"Anonymous a couple of hours ago" is a turd burgler. This forum has to be strugglin if a dope like him is posting comments....

was at the game last night when they got a w against kilsyth. enojoyed the game although was quite scrappy early and the pioneers offence struggled. This seemed to improve as the game went on and seemed to coincide with sedlock hitting the floor. IN my view Chris Lewis, one of their imports is a solid player who works hard for the team and the type of player who will not star but you know what you are going get every week from him. Ryan Blankston, seems a little eratic, and possibly a bit of a time bomb from what i saw last night, but is a big body who takes up space and seems to give 100%. Sedlock's hussle, defence and intensity was infectious and think that the team will be a lot more competitive now that he is able to play. Dallas Jeffree, im my humble opinion needs to make better decisions on the court. He seem to have one focus and that is to score himself and if does make a pass it is after he has dribbled himself into trouble and got the team out of their set. I can't recall him once making the quick pass to swing the ball to make the defence move. However he does seem to work hard and contests on the boards at both ends. I beleive that the pioneers deficiency are in their backcourt. Shepherd last night played the majority of minutes at the point and at time struggled to bring the ball up the floor and set the team up. Immittedly the kilsyth guards and in particular Jason Lee provided great full court pressure and was tennacious for the entire night. I think the pioneers could have helped shepherd out on more occassions in setting some picks which, i believe would have caused Jason Lee some concern with th emanner in which he was defending. having said this Shepherd did not help himself with two much dribble and head down. Mason in the guard rotation was serviceable and put together a couple ofg nice plays when the game was being decided but he did not assist in the ball carrying duties. I dont believe Wilson got a huge amount of time although i did confuse him a mason at times. Strattford played a few backup minutes at the point but this were brief and insignificant.
Kilsyth seemed a lot more set in offence and were running shuffle which seemed to be working effectively for them with some excellent reads coming of screens but they were unable to finish at times.
For me the game changed when sedlock hit the floor and my game MVP would probably go to Chris Lewis who was trying to get the crowd involved at various times and seems like a great pick up for the club.

All in all i believe that the pioneers will surprise some teams in the remaning part of the season now that they have Sedlock back playing but believe they are a quality guard short of making any real noise this year.

I look forward to others comments, particular of those who may have seen last nights game

Jarrad

I agree with the dribbling issue re shep, however i disagree with the screening comment and believe that the screens that were set were set incorrectly, yes partly the ball handlers role to run off the screen correctly but it is very dificult whe screen set incorrectly lee could have been cleaned up numerous times if the screen had of been set by facing the basket at the other end ratehr than facing the benches. In reltion to Dallas it may be that the team needed him to score particular before sedlock came back but there is still no need to force shots in my opinion he should be working of screens etc to get open rather than trying to create everything for himself of screens. I think you maybe a bit harsh on Blankston I think he contributes to the team but may not be a big scorer or the go to go in offence but there is more to basketball then that, he should be used more to set picks in offence and create space for the lewis, sedlock and jeffree and rebound like a man possed and he is also useful as a defender although the import for kilsyth was pretty average. I think there main problem is running good offensive sets, whether this due to an inept point guard, poor coaching in not developing the sets in pre season or the other players lack of ablility to follow instruction and get to the right spots at the right time. I believe it is a combination of not having a strong point guard and a coach who has not developed the plays sufficiently.

The Pioneers will not succeed while they have social grade coaches trying to coach at the 2nd best competition in the country; coach Sedlock is focused on playing on the game and struggles in the coaching department and asst coach Stratford has got absolutely NO IDEA on when to sub, who to play or how to call or change the course of the game - sorry harsh but true from the games I've seen. Pioneers have the personnel to be a top five team but with players being played out of position, quality role players not playing enough minutes and others who do very little but bounce around the court looking busy and a couple of "ME" players.

