Aleks Maric Is Big Time

Australia or Serbia! Who you got Aleks Maric?


When you talk about the depth of the Australian Boomers frontcourt, names like Bogut, Andersen, Nielsen and Jawai roll off the tongue without a stutter.
But there is another Aussie "big" that is making a name for himself in Euroleague and just reminding Boomers Head Coach Brett Brown that all is not set in stone for the 2010 World Championship team.

Aleks Maric has just received his second Euroleague Player of the week award.

Maric who plays for the Serbian based Partizan club had 34pts and 16rebs as his team snuck past Turkish team Efes Pilsen in Round 7 of the second best basketball competition in the world.

But the most interesting point to come out of the success that Maric is currently enjoying, who will he support or play for in Turkey come World Championship time? (you may need google translator for the above article)

My understanding of the FIBA rule is Maric has to play for Australia because he has already represented the green and gold. But it seems if I translate the translator correctly, Maric may be able to suit up for Serbia if Basketball Australia gives him the ok. (I will endeavour to find out the ruling on this over the next few days.)

It would be a shame to see Maric suit up for someone else, but if Australia cannot find room on their roster for him, should you really be able to hold someone back from pursuing a dream?

I'm sure we will hear more about this over the next few days.

CJ's The Hero But Bogut Plays Big

Andrew Bogut was head and shoulders above anyone else today.

Tonight CJ Bruton hit a three point shot with 0.2 seconds remaining to give the Australian Boomers a 81-78 win over African champions Angola.

Bruton was the hero but NBA star Andrew Bogut was the difference maker in this game. Bogut finished with a game high 32 points and 11 rebounds.

Although it was good to see Bogut heavily involved tonight, the Aussies cannot expect this to become the norm. we need more contributors if we are to advance in Beijing.

This was a close game from start to finish. The Boomers went into half time with a seven point lead thanks to a controversial three, but the Africans had it all squared away by three quarter time.

All tied up with 12 seconds to go, Bruton used a high on ball screen from Bogut with about 6 seconds remaining. Cool as the other side of your pillow Bruton launched the three and "bingo". The Boomers sneak out the victory.

The Angolans were a good hit out for the Boomers because of their quickness and ability to shoot the ball. Although one of the smaller teams going to the Olympics, they possess a few players that are multi talented.

A small centre Eduardo Mingas, power forward Joaquim Gomes and small forward Olimpia Cipriano will keep all teams honest in Beijing let alone the Aussies.

These three guys combined for 60 of the 78 points their team scored.

Another solid win by the Boomers who will now play Argentina for the championship of the Diamond Ball. This game is on the 1st of August (Friday) at 9.30pm EST. Check out www.justin.tv/antileech to catch the action live on the net.

Interesting note, that in tonight's game and against China, Goorjian has gone with Bruton, Bogut, Matt Nielsen, Brad Newley and Mark Worthington down the stretch.

Also, as the Boomers work closer to the opening game of the Olympic Games, Goorijan will look to tighten his rotations. I will keep an eye on this to see who will be the guys that fill the bench role of Tony Ronaldson, Martin Cattalini, Paul Rogers and myself at the last Olympics.

Other International Results

Argentina beats Serbia 75-60.
USA beats Turkey 114-82.

Chris Anstey interview from China


NBL News

Jason Castro will remain with Slingers.

Slingers controlled their own destiny.

Melbourne Tigers chasing Julius Hodge.

Blaze boss prepared to roll with the good and bad times.

"A lesser known player involved in this trade is Nathan Jawai, whose draft rights the Raptors acquired. The Raptors do not have a true center and the addition of this 6-10, 280 pound big man will help their inside presence. He has been working out with O'Neal at Joe Abunassar's Impact Basketball and posted 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds during summer league play. After winning two NBL titles back home, Jawai is eager to help the Raptors in their title quest." - Courtesy of Hoopsworld.com

A positive write up for the former Cairns Taipan, Nathan Jawai. Considering it was his rookie year last year, it is interesting that he has won two NBL titles though.

