On the mens side, 9 in SC then 13 in both D1 and D2 seems off.
RMIT an interesting addition at D2, does anyone know anything about them?

Hence the question.. go to another thread with that BS

Blackburn, Corio Bay, Hawthorn, Casey, Keilor, Hume City, Werribee, McKinnon & Chelsea, good strong teams.

Lol is SCM going to be weaker than Div1?

Wonder why 2 more Div 1 teams didn't go up to SCM to make both divisions 11 teams, play home and away for 20 games?

It would almost be ideal for Casey and McKinnon to join the elite league, which leaves a pretty even rest of the bunch to combine the remaining SCM teams with Div 1.

Obviously there are other reasons Casey and McKinnon couldn't push up

Clubs informed today

CM- McKinnon, D1M - Shepparton, D2M - Had a source tell me they're sure Camberwell will run the table in D2M after picking up a guy who no one knows (and of course the source won’t tell me who this random is) but something to think about.

With the change to SEABL is it now time to make it a club championship ie no imports??

If without any imports in the lower divisions its no better than domestic it begs the question as to the level of play and if it really should be played at all

SCM - either McKinnon or Casey, D1M - either Shepparton or Westernport, D2M - either Craigieburn or Sth Penn. Dark horses for all - SCM - Chelsea, D1M - Melb Uni, D2M - Altona

CM - McKinnon
D1M - Western Port (should be in CM)
D2M - Sth Penn (the craigieburn picks are laughable, 2 years of finishing on top and choking when the going gets tough.)

Love a early statement of who is going to win, need to look back on this come July/Aug 2019

All I see as Div 1 Men has a tone of travelling for metro clubs, Latrobe, Shep, the bool.

Div 2 Women looks terrible the quality seen last year made it feel like a league with haves and have nots

SCM with 9 teams should be tight but could see the top 4 breaking away
Div 1 men will be more fun to watch than SCM

NOW the league needs to get those fixtures done earlier help teams out, avoid running that pre-season tournament and instead do something a bit different maybe smaller events in the EAST, WEST NORTH regions

And bring back more articles, news stories, interviews and opinion pieces to ramp up interest and interaction with fans

Can corroborate the claims above of Shepp having two imports lined up... as well as Camberwell having a random that is supposedly a stud.

D1Men will be worth watching as Westernport will be super tough, Shepparton will give it a crack if they have 2 better imports and Matty Bartlett, Warrnambool always thereabouts, Melbourne Uni will surprise a few, Bulleen will be out to make a statement, Sunbury with Ish back is going to be tough, the rest will make up numbers.

Why are Shep allowed 2 imports. If they need 2 imports they should play Division 2 like Mildura chose to do when they were told they can only have 1 import.

Shepp are going to need 2 imports, they won't have any players left - some key rotation guys are leaving due to the coaches re-appointment!

Love that idea!!!!

Country used to get a 2 imports due to lack of locals playing on in the mid/late 20's so many of the country clubs left the comp.

Back in the day the country associations had massive support and good talent but it fell away in the early 2000's but it appears a few are working hard to reverse the trend.

Wouldn't that make D2 a better league than D1? Honest question

Who is Camberwell getting? Is it a local?

Kimble

From what I have heard it's a guard so that would rule out Kimble... still have no idea though.

Camberwell has a stud but no one can say anything else?
D2 news - Craigieburn have their import Smith back for 2 years, Sth Penn went with a perimeter import. Wallan are close to a big signing + an import. Altona will be another step closer and mornington back for some reason.

Wallan already have their import lined up, Craigieburn will be good again but can't play finals for some reason, and why would Altona be any good?

If Kimble is their 'stud' they're going to be very disappointed.

Bloke is worse than the locals they had last year

Agreed Kimble is awful but like someone else said, it's supposedly a guard Camberwell has gotten. Could be a local?

Who the Fook is that guy^

Will be huge for Wallan if that is true and comes with an import.

Will get it Leigh your excited but no one knows who you are!

Haha ^^

Funny, Saffin is decent for Div 2, played a few games last year, and Townsend-Gant is their import next year.

sorry can;t say poor to avg Div 2 Big V players get onto the radar of just about anyone other than there mums.

