do SEABL players get paid?

You would have to be good enough to play SEABL. That good.

lol'd hard at #393023

LOL, well its amazing the lengths some parents will go to to make sure their kid plays a level (or 2) above their ability. So it's a difficult and complex question to answer NBL Kings.

#393023 is right. Nepotism will get you minutes. But there are many programs that recognize and develop talent.

The basic skill level overall is moderate, and few players are at a good level of fitness.

I think it would be fair to say the gap between SEABL and the NBL has closed over the last few years.I've always thought of the SEABL as a 6-6 league whereas the NBL is more 6-8/6-9.

Happy Days is pretty much right, the biggest difference between NBL and SEABL now is the size of the athletes, not so much the skill set, e.g a 5 in SEABL would be a 4 in the NBL and a SEABL 2 guard would be a 1 in the NBL, from a size perspective.

Gruber played 5 in SEABL but really should be a 4 in the NBL. Most SEABL clubs look for 6-6 5 man but you'll find this year they are going a bit bigger more 6-7/6-8.Quality bigs are hard to recruit as most end up in Europe.

This is one of the main reasons players find it hard to step up from SEABL to NBL/WNBL, they need to be playing in their natural NBL spot at SEABL level, not many can do that.

Comparing the SEABL to NBL is a mute point 1 league is Semi-Pro the other is Pro!

NBL is a bigger more althtic league than SEABL and the depth on most SEABL roster falls away after the 7th guy in the rotation as 8,9,10 are not normally getting paid and would still be on a bench in the state leagues.

SEABL travel puts off alot of the better state league based players due to work commitments etc as there are a number of players who come to mind who would slot nicly into most SEABL teams rotations from the state leagues.

Back on topic thou if your good enough to play SEABL and your currently playing at a lower level someone will call you for a workout if your numbers/game is good enough...the coaches talk as do regular league watches as every coach loves grabbing a player from the state league who isn't going to cost them cash and adds depth!

Hector, in many cases I think it's the other way around for some of these young guys, especially the players in that 3-4 area.

For example, You will get a guy like Lucas Walker who really is a 4 man being told by NBL people that he needs to go play 3 at SEABL. This is very confusing for the player and almost always delays their development for NBL or ends it.

Size is only one factor in deciding a players "natural" position. Walker for instance is an ideal 4 man based on size, athletic ability, skill set and decision making ability. He needs to concentrate on being the best 4 man he can be.

There are plenty of examples like this with 4's being told to become 3's, 5's wanting to become stretch 4's, 2's trying to be 1's, all because of size alone.

The line, "in the NBA" or "in europe" the players are x height for a position has no relevance to these players. They are not going to play at that level, EVER.

Sixerfan, that's exactly what i'm saying, Walker isn't big enough to play 4 effectively in the NBL against bigger bodies, he has the body of a 3 with the "game" or skill set of a 4.

He will always struggle to be effective in the NBL as a 4 and cant really play as a 3 so that makes him a "typical" out of position SEABL player.

^ Good point re opportunities, the NBL only realistically offers (once you remove NZ and import spots) the chance for 56 Australian players to play here, that's another reason why SEABL is a very strong league.

You need to be slightly better than the last guy who gets cut.

Wasn't attacking you Hector.

I just think Walker is the perfect example of a guy who is an ideal 4 man for the NBL level but keeps getting looked at as a 3 man.

I think Stephen Weigh 198cm is in the same category.

There are several players smaller than Walker who play the 4 in NBL

Dusty Rychart 197cm
Mika Vukona 198cm
Jacob Holmes 198cm
Daniel Jackson 200cm

Most 4's in NBL are 197-203cm

I'm sure at some point people have tried to "convert these guys to the 3" at some stage and failed.

Sorry, I'm getting a little off the topic!

If you want to play any meaningful game time in SEABL you have to be a pretty decent player or at least have one dominant strength, e.g.. Sam Harris BIG!

SixerFan - Sammy Harris isn't really playing his on the bench haha - 7'3 cheer leader

NBL Kings, assuming your from sydney? watch the Norths ABA team, if you can't start on that team or be a 6th man on that squad then don't bother.

if you play for any other team in Waratah League and you're not the best player on your team then don't bother trying to play SEABL

About as good as Marcus Camby, who is crap.

^ whom is crap

Cera, don't be a tool.

NBL Starting 5's are clearly a fair way ahead of SEABL because they get paid decent, but in the NBL the benches are guys not getting paid much who are average. SEABL starting 5's are better than NBL benches.

The reason is... why would a SEABL guy who earns 100k at his day job and gets 10-20k for training 2-3 timers per week and plays SEABL leave that for a 60k "professional" contract to ride the bench in the NBL?

In fact if you picked the 2 best imports in SEABL and combined them with the best 8 Aussie players from the comp they would be competitive against an NBL side if they had the same coaching and preparation time.

Melbourne Boy, maybe the Crocs, but here are some capable benches from the start of the season:

Petrie, Creek, Crosswell, Massingale, Vasiljevic
Hudson, Henry, Webster, Boucher, Bruton
Wagstaff, Robbins, Bartlett, Hire, Trueman
Deleon, Demos, Jackson, Coenraad, Gruber

I think those four would hold their own and have enough to cover for weak points like Pero, Henry, etc.

Let's be real. You would have to be right at the top of your local comp to get a run in a SEABL team or any other at that level, might get to train with them a bit or even sit right on the end of the bench if you are lucky. From there it is just hard work, skills development and opportunity to see how far you can get.