Shep is not a point guard and his games so far have reflected that but still the coaches play him at one. Shep came to this team as a 2 guard and so far his shooting stats are poor - why - because he isn't doing what he gets paid to do - shoot the ball and can hardly be expected to while playing the 1 guard.
Mase is not a point guard, he has no ball skills or court vision. Mase is also not a shooting guard, as his stats will back up and Mase isn't a swingman either - an OK guy but can't understand why he gets big minutes because he clearly doesn't have a role. Runs around looking busy but doesn't create anything for his teammates nor himself.
Stratty is not a point guard yet he is getting big minutes (why?), he struggles as soon as pressure is put on him, head is always down watching the court instead of looking down court. Force the ball to his non preferred hand and his is gone everytime.
Wilson is not a shooting guard and is too small to be a swingman yet this is the role the coaches are playing him in! Wilson is a genuine point guard who has excellent ball skills, left hand and right hand control, can look after the ball and his defensive effort is always there and PG is what the team are paying him for. The games last season and the few minutes this season where he has been running the point and Shep at SG (in 07 & Bart in 06) have been when the team has turned around and the few times the backcourt has looked strong.
Jeffree needs to start thinking TEAM and before everyone jumps up and down, yeah he scores but his percentage on average is terrible and how many more points could the scoreboard have if only Dallas stopped forcing shoots, dished out a few assists and created something for the team.
Lewis is showing some good athletism but as with Blankson in offense, while work your arse off getting in to position when there are no team plays nor teammates who get the ball to you? Check out the team assists this season in comparison with the teams that have kicked us? In defence they both work solid and are reliable although they still fall into the PF rather than C role against some of the teams in the comp. Overall, the power and ability of both these imports is wasted space until the coaching staff use their players' talents or are replaced.
Sedlock brings good minutes to the team off the bench and when he hits the court he shows what he should be doing - playing not coaching.

All in all, my Pioneers starting five to get some consistent wins are:

PG Wilson
SG Shep
SF Jeffree
PF Lewis
C Blankson

My first call off the bench would be C - Sedlock and the others only because it is all the team has on roster:

PG Stratty
SG Berkfield
SF Mase
PF ?

Screens and in fact any plays etc will only work when you have the right balance and attitude on court and sadly the Pioneers don't have it at the moment.

For how many more games (we have had 8) are we going to have to endure watching the losing combination of Mason, Stratford, Shepherd, Jeffree sinking our team to all time lows of 40+ losses plus the couple of narrow wins against bottom teams which have no bragging rights. IMO the responsibility for these losses rest with the poor coaching / decision making, poor rotations and on floor combinations - they aren't working , so why keep playing the same old, same old?? So what have they got to lose  give another combination a go for the next 8 weeks  my selection would be:
PG Wilson
SG Shepherd
SF Jeffree/Lewis combination
PF Lewis / Sedlock combination
C Blankson / Sedlock combination

Stratty / Berkefield back up at PG / SG (but not together and a few minutes at a time role players)
Mason back up at SF. (Berkefield is a local with the ability to step up in the next few years  with 3-4 hours per week devoted to skills  encourage him to seek out a state level coach to work with him, if he wants to be a serious competitor)
The Pioneers do have the talent to win, they just aren't being played in the right combinations or given time to adjust on court to rotations  poor coaching.

