Yeh good article.....but I am still not happy. There need to be massive changes for next season.

Does anyone know he is referring to in this passage?

"I'd go and get the best Australian point guard out there," Clarke says. "If there isn't one available, I'd get the best Australian talent."

Radford agrees. "Don't worry, we'll get them," Clarke says. "And sooner than people might think."

Hmmm Adam Gibson isnt signed anywhere yet.

I heard we have 2 amazing aussie guards already lined up for this coming season, if its who they reckon it is, im gettin season tickets again no question!

kittle... apparently he might be!

Well in AUS he is the only decent guy unsigned. This would be a very educated decision, Gibson is a jerk BUT can play and has some grit about him.

Gibson was who I first thought of, who else could it be? Would be happy if it is

not sure what to take from that article....some of the comments seem orchestrated..
the one u are talking about already..

they should have asked what 2 things would he change. as id hope the second one is bringing Schench back to adelaide

lol, well the best would be patty ... obviously not an option so open to interpretation i guess but means the best available australian pg...

is getting interesting...

do people really think gibson is a possibility??

hmmmm

? / dj

balls /

creek /

? / herbert/ ng

gibson/ carter

looks very very good if we find a good centre and sg

The NBL rookie of the year didn't play any bssketball for 18months. Came here for a training session
looked better than Howard n Shannon.
Got signed that day to replace Carter, later Ng.
Not at his peak , would be interesting to see him with a full pre-season.
If Clarke has thrown him under the bus, today
he'd get a NBL gig.

For mine, they really need to sign Schenscher first and foremost. Pay the man, build around him. Having Schenscher and Gibson, would mean alot less pressure on having to have a SUPERSTAR import. Time to pull out the cheque books SOS.

Della?

had a quick look for players coming out of college, and i didn't really see anyone of significance.

I am hoping they are talking about out of Europe.

Convincing Dellavedova to come home would be huge. An excellent point guard

Wanted to look at our future PG tonite
About 12points from about 12 shots
4 turnovers 6 assists.

(Ira Clark only got 23points from 12shots)

Markovic has always looked pretty solid to me, the few times I have seen him.

Clarke talks it up but has not produced.
He has to assemble a new line up that is going to produce results and listen to people about the where he has gone wrong .
He will have to do it in a reasonable budget as SOS can only throw so much at this team.
Cant understand why posters say NG wont return as apart from Dad a owner at least he knows how to and will take responsibility to shoot a open shot and had improved in other areas of game before injury

carter or ng no contest ng every time carter thinks he is playing for the harlem globetrotters .keep creek shows promise as does dj holmes keeper balls keeper .

which martin u guyz talking about?

Get rid of Carter?? are you guys serious? that has got to be the dumbest thing ive ever heard.

Don't we already have guards and lack big guys?

Same thing as this year - in a team stacked with mostly smalls, we go out and get 2 American guards. Then when we're exposed in the front court... we get two more American guards?

Carter, Herbert, Ng and Daly is not a bad Aussie guard rotation IMO. A premium PG would help with the lack of execution / decision making maybe...

Still, I'd chase bigs first.

I wonder what Bruce n Carter think , after playing here on Friday.
Then reading the Sunday Mail and watching the game on Sunday night , where Gibson put up similar numbers.

( I'd get more excited if it was Ira Clark coming to ADL .. after watching the game on Sunday..
While even Homicide looked to have 10 turnovers
but maybe I'm counting the ball slipping outta his hands 3 times.)

That was won of the wierdest games from Homicide I've ever seen. He seemed to put his team into the game - and then take them out of it - every few minutes!

Hm so we could have a team of Oz point guard, Carter, Bruce, Daly, Ng , Creek, Hill, Ballinger and Johnson, just need to sign up a few more guards and we should do well, always thought we were light on for Guards in this team, which is why we signed import guards I suoppose.

i was hopeing dellavedova a while back but from what i can see has one more year left of college. greenwood is heading off to college so we wont get him. the only aussie pg's he could be refering to would be martin, gibson or markovic ( possibly cadee?). with references to gibson being unsigned ( although alot of nbl players only have 1 yr contracts), it seems he is the most likely...

barlow would be a very good get but aside from why would he come here is the fact he would hold creek out of the team. unless we played both in the forward spots which could work in this league but only with a very very solid centre. wouldnt put it past marty to run a line-up like that though lol. but yeah seems unlikely, the connotations seemed to be around 2 good aussies guards in particular a pg.. which follows similar talk from marty earlier in the season suggesting this was what they were after.

would absolutely love marty to make a big play for anatoly bose (sg). but i think he most likely will end up playing somewhere in europe.

anyone think bose is a chance to land in nbl or will line up at a euro club for sure??

