makes you wonder why the coaches put up with it.

makes you wonder why the coaches put up with it.

So I am guessing you are talking about Walker?

If the Lightning were a sick horse you'd put a bullet into it...

Can I say Angela Marino is cute.
Her lips are half the size of Angelina Jolie and her long locks are amazing.

The subject comments resemble images of DeMya Walker
in an ABC TV game shown on Saturday.
10 years experience in the WNBA , including a Championship, followed by playing here in the bottom team, protested , strongly for being subbed out.

bring back sexy sammy

It would be great to have Sam Woosnam back, however I think she's fairly happy in Melbourne including her job outside of basketball.

Popular players have gone now.

Walker - the first 8 points of the game, 4/4 FGs , then subbed, not fit.
May have done pretty good here v Cambage ?
Could've been worth watching ?

"Here is a piece from OZ Hoops of what somone had to say as an outsider looking in"

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I didn't get to see the ABC telecast on Saturday afternoon for the Sydney v Adelaide game - but I was at the game myself - I would have been interested to hear what the commentators had to say about Adelaide's DeMya Walker??

I've never seen such a joke of a player in the WNBL! How has this chick managed to play in the WNBA for 10 years?

Obvisously she is a big body and has some game, but her attitude is atrocious! I'll start from the beginning - warm-ups. Adelaide travelled with 9 players to Sydney, 8 of them were warming up together - Walker was down the other end of the floor in her tracksuit and earphones in doing her own personal warm up/stretching (which pretty much involved just strolling up and down the sideline) not engaging with the team at all. They then did a lay-up drill with about 3mins before tip off and she came over and joined in with them - but all she did was walking-in lay-ups while the everyone else was high-intensity. Then the game started - she actually scored Adelaides first 8 points or something, which surprised me - but man I've never seen such a lazy player in this league -

she didn't even seem interested in running over half way, she just strolled up the floor and joined in the offense when it suited her. It reminded me of playing in the Monday night social comp - you know the one where every team has the token fat guy who actually scores quite easily (because he's too fat to be stopped), but refuses to run the floor or play defence - that's DeMya Walker!! She looks out of shape, almost like she's come to Australia for a holiday and to pass the time she'll play a bit of 'ball in some minor, irrelevant southern hemisphere leauge.
Anyway - the half time break is coming to conclusion and 4 of the 5 starters for Adelaide are sitting down with the coach giving instructions - 30 seconds til the half starts.... where's there starting centre?? In the changerooms (we think). The assistant coach has to run out and find her... she come's strolling back in for the last 10 seconds of the coaches instructions and is seemingly more interested in making sure her daughter stays put on the end of the bench (does her daughter travel to all away games - is this way Adelaide travel with 9 and not 10 players??).
Obviously I'm unaware of what she is like off the court, but on the court she seemed to be more a cancer for this Adelaide team as opposed to a 10 year WNBA veteran passing on experience to a young and relatively inexperienced team. The body language of Marino said it all!! These two clearly have a rocky on-court relationship. At one point Walker intersecpted a pass and Marino was right there ready to lead the fast break, but instead Walker tried to be the PG and rifled a pass up-court and out-of-bounds... Marino threw her head back and then shot a death stare at the coach as if to say "can you please control her!!"

What are other people's thoughts on Walker? I don't think you can get an appreciation of how bad her attitude is until you see her playing live and watch her body language during warm-ups, time-outs etc, and the body language of those players around her (particularly Marino

The under 16 state squad could probably beat this team. They are embarrassing for so many reasons, I feel sorry for the young girls.

Yes it is disgraceful but what can they do? Who do the young players complain to? Who will listen? The Coach is the CEO plus he doesn't have control of the Team and the assistants are just bench warmers stuck to their seats, not that the Coach would listen anyway. Hurry Back Boti we need someone to say it as it is and then when they see it in writing something might happen. There is NO control. No Team. Everything that made Lightning Great has gone. Jan step in, ALL your hard work in making Lightning Great has come down the Drain. We the supporters do not wont to watch this shit everyone playing just for themselves and only pass when you can’t do anything more or have a go at shooting over players cause it just might go in. They are worse than the Aussie Cricketers. Heads should roll. Vince can’t be happy with his team. It is embarrassing. No one will wont to play for them next season.

The above two points are the reason we are where we are.

Isaac, perhaps a good point has been made though.
Regardless of what you think about Boti and his comedy act he certainly does enjoy "having a go" at people.

I know last season Duke & Foley received a lot of criticism for disharmony in the team.

