Benchwarmer
Years ago
All ABL Bench Team
Thought I would have a look and try to put together the best ABL bench team for this year. I must say that I have gone largely on stats so their should be some differences of opinion i'm sure. I'll name the team first and follow with some thoughts.
Starters
PG- B. Cambell (Eagles)
SG- R. Craddock(Bearcats)
SF- C. Molitor (Bearcats)
PF- D. Thompson (Flames)
F/C- D. Macdonald-Taylor(Eagles)
Bench (This was tough!)
PG- N. Vaughn (Sabres)
SG- L. Burdon (Rockets)
SG- B. Mackay (Warriors)
SF- T. Rowe (Rockets)
SF- T. Fildes (Eagles)
F - S. Lampshire (Flames)
F/C Z. Reeves (Lions)
Well that is my 12 man bench team.I found choosing the starters pretty easy but the bench was alot harder. This team however would be pretty competitive I believe, there are a couple of weaknesses tho.
Firstly it is a pretty small line up, especially off the bench with Reeves the only big but there just wasn't any other bigs that deserved a spot. Palmer(Sturt), Williams(South), Hayden(Eagles) were all looked at but stats weren't good enough. Williams I believe was unlucky cos I think he brings hustle to the Panthers. Ben Groves would have been a walk up starter in this team but didn't include him cos he has retired. Quigley was the other one who most peole might have in their team but his stats are well down this year due to Rychart and Groves playing so well. His minutes have been greater since the departure of Groves and you would expect him to have an impact for the rest of the year for the rockets, and he adds leadership which i didn't really take into account and therefore is not on this team. I thought if the were to play then Molitor even tho I start him at the 3, can go to 4 at times and Lampshire would have to defend bigger than he is. Lampshire got the nod over team mate Foster which was a tough decision due to averaging 1 point and 1 rebound more.
The other weakness is lack of point guards. I have Cambell starting at point which is a no brainer. He does play alot of 2 guard but still runs the point for the eagles when Sutton is off. Then there was nobody. Vaughn, Clarke and Pearce all had similar stats and for a real game you would probably go for Pearce due to his hustle, leadership and defence but i didn't pick him because I think he has gone backwards slightly this year, whereas Vaughn has improved alot and so I rewarded him for that. Clarke has been average at best this year. Kies' for North stats just weren't up to scratch, same with Hudson and I don't see him as a true point guard.
Craddock got the starting shooting guard spot with 14ppg, with Burdon and McKay shooting it up from the bench. Burdon added some rebounding whilst McKay is averaging 11ppg. Braithwaite didn't get in due to averaging 2 points less than McKay and really offering nothing else. Pascoe(Warriors) was the real unlucky one averaging 8ppg and 6 boards which is better than Burdon, but his shooting percentages from everywhere are terrible this year whilst Burdons are very good.
As I went for a big small forward in Molitor to start, I went for smaller type forwards on the bench in Rowe and Fildes. Both good rebounders for their size and chipping in with 7 and 10 ppg respectively. I looked at Franceschinis but he didn't add up and again, Pascoe unlucky not to get in here too. Rowe has started a few games this year so if he was inelligible I would go for Foster(Flames) or Pascoe.
The bigs like i said were hard to come by. Thompson who I think deserves 6th man of the year and along with Cambell were the first picked for this team is averaging 14 and 7. Big Dougie having again a handy year for the Eagles with 10,7 and 3, whilst Reeves on the bench is up to 10 and 5. Molitor (12 and 8) is going to have to help out on the boards with this team as is Lampshire( 8 and 4).
So it's not a surprise or coincidence to see that the Eagles(3), Flames(2 but unlucky not to have 3), Rockets(2 but unlucky not to have 3 or even 4) and Bearcats(2 also unlucky not to have 3) are the only clubs to have multiple players in this team as they are the top 4 sides. Sabres, Lions, Warriors all get 1 representitive whilst Panthers were unlucky not to have a representative, and Tigers and Mavs don't deserve any which is why they are on the botttom of the table!
Thought people?....