What players from Waverley, Knox, Eltham, Ringwood and Mt Gambier will we see be available at CM?
I would think these teams may at least upgrade their imports (Mt Gambier players will probably be looking for other gigs).

Both Ringwood and Eltham had quite mature rotations, will they stay with these?

Knox imports, Kaba & McDonald, probably will be looking elsewhere.

So Knox only had the one import last year?

I heard Wallan were opening the bank account and going at this season with a big push for promotion, that was the word from the President when I last saw him in September

Coburg have tweaked the squad with rumours that inured import from last year is back and has been firing off in East Coast Summer leagues in the USA, they have also have been given a wage budget (which they didn't have last year) and have spent it wisely with some players making it down the freeway to them.

Ovi Magebor (I have spelt that wrong) is back from college and looks to have all but signed for Eltham, powerful 3 man and would compliment Trevors shuffle offence

what else ......

Be interesting to see if any of the Melb teams go hard at Daly, Thomas, McDaniel, Jamieson, Burdon

Obviously a couple of those guys bare pretty settled in Mount but if they want to keep playing elite level bball they'll need to look at coming to Melbourne.

You'd think the Big V teams stepping up would been keen to add the experience these guys could bring.

Jamieson just signed to play AFL in Canberra.

I'd be surprised if any of those SA guys want anything to do with basketball vic, can't entirely blame them either.

if they wanted to play at the best level mving to vic or qbl are the only options.

Not sure because of whats happened would turn them off playing in Victoria

Burdon has been reaching out to Melb clubs.
McDaniel is over with Melbourne United so he will likely be with a Melb team
Thomas will definitely be in the new league as he wants to be in NBL

Burdon would be a great fit for a number of the clubs coming from Big V add shooting and experience.

When do they typically release fixture for upcoming season in Big V?

Big V last year waited till almost tip off for some of the leagues.

with some of the travel needed for Div 1 you'd hope they would give clubs a heads up.

Forget sorting out that tournament and spend on promotion and fixture organization.

Before someone jumps on me; I know that some of the issues were from clubs not paying fees on time and also hedging bets on placing teams in leagues. Div 2 women had byes after byes because of Keysborough dropping out & teams like Coburg & Sherbrooke should of sat the season out.

Looks like that will be the case.
Tons of travel in D1 - latrobe to warrnambool and everywhere in between.
D2 has MIldura to North-East, down to the Peninsula (for 2 now Mornington are "in").
Fixtures last year were extremely late!

La Trobe has always travelled to Warnambool even before BIGV began .. nothing new there, country teams are so accustomed to travel they don't bat an eye, it’s the metro teams who think they need a cut lunch to go 20 mins away lol

'' it's the metro teams who think they need a cut lunch to go 20 mins away lol''

hahahaha

Totally agree, if you plan to travel then you just travel. It suprises me as most of these kids grow up playing VJBL which has parents driving to Geelong & Ballarat on a Friday night after work, all of sudden a Saturday its too hard.

FIXTURES! is a must early for all teams & coaches, helps with planning and promotion of events around them.

Jumping in on the "way too early" predictions

CM-Keilor/McKinnon
D1M- WesternPort
D2M-Southern Peninsula

^^Why in the world would Keilor win anything in state champ?? They struggled mightily after being promoted. They have none of the local talent with them and one decent/good import.

State Champ- McKinnon
D1M - Shepp
D2M - Camberwell

Haha Shepp - hard to win with no players.
Any news on the Camberwell gun recruit?

Will be interesting to see how CM rosters eventuate. Some teams would have been recruiting heavily in anticipation of entering the new league.
When not accepted some of the planned recruits may not have worked out.
Also we may see some of the better players in CM teams recruited into the likes of Knox/Eltham/Waverley/Ringwood.

Still wondering myself as to this camberwell "gun"

is Travis from westernport returning or has he signed elsewhere?

Travis signed with Waverley, Westernport have a new import on the way.

HappyDays, I see. Any news of westernport's new incomer? or Camberwell's?

As someone who really only watches D2/D1, how big of a jump is SCM and SEABL?

Does that apply to imports too or are they no good imports in d2 and d1 compared to SCM and SEABL?

there*^

Who's at RMIT?

Lol yet NO ONE has any information on the new Camberwell guy

Who is this "gun" at WesternPort that they're getting then?