Chris Anstey extends contract for another two years with the Melbourne Tigers.

Aleks Maric set to play in Spain for the next two years.

Steve Nash/Baron Davis Movie - funny stuff (I'm stealing DJ Leon Smith's material, sorry!)

Aussie All Stars vs China Game 2 - video footage

Our team doctor getting Razorbacks Matt Knight ready to take on the Chinese.

Things you find when you are sitting around a airport. Here is some footage from Game 2 of our game in Ningbo on Sunday night. Enjoy the action and the commentating!

I still have not arrived home from China yet, but I have a lazy three hours to waste in the Brisbane Qantas Club so I will get you up to speed on what is happening in hoops today.

As reported months ago right here, Sam MacKinnon has signed with the Melbourne Tigers. MacKinnon signed a three year deal so if the Tigers can get 30 games out of him they should regard this signing as a success.

All jokes aside, with the departure of Dave Thomas (Cairns Taipans) this signing could not have worked out any better for the Melbourne club. MacKinnon will slot in nicely to this lineup and assume the role that Thomas provided for the Tigers. Only danger for oppositions here is, Mackinnon is a little more versatile.

Look for the Tigers to start favourites for the title in season 2008/09.

The Australian Boomers went down to Croatia in their opening game of the Acropolis Cup in Greece.

The Boomers went down 71-69. Going 2-28 from the land of plenty (3's) after quarter time did not help their cause.

Chris Anstey (12), CJ Bruton (11), Pat Mills (10) and Brad Newley (10) led the scoring for the green and gold.

Tomorrow we take on the host nation, Greece.

Aleks Maric (Pacers) kicked off his Summer League action with a solid first up outing. 6pts, 4 rebs, 3 assts, 3 blks and 2 stls was his stat line.

Julius Hodge (Nets) is also in action at the Orlando Summer League. (boxscores here)

Aaron Bruce is with Oklahoma City but he did not dress for their game.

Crocs new signing Brad Williamson has a little Q&A.

In 2010 the Australian Boomers will play in India as part of the first ever Commonwealth Basketball Championships.

Although basketball is one and done as far as being part of the Commonwealth Games, India will host this virgin tournament about a month before the 2010 Comm Games.

Just a little BLING I picked up in my recent travels.

Boomers and NBA Draft

The Australian Boomers continued with their build up to the Beijing Olympics tonight. They played the new look New Zealand Tall Blacks over in Auckland. Sleep walking their way to a 75-60 victory the Boomers cannot get to Europe quick enough for some competition.

The game was over by quarter time with the Aussies getting out to a early 26-9 lead at quarter time. Thanks to a fast starting Chris Anstey (8 first quarter points) the Boomers put it on cruise control for the remainder of the game.

For the Aussies, Shawn Redage and Joe Ingles had outings that would have impressed coach Brian Goorjian. Redage was everywhere. Maybe too hyperactive at times but you can see he is giving his all to make it to Beijing. I'm waiting to see how he goes when they go to Europe where he will play against bigger and better opponents.

Ingles played assertive but under control basketball tonight. I love his feel for the game but as we saw against Iran he sometimes goes for the home run play too much. His ability to make the right decision will one day make him a good player at the international level for the Boomers. For now though, the young fella has to learn to play under control on a nightly basis.

Everyone is pumping up Pat Mills' tyres right now. Sure he was solid tonight but my six year old son isn't losing any sleep over a Kiwi point guard rotation of Lindsay Tait and Jeremy Kench. Europe will be a great test for the youngster.

I can't wait for the second game of the series on Saturday in Melbourne. It means we are only one game away from finally seeing the Boomers take on some legitimate Olympic medal competition.

Enough of that. It is only hours now until the fate of three Aussies and their NBA aspirations are decided courtesy of the NBA Draft. (Catch the draft action on ESPN from 9am Friday.)

Nathan Jawai has been State side preparing for this day for about a month. Hopefully he has put his best foot forward during his workouts for about 20 NBA teams.