IMO A summary of coaching staff's current much favored losing combination:
The Pioneers need a player of Dallas Jeffree's athletism and I think he has moments of brilliance but under pressure he makes some really dumb decisions on the floor (coaching staff - doesn't he listen or don't you see it?). eg A teammate will be coming off a screen from the off ball side and Dallas instead of dishing a brilliant assist or waiting for this player to set a screen for him, he dribbles straight into the path of his own teammate, creates havoc, has nowhere to go then looks shitface because he can't get to the basket. The player coming through then looks like the idiot  this is coaches problem. Dallas could and should be the ultimate team man as he would then look brilliant all the time  the word is TEAM.
Mason is not a smart player, I agree he is not a good ball handler and he can't shot, yet he is listed as a guard? He always looks impressive when he is beaten by his opponent and then has to reach from behind in an attempt to swipe the ball, goes sliding on his arse across the floor  all very spectacular to the kids in the crowd but end result  his lazy defence, inability to channel and contain his player usually sees the ball go out of court, the opposition then get to set up, run a good inbound play and score. One thing Mason is OK at is rebounding & growling some aggro in his opponent's face  so play him as a 3 man to give Dallas a few minutes rest each quarter.
Stratford at 28  29yo? just doesn't cut it, he looks good when there is no pressure on him, caves in the minute a full court is applied and is not in the same league of talent as the guards he is playing against. It is frustrating to see his inability to set up the plays, lead the team and create. I have seen a good screen set for him and he dribbles in the opposite direction or a teammate is open and a strong hard pass could see a scoring opportunity happen, but it doesn't. Stratford also can't shot the ball which combined with average ball handling skills is killing this team.
Shepherd, as someone else stated, must be getting paid by the dribble. He is useless at PG and actually looks really uncomfortable handling the ball and making decisions in that role and struggles as much as Stratty bringing the ball down the floor. Shepherd is quick and athletic but the coaches are killing his game as he looks at his best when he is running free, coming off a screen and presenting himself to the ball  all he needs is someone who knows what an assist is and IMO Shepherd could even start scoring. His percentages at the moment are shocking, he is playing out of position but if he is a SG he needs to start putting in some shooting practice.

It is good to see Sedlock back and the team need him as a player  his energy and drive in combination with Lewis and Blankson will see the Pioneers pick up a few more wins but until some serious changes are made to the losing combinations / rotations that are on the floor at the moment, they will not be big enough wins to say that our team, the Pioneers are a success. IMO there are only 2 coaches in the whole south east with the ability to coach at SEABL level and unfortunately neither of them are sitting on the bench at the Pioneers at the moment. Sedlock is a real likeable guy and is certainly a good media face for the team but IMO the board is asking too much for him to play and coach and give 100% to both. As a coach he is still at assistant level and needs a few more years to devote 100% commitment to developing as a coach. For now the team needs him on the floor as their captain leading the team.
But we all know that nothing will change, we will keep going to the games in a hope but another crap season is going to be disastrous in a small town.

As for wanting to go out and see "locals"  then give Beth a ring and get the program for the midweek local competition. Seriously, this town does not have the talent to field a "local" team at this level. But I for one accept the players that come in as locals  they live here, they contribute off the court to the town  they don't just fly in from Adelaide or Melbourne to play - they represent the Mt.

To anyone following the Pioneers, please feel free to post regular threads updating those of us not close to the action on the progress of the team/club.

Obviously, from this thread, there are a few people with a lot to say about the team!

#929 Jarrad says  'an inept point guard, poor coaching in not developing the sets in pre season or the other players lack of ablility to follow instruction and get to the right spots at the right time& a coach who has not developed the plays sufficiently. '

jarrad sums it up pretty well  Stratty and Shep have had big minutes and have been inept at the point position, Mase is useless as a guard and Wilson must have spat in the coaches beer, cause he played some exceptional minutes last year, is not flashy but is solid and reliable but has hardly hit the court this year. But in all positions the lack of right spot, right time and team work is drawing out the weaknesses  get this balance going with a group that will live and die for each other on the court and the strengths will overshadow any individual deficiencies. Ineffective coaching smarts and skills create team dissension. Seems certain egos are thumbing it at the coaches and their teammates by not following plays and this attitude is letting the whole team down and they are not being dragged into line. IMO at this time they could have the best NBL PG out there and the PG would be ignored as a few are playing their own personal 1 on 1 mini game within the game each week. A good team will always back each other up and even a team as weak as Kilsyth showed that - they put on a lot of intensity and nearly had the game but only because the Pioneers didn't reply by playing as a team.