To be fair i've heard a lot about camberwell’s guy in the last two weeks, just don’t have a name, as for RMIT, who would they have to be bringing in that would vault them to the top already?

If Western Port is getting Barkley, then it checks out. He may be better than Travis.

To be accepted in the league RMIT would have had to show a proposed roster, yet theres no word on any players or coach?

It was my understanding that Barkeley is Camberwell's gun import not Westernport's... I believe that's what anon^ was trying to say

Agreed. Would be shocked if they DIDNT have 2 again

Who have WP signed to getting all this attention?

Max Barkeley was the "gun" name tossed around but I'm still not sure if that was in regards to Camberwell or WP...

Sheesh...I'd say WP would be the heavy favourite now in D1M with that guy^

So does this mean Barkeley is Camberwell’s?

Just Googled these guys.

Tanner Samson played D1 college, had a pre draft workout with Denver Nuggets, and then has been playing in the lower level Spanish leagues, seems legit.

Max Barkeley played D2 college 3 years ago, can't see anything since, can he play?

Just looked at film and looks like they are/were both guns. Barkley has potential to be high impact player but like you said I don't see any info on his playing days after his last NCAA season in 2016 so who knows what kind of player he is now or if he’s been sitting on he couch.

As for Tanner Samson has been busy in Spain and looks like the real deal for sure in my opinion... WP lucked out.

The level Samson playing is on par with D2/1 is its pretty poor basketball.

From the YouTube/google, Barkeley looked like the more complete player that can create and isn't just a shooter but like OP said he’s also a huge question mark cause there’s no info on his playing career in the last 2 years.

Also I didn’t know Spain lower division was similar to D1/2 in Big v??

And yes Travis was virtually unknown until he got here too, seemed to work out fine. I'll bet this Samson signing does too... don’t know how Travis will dare in the new league though... seems like a big jump.

Travis is a pretty complete scorer. Big body guard that used his frame to attack as well as shoot.

WP import will be a gun, i hear he is better than Travis.

I also hear they have a few other big signings, would have to think that they start favorites for D1M

I have heard that McKinnon's imports are:
- Dillon Stith (dominates at SCM)
- Eric Williams

will likely have Ivan and and Tomada back.

Big question is whether Deng Deng returns.

If Deng doesn't return and Maybank is a coach only, then they may struggle with depth.

WP have signed some guns already and will be tough to beat, Bulleen should give them a red hot go this season and Shep and Warrnambool will be there abouts again, look to see Melb Uni troubling teams, heard Keysie again have different roster so hard to judge that club season to season, change players and stadiums too many times to be taken too serious surely.

Have Bulleen got any new players?
Their 2nd leading scorer has left.
Are they getting Varmall back as import?
New coach may bring some guys over from Melbourne? Kinkella?

Keysie big signings? Who would they be as they all usually stay for a year don't they? Good luck to them if they have though!

No chance keysy are up there next year. They over achieved this year making finals nothin more than a bunch of hasbeens thinking they are better than they are.

As mentioned before, Keysie recycle players every year, they don't have junior program for home grown talent

Again no juniors then no sustainability, but good luck to them!

How is there no sustainability? They've had 4 very good years and continue to look positive... Axe to grind anon?

Platnik is looking for a gig in the new league but at this stage hasn't had any takers at his asking price.

Hey Greggo, no axe mate, actually played there a few years back and left on my own choice. Just know that it has very little in people helping the club and financially strapped, only works when older players looking for more minutes than they are getting at their current clubs. Every season current players look around for better options but no-one really puts hands out to them. I left and luckily found new club and how good is it to have juniors coming through at a steady place

At the AGM was their any clarification on imports allowed?

Elite League - 2
State Champ - 2
Div 1 - 1 (maybe 2 for country teams???)
Div 2 - 1 Only

Keysie are an odd team but they are competitive though so I guess it works. La Trobe on the other hand need to be in Div 2!

Also if Shep get 2 imports again in Div 1 that would be laughable as the league said last year they wouldn't be allowed to this year.

Wasn't Sherbrookes last import like that??

VJBL isn't the basis behind having a Big V Program, but it certainly makes life easier if you have a bigger junior program as they pay entry fees, and those parents own businesses to help sponsor.

