Hoops Hot News

Click on the sweet 'do to the left to see other stylish locks of NBL players created by some artistic guys from the west. By the way boys, the wife loved the Vanilla Ice look.

- Yes, he's back. The NBL's MVP will be back on court this week. I can vouch for it as I spent my morning chasing him around at practice. Kirk Penney will be back in uniform when the New Zealand Breakers take on the Cairns Taipans this Thursday night.

I'm looking forward to teaming up with one of the premier perimeter players in the league.

- Adelaide 36ers Head Coach believes his team is nearly back to full strength which will allow him to go with his preferred starting line up.

- Melbourne Tigers franchise player Mark Worthington feels it is time for his team to "rip people's heads off". Read all his words here in the Herald Sun.

- Are the Cairns Taipans back after going 2-0 this past week?

- Gold Coast Blaze CEO Dave Claxton is calling the come from behind win, the best in the club's brief history.

- The Townsville Crocodiles are fired up about the officiating.

- Brad Newley continues to put up impressive numbers in Turkey. Although his team lost a close contest, Newley dropped in 33 points. He went 7-10 from down town. Newley is currently the 7th (17.8pts) leading scorer in the Turkish league and his team sits in 3rd place with a 4-2 record.

- Joe Ingles was solid with a 9 point, 6 rebound effort in his teams blow out win in Spain.

- Matt Nielsen had 10&5 as his Valencia ball club had a solid win.

- NCAA D1 Aussie performer of the day is Gold Coast native Christian Salecich. He helped lead the St Louis Billikens over Kennesaw St Owls 76-66.

Salecich finished with 15pts, 6 assists and 4 rebounds.

Fellow Aussie Cody Ellis should be joining him after the semester.

Check out this shot of the day by Kobe!

Something Here For Everyone

I have actually been somewhat busy today (I give away free stuff for a local radio station here in Townsville of a morning) so I will have installed plenty of links to service your basketball needs for now.

There are plenty of NBL updates and lots of movement in the USA regarding the upcoming NBA Draft.

Sit back, click and enjoy!

- New Orleans Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott on Pat Mills, "He's a competitor." "He can flat out put it up. He can score. He's a hell of a player."

- Everyone's favourite basketballing son, Daniel Joyce is happy to be back in Wollongong and looking forward to the Australian Boomers camp.

- "The Man" Anthony Mundine is doing his bit to help out through hoops.

- Australian Boomer squad member Cameron Tragardh is showing he is still "The King" of ABA.

- Former South Dragon Nathan Herbert is looking forward to Boomers camp.

My question is, who isn't because everyone must think they have a shot of making the team?

- Oregon State Beaver bound Angus Brandt returns home to the Blue Mountains before heading into Pac-10 battle.

- Darryl Corletto turns his back on England and re-signs with the Melbourne Tigers along with Nicholls State graduate Ryan Bathie.

- James Harvey is set to re-sign with the Gold Coast Blaze.

- Basketball Australia gets $300k from government.

- Luke Whitehead wants to keep playing on the Gold Coast, but the American import is not getting any love in return right now.

- The Perth Wildcats organisation are offering prizes to their season ticket members if they sign up early.

- Townsville Crocodile Michael Cedar is the latest to be added to the long list of Boomer squad members.

- Townsville Crocodiles re-sign Cameron Tovey and Kelvin Robertson.

- There is talk of Chicago Bull free agent Ben Gordon asking for $11 million per season. Teams are hoping that this does not become true, otherwise it will be an expensive off-season for some teams.

- Thanks to Kevin Love and his Twitter ability, he let the world know that Kevin McHale will not be coaching the Minnesota Timberwolves next season.

You can find me on Twitter @johnrillie.

- Toronto Raptor Nathan Jawai is ready to slip into the "Green and Gold".

- ESPN's Chad Ford has delivered his Mock Draft Edition 5 and there is no sign of Pat Mills in the first round. Does Ford know what he's talking about?

- Alonzo Mourning has school named after him.

- Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy beaten in prison?

- The MVP Nike Puppets are back for maybe the last time this season. This is for all the Kobe haters.

