Yep. It was a shame they weren't playing a top side with NBL players in it. Taipans had Jawai, Grabau, Williams & Vale. I knew no one from Gladstone. Big Nate probably had 20 rebounds (most easy offensive) & maybe 7 or 8 assists. The big fella spotted the perimeter players quite nicely on occasions. His game looks ok but wasn't tested at all by mediocre opposition. He had some easy dunks including a tomahawk from the baseline.
The other noteable thing is how well Grabau shoots the ball at this level. He rarely missed!

Strange how Gladstone turned around and beat Townsville straight after this, a side with 3 NBL players and 1 NBL development player...

At least he was right about the dunk :)

http://instagram.com/p/Mia5AWEFFh/

It is hard to imagine that NBL point guards would average fewer assists in ABA but they always do. Pretty sure it comes down to the stats guys...

Nate kept sucking in the defence all night and opened up the 3 pt shooters thus the blowout. Stats seem wrong given he dominated the boards with his massive reach. The assists aren't right he got 5 in a row off a 16 pt run (3x3's, 2 layups to free inside players) in the 3rd quarter alone. The Tomahawk dunk rattled the Fish Tank and all of the sphincters of the Power players near by - thought the roof was going to come down. He had a triple double easily but the stats look wrong (not surprising, QBL stats never seem to be consistent....)

I hardly think a showing in the QBL is worth us saying BB got it wrong. Unless Gladstone imported the Gasol brothers???? Maybe they did and they were a day late, if they beat Townsville

I meant to say 'defensive' as he mopped up plenty of easy ones in the 2nd half. I liked his vision spotting the guys on the perimeter & not jacking up crap.
Thanks for your insight anon. Next time i'll check the stats b4 being so wrong & upsetting dickheads like you!!

He is not a very smart player though. He was screaming for the ball, but wasn't going to the block or really fighting for position. He was getting up his teammates for not passing it to him, yet he didn't get himself in a good position. His skill is great, a couple of ridiculously quick spin moves off a post-up, but his off-ball work isn't great.

Jawai = Ordinary

No way did he have more than 10 rebounds total. It was a joke really and he took it that way. I would have preferred he had a real dip and dominated in all areas to show what level he has risen to.

'If you that would be great! Or take your socks off so you can actually count to 20!'

Leave school early mate? What u trying to say imbecile?

Nate looked bored, he was toying with them, the way an NBL player would toy with a rec league, I know what Nate locked in looks like, and it wasn't that.
Everytime he was on court Gladstone threw a zone and basically triple teamed him. It allowed the shooters plenty of open looks.
Its hard to post up into a zone no matter who you are.
I thought he could have done a bit more moving around to try stretching the zone out and sneaking in on the weakside, but I don't think the offence wasn't geared that way....
Having said all that I left at half time because my daughter was sleepy.

He got more ball in the second half, but still his posting up was very ordinary when there was a clear pass to the block. The Marlins didn't space very well on the offensive end though, so it wasn't all Nate's fault.
Will be interesting to see him on the road double this weekend.
Matt, what's your take on why he didn't make it in the NBA?

Honestly I don't know, I was working out with him before the draft and we were both in the best shape of our lives, he looked really scary. There was some talk of him going in the first round and rumours that the Taipans put too high of a price on his contract buy out. I'm not sure how true that is. I think when he got to the states having to sit out for so long really sucked the life out of him. He did some good things in Minnesota, but couldn't hang on. Having said that Kurt Rambis was coaching and he refused to start Kevin Love.
I get the feeling the NBA is just wierd, Todd Mundt played NBA nate would have killed him. Sometimes its just luck. Sometimes its about having an elite level single skill (shooting, shot blocking) other times its college pedigree. For sure Nate is an NBA level athlete, and once he gets his feet in the paint there is very little you can do with him. I believe he could stick if he got another crack at it. The reality is the NBA is very foreign to me, so I don't even know what they look for.....

Matt, you mentioned above 'we were both in the best shape of our lives, he looked really scary' and I completely agree with you in relation to Nate. Having followed his career closely through juniors and into the NBL, I remember seeing a TV interview with him just after he got to Toronto and I could not believe it was the same guy. He looked ripped, his face was all chiseled, he looked like an elite athlete which is not something anyone would have mistaken him for before. Do you think he's ever been at that level of peak fitness since? It would appear to me as a total outsider that he hasn't, and perhaps this is what has held him back from being on an NBA roster, given the amount of games they play and the limited recovery time between games.

I haven't read much at all about his heart condition. Does this mean that he can't ever put in 100% effort on the floor, or what? What's the deal with it?

A quick google search reveals this is the Matt Smith in question:

http://www.australiabasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=AUS&PlayerID=20976

Impressive reading

Thank you for that critique Jim, although it is not acccurate. I have one collapsed disc and two herniated discs in my back so I no longer play. I am not sure where they have got their info from. I mentioned in my previous post that I was aware of my talent level, and I had hoped to avoid posts like yours belittling a career I was very proud of. I wanted to provide a little bit of a different perspective, hopefully some informed opinions on some of the player and coach traits or tactics employed that I am familiar with.

But because I am overly sensitive here is a quick justification of my career
116 NBL games
Wollongong, Victora, NZ, Taipans
Lead the NBL in feild Goal % 06/07
Career High 22 against Singapore in 07
Career High Boards 13 against Spirit in 09
Career High Minutes 35 against T'ville 09
ABA national Champion Marlins 2007
First game 1999 with Wollongong v Sydney
A few double doubles, dunked on a few people
Longest stretch of time between game 1 and 100 ever

Look I wasn't that good, I'm not stupid, I am probably more aware of my own level than you are. I like to think I played hard.

There you go Jim, I stuck my head up, you kicked it and got a rise out of me. Possibly this is the reason more ex-players aren't publicaly on these things?

Also I am not aware on any other Smiths playing with the Snakes, but I was always kind of on the thin side.

Thanks for the info re Jawai, Matt. Don't have to justify your play to have an opinion or I wouldn't be saying anything at all...

waiting for Jim Dork's - er Berk's profile ?