Coburg don't have a big junor program, big history small program, neither does Sherbrooke or Warrandyte for that matter.

Maybe people at Sherbrooke should keep their opinons about Keysborough to themselves. Concentrate on Division 2.

Any other import signings at Champ, D1 or D2?

Barkeley to Camberwell is official now per the Big V website.

@hoops Who knows what kind of player he is now though

I really doubt that but who knows^. Watching any sort of film on him indicates otherwise. However it's a highlight so that can make anyone look good.

At the very least he's a scoring threat from the guard spot which camberwell doesn't have otherwise. Good combo with O'Hara. Interesting to see Southern Penn and Camberwell going perimeter with their import selections.

Imagine a club bucked the trend and paid good money to Aussie Kids, State Level or high prospect kids convinced them to play Div 1 or Div 2 and paid them enough that they had time to practice everyday instead of picking a job or helped with travel costs???

Would they be cheaper than an import??
Would you potentially get more value??

@PersonalFoul I know of a couple clubs attempting to do this, the tough sell is getting a talented kid out of a higher league to play D1 or D2. Most of the time, money doesn't change the perception of the poor standard of basketball (which is true for the bottom half of D2 - the top half are quality teams).

@anon If you have to get a part-time job that effects when you practice then a bit of money can help free you up more to practice.

I know we can pay imports in some cases $20 - 30K per season you could alost split that two ways and get two hopefully quality Aussie Guys that drive, willing to put more into the program, have maybe return from college, etc etc it means they maybe don't have to work during the season.

Good to hear other clubs are trying it.

I agree w/ the above the post. A majority of people/fans want to see a import. Its very rare that a local can help pack the stadium week in and week out.

disagree - most fans comes to watch a winning product.
many stadiums across melbourne have imports and empty seats..

^^^^^^^ Name some teams

- Whittlesea
- Wallan
- Sunbury (?)
- North-East

All teams with imports and empty seats.

- Coburg
- Camberwell
- Geelong
- Pakenham

All teams without imports who get decent crowds to watch a relatively good team play.

So let me me rephrase, how many teams worth watching without imports pull big crowds? I see 5 Division two basketball teams listed. Geelong don't have big crowds at all and Sunbury are a bit hot and cold but I can see them being a lot better this year. Whittlesea do a great job but they have an import (Sykes, and he previously played SEABL the year before)

^^ Had him training at our club a few months back during last season and can say that while he might not want to be a superstar, I don't anticipate him being much less than one. Kid can flat out play and if we’d had an import spot we would have slotted him in for a game. We even unsuccessfully petitioned for a waiver as he’s currently going through the PR process. If Camberwell indeed got him for free/cheap, they’ve themselves an absolute steal.

Coburg will have an import this year (returns from knee) and despite having a poor stadium for a crowd always seem to gather the loud locals to get in the stands.

North East issue is that they don't have a home venue they play around the region like a travelling circus at times (at its free to get in and nobody turns up)

I feel for Wallan they had a really crap team last season I reckon there will be more noise coming out of the jungle in 2019

Sherbrooke can be in that boat despite the Mountain Men (missed marketing opportunity) having a small community nobody gives a crap

Suprised with Sunbury on this list along with Pakenham.

Melton did a great job during the season promoting double headers with YL games and filled it up at times.

Malou legit superstar, should be in SCM unsure why not?

Can he drag a team of Div 2 players to the play-offs?

What is happening at Broadmeadows & Keilor keen to here how these West Powerhouses are shaping up. Saw a call out for housing for Thunder imports who are they??

Broadmeadows putting together a strong roster in both men and women.

Keilor have signed Kaba who played at Knox last season.

So now we're judging a player’s abilities off of a single open gym session rather than a proven resume/actual in-game film?

These grapes just got extra sour.

Pakenham have the strongest D2 team on paper every year and start as favorites, they spend good money on players, but usually are a flop.

Who do Pakenham have different from last season? "solid" is all you could call that team.

Would D2 teams really pay non-restricted players??? maybe some fuel money or similar.
Surely if you are playing at that level you wouldn't, and shouldn't, be expecting and payments

Payments are how D2 teams get a guy who might be the 5-8th best player in a SCM team where he doesn't get paid.