Mills Has 30 & Lil Wayne Lovin Kobe

Pat Mills (middle) and Joe Ingles (right) are joined by Brad Williamson in a cameo performance.

Who said basketball was struggling in this country? This picture can be found on the front page of ESPN's NBA section. Three out of the four are Aussies.

It seems that Pat Mills has come to life all thanks to the All Star Game that was held at the Reebok Eurocamp 2009.

Here is a review of how Mills looked today through the eyes of DraftExpress.

"Australian Patrick Mills was absolutely the star of the evening’s all-star game, posting an impressive 30 point performance on 8/18 shooting from the field and 12/13 from the line. Mills handled the ball on a string all game long, showing terrific quickness keeping his man off balance, and making an absolute living in the mid-range area with his deadly pull-up jumper. His ability to utilize strong hesitation moves makes him extremely difficult to stay in front of, and he did a good job not settling for tough shots from beyond the arc today, getting to the line repeatedly. He clearly thrives in up-tempo settings such as the one seen in today’s all-star game, which came in stark contrast to his morning performance, where he seemed to over-dribble somewhat while trying to create in the half-court.

NBA teams we spoke to still expressed some doubt regarding his point guard skills, which is something he could still stand to work on. He posted 3 assists compared with 4 turnovers in the evening game, seeming to be hunting shots quite a bit, and didn’t look all that comfortable getting others involved. Scouts generally were impressed by the quickness and shot-creating ability he showed, and he also did a better job defensively today as well. "

I hope Mills continues with the form he showed in scoring the basketball but can convince the scouts that he is capable of leading and distributing the ball amongst his teammates. Otherwise I fear he will be perceived as the next Earl Boykins. An undersized point guard with a scorers mentality.

- While it was a day for Pat Mills to shine, there is still plenty of buzz about fellow countryman Joe Ingles.

ProBasketballNews believes that Ingles is a "top prospect" and "may hear" his name called on Draft Night (June 25th, USA).

Also, when Ingles finishes in Europe in the next couple of days, he will head back to Chicago and workout for the Bulls on Thursday. Ater Majok will also join Ingles at this workout.

- Australian Opal Suzy Batkovic has tied the knot at the age of 29. Batkovic talks about her willingness to have children but it is "not set in cement - if it happens it happens".

With this attitude, I think "The OT" better hunt down the Olympian and have the "birds and bees" chat with the Seattle Storm centre before it is all too late.

- Yesterday I wrote about the draw for the upcoming 2009/10 NBL season. Some readers made comment and felt that I was "brown nosing".

I was just merely pointing out that the NBL has finally produced an even draw for the first time since 1996.

In 1996 we played 26 regular season games which meant we played each team (14 team comp) once at home and once away.

In the upcoming season each franchise will play each other four times. Two at home and two away.

Through my eyes this is fair and even (Yes, teams will argue about the schedule but venue availability plays it's part here, so get over it.). Where as over the past 13 seasons, one can argue over the fairness of the draw as there has been an uneven number of games against teams.

- I have not commented on the NBA Finals because my regular readers know how much I love Kobe Bryant's game, so I don't want to be tagged as being biased. But right now Kobe and the Lakers are letting their game do the talking against the Orlando Magic so I will leave the series alone.

I will let Lil Wayne's new song speak for my love of Kobe's game though.

More From Those Nike Kobe/LeBron Puppets

I cannot take all the credit for discovering the latest from the Kobe and LeBron Nike puppets. I got a great assist from fellow Aussie blogger NBAMate.

My Fav..Lookin after Lil Dez


Kobe Car Jump


Mrs Lewis

Kobe/LeBron Nike Puppet Commercials

I know these have popped up everywhere, but I'm sure I have some readers that have not seen these humorous commercials.

These puppet commercials by Nike featuring Kobe and LeBron really rubbed Dwight Howard the wrong way.

So far Kobe Bryant has held up his end of the campaign. Now the questions is, can this year's MVP LeBron James hold up his as he tries to drag his Cleveland Cavaliers over the line against the Orlando Magic?

