Slingers Gone and Some Pre Olympic News

These guys will no longer be part of the NBL.

Although some whispers had started to circulate it is now official. The Singapore Slingers are no longer part of the NBL.

I can tell you that it is true that all player contracts will be honoured and the talk about the Slingers joining an Asian league is true to some degree.

Where the hitch in this master plan is, what league do they play in? Great question because I'm not sure if any league that is currently operating in Asia would open their arms and welcome in the Singapore Slingers. What do the Slingers offer as far as improving the current status of any league? I'm not sure, but I don't think much considering their roster is full of Aussies.

If any of you readers have read any of the newspaper articles, they have made comment about Bob Turner trying to start up a league over there. This is true but where will he get teams from to fill a league?

A factor that may hinder this process is time. How quickly can a league starting from scratch be up and running and also become viable? Once again I have never setup a professional league, but I'm guessing this will not happen over night. I will guess a timeline of about 12-18 months would be needed to set up something viable and long lasting.

Once again, I will keep you posted on this topic as it will be interesting to see what becomes of the Singapore Slingers. There is a small chance that Ben Knight could become a household name in Asian basketball. A status level he never reached in his own country.


Continuing with my individual breakdown of the Boomers roster, lets take a look at point guard CJ Bruton.

strengths: Bruton is entering his second Olympic campaign and is the veteran floor general this time round. Leading a rather inexperienced backcourt Bruton needs to perform at a high level for the whole two weeks of the Olympics if the Boomers are to advance to the medal round.

This is something he is capable of doing, the question is, does he want it!

CJ's offensive repertoire allows him to win games on his own. When he starts "feeling it" just sit back and enjoy the show.

Over the years Bruton has become a good quarterback in knowing when to pick his spots in a game. I just hope his radar is switched on in Beijing because how CJ goes, so do the Boomers.

weaknesses: Sometimes it seems CJ is just cruising through a game. Happy to keep everyone involved he can sometimes become too pass happy. This type of attitude from Bruton is going to be detrimental to the Boomers success.

If Bruton is happy to take a backseat and watch the youth of Australian basketball gain experience, there will be no medal chance for the Aussies.

overall: Easy said. How CJ goes, so do the Boomers.

Articles from pre Olympic games

"FIBA: It’s interesting to hear you say that you’ve got the most talented team that you have ever had. In saying this, aren’t you raising expectations?

Brian Goorjian: I’m just stating the truth. We’re underprepared and a bit disorganized, but the country hasn’t had David Andersen, Matt Nielsen and Andrew Bogut (all together) before. And we’ve added a lot of length on the perimeter since I’ve been here in Dave Barlow, (Brad) Newley, Joe Ingles. You’ve got 6ft 7in, 6ft 8in in those perimeter spots. We’ve been 6ft 2in, 6ft 3in and most of the guys in those spots were one dimensional where these guys can shoot it and put it on the floor. I know this - it’s a brighter future ahead than four years ago when we brought a lot of guys who were 29, 30 years old that had never played in Olympic Games, never played in the World Games, never played in the Commonwealth Games, due to the fact that that group to seven to eight guys had represented Australia in Three straight Olympics." - FIBA.COM

For the rest of this Q & A with Goorjian click here.

Good to see Goorj supporting his current players. I will argue his statement though. I will take an experienced Brett Maher, Jason Smith and myself over a young and inexperienced Pat Mills, Brad Newley and David Barlow.

In fact, when Smith is healthy again we would take them in a three on three contest.

In a few years time that might be a great statement by Goorj.

Australian Opals defeat Brazil ,easily. boxscore

Good news for Boomers, Russian centre struggling to be fit in time for Olympics.

Argentina slide by Iran by 10 in the FIBA Diamond Ball for Men. (boxscore)

China get win over Angola by 9 at Diamond Ball. (boxscore) Both China's NBA stars Yi Jianlian (11&6) and Yao Ming (21&5) played.

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Kwame Brown joins the Detroit Pistons on two year deal.

Ricky Davis joins the Los Angles Clippers.

Nenad Krstic bolts for Russia.

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Singapore Gone From NBL But Looking to Play In Asia

The Slingers had a two year roar in the NBL.

I'm not sure when this story grew legs but it is happening. The Singapore Slingers will not play in the NBL in season 2008/09.

What I'm hearing though is all player contracts will be honoured and the club is trying to play 15 exhibition games in Singapore in the upcoming months.

I'm not sure what playing exhibition games will do for a franchise without a league but I do not know the Singapore market at all.

This concept is interesting but knowing Bob Turner he must have something in the pipeline. Maybe the Slingers will join an Asian league? Would the Chinese CBA look at a team from Singapore?

I'm sure there is more to this story to come out over the next few days. I will do my best to keep you guys in the loop as it happens.

From now and until the Olympics roll around I'm going to give my scouting report on each member of the Boomers.

David Andersen

Performing in his second Olympics Andersen will be looking to have a massive Games. He has proved himself in Europe and the NBA would not shell out enough to get his services, so Andersen will be looking to prove that he is worth every penny he is paid.

strengths: May have the most well rounded offensive game of any of our interior players. Andersen will go close to leading the team in scoring. He can score his points by banging down low and going to his turn around "J" or stepping out to about fifteen feet.

He is also quite comfortable trailing the play or stepping out to three and knocking it down. Hopefully this option does not become a steady diet but his ability to stretch the defense should help create space down low for Andrew Bogut to operate.

Maybe Andersen's biggest strength is his offensive rebounding ability. He truly has a nose for the ball and gets himself easy second chance points or extra possessions for his team. This stat can really help get a team over the line in a tight game.

weakness: If he has to chase a perimeter orientated four around, this is not his game. Andersen can play some solid low post defense and helps and talks it up great on on-ball screens. He and Bogut need to "eat glass" for the Boomers to reach the medal rounds, so Andersen needs to hit the D glass with the venom he does at the offensive end.

overall: Andersen needs to have a monster Olympics for the Aussies to do well. He has an offensive game to match the best in the world at his position. How he and Bogut work together will be key.

If Andersen has a huge Games, the Boomers could play themselves into a medal game while the NBA will be begging for him to come and play.

Articles:

Mills a boon for Boomers.

"It's a good feeling, it's cool, it's a new step for me," Low said yesterday afternoon, just hours after landing in Honolulu on a flight from Salt Lake City. "I made a good decision. I'm excited to go." Words from Derrick Low, the Sydney Spirits new import. Courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser.

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Australian Opals belt Brazil, 99-62 (boxscore coming), in Wollongong tonight.

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