Last season one D2 teams player budget was $30k, another 2 teams spent $20k.

Didn't do Pakenham much good. 8th on ladder for regular season.
Interesting to see if they are happy with ROI

Return on Investment ^^

Who the hell are Pakenham paying that money to on that roster would be my question!?

Have just been hearing Bulleen are putting together a reasonable side.. They struggled for the last few years..

Does Gaze take the lions share?

There is no ROI in basketball, the only return is a championship or local celebrity (ok maybe that is ROI for some) you don't sponsors local semi-pro teams looking for financial ROI thats for sure.

I would think an ROI could be measured in non-financial terms as well.

Making playoffs
Top 4 etc

Depends on what return you are looking for and what KPIs you may set.

Obviously making a financial return is not likely in Australia for bball.

Why does everyone keep saying teams are putting together a nice roster.....

We need names!!! Or are they just trying to stir the pot....

I hear Derrick McDonald is looking for a game...

WP thats a good signing

Derrick not playing anywhere was a bit odd unless he chose to, or not enough money around

Wallan are splashing cash maybe Derrick could go there??

Any import news.

NEWS.....Finally!!!

Thats a pretty big signing of Darryl Corletto considering Western Port will add an import as well. They made the semi's last year.

with only 1 import + corletto, I don't think they will be better than any SCM.

Corletto is no longer equivalent to an import...

No hate just simple comparison.

Sobey played for D1M team last season and averaged 19ppg.

Given Sobey doesn't have the 400 games experience but I would say he is better than Corletto. A statement that says adding Corletto will make them better than most SCM just isn't accurate.

Great signing by WP all the same

So by that same theory, everyone that averaged over 19ppg in D1 men should be one of the better players in the NBL yeah?

No that is not theory.

Simply saying that Seahawks had a current boomer in their lineup last season (for only 9 games) plus an import and they weren't able to win all 9 games.

Adding Corletto (a role player at NBL) to WP is a good signing but claiming that they are now better than most SCM teams is getting a bit excited.

Clearly Anonymous has issues with WP

Great signing! Sobey was just casually having a run with mates. Big difference!

At the end of the day, none of us really know until they tip off in March and play out the season so while it's fun to predict/project all these guys, we really have no idea.

Agreed. Tanner Samson, Barkeley, Corletto, Pakenham's "strong" roster that makes them favorites. I'm sure they can play but WILL they is the question. There are so many variables that many seem to ignore here in a forum that on the court can make or break an import or high-level local.

How people write off all these other teams before the season starts astounds me... Everytime there is a star studded roster or suppose ably good side, they don't win it all...Just wait till April / May before you do predictions...

I don't have anything against WP and totally agree that signing Corletto is great for them and for the league.

The problem I had was the comment that this signing now makes WP better than most SCM teams.

Agree that we won't really know until the season kicks off but the banter gives us something do in the meantime.

Obviously there are contributors that actually know how teams are forming and others that are just trolling looking for a bite.

All will be known soon.

RMIT still no annoumcements on any actual signed players, and the coach they signed 2 weeks ago is now not coaching, so officially no coach yet either. Season approaching fast, you wonder if they'll actually be able to field a team.

Marty Ford and Aron Pantano were at Maryborough CBL a few years back for half a season, not sure they'd be leading a new program.

Just googled Carlos Keiser, so true, that's absolute GOLD!

Aron Pantano...lolz!

Google him if you'd like to enjoy a good laugh particularly if you waste the five minutes watching his awesome highlights then the articles/news features!

Who was the coach that signed 2 weeks ago and isn't there any more?

Moresi was the coach, from Melb Uni last year

Why did he go?

I'd like to know what happened to the RMIT roster and coach that were presented to Big V on paper to gain entry a few months back?

Reason Moresi gone... probably depends who you ask

RMIT will be out of the league next year if those 2 clowns are running the show.

If you gonna be a gun player or at least portray that you are perhaps getting into shape would be a good starting point.

On a serious note thou perhaps if you have disillusions of grandeur and mental health concerns vising https://www.sane.org/ wouldn't be a bad idea.

so what's happening at RMIT?

They hired a coach 2 weeks ago who now isn't there?

And now they're running tryouts after most people have found teams?