MVP Rings


Chalk


Unstoppable

Something For Everyone

Could Florida guard Nick Calathes skip the NBA for Europe?

Episode 31 of "The OT" is in the books, so as soon as my partner in crime DJ Rod is finished in the chop shop, iTunes will experience a downloading epidemic.

In the meantime I'm sure you can find a link below to your liking.

- Oscar Robertson can see that LeBron James needs help if he wants to win a title. History shows there is merit in this argument. Julius "Dr J" Erving never won until Moses Malone showed up in Philadelphia.

- Respect is building momentum. Everyone is talking about a Kobe/LeBron Final. Spare a thought for the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets.

- If you are an ABA team in Australia and looking to add an import to the mix, one of these guys may just be the tonic to advance your team into the playoff picture.

My personal opinion is these guys would be of a good standard for our second tier league.

- Former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams is in trouble with the law again.

- WWE boss Vince McMahon has a dig at Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke.

- Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant and Candace Parker have this cyber thing down.

- You will find Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in court today.

- Former NBA great Dave Bing has been sworn in as Mayor of Detroit. Good luck with that Dave.

- NBA and tattoos, just something we have to get used to.

- I have found myself at this site a few times over the past week. The Ridiculous Upside takes a look back at the 2002 second round draft picks.

- Former Florida guard Nick Calathes seems destined to play in his homeland of Greece. There is a lot of speculation that the point guard has already signed with Europe powerhouse Panathinaikos.

- 730 foreign hoopers have applied to tryout for the 20 available import roster spots in the Korean Basketball League.

- Adelaide 36ers lodge their license agreement, but there are "conditions".

- Boti Nagy shows his feelings about Wednesday's press conference in Melbourne.

The Latest For Crocs Fans

Townsville Crocodile fans, this is the latest. I hijacked this press release from the Crocs website from earlier today.

Townsville McDonald’s Crocodiles CEO Ian Smythe believes it is now time to roll up the sleeves, put the heads down and get on with the job of launching the new national men’s elite competition. ‘It has been a long negotiation, but we are ready to go. We have always been positive that the Crocs would be there for next season’ Smythe said “ and the time has come to get on with the job .”

Talks between Basketball Australia and the Townsville McDonald’s Crocodiles are currently taking place regarding the season draw and Smythe believes that it should be finalised and released in the coming weeks. He will also commence negotiations with players and expects to be making announcements early next week.

‘With the competition in the balance earlier in the month with the withdrawal of the two Melbourne clubs, negotiations with players regarding contracts for the upcoming season and beyond were not able to take place, Smythe said. I will however now commence the process over the weekend’ Smythe added and I should have good news in the coming week”

‘Although these past couple months have not been easy, I applaud Larry Sengstock and Basketball Australia for being decisive and getting the job done. It is a disappointment that some teams decided not to participate this season, but in the end I feel it can only benefit the competition as a whole. This season will show just how determined we are as an organisation.

The Crocs have worked hard to keep basketball alive and thriving at all levels in Australia’ he added. ‘All of the negotiating in the off season has been just the tonic the Men’s Elite Competition and Basketball Australia needed with the new season looking like it will finally achieve the level of management and discipline it requires ’ Smythe said. I can’t wait for it to start now, he added.

Other News

- The Ridiculous Upside blog has thrown their vote behind Pat Mills in this year's draft. While everyone is high on Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio, this blog points out that Mills was not to shabby himself at the 2008 Olympics.

- Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard feel like they can represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals as they take a 2-1 lead over the LeBron Cavaliers.

- Chinese get involved with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

- Kobe and his wife are suing the housekeeper.

- A ripper Q&A with Steve Nash thanks to BDL and JE Skeets.

- Dwight Howard feels disrespected.

Late Night Links

Before I head to bed I thought I would provide the latest in hoop links from around the place.

- South Dragons owner Mark Cowan predicted it months ago and it has happened. Former Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has been snapped up by the Chinese National Team.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when Goorj has his first conversation with Yao Ming.