We will find out if he impressed anyone enough to get rewarded with a first round pick. If he does, this guarantees him three years in the League at a healthy salary.

My Prediction: Early second round (ESPN's Chad Ford has him at 33.)

Aleks Maric is someone that not all Aussies are aware of. He has plied his trade in the tough Big 12 Conference for the past four years for the University of Nebraska. An interesting stat I came across today is Maric holds the All Time record for most double doubles in conference play (26).

This is quite an achievement by anyone's standard but it does not guarantee you an NBA deal.

If Maric slips through the NBA web he will play for big money in Europe. Another local talent that will not play in their home country. Australia has quite a stable of players building in Europe.

My Prediction: Late second round pick

Aaron Bruce is a guy that has given himself the best possible chance of making the NBA.

His career statistically at Baylor actually declined over his four years there. To his credit he has taken it on the chin and found a way to get some workouts with NBA teams.

You have to admire the fighting character the Horsham native has shown in his quest to make the NBA.

My Prediction: Not drafted, but will be on someones Summer League roster.

News From Around The Traps:

Boomers dust Tall Blacks. Another write up.

Opals too good for Russia.

Small chance Bogut may miss Olympics.

Jawai ready. More on "Baby Shaq".

Maher looking for reduced role.

NT junior (Sheppard) to practice with champs.

Petrie a Hawk.

Simmons/Ford NBA Draft banter

J O'Neal/TJ Ford swap addresses.

Episode 3 - "The Rookie"

All Things Jawai and Kings Can Share Sydney

There is enough room for both these food groups in Sydney and the NBL!


The 2008 NBA draft is fast approaching (June 26th) so I thought I would step up my updates on Aussie hopefuls Nathan Jawai and Aleks Maric. Until the draft is done I will keep a daily spotlight on these guys and provide sufficient information to serve your Jawai/Maric sized appetite.

Nathan Jawai:

Kings (Sacramento) works out the Bamiga product.

Suns will be Nate Dogg's next workout.

Bleacher Report - check out pick 17 by Raptors!

Aleks Maric:

Below I have listed Maric's scores when he tested at the Orlando Pre Draft Camp last week. Without boring you with stats, he was neither the best or worst in all categories.

Vertical Jump (no step) - 23inches Vertical Jump (max) - 28 inches

Bench press (185lbs) - 15times Lane agility - 11.76sec

3/4 court sprint - 3.35 sec

Maric works out for Pacers.

Hoopsworld has scoop.

Now to the NBL and Mike Wrublewski saying that Sydney should have only one team in town, and that team should be the almighty Kings.

Well Mike, if the NBL season was to start tomorrow, that one team would be the West Sydney Razorbacks and not your beloved Kings. The purple and gold that you bleed is doing its best imitation of a "Violet Crumble" as we speak unless you can save the "Purple Rein".

Now that I have that off my chest I will try to speak some sense about this situation.

I believe there is a place for both teams in Sydney but they cannot be living in each others pocket.

West Sydney looked at playing at Penrith but the latest has them moving back to the $hitlam Centre. I call it that with much respect as I am a huge fan of the facility and look forward to making the drive out the Hume Highway and lacing up the boots for another game there. Talk about home court advantage!

If the Pigs remain out west I cannot see how this will impact the Kings and the marketplace they are trying to attract to their games.

I praise the Pigs for moving back to the Whitlam Centre as now they can really work on maintaining a bigger fan base. Homebush may have seemed like a good move at the time, but as we have seen the crowds struggle to find their way to the Olympic site.

By moving back to Liverpool you have a residential hub (170 000 pop) to draw from and the fans do not have to waste half their day travelling to and from the game.

Sure the Whitlam needs a little TLC but the size of the arena is ideal for where the sport of basketball is at in Sydney.

It will be interesting to see if the Razorbacks can find new corporate money to inject into the franchise. I believe that they will see an increase in fan numbers by moving back to Liverpool.

I honestly believe the Pigs are on the right path to capturing their slice of the Sydney market by moving back "Home".

