellis, Larry Sengstock, the Dalton Brothers, etcetera weren't too shabby either.

The tribute entirely missed Carfino being recruited by HOBART, where he averaged 32.7ppg and 7.0apg in his 1986 debut, enjoying All Star Five First Team status with the Tassie Devils in 1986 and 1987.

He spent three more years at Sydney for a grand total of five NBL seasons, maybe not quite Hall of Fame justification but a quality career nonetheless.

"Yeah, great job mate," or words to that effect from Andrew Gaze didn't quite cut it for me.

Decent interviews, clips, tributes from his former co-callers such as Bill Woods and John "User Friendly" Casey - you know, something resembling an effort - was what Carfino deserved, love him or loathe him.

Twenty-two years is 22 years, after all.

STEVE Carfino: A spectacular little Devil, circa 1986 versus the 36ers.

STILL with the NBL coverage and seriously, is it going to take Lachy Reid in Perth doing independent features to alert someone there that Friday night's early game finishes make for tiresome viewing for all except Wildcats fans?

This week after Perth shunted off Wollongong, we had Mel Marsh interview Damo (she pronounced it correctly too though some did prefer Dummo), Deandre, Shawn, not to mention Gordie and STILL there was time to kill.

So then we had Lachy, Mahersy and Mel - sounds like a new radio breakfast trio - talking about whatever they could think of, be it results, tables, how Adelaide is going, who will win the championship ... where was Trevor Gleeson when you needed him?

It was "fill, fill, fill".

Surely if the Wildcats are wrapping up games well inside the two-hour timeslot, ONE could lift a note from the ABC's WNBL playbook and prepare a 10-15 minute feature on someone, something. Behind the scenes of a Perth home game? Something.

 

REVIEWS

Flames v Spirit (W)

ROHANEE Cox's absence has hurt Sydney. But a seven-point third quarter was even more costly, Belinda Snell - en route to 41 points in an 85-74 Bendigo road win - was hotter than a midday barbecue on a space capsule re-entering the earth's atmosphere at the Equator.

 

Crocodiles v 36ers (M)

NO huge surprise Brian Conklin (23 points) and Mickell Gladness (19 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks) were huge in Townsville's 96-84 win over Adelaide, considering Anthony Petrie and Luke Schenscher were in early and prolonged foul trouble. Brendan Teys also won the first technical foul in NBL history for pointing out Leon Henry was in the key for longer than three seconds.

 

Wildcats v Hawks (M)

THAT's now 20 straight losses to the Wildcats in Perth for Wollongong, dating back to 2005 but quarters of 11, 11 and nine points will do that to you. The Hawks led 24-22 after one, then Perth stiffened up its defensive resolve and also saw great production out of Daniels and Wagstaff for a 79-55 cruise.

 

Rangers v Waves (W)

SCORING 80 points in a road game usually = a W in the WNBL but not this night for West Coast, whupped 97-80 by Dandenong. AIS championship-winning teammates Penny Taylor (24 points at 9-of-13, six rebounds) and Deanna Smith (25 on 9-of-14, four boards) led the Rangers and Waves respectively, WNBA star Cappie Pondexter tipping the scales with 16 points and nine assists.

 

Kings v Breakers (M)

BEN Madgen found his stroke and Sydney secured a big scalp after breaking a 36-36 interval deadlock with New Zealand to win 82-69. The Madge had 21 points and eight boards in a 46-33 second half by the Kings, Josh Childress ill but still able to provide a 16-point, 16-rebound double-double.

 

Boomers v Waves (W)

IT really wasn't much of a spectacle to be brutally frank, until the last quarter when West Coast made it back from 16 down with 8:47 left to fashion a remarkable 69-69 draw at the end of regulation on an incredible Lindsey Moore bank-three. There were huge plays, offensive and defensive and in overtime, Melbourne ahead 85-82 when Amelia Todhunter had a brain-fade and fouled Moore on a 3-point heave. Moore only put away the first two freebies though and Kelly Bowen's free throws closed out a thrilling 87-84 Boomers escape.