Somehow I cannot see Yao buying what Goorj is selling as he tells him how Lygon St is much better than anything the Houston Rockets have to offer.

- Sounds like free speaking journo Boti Nagy wrote this article with a muzzle on. Boti you will be able to take it off soon, I hope.

- In one of the worst keep secrets in basketball, Joey Wright has been named coach of the Gold Coast Blaze.

I like this hiring because it allows me to rekindle the little chit chats we would have during a game.

- Former Sydney Spirit forward Liam Rush has come up trumps with his decision to leave the struggling Sydney club midseason.

His Swedish team (Sundsvall) has just taken out the title in an epic seven game series.

What does this mean for the NBL?

No chance of Rush returning to the NBL any time soon. His heroics in the final game will see him receive a contract somewhere in Europe I imagine.

Is this just one of many more to follow suit?

- While in Europe, former NBL players Larry Abney and Julian Khazzouh are locking horns in Holland as we speak. Their series is tied at one a piece right now.

- This is a message for kids in South Australia or young hoopers willing to travel a few miles to get coached by a former NBA Slam Dunk Champion. Former Boston Celtic Dee Brown will be conducting clinics in South Aussie in September/October. Click here for more info.

- "The 2004-05 Tall Black, who relished playing against his former NSW age-group teammates cum Boomers such John Rillie and Matt Neilson in the 2006 test matches, has no qualms about his pick-me-up role with the Hawks."

This passage comes from an article from the Hawkes Bay Today about gypsy basketballer Miles Pearce.

Like any article where the colourful Pearce is quoted, he leaves you shaking your head in some direction.

For those interested in the facts, I'm nowhere near Pearce's age-group and I'm not a cockroach.

QUEEEEENSLANDER!

- If your looking for NBA news head over to NBAMate. The Aussie blogger was actually at Game 2 of the Lakers/Rockets series.

More news here on the fiery series to date.

- Scibz's Spiel has come across an article where Brian Goorjian was referred to as "Bruce".

Just how good is our sport going in the media right now?

Detoxing

"Is it true Rusty has 22inches?" That is something I cannot answer.

I've been in playoff detox for the past 48 hours and like any good addict, it never gets any easier to get over it as the years roll on.

It was another season where we did not achieve what we set out to do. Sure there were not too many people that rated the Crocs at the start of the year, but I always felt that if all things feel into place, we would be a chance.

No doubt we needed luck and things to fall our way, but if I felt the team I played on never had a chance, it is time for me to give the game away. (While on that, there has been some speculation that this may have been my last year. Not so, I'm here for another crack at the title.)

We were very close to making it happen here in Townsville. One game short of making the Grand Final and maybe surprising the Melbourne Tigers. It was not to be, but we had our chances and we just did not capitalize on them when they were presented.

Many people will always remember Game 3 and how the South Dragons over ran us in the end. I would like to turn your attention back to Game 1.

The game was tied up or very tight with six minutes to go. That was where I felt we let or opportunity slip through our hands.

The Dragons dominated us in the last six minutes of a ball game we controlled for the majority of the time. Closing out games in playoffs is key and we let a golden opportunity slip through our fingers during the later stages of Game 1.

Give the Dragons credit for playing better in the clutch but I will always feel those were the six minutes that hurt us making the second ever championship series for this proud club I play for.

I think fans and supporters of both teams will remember this series as hard fought but the better team in the end ran over the underdogs.

On the other hand, all teams have their moments to succeed, you just need to take them when they are presented.

What's News

- "To win it would be the greatest achievement I've been involved in in the NBL", said South Dragons coach Brian Goorijian. (The Australian)

Brian Goorjian is already pumping up his own tyres on what a great good he has done with this group. Trying to play the underdog roll once again. His team did finish first in the regular season after all and most of his players have come from solid rosters in the past.

- Former Brisbane Bullet player and four time Olympian Larry Sengstock has the support to bring the Bullets back. Will Basketball Australia see the same thing?

- A Sydney Kings consortium has asked for extra time for their proposal.