Now the Kings. Providing the NBL board approves Mr Wrublewski and his people the Kings will definitely see and increase in corporate support. Wrublewski has a great track record in this area and I'm sure that trend will continue.

Where I see the Kings having to improve is their complete game night presentation and you must start with your oncourt team.

The Kings used to sell out the Entertainment Centre regularly when they had zero titles to their name. Why is this? They had characters!

Everyone remembers Dwayne MacClain (D-Train) and Steve Carfino for their flashy play and breathe taking moves. But to go with this, they had the "hard nuts" in The Dalton Gang, Tim Morrissey and Three O (Damien) Keogh.

Why I highlight this point is Sydney is a fickle market. You have to have some style and swagger about yourself so people will take notice and attend.

There is no doubting that Brian Goorjian led this franchise through its most successful period (3 titles in a row) on the floor but there was no one there to witness it. (This goes back to a previous blog, where I talk about measuring success in the professional sporting world.)

I feel the Kings fans could never get a read on their team as they always had a high turnover of personal. There was no intimacy between fans and the team.

I ask you, would Sydneysiders have a better recolection of little used pint sized guard Brad Rosen or three time championship winner Brad Sheridan?

What else needs to happen for the Kings is they need to find a better sized facility. The Entertainment Centre can play host to the bigger drawing games while a 4-6 thousand seat stadium would be ideal for the majority of teams that come to town. (The Tigers play out of a 3500 seat arena and make it work.)

The facility cost would be one of the biggest expenses incurred by teams so when your true crowd numbers are low, that is a lot of money that cannot be recovered. I hear all you Sydneysiders, where to then Smartass? Good question, and I do not have the answer. State Sports Centre is the best size venue I know of but has turned into a white elephant and its location I question.

There is no doubt Sydeny has the toughest job as far as getting the recipe of success right but with Wrublewski at the helm again I hope they can turn their fortunes around.

Sydney is more than capable of providing two successful teams in the NBL and I feel with the respective moves each franchise is making this can happen in the near future.

NBL News:

NZNBL playoff teams are set.

Razorbacks fire back to Kings comments.

NBA News:

Gasol needs to lift his game.

Scoop Jackson on Paul Pierce's worth to the C's.

Terry Porter is Suns new coach.

Del Negro is on the Bulls radar now.

Preview to Game 2

King's Have A Saviour & Lakers Begin Their Run

Old is new again, Wrublewski is back in fashion.

Former owner Mike Wrublewski has put his hand up again in an attempt to breath life into a club that he loves with a passion, the Sydney Kings.

Wrublewski was the owner of the Kings franchise back in the late 80's and 90's when they were considered one of the best sporting franchises in Australia. Since Wrublewski had sold the Kings they have tasted great success on the court (3 championships) but have suffered greatly in holding onto corporate support within the Sydney community.

For the past twelve months their owner Tim Johnston (Firepower) has been running the club into the ground and has gained much media attention over the past two weeks due to his lack of paying his players their monthly salaries.

Enter Wrublewski. To cut a long story short, Wrublewski called Johnston and told him your doing the club no good. Give it to me before we have absolutely nothing to restore.

It is not as simple as that though. The NBL Board has to meet and agree that Wrublewski has a plan that is fit for the Kings and the NBL. Lucky for everyone the Board just happens to be meeting late this week.

He feels he has what it takes. "I need to come in with a clean slate, come in with some credibility, to come in with some statements that people will believe in and will support," he told Fox Sports

"In the past the one thing that I did leave the club with was when I said I would do something I did it and the corporate world backed me", he continued to say.

Obviously the man has the runs on the board so I cannot see the NBL knocking this on the head.

This is great to hear for the league and the Kings players. Finally some good news and finally maybe, some bums on those ugly purple chairs at the entertainment centre.

Although I did make comment that the league would continue with or without the Kings and Brisbane Bullets, I'm sure glad they are staying.

Kings are truly a sporting franchise that you love to hate and I think that will only be enhanced with Wrublewski at the helm.