With the season yielding disappointing results for Sixers fans producing possibly to be a second wooden spoon, I was pondering the season after reading this article and so I asked myself (Carrie Bradshaw style) "are the Sixers a bad team playing badly, or just a good team playing badly?"

There have been too many games this season we have seen slipped through our fingers, and especially too many games where we have been ahead at 3QT, only to choke in Q4. It's like going to the pub, picking up a chick who’s hot to trot, then just as you open the door to the taxi to take her home, someone jumps into the taxi.

We have had a season riddled with injuries and disasters. Herbie has been sitting on the sidelines, Johnny G’s battling his knee, Darren was out injured, Rhyss has been battling his back, Troy’s hip, Ronnie’s ankle, Balls’s ankle, Winder, missed anyone or anything?

On court, we have an obvious unresolved problem on the road and many poindexters have been critical of Marty Clarke in his first year as a coach with subbing and court rotations being the main complaints. So, at this time of the year, the long knives come out and the blame game begins.

Let’s look objectively at some of the troops, starting off with those who have ridden off into the sunset, or been sent packing.

Craig Winder: Played 8 games yielding 10.1 ppg at 35%. Showed promise, but was disappointing with poor shooting and high turnovers. Unlikely to get another chance.
Troy de Vries: Played 9 games yielding 11.6 ppg at 36%. Injury was Troy’s handbrake. Played a few crackerjack games, but an import needs to be a V8 firing on all 8 cylinders and can't carry an injured import. I would give a fit Troy another go if he was fit.
Sam Harris: Played 2 games. The guy is the tallest bloke in Oz and should be a centre for an NBL team somewhere dunking baskets and swatting shots. Unfortunately tall does not mean talented and so needs some major 1 on 1 to work on the things that need to come up to scratch. Might be a bit too late for Slamming Sam.
Ron Howard: 11 games, 8.4 ppg at 38%. Played a bit role on a team that needed an import with flair to lift the spirits. Probably got the gig 'cos Julius was too busy dusting his extensive trophy cabinet.

Now to those still on the roster:
Balls: 26G, 15.3 ppg @ 54%, 6 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.3 spg, 1.9 bpg, 1.7 topg. Apparently playing out of position for the season, but likely to end up MVP. Defence was his achilles heel and was beaten a number of times in the season by taller, but less skillful players. Beat up a few less skillful players too. Much has been said about the Ewing factor, and also whether he should be captain. On paper, a keeper, but needs to work on D and shut down opponents because if you let a goal in, means you need to score 1 and a bit to win.
Holmes: 26G, 4.8 ppg @ 39%, 6.6 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.1 bpg, 1.3 topg. 92% from the stripe was a highlight, as was his rebounding. Was told to focus on D and therefore a liability in O, but he was the leading rebounder and was third in assists per game which is typical of a team player. Might be a victim of circumstances, but could be relegated to the bench next season if we get a centre. Might be sitting with Coops and Davo.
DJ: 26G, 9.1 ppg @ 47%, 3.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.7 bpg, 1.6 topg. Limited by court time and after the last game I wonder if Marty “McFly” Clarke now is looking for a Delorean to go back to round 1, then again I believe Marty has a plan for DJ. Definite keeper. Could be trade bait, then again if that happened Marty might get the Delorean out again in a few years time.
Jeff Dowdell: 26G, 4.3 ppg @ 43%, 2.6 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.2 spg, 0.1 bpg, 0.5 topg. Definitely the 10th man on the roster seeing only 11.6 mins per game, but those minutes have been invaluable to the team. Has taken plenty of charges and should be in contention for best defensive player. Would suggest he would still remain as #10 if retained, but could be traded in a three-way deal to get Luke back. GWS is after a centre half back and could fit into that role.
Brad Hill. 26G 8.6 ppg @ 44%, 3.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.2 bpg, 1.3 topg. Has grown this season and despite what some punters think, has been consistent both at home and on the road. Potential captain in a few years. RETAIN.
Rhys Carter. 20G 8.4 ppg @ 36%, 3.4 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.1 bpg, 2.5 topg. The leading assister needs to work on his shooting in the off-season IMO. 27% from the arc is just below the team %, but needs to be sitting at 37% to be a superstar. Unlikely to be cut, but may be traded as part of the Luke Schenscher 3-way.
Mitchell Creek. 18G 5.7 ppg @ 46%, 2.4 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.4 bpg, 1.3 topg. An exciting player and seems to be in Marty’s long term plans. Need to work on 3’s (1/11 not good enough) and 66% from the stripe is OK in juniors, but not in the NBL. Retain.
Eddie Shannon. 17G 9.3 ppg @ 38%, 2.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.1 bpg, 2.1 topg. Had a purple patch for a while, but seems too fumbly, too dribbly and too old. Filled a gap when we needed it, but a more permanent option is needed next season. Better options for an import for season are out there.
Darren Ng. 14G 8.6 ppg @ 48%, 2.0 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.4 spg, 0 bpg, 0.5 topg. (42% from the arc). Clearly our best shooter and most likely the next captain. Sensible player, but a bit risk adverse. Dr Jack says he should be retained to come off the bench to hitting the clutch.
Aaron Bruce. 13G 6.2 ppg @ 39% (38% from arc), 1.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.1 bpg, 1.6 topg. Right place at the right time meant he got a gig this season. One of the better shooters from the arc, but in a team with more guards that Yatala, will this be enough? A good couple of last games will help his case. The former ROTY might be a victim of circumstances as the last man on is the first man off much to the disgust of the female fans.
Tom Daly. 12G This crowd pleaser was never going to set the Dome alight this season playing trash time and learning his craft. Has showed enough to be invited into Marty's inner circle and should be back next year, definitely as a DP, maybe more.