- You can never let the truth get in the road of the true make up of your squad. Sydney Spirit are trying to take their team to the Philippines. Just read and you will see the number of errors in this article. I had a slight chuckle to myself as I happen to know Marco and he does have basketball very close to his heart.

- My current teammate Rosell Ellis is temporarily being replaced by a former teammate, Galen Young. Read here to get the full story.

- Townsville Crocs reflect over loss.

Top 10 Kobe plays to date this season.

Kobe vs LeBron

Over the past week New York Knick fans have witnessed two of the best performances ever on their home floor, the famous Madison Square Garden. The only trouble was neither performance was from one of their own.

First it was Kobe Bryant that lit them up for a record setting 61 points, beating Bernard King's old mark of 60. King's record has stood for 24 years.

Two nights later, enter LeBron James. Lebron dropped 52 on the Knicks as J-Zay watched his buddy destroy the Big Apple's team.

To go along with his half century of points, James was originally credited with a triple double (52pts, 11asts, 10rebs). No one since Kareem Abdul-Jabber in 1975 had recorded a TD which included dropping 50 plus points.

Later, the tape was reviewed and James was no credited with the triple double. His final rebound in the dying seconds has since been rewarded to Ben Wallace.

Both performances are worthy of the attention they have generated but I believe that Kobe's is the better performance.

Sure, I'm a little bias towards Kobe, but he set a record. This was the best scoring performance ever at the famed MSG.

Here are some highlights of both efforts. Let me know which one you think is worthy of top billing.

Kobe


LeBron

Europe Making Noise In All Sports

Josh Childress - the guy that started the trend to Europe. Can we expect to see a 2K9 Eurobasket Game?

As many have spoken about in recent months, the NRL continues to attempt to find a way to halt the exodus of players chasing the pot of gold in Europe. Currently American basketball, specifically the NBA, is beginning to see glimpses of the same situation evolving within their competition.

Once upon a time the NBA was regarded as the pinnacle of the basketball world,…the best money and the best working conditions. This is not necessarily true today thanks largely to the struggling US dollar and a little thing called tax.

This year’s NBA off-season has sent whispers through the basketball circles as it has progressed. It began with the announcement of a handful of mid-level players opting to take up lucrative offers with various European teams. Over there, players like this can come a dime a dozen. There were no All-Stars jumping ship. The basketball talent pool is heavily populated with this caliber player and, as a result, no one really blinked an eye.

That was until last week when NBA superstars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James said they would not sign contract extensions until they heard what Europe has to offer.

Both players have said publicly that they would look at European offers if any matched the $50 million USD they currently receive. And yes, teams in Greece and Russia are interested at this price.

This $50 million would also be taken straight to the bank,…in full. These clubs pay the tax any player incurs, as well as paying for accommodation and transportation.

Meanwhile in the NBA these guys pay their own tax (which by the way is enough for you and I to live on comfortably for quite some time) and the rest of the deal is up to them,…car(s), house(s),…everything. Doesn’t seem like much of a decision, does it?

Europe will undoubtedly put up a formidable fight for some of these high profile NBA players. However, I look for the NBA to quickly act by changing their collective bargaining agreement with the players. If successful in resolving this quickly and keeping their players happy at home, I look for this to be a passing trend and idle threat. At best, the overseas market will continue to poach those mid-rangers, but the big fish will stay in the home pond.

The Americans will do whatever it takes to keep the NBA at the top of the basketball world. If it means moving the goal posts a little, so be it. They will simply find a way to make it happen.

In a way, I liken this battle to parenting a head-strong child. You can enter into a stand-off and flex your muscles, which usually ends with emotional decisions and rebellion. Or you can recognize that maybe some concessions and changes probably need to be made for the good of keeping the family unit strong and in tact. As an authority figure, you just do your best to stay one step ahead in each potential patch of turbulence.

The point I am trying to make is that I think the NRL can learn something from the way this NBA saga pans out, especially if they wish to remain the premier rugby league competition in the world. If they don’t make some type of change soon, their rugby league family will disintegrate before their eyes.

You can read my article every Saturday in the Townsville Bulletin.