FIBA Basketball

    All I want for Christmas …

    MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy’s View from Downunder) - It’s Christmas time so I’m handing out some gifts, but also asking for some refunds with my thumbs up and thumbs down from the first 11 weeks of the NBL.

    MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy’s View from Downunder) - It’s Christmas time so I’m handing out some gifts, but also asking for some refunds with my thumbs up and thumbs down from the first 11 weeks of the NBL season.

    Thumbs up - Kirk Penney
    In his first-up appearance in New Zealand as an ‘enemy combatant’, Penney nailed 27 points to knock his formerly beloved Breakers off their unbeaten home perch.

    Despite being the NBL’s oldest player at 35, Penney is playing elite level offence and some decent D. It was the former that shone on Sunday, the international star hitting his first six shots, including a brilliant one-footed runner from just inside the arc.

    Of course, his efforts just made all Kiwi hoops fans even more keen for their greatest ever player to make one more go-around for the Tall Blacks at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament.

    Thumbs up – Townsville Crocs
    The Crocs staged yet another remarkable comeback in Round 11 to beat the top-of-the-table Perth Wildcats, the fifth time Shawn Dennis’ men have retrieved a double-figure deficit to post incredible wins, despite having comfortably the lowest budget in the NBL.

    Last week they were held to eight points in the first quarter, 15 points in the opening 16 minutes and trailed by as many as 15 against the league’s best team. Yet the Crocs just hung tough, generating scores from their tenacious D to record a 17-point win.

    Nine days earlier the Crocs had reeled in a 15-point final quarter margin to beat Adelaide, so nothing should surprise anymore, and the Townsville boys have certainly earned a happy Christmas.

    Thumbs down - Sydney Kings
    Like an addict craving instant hits, the Kings organisation has shown an attention span that can only be measured in nanoseconds, swapping players, imports, coaches and CEOs like they’re playing fantasy basketball.

    Their answer to dwindling crowds seems to be bringing in another ex-NBA player, but despite Sam Young, Josh Childress and Al Harrington all wearing the purple and gold, meagre attendances have rolled into The Kingdome on most nights.

    The question is, who will take the Kings seriously when they don’t act like a serious and professional organisation? The way Damian Cotter was replaced by the recently hired special assistant Joe Connelly was a blight on the club.

    The NBL own the resurgent Brisbane Bullets franchise, is it time for the league to buy the Kings and get them humming like teams in Perth, Melbourne and Auckland?

    Thumbs up - the NBL and Fox Sports
    The old saying goes, ‘If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?’ Well for years the NBL season would come and go without the Australian public hearing a thing.

    Suddenly this season we’re hearing claims that ‘basketball is back’. Well to quote from Austin Powers, the big boy never left, sir!

    It’s just the efforts of the NBL and Fox Sports putting it front and centre for all to see. Access to the league is the best it’s ever been.

    The other impressive thing is the recognition of where things can be improved, with lots of small features being added to the coverage over the course of the season.


    Thumbs up - the scorers
    This season is on track to have the second or third highest scoring rate since before the NBL was a truly professional competition, with teams currently averaging 84.9ppg, similar to 2013/14.

    It’s a credit to the attitude of the coaches around the league, many of whom are willing to play a fast-paced game despite the level of physicality being allowed.

    Thumbs up too, of course, to Penney, Corey Webster, Tom Abercrombie, Jordair Jett, Kevin Lisch, Jermaine Beal, Casey Prather, Chris Goulding, Jerome Randle, Markel Starks, Daniel Kickert, AJ Ogilvy and Nate Jawai, who are scoring plenty and doing it with style.

    Thumbs down – inconsistency
    The referees’ willingness to let the players play, as instructed by new boss Alby Joseph, has helped create exciting contests that have captured people’s imagination, but it has also resulted in the most inconsistent refereeing I can remember.

    Players and coaches admit they have little idea what will and won’t be called, and it’s the same for fans. On the good nights it’s working well, on the bad nights it produces scrappy basketball that presents the NBL as an inferior product to casual viewers.

    The key to implementing this philosophy is being consistent about what contact is whistled. As it is, you can regularly see the same referee calling two very similar situations differently, as highlighted so graphically by Wednesday’s unsportsmanlike foul debacle in Adelaide.

    This comes down to leadership. Two season ago our referees showed they can deliver consistency if they're given a clear template.

    Good refereeing leadership narrows the grey areas, where this season those grey areas are huge and the product often suffers for it.

    Thumbs up – AJ Ogilvy
    Ogilvy, a man who produced dominant performances at the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championships, Vanderbilt and against quality European opposition has never quite kicked on, and many have suspected it’s because his coaches haven’t trusted his toughness.

    But this season, reuniting with former junior coach Rob Beveridge and getting into the best shape of his career, Ogilvy has turned into a monster at both ends, his mobility and athleticism perfectly suited to Beveridge’s high-paced style.

    If AJ produces this form in the playoffs against Perth and/or New Zealand those questions should be put to rest for good and his name added to the Boomers squad for a chance to impress at camp.


    Thumbs up – Jerome Randle
    I still haven’t put my finger on Randle, who has produced outstanding numbers but hasn’t made his team better, despite replacing a player who managed just 35 minutes in three games.

    Forget all that though, for the NBL and the Adelaide 36ers organisation Randle has been a godsend. His sublime skills and friendly persona have made him a fan favourite, as has his diminutive stature which shows it’s not just giants who succeed at hoops.

    Randle was brilliantly nicknamed Ant Man by former league MVP Corey Williams as he dragged his team back from a 25-point deficit against Sydney. Unfortunately Jerome doesn’t like that tag, but that won’t bother NBL fans so long as he calls Adelaide home!

    Paulo Kennedy

    FIBA


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