Seems to me the Sixers are a good team playing badly.

moron, Creek IS well known internationally already. He is being watched by NBA and Euro teams already as they know the potential he has. If the 36ers didnt sign him people would be on here bagging them, they do sign him and you find a way to bag them still

Jack, from the stats you have reported, I would say the 36ers are a bad team playing badly. Only 1 current player is averaging double digit points. Even with excuses that Ng and Herbert being out injured long term does not make a difference to our scoring ability as they are also both single digit average scorers. With the stats you presented, Ballinger averaging 15 points per game and the rest of the team (9 players) averaging around 6 points per game gives you an average game of less that 70 points. This is clearly showing why we haven't been able to win games, far too lean in the points department. We need some serious scorers on the team. The last 2 home games where we held a lead for 3/4 and lost it in the 4th showed that defense was not their problem but getting the ball through the hoop was. Hence 6 points in the last quarter of the Cairns game. The team do it tough in training with a very rigorous routine but what are they training? They are not keeping their shooting practice up.

Schenscher is NOT in a deep contract with the Crocs, he has a 1 year deal, and Adelaide are a decent chance of signing him if they do what they should do. At no point do the 6ers have an excuse to not sign him for 2011/12. I dont think they have the appropriate balls to make it happen, and we will struggle at the C position....again

Top post Jack. I hope the big three-way trade goes down LOL!

I do disagree with you that we are a good team playing badly though. End of last season I was saying give the players a bit more time to gel, but I just haven't seen enough from this group to believe they will ever get there.

I think the only current starter I would WANT to start again next year is Balls. And only at PF please!

DJ I could live with if we don't sign a gun centre like Schenscher (or perhaps Crosswhite - FA! Yes!).

Hill I could just cope with as long as we find two gun imports who can draw defenders and shoot the damn basketball.

Herbert might be an alternative starter if he is fully fit, but like Hill, he needs to be surrounded with a couple of gun offensive players.

Creek is already signed and is worth investing time in, but I agree with the anonymous poster above known as 'moron' that he has a lot work to do before he can become an impact NBL player.

Daly - I like what I have seen from him in a couple of games. Would be good to keep around as a dev player.

Carter would be good to keep as our backup PG. We need an impact starter at PG though. Gibson would be an improvement, but he never really impresses me that much. If the Sixers want to hit a home run, they've gotta get an Ervin or Corey Williams type.

Ng looked a little better to me just before he got hurt, but he is a microwave off the bench at best on a good team. Keep him only if something better doesn't come along.

One last thought: we could do a lot worse than sign Trey Gilder as our SF next season! After a slow start, I think he has been an impressive all round contributor for the Kings. Would have to have a PG who can shoot threes and get Balls and DJ shots though, to offset the fact Gilder isn't really a gun scorer.