South East: Don't necessarily agree with " New players that have come in ...and have totally alienated the rest of the team." Have heard around that the new players are well accepted and focused on wanting to play a team game to win with the best team on the floor but respect is a two way street  are coaching staff listening to them and any concerns? It seems a few of these guys might have better basketball smarts than the coaches and have vision to see how a game is panning out.
You seem spot on though with  "Word from the inner sanctum is that there is no TEAM."  seems obvious with the way they play  a few team players seem to work hard to make their own teammates on the court look really bad. Pretty obvious that a few of the passes on Friday night that went astray happened when a player started leading out then didn't continue  but it seems the asst coach was watching a different game, cause instead of roasting the dill that was making the cut into an open space and was too lazy to continue through to where the ball was heading, he dragged the guy throwing the ball. Another instance, a double team and not one Pioneer player moved to help out, instead a turnover and player once again dragged  hell, I would have dragged the sorry backsides of the lazy teammates that didn't go and help out a team mate but once again, seems the coaches were watching a different game. No weak side help is putting out the red carpet for the opposition to score, the crowd muttered frustrations at the defender on the wing but once again where is the team game, what is with the laziness and where was the help? And each time the lack of help and working for the team is coming mostly from 1- 2 players. From the sidelines it seems that there is no team with a few players being allowed to dictate how they are going to play knowing that they will not be dragged into line. Most times it is usually about two moves away from the ball that mistakes or laziness set in and mess a play up but if the coaching staff can't recognize how their plays should look on the court and at which point they are breaking down and then dealing with the player / players that are letting the team down, and in a high percentage (except when a ball hog stuffs up a play even being set) it isn't with the last person to have the ball, it is only going to get worst. A few cheap wins will appease the fans but without team work, right players on the court playing the right positions with the right attitude, it is going to be a long winter.
Have to agree #8076  the past eight games and combinations haven't worked, so the Pioneers have nothing too lose by giving a different combination the reins to play big minutes for the next eight games.

Fair comment 128185 BUT how many people seriously believe that a town like the mount has the 'local' talent alone to field a team in this level of competition? They don't currently have the local coaches that can coach at that level let alone a dozen or so junior players who can step up. And in a town this size and the competition of other sports, there will probably never be the numbers anyway. As for inspiring 'to be like....',well I think most kids ten years ago got into this game in a big way because they wanted to be like Mike and on memory he never lived in the mount.
#128181 - correct - if someone is prepared to give up their comfort zone, family, friends and employment and move to the mount which really is somewhere between here and nowhere, be involved in coaching juniors, working in the town, spending their money there - they are as good as local.

Ask him. But Flash is probably still wondering what he did wrong because with state/nationals coaching experience you'd have to think he would have some basketball smarts and given he has lived here for a while and married a 'local' he must be getting close to being accepted as one of our own? Too quiet maybe? Re local coaches, I stand corrected - I would call Flash one and say that he does have the ability to coach SEABL and also to develop the junior program in the mount but the number of kids that chose to commit to the game will always be only a handful at the most. Reality because of the size of the place. But do we expect too much? SEABL is the basketball equivalent to SANFL or VAFL and just how many locals play in those leagues? The 'to be a local born and bred line' wears a bit thin, if we lived by that we'd all have two heads and incest would be in every realtionship.

Whereas agree 128207 Teaching drills to 13 year olds in a structured PE lesson doesn't really constitute experience to coach SEABL - must have connections.
128207 - while interested to know who the 2 coaches are too - who do you see them as being? I can only think Sonya Knight, a genuine NBL level coach and the creds to back it and Flash, anyone else?

Rumour has it Flash decided to resign after being left at home when the team went on a road trip, yet Stratford was taken. Considering Flash is meant to be 1st assistant and has been with the team for 5 years now it's no wonder he resigned. Maybe Sedlock was looking after "Da Family" as isn't Stratford now related through marriage???

Panther - on the money and most of us would quit too if we were shafted at the 11th hour. Coach Sedlock, Asst Coach Stratford and 'found some minutes' 2007 PG Stratford must have some interesting family get togethers, it was probably at one of these that Asst Coach Stratford decided he needed more bonus flyer points.

A new player this season has also walked, the press says due to personal reasons - I wonder - he was looking totally umimpressed with some of his team mates actions out there and could that have been a good out?