Sydney, Sydney, Sydney.....I can hear Rodney O already!

Today myself and teammate Brad Sheridan made a visit out to the Children's Ward of the Hospital. It was part of a community project the Townsville Crocs and the hospital do together.

It is always a good time out there when you spend a little time with kids that are having a tough run with sickness or injury.

We just sat around a table with the kids helping them colour in and shoot the breeze. Yes, I had trouble staying between the lines but I'm sure I will get better.

Other NBL News:

Pero Cameron cleared of rough play.

Former Razorback Miles Pierce dumped.

Jawai works out for Warriors.

Young Victorian player shooting for the stars and college.

A reduced Boomers squad has been announced. (More on this in the coming days.)

Wildcats to get a "big" as second import.

Fox Sports will cover the Boomers/Iran series.

Maric works out for Pacers.

NBA News:

You can catch Game 1 of the Lakers/Celtics series on ESPN (508). It all starts at 10.30am.

What will win out? Celtics "D" or the Lakers "O".

Bill Simmons with his preview of the Finals.

Flip Saunders gone from Detroit.

Former Piston player to be new head coach.

Could D-Wade be leaving Miami?

Draft notes.

Could Kobe go for 81 Against the C's?

Timing Is Everything

Scott Prince did not get the thumbs up from the Queensland selectors.

State of Origin will be dominating the sporting headlines for a good portion of the next month. It has already gotten off to a flying start this week with debate about the exclusion of Scott Prince from the Queensland team.

Well, I’ll weigh in on the debate right now. Should Prince have made the team? I’m sure I’m not alone when I say our home and work place has mapped out every possible ‘what if’ situation already. The truth of what happened is simple: Sometimes players become victims of circumstance Prince is one of those players this time around.

As some wise person once said, “Timing is everything,” and Prince’s timing is just a little unfortunate, having to beat out the guy that most footy experts rate as the best footballer in the world, Jonathon Thurston.

The way the Gold Coast Titans have performed early this season, there is no doubt that if the Dally M Medal was given today, Prince would be a shoe in. It does seem unfair that a guy showing career best form and carving up the competition cannot get a start.

When you are second in line behind the best in the world, life is going to seem a little unfair more than once. Maybe Prince should commiserate with a guy like Stuart MacGill. This guy has the best strike rate of any modern day leg spinner, but had to try to topple the likes of Shane Warne in order to consistently play for Australia. Talk about an up hill battle!

Right now, I guess all a guy in this position can do is concentrate on what makes him successful week to week, in Prince’s case, it is leading the Titans forward. I also think mentally he needs to be ready for the possibility of a call up for game 2 and/or 3. If that opportunity presents itself, he better make the most of it.

The NBA draft is 40 days away and Australia has a few young players putting their hat in the ring. There is still plenty of time before the draft for these players to either do themselves and their dreams of playing in the NBA some good, or potentially even some damage. Here is a run down of the candidates:

Nathan Jawai: This Cairns Taipans product has started to make some NBA scouts take notice. Once considered a second round pick, it seems as though Nate could sneek into the first round. I look for Jawai to be drafted; the big question how high.

Joe Ingles: I look for this guy to take a similar path to Brad Newley. Ingles will use this time around in the lead up to the draft as a learning experience and will give it a real crack next year. He is currently rated anywhere from a second round pick to not being drafted at all this year.

Aleks Maric: This may not be a name that many Australians are familiar with, because this Sydney-sider has been working his game in the American college system for the last four years. His productivity at the University of Nebraska puts Maric as an outside chance of being drafted. Unfortunately for those fans of the NBL, I think Maric will pack his bags for Europe if the NBA does not have room for him.

It is exciting to see Australian born players in a position to make the NBA again. Not since 1997, when Crocs own Ben Pepper along with fellow NBL stars Chris Anstey, CJ Bruton and Paul Rogers put their names in for the NBA draft, has Australia had multiple players drafted in the same year.

Last but not least, Go the Maroons next Wednesday night.

You can check out my article every Saturday in the Townsville Bulletin.