Just tried to compared the Sixers to the Top 3: (forgive me if wrong...)

Rebounds: Sixers get 18% less rebounds
Assists: 5% less
Blocks: 12% less
Steals: 12% less
TO's: 13% less (?)
Fouls: 15% less
FG%: The same at 43% (NZB = 46%)
3P%: 17% less (29% v 35% - NZB = 37%)
FT%: 74% v 72%
FGM: 788 v 769 (-2%)
FGA: 1825 v 1774 (-3%)
3PM: 219 v 154 (-30%)
3PA: 632 v 535 (-15%)
FTM: 401 v 349 (-13%)
FTA: 553 v 470 (-15%)

Looks like a lack of aggression is the issue. Aggressive teams foul, block, rebound and steal more. I think the key stat there is the 3 point shooting. We have put up 15% less shots than the top 3, and made 30% less than them.

After last game we all know just how important 3 point shooting is .....

All this talk of getting 'Big Red' back - why would he want to come back?

Crocs are playing well, he's fitted into their system and gets plenty of the ball and pressumably is earning a decent amount of $$.

Come back to Adelaide were he goes back to being a rebounder and defender who rarely gets offense run through him and when he does everyone stood around and watched instead of working of the big man (the Crocs are doing this remarkably well).

I would be very surprised if he came back.

Holmes (age 19) in his first season average 2.5 points per game and Oscar (age 20) in his first season averaged 3.3 points per game. Hardly showing potential to be future dominate players like you have made out to be. I think your opinion of the past is skewed. Players of today are better then Gaze, Bradtke etc

Creek is the best 18 year old in the country and just won the under 20s MVP. Other winners of that was Foreman, Burston, Maher (i think?) and many other good names.

Clarke Definately does not get a get out of jail free card from me either but deserves one more year.

Sam Mac couldn't shoot to start of his career but he turned out alright.

Should also be noted that Creek was the MVP at the Albert Schweitzer in Germany.

Past players at the tournament have been Magic, Sabonis, Petrovic, Tony Parker, Nowitzki to name just a few.

On pedigree alone he is in elite company. It has been mentioned that the most recent tournament featured a projected 14 first round picks of the future.

To have him in Adelaide is a massive coup.

KJ, also worth mentioning that Forman was a pretty nervy player for a few years in the NBL. Creek makes his mistakes and has room to grow, but he looks a lot more sure of himself as a very young rookie. Also has a strong build for his age.

I don't know if he'll definitely be a go-to player at NBL level, but he's on track to be a very useful piece.

I know it was only one game, but I thought Johnson showed great signs with a lot of pressure on him against Melbourne. Put three-point shooters around him and isolate him inside (like the Breakers do with Pledger) and I think he'd be even more effective and pick up some assists.

Nothing is certain, but Creek definitely has potential to be a superstar of the NBL, providing he improves that shot.

I highly doubt Schenscher will come back to Adelaide - why would he? I have to agree with DJ Rod here and everything he noted along with the fact that Marty Clarke withdrew the Sixers offer to Schenscher this season.

I think we should be chasing the following players;

Gibson or Martin (PG)
Madgen(SG)
Newley and/or Barlow(SG or SF)
Rush (SF or PF)
Rickert (PF or C)

Youngsters to look at;
Delladova, Greenwood, Motum

Fill whatever spots we cant with the above names as imports...

Kittle - Shcenscher is in deep contract TALKS with the Crocs, not a deep contract - yet. Which would allude to the fact that he is happy in Townsville and close to re-signing.

Sixers still cant 'officially' talk to him for a few weeks (unless the Crocs allow it which I doubt), in which time he could and will likely re-sign with the Crocs.

If you want reasons why he would re-sign with them and not us, refer to DJ Rods post.

Mackinnon is the comparison I heard before Creek was signed. He averaged 5.5 PPG as a rookie and then 10+ from then on despite not really hitting his shooting straps straight away.

Not sure how quickly Creek will come along but I do think we had to grab him. Once we had him and so many parts of the roster seemed to malfunction (e.g., Howard for one thing), I see nothing strange in throwing him minutes.

Creek will be a champ, just give hime time!

Is Creek a younger rookie than the likes of McKinnon, Holmes, Forman etc?

KingJames.... So which Australian currently playing in the NBL is better than Gaze at his peak?