Sunday, September 7, 2008

Coaching Your Son

You are looking at one half of a headache!

Happy Father's Day to all those Dads out there.

It just so happens that today's topic up for discussion coincides with this celebrated day.

An article written in the Gold Coast Bulletin talks about the potency of the Blaze backcourt consisting of veteran Shane Heal and Daniel Joyce, son of coach Brendon Joyce. Yes,...a father and son combo.

Let me make it clear that I am not a Joyce-hater, and I know there are plenty of you out there. I will also admit to having defended Joyce Jr many a time to a group of his peers. I believe the kid has some skills that could see him become a serviceable NBL player.

I believe he is critiqued from a slanted view on most occasions. He plays for his father and that is a tough gig. Not even the legendary Andrew/Lindsay Gaze relationship went without criticism.

Daniel is doing what anyone in his position would,...making the most of the opportunity that has been presented to him. Would you knock back a chance to improve yourself if you were en route to making your dream a reality?

However, I will invite you to read the following excerpts from a Gold Coast Bulletin article before I make my point.

"Coach Brendan Joyce said he had high hopes for the Heal-Joyce combo."

"It has caused a fair few headaches for teams already," he said.

"The way Shane and Dan make space and penetrate creates more opportunities for our big men to score."

You must be thinking what I'm thinking so I'll just go ahead and say it. No backcourt in the NBL is taking Panadol before matching up against this backcourt.
You can't knock Heal's CV. It speaks for itself: NBA, Europe, four Olympic Games and an NBL championship. However, one guy does not make a lethal backcourt.

Joyce Jr, as I mentioned, is an up-and-comer with potential. His greatest asset at the moment is his feel for the game. For instance, he knows where to find the open man when he draws the defense in with penetration.

On the down side, this has also led to him becoming turnover prone when the pressure is turned up. His shot consistency also needs to improve if he wants to be considered a true offensive threat and 50% of a strong backcourt.

Joyce Sr has made a big call on behalf of his son and he need know that opposition players will read it and step up to prove him wrong. Daniel already plays with a target on his back that reads 'Coaches Son' in the middle. Has Brendan just made the target bigger and brighter?

Other News

- EuroBasket '09 Qualifiers are under way. For a complete recap of today's games go to WorldHoopsBlog for a complete rundown.

- My Sin City Boys from TheSportCount have NBA Tatts Part 3 up for viewing.

- Want to buy an NBA All Star's house. Click here to find out what you will get for four million. AI turned down my offer, quickly.

- Sydney Spirit want a salary cap exemption. The NBL's head office is hearing nothing of it. Seamus has all the phone lines busy. He is trying to fit Ben Gordon in.

- Spirit get by the Japanese again. Derek Low is finding his feet. He led the Spirit with 24 while former UCLA Bruin Charles O'Bannon had 14 for the visitors.

- Mario Elie talks to TrueHoop about teaming with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajawon.

- ESPN's Matt Wong writes about HOFer Pat Ewing's relationship with Knick fans.

- Knicks and Grizz are ready to trade.

- ESPN's A.J. Adande takes a look back at Coach Pat Riley's HOF career.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey JR, that Knicks-Griz trade reminded me of something I've been wondering about.

Why don't we see trades in the NBL? Is it written into the collective bargaining agreement? (There must be something like the CBA in the NBL, right?) Is it just not worth the effort involved, considering the costs involved in transferring a player? Does it ever happen?

In my brief search, I can't find any reference to an NBL trade.

John Rillie said...

Trades have never been part of the NBL landscape but I believe when players try and get out of an existing contract, you may as well call it a trade.

The NBL is a league financially that cannot allow trading to happen. Imagine a minimum wage guy in Cairns finding he has to move to Sydney..good luck there.

Trading is brought up from time to time, but is not something that I can see happening soon within the NBL.

Anonymous said...

Oh, so there's nothing stopping it from happening legally? It's just a matter of finances. That makes sense.

It's for the best that it doesn't happen, of course. It'd be terrible for players.

Makes it harder to blog about the NBL though, because there are less rumours. And obviously, the blogability of a league is a real priority, haha.

Anonymous said...

I believe the crocs tried to trade Rillie for a washing machine once

Anonymous said...

Was that washing machine built like a brick outhouse, and come with a blonde mohawk and huge tan? or is this pic fake.

Is this really you?