Sabres set to pounce as hooping season begins
By DALE CLARKE
IN ONE of the most balanced ABA seasons in recent times, Sturt is the side that stands out as early favourites to take it out.
Already boasting a strong line-up last year, Sturt have picked up Darren Ng from Woodville, in the biggest off-season move.
He joins fellow 36ers Oscar Forman and Todd Gower on the most talented starting line-up in the competition.
But as Ng comes in the revolving door, Jason Williams (Mt Gambier) and Justin Wilkey (Centrals) are gone.
Forman has already been a dominant force in the league, and after taking a further step up in his role with the Sixers, he will be ready to unleash on the local competition with the supreme confidence we saw in Jacob Holmes last season.
This year Holmes is out of the picture, using the NBL off-season to get his body right for next year.
Jacob's body says thankyou, Maverick fans mourn their season, and Sturt start explaining to the trophy shop how to spell "Finkemeyer".
Without Holmes, Eastern will struggle in its defence of the 2004 title.
Last year, Holmes regularly combined with Brad Davis for more than half of the Mavericks' points.
Davis will need to pour in the points, and unless players like big man Ben Trebilcock and quick guard Joel Goodenough have something extra in the tank, Eastern will not be "goodenough" (sorry) for finals.
The big four teams to be reckoned with this season appear to be Sturt, North, Forestville, and Norwood.
North will step onto the court with the biggest line-up in the competition, with a starting five of Simon Kent (recruited from South), 36er Nick Hambour, Mike McKay, Nathan Hawkes, and Michael Zorich.
The Rockets have lost two starters in the Groves brothers Ben and Tim, who have retired.
This will only reveal the depth in talent that North has, and with most of that depth coming from the club's young blood, the next five years could bring multiple championships to Hillcrest.
Forestville will be looking to recapture the championship they won in 2003, with the return of Woolacott medallist Jason Dix, and Jason Farman, both from knee-reconstructions.
The Eagles have lost last year's MVP and leading scorer Brenton Campbell, to the Cairns ABA side, but with Dix and Farman back, the Eagles will be a more imposing side than last year.
Norwood, which finished seventh last year after a spirited end to the season, will emerge in 2005 with not only the most celebrated coaching staff in the league, but also arguably the greatest depth in talent.
New coach Rupert Sapwell, and assistant Kevin Brooks, have kept almost the same team as last year, and with big improvements from younger players, the depth of the Flames runs past the end of their roster.
Norwood's tall guards will cause headaches for opponents, with Scott Arnold running the point, and Corey Ottey, in the two spot.
The Southern Tigers will be a team to watch.
Despite losing their leading scorer in Paul Pochintesta (back to Perth), and future-Boomer Joe Ingles (AIS), the 2005 Tigers could still come out stronger than the '04 outfit.
With massive improvements from Luke Hoban, who may need a wider door installed in the Rick Hodges room to fit his arms in, and 36ers bench-man Brad Gerlach, Southern will have a superb offensive weaponry to choose from.
The Tigers have recruited Geelong ABA guard/ forward Matt Hardiman.
Tigers coach Billy Hopkins says Hardiman, who turns 20 tomorrow (March 3), is an athletic player who can knock them down from outside.
He should fit into the Tigers mould well.
Central Districts comes into this season with the biggest question mark over its head.
After a string of seasons as the easy-beats of the competition, the Lions have stocked up.
Coach Ricky Simpson will have Justin Wilkey and former Woodville star Paul Vandenbergh at his disposal, as well as Victorian Jye Watson.
Watson, originally from Warrnambool, has spent the last four years in the US, as a key player for division two college Southhampton in New York.
Simpson says Watson will bring scoring power to the Starplex, and can play as point or shooting guard, or small forward.
Vandenbergh has the ability to bust open a game, with his attacking play and creative passing.
He was followed to Centrals by Warrior teammate Hammond, who, with Wilkey, Vandenbergh, Watson, and inside strength Justin Clayton, will make the Lions starting five a very formidable one.
If Watson is as good as his college stats suggest, Centrals could make the five.
Otherwise, it will be a great year of improvement, for sixth or seventh spot.
Woodville look like being the great sliders of '05.