This is a small town.
The word is that many are PO'd that Flash got pushed out because the ego and non basketball smarts of Stratford is contributing to the poor results, lack of team work and team discipline.
As I stated in a previous post, at games it appears that there are a few players intentionally sabotaging the efforts on court of their teammates just to make themselves look great and they are getting the big minutes cause noone in the current coaching staff has the balls or is it the knowledge to discipline them or bench them. The board need to make the hard decisions and act now, sack the coaches, advertise the position and let's do something to resurrect the Pioneers as we move into the 2nd half of the season. The board made a BIG mistake, lose a bit of face and deal with it, cause they will gain a lot whole more respect for it.

I think many out there are wondering as IntheCrowd's statement said, for just how many games do we keep watching the losing combination of Mason, Stratford, Shepherd, Jeffree sinking our team to all time lows of 40+ losses. IMO I think Shep and Jeffree and for limited minutes Stratty have a place in this team. Poor coaching is killing this team and looking at the body language it is killing the self esteem and confidence of players who are being played out of position, not given enough court opportunities and along with the bad attitudes of some big minute players who don't want to play team, well it aint pretty.

This week is going to be tough and Sedlock back as a player will help out Lewis and Blankson but regardless of the scoreline, the problems are not going to go away. The current 1,2,3 players aren't cutting it in the roles they are playing big minutes in, as previously posted, they have had eight games to gel but it will never happen with the attitudes, so I agree, do something different but give the difference the time to work together and probably against a top team this week it will be tough regardless.

They need a head coach, not a player coach plain and simple. Too hard to do both in this day and age IMO. Mt Gambier need to entice a quality coach down there to get their program together and respect among the players and coaching staff. IMO Player/coach gamble hasn't paid off.

#8574 Agree. Sedlock is a good contributor and the team need him on the floor 100%. He has plenty of years in the future to learn the craft of coaching. But for now the team and that could read club, appear to be in a crisis internally but will the board do something, I think not but would be like to be proven wrong.
Big mistake with bringing in a 2nd asst coach, Stratford needs to bow out now because I am hearing and seeing at games that he just doesn't cut it.
Team wise - a new coach and asst coach could bring the team together but given the terrible on court combinations out there etc., it could be a little tough as a few individuals who are enjoying big minutes and answering to noone may not like being pulled back into line.
IMO the team does have the core players to make a noise, there just isn't the right combination on the floor and the team work to back it up..but I have said it all before in 127939.

You all have plenty to say but do any of you know the REAL facts. I think not. Sacking coaches does not work. It is a proven statistic.
If any of you have better credentials then why didnt any of you apply last year for the position. Also, Flash resigned, it was HIS decision, no one else made the call or did I read his quotes incorrectly in the Border Watch. I know Flash would not like all this crap being posted about why he is not doing it any more.

Dont know how the boys went today but they are def struggling on the yaer. sedlock is working his arse off and the players except for a couple are terrible. shep is not an NBL player or maybe a seabl player. go back to the soft QABL league where anyone can look good.

need a change up next season. Isnt Damien Smith returning next year??? thats what i heard. i know another rumour too but wont say till i know for sure.

Kurt Russell is marrying Melissa Hill on new years in mount gambier. Will he return or is he moving back to QLD??????

Know all - if you don't know all about how the boys when today or last night then how is the second week for sedlock seeing sedlock work his arse off and all the others terrible?? Big call but reasonable guess I s'pose cause we all know that sedlock will work hard on the floor. The problem with this team if you actually stopped and watched a game objectively is very poor coaching: you can't play a SG at PG and expect him to deliver and then play someone like Mase who does little but run around looking busy throwing out knees and elbows to compensate for not being where he should be at the SG role when he can't shoot a ball to save himself. Then throw in a very non team player at SF and it is little wonder everyone looks terrible. They are destroying each other and the coaching is allowing this to happen. Asst coach needs to go NOW as with Sedlock doing what he does well and that is playing, we don't need that clown sitting on the bench not knowing when to sub or which combinations to have on the floor at the right time - he is high school standard and should bow out. Pioneers need a decent Coach and put sedlock to asst / playing.