Do you honestly think it was all to do with them or do you think perhaps some of it was to do with the owner/owners daughter etc etc

Boti never criticized Angela for not being a team player

I would say it was a fair comment to make that these girls would not be jumping out of there skin to play in an environment where there performance is scrutinized so closely by the no 1 journalist in town on a regular basis.

There are times that Boti is very positive about Basketball, the future etc however most of the time he just loves to get stuck in to people and thinks it is an honest opinion.

I just think most of the time it's his bias opinions and he should stick to reporting on the game itself.

I would be surprised if a player considered the local journo a serious factor in their signing decision. Yes, half the whining town has a beef with him through junior basketball or feeling wronged in whatever circles, but this is Australian basketball and everyone has a beef with almost everyone else.

Fair point about Marino - you almost have to assume where there's smoke, there's fire on that (I certainly wonder). Whether that's enough to report on, I don't know but I do know that a career journalist knows the whys more than almost everyone here. Every time I've asked Boti about something like this (e.g., Groves funding the 36ers years back), there's been a fair reason he hasn't reported that angle. I have emailed him about the Lightning generally, but not about why he has/hasn't reported anything specific so not really in a position to give you insight there.

The "stick to reporting the game" crowd (and I say crowd because you're not alone) need to understand that that's never going to happen and that they might feel that because they have a player out in the game? (Boti rips my brother all the time, but so what.) The game isn't strictly reported in politics (by a long shot!), it doesn't happen with business, with sport, with anything. There will be angles, attempted analysis, character stories, opinion, etc.

There will always be an element of bias, just as there is with all fans watching the games. Take away every aspect of that, and you are looking at a boxscore, play-by-play and shot-chart. (Those are all available - at least in NBL - if that's what fans want.)

BTW, going back to the Lucas sacking, it was made very clear then that Angela was absolutely central to all of that. It wasn't skirted around in the reporting.

went to a lightning game earlier this year - been going for years.

things i noted -

team lost and they just trudged off the court - heads down - beaten mentally - i am used to them getting in a circle and connecting with the fans.

support from the bench - used mon bowley etc waving towells and cheering - nothing much happening there this season.

fans - way too quiet - like going to a funeral.

no juniors - 10 years ago there would be u10s in lightning gear - now 95% of the crowd seemed over 40.

players signing autographs - havent seen it this year.

body language is easy to read.

on the up side - our work rate is there - some of the young players really put in.

one other issue is we have lost a power base now jan is not national coach - this has nothing to do with lightning - just an observation. All national power bases are east. So any young gun player will head east.

This was predictable - when jan was here as national coach - that had an attraction - often one would see a national hopeful having a shoot around in adelaide.

I feel the best thing we can do nowdays is develop local talent. Which is what is happening.
Good guards coming through local ranks - but dont know if there are any top level 200 cm players around on teh womens side.

what the team needs now is support to give them self confidence - i know they have my support.

Strolls up and down the court and easily averages a double double.

unless a local we are going to struggle to get a national big name in town from OZ for a while. best thing we can do is promote local players and top up with imports - all the power base for big aussie national players is east.

jan got it right and there is no reson why another cant do it - it will just take sometime.

however the womens game is more international now and one can not blame any upcoming talent for seeking out maximum experience - even if it is USA / europe etc

Have been to a few of the games this season, but have never really been an avid supporter of the team. They are my WNBL team however and I will stick to that. I also have to agree with a lot of what's been written here, both good and bad. I didn't know a few things just as an occasional supporter but after reading the posts here I am much more enlightened. So Marino has ties to the ownership of the club? Well that really explains a lot. That would be the only way she could get away with doing what she is doing... I mean until that changes or she retires they're not going to get anywhere. It's that simple... You could put 4 Lauren Jackson's, 4 WNBA, heck even 4 NBA players with her and as long as she is getting 35 minutes a game they won't win. That might seem harsh, but you only have to look at the way that the team played in those opening games without her and the subsequent games with her in the side to see the differences. It's like she has lost respect of her team mates and that's almost fatal for a team and it's "franchise player" to be that way. Frankly I don't blame a team for not wanting to play under those conditions. It's not fair on anybody including Marino that she can go through the motions and be a walk up starter and 35 minute player. Seriously there have been games I have seen where she shouldn't have played the next week let alone started and had as much time as she...

So Marino has ties to the ownership of the club?

ROFL

Well then the club is in more trouble than I thought! He should choose family or success because he aint going to have both with the Lightning anytime soon...