Early favourites for last year's title, boasting arguably the strongest line-up in the league, the Warriors have lost Ng to Sturt, Vandenbergh and Hammond to Centrals, big man Eric Bradley back to the US, and have gained little in return.
Andrew Puddifoot will play a huge role for the Warriors, and won't take a liking to the idea of not playing finals.
Jarrod Graves will also be heavily relied upon to create some magic, as he did several times last year from beyond the arc, but even so, it would be a big surprise to see the Warriors make the five.
West and South will be the cellar-dwellers this season.
West's only hope at being competitive is if it gets Blake Truslove back from New Zealand, which it expects to do, and if Mark Nash is available.
Nash may be required to play the ABA season to prove to the Sixers that he is injury-free, in order to be re-signed.
Nash has shown interest in playing for the Bearcats, pending on his future with the Sixers.
Otherwise, guard Ben Evans, and big man Paul Bell will have to wear saddles and carry their team to respectability.
The Bearcats are expecting to gain Daniel Ciofi for the last few games of the season, after the European season is over.
But if they are in the race for the finals, they may pass up the option, in order to maintain team harmony, as Ciofi is unlikely to be eligible for post-season action.
South look like a side which could cause disruptance for other teams and cause some upsets, but will not seriously threaten to make the finals.
The Panthers who finished ninth last year have lost about a foot of height in Simon Kent (to North), but gained former Panther Jason Bayliss, who returns after a stint with the Mt Gambier Pioneers.
Marion Stadium crowds will surely be thrilled with the sight of a 6'9" African named Agel Machar.
Machar, from Sudan, came to Australia as a refugee, and coach Kelly Manning says he has shown good signs in the pre-season.
Similar to NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon, Machar didn't touch a basketball until he was 17.
If he can pull off anything slightly resembling a post spin for a dunk, the crowds will flock in.
They probably will anyway.
In the women's, North, who went undefeated all the way to the championship last year, will still be strong, but Forestville look the team to beat this season, after some heavy off-season recruiting.
The Eagles' wings are loaded with national league talent.
Narelle Lindsay returns to the side, Dandenong's Deanne Ranford was snapped up, and the Eagles have also nabbed Jess Mahoney, and Kylie Newbold from Sturt.
Throw in Jenni Screen and it looks like a side that could be this year's North.
Mahoney will miss the first half of the season battling her way back from a knee-reconstruction.
North's defense of the 2004 title could rest on the availability of Jo Hill and Erin Phillips.
Phillips is expected to join the Rockets several weeks into the season, while Hill's involvement will depend on whether she wants a break from the game after a season in Spain.
Sturt will be another top team, especially if international stars Laura Summerton and Angela Marino are available for most games.
Norwood will be a strong side too, after recruiting Perth Lynx WNBL players Melissa Marsh and Natalie Love.
If the Flames jel together well, they could find themselves deep in the finals.
West are looming as a danger side this year.
Already a finals side last year, the Bearcats have had a busy off-season, luring national players Erin Seward and Nerrida Cooper to the Port.
Regaining Leah Mensel from the AIS, and with Kamala Lamshed fit to go again, the Bearcats have certainly sharpened their claws.
Throw 2004 all-star five player Kerrin Truslove into the mix, and it becomes a question of whether this team of champions can be a champion team.
Southern don't look like a finals side, and will again lurk around the bottom echelons of the ladder unless they pick up players through the season.
But they have recruited Rachel Lister from the Mavericks, who will add some scoring power when she returns in round four from a knee injury.
Centrals can only hope to improve on last year's losing margins.
With a very young squad, there is hope for the future, but following a season when the team regularly lost by more than 100, the next couple of years aren't going to be about winning games for the Lions.
South will have huge, novelty over-sized shoes to fill in the absence of the league's leading scorer Deanna Smith (32.4ppg), who is currently dominating the English competition.
After scraping into the finals last year, they will struggle in Smith's absence.
Woodville will be another struggler, but will hope to clinch games against the Tigers and the Panthers, in what is sure to be a pride-filled battle between the teams in the bottom five.
Men's Top Five: 1. Sturt, 2. Forestville, 3. North, 4. Norwood, 5. Southern.
Women's Top Five: 1. Forestville, 2. Sturt, 3. North, 4. West, 5. Norwood.