My country rel in Bendigo says that the Pioneers were struggling particularly in the first quarter and playing their well documented losing guard rotation of Mase & Shep & Stratty. Down 32-15. Coaching then made a decision, yes a decision! which then turned the game around but they couldn't catch the deficit that had been created. Apparently there was a guard rotation and Wilson came on and injected some solid skills which settled the team. Sedlock had a dirty game scoring wise, only 1 point and Mase was as expected, played behind the play for most of the game, reaching in or using his overused tactics of knees or elbows. Shep is not scoring playing out of position but how frustrated must this guy be. Still pulled down a good number of rebounds and three assists with his 11 points.
Game 2 Kilsyth, a win but not being there nor having a contact in the crowd can only read the boxscores. Shep and Wilson had good minutes which indicates that they must have been 1,2 respectively from at least half time and it seems if so that this combination saw some team work happening at last with the number of assists and the good even spread of stats. Mase and Stratty played lesser minutes and even Dallas must have found some team with 4 assists - well done. Maybe if my guess above is correct , that the winning combination on the floor has finally been given the opportunity to play together. Sedlock once again didn't have a big scoring match but with 14 rebounds and you would expect most probably playing to change his oppositions game, he earnt his time. Lewis and Blankson seem to be solid contributors this weekend - it seems that even if they struggle in say shooting, they are performing in say rebounds, which is all about team work.

Oops = Make that , Shep and Wilson had good minutes which indicates that they must have been 2,1 respectively from at least half time

As a supporter of the Pioneers, I have been like many others not totally excited about seeing the lack of team gel and good use of the talent that we have. However, I am big enough to admit fault and in discussion with a few mates this week and in rereading posts, yeah I have to concede that maybe my frustration at what I am seeing on the floor has somewhat jaded my responses. I still stand by my thoughts on what I see are the issues BUT I do need to apologise to players / coach as I do genuinely know that you are good people, doing it tougher than a few whingey supporters. Someone asked me this week whether I would say what I think to their faces, well yer I probably would cause a spade is a spade. The written word however does come across a bit stronger than the spoken word 'cause it is somewhat out of context, no facial, no personal emotion / expression.
I will be at the next game and I will be support each and every player which is what I always do at games. I will continue to post how the team is doing, be it good or bad but maybe I will take a day before posting!

Give it your best guys but please some team work from players and coaches.

Firstly i am a local who plays in A grade local comp and am good mates with some of the boys on the team, i go to all home games. There is no team out there, its 3 on 5 (3 live together) this has an affect on those who have been here and proven themselves.
And while all the negative is around "the smalls" in this forum look at blankson on court, if he doesnt touch it he cries like a 3 year girl who didnt blow out her bday candles then barely gets up the floor and abuses teamates tirades like these dont help anyone.When things go bad suddenly his ankle is sore.
Lewis works hard and is young but doesnt really produce what we need here, off season he was average in milli and its carried over the same as shep whilst not a 1 man he cant shoot well enough to be a 2. Nbl squad is a total mystery !! His on the spot dribbling isnt helping this offence.
Sedlock looks good, im no coach but he should start.
Stratty's minutes have come way down of late and 2 wins, coincidence? Maybe !? Or his groins are hurting still.
Jeffree looks lost, and is playing with a fractured finger in his shooting hand. those shoots of the last 2 years arent drooping this year maybe its time for him to change his approach
Berky still a dear in the headlights. Come on mate your a top player in A grade continually beating us.
Teske....Why ? What is he does ? Ecspecially now Sedlocks back.
Mason is like a yo yo, seems very low and totally disinterested at times and others possesed, find the middle of that and you have and the last 2 years of great hustling D. Dunno if his off season sickness is a cause of this.
Seany is the teams best voice and doesnt get on, Playin A grade would help mate ! Dunno how that knee is though
Koschy looks a lot better this year than last and is very good in a grade.
Dunno who out there talks to the guys aftergame but when i have there is a big difference in the locals (Guys who live and work here)to the knew which is just an observation.
My opinion is like in years and years past the new guys who dont like it here bring it down. Deal with the fact your here and get over yourselves and stats. your here for 07.
Good luck vs Knox.