 

Taipans v 36ers (M)

TORREY Craig will be checking the schedule again for the next time Cairns plays Adelaide after matching his career high of 19 points (set in Rd1 against the 36ers) in an 85-80 Taipans victory. Down 63-66, Cairns followed Cam Gliddon's hot hand on a 15-0 run which put the issue beyond doubt.

 

Spirit v Lightning (W)

NO way Adelaide was going to be outscored in the second half this time, the Lightning winning the post-interval run home 35-33. Unfortunately Adelaide's 4-24 first period made the rest of this mostly academic, Bendigo winning 81-55 and Belinda Snell continuing on her winning ways with a game-high 22 points.

 

Fire v Rangers (W)

PENNY Taylor's WNBL return saw Dandenong upset Townsville at Dandenong but the Fire were having none of it at home. A 29-16 second quarter and a 26-9 fourth made this an all-the-way 91-57 Townsville rout, Suzy Batkovic leading the way with a 22-point, 12-rebound double-double.

 

United v Crocodiles (M)

MELBOURNE had Wortho nailing a putback dunk and Daryl Corletto relishing his chances in Jordy McRae's absence as United, aided by a number of phantom fouls on Mickell Gladness, ran out to a double-digit lead and were cruising. But Townsville has plenty of fight and led by The Marksman and The Conk, got back to within two before Daniel Kickert's big bucket preserved an 83-79 win for Melbourne.

 

Capitals v Boomers (W)

WHILE tipping Melbourne to beat the Caps in Canberra was not out of the question, few would have expected the Boomers, after an overtime game in Melbourne against West Coast, to finish over the top with a 26-13 final period for a 74-59 victory. Bec Allen led an even spread of Boomers contributors, Caps captain Abby Bishop with game highs in points (24) and rebounds (11).

 

BIGGEST WINNERS/LOSERS

CAIRNS' win over Adelaide at home now gives it a 2-0 season-series lead and a +15-points differential meaning the win was not only significant for the Taipans but potentially devastating for Adelaide. It makes Cairns the round's biggest winner.

CONVERSELY, again losing twice and from winnable positions, keeps Adelaide locked into the biggest loser position, the 36ers now in a seven-game losing spiral which might even astonish Marty Clarke.

MELBOURNE again easily was the WNBL's biggest winner, staving off West Coast then clipping Canberra behind the ears to further cement the Boomers' revival.

WEST Coast has aspirations to be alive when the post-season comes around but losing to Dandenong and Melbourne - in overtime - is not going to help those dreams. Down Louella Tomlinson didn't help at all against the Boomers but opportunity lost (or wasted) makes West Coast the round's biggest loser.

 

BEEF of the WEEK

IS it just me or is whoever is in charge of showing WNBL in-game "highlights" on the ABC's weakly coverage having a bit of a lend of us all?

Week after week we see a montage of turnovers, players falling over, bobbled plays and the dopiest moments packaged up as so-called highlights.

Let's not confuse these with the "highlights of the quarter" which often do include a few "highlights of the quarter".

But randomly at halftime and in post-game conversation some of the game's worst or most cringe-worthy moments and foul ups are routinely trotted out.

Seriously, is someone just having a lend of us in there, waiting for someone to actually notice and/or acknowledge it, or is the ABC, after covering the WNBL for, at last count I believe BA had it at 74 continuous years, still so mind-bogglingly clueless as to what constitutes a highlight?

 

Online

http://bit.ly/1vE9h1C

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http://bit.ly/1w45Np6

 

PS

WHAT he said. What he really meant.

Melbourne United coach Darryl McDonald on Townsville's fightback and his side's near miss.

SAID - “We can’t have those lows. When we get like that we’ve got to play to win instead of playing not to lose.”

MEANT - “If I had hair, I swear these guys would make me grey.”