What could happen in two weeks for this change? Sounds like a shambles

They hired Moresi, then announced tryouts, then Moresi was gone after the first session, now someone who's apparently coached overseas is in, tryouts continue.

Why was he gone though? I assume if he walked after one session he wasn't happy with how the club is being run...

Right - why was the coach let go so soon? Or did he walk out?

So who's coaching now? And who are these players?

So the players run the joint? Recipe for disaster.
Can't believe Big V let them into an already saturated league of 12 teams.

So Martyn Ford will be coaching a team in Big V with a roster full of RMIT domestic players without any Big V experience, then will add Aron Pantano and an import? Good luck!

RMIT have a pretty rich history of solid Big V and SEABL player in their unigames program. It's pretty amazing none of them were able to be recruited.

As someone mentioned they finished 2nd in the Aus champs this year with a pretty solid team (a lot of Keilor guys amongst others) and over the past 8 years have had some guns going through.

Wonder if they reached out.

You wonder if RMIT presented Big V an inaugural roster full of players from the Uni Games team without actually knowing if any would play?

Anon^ I think you will find there is enough talent in the Geelong area to cater for Bellarine's teams, however big changes are happening and if they are to submit Big V teams (including YL) they do have to consider quite a number of players and scenarios.

Yes, players have moved, some to Elite League from SCM, rosters are being confirmed and posted online, players are committing to clubs, the SCM at Corio Bay will also have big changes and Bellarine being new kids on the block will have to present their teams as they confirm them like the rest.

One thing is for sure, the whole restructure has shaken things up and we will all have to take a breath at some point to make sense of it all...

Jordan Coleman to Hume City will be big for them but maybe even bigger as a blow to Keilor as he was basically the only player on that roster who belonged in that league after the move up to SCM... Any word on who they are they replacing him with??

Hume looks to be ok as Martin is a aust citizen, so 1 more import.
Hear they have some good young guys come to club also

Keilor got Kaba from Knox who probably replaces the other big import from last season. If they get a good wing then there import combo will be solid

Question is why can't teams retain good imports? I see a lot of recycled imports within teams in the BigV...is it money? or character?

Kaba will be a big step up from Keilor's big last year^^

I think it's a mixture of a few aspects but I would think imports will go where the money is most of the time and rightfully so since that's what they're here for. Jordan must have been offered more money seeing as though he'd been at Keilor for 3 years, wouldn't have been a character issue?

Aron pantano to ny knicks

What is this Aron Pantano speak everyone is joking about? Too much going on in this thread, don't feel like reading through it all.

While I do get some imports are chasing more money or a better opportunity but from recent talk to one club they have said they have heard from 5 or 6 different guys looking for gigs that played last year or the year before.

The facts are that state level leagues in Aust are really viewed as a stepping stones for a lot of imports.
Whether they are straight from college or have had a few issues in getting their career started, a majority (rightly or wrongly) will accept contracts lower than what they may think they are worth and attempt to get a solid season on their resume.
From there they may look to Europe or, as we have seen, try and move up the leagues in Aust.

^^^#103 Agreed. This is the most common explanation of imports in the second/third tiers of Australia.

Some clubs are more prepared to take an unknown import knowing theres a chance they're a stud, other clubs prefer to get an existing import so as you know what you're getting. Pros and cons to each option.

Yea word is Dylan Travis (Div1 Men's MVP) last season from Western Port is going to Waverley....

I'd take Kaba over Coleman every time

Coleman more of a wing, Kaba a stretch 4.
Different roles.
I don't think Kaba would be as successful for Keilor if he is asked to play same role as Coleman.
Likewise if Coleman was asked to play Kaba's role.

I would think that Keilor will have Kaba playing the 4 spot and a new import to play 3 (replacing Coleman)

Have to disagree there too. Kaba may be able to play the 4 but he is a wing. Good outside shooter and crafty with the ball in hands getting to the ring. I'd say he's a better version of Coleman.

I think both are quality players at the SCM level.

Coleman more athletic off the wing, Kaba prob better rebounder and shooter.

But will be interesting to see how both go in new teams.

Keilor likely:

Crowe
Spencer
Import
Symons
Kaba

Chuck Long?

I was meaning that Kaba will be an upgrade from Keilor's import big last season...losing Jordan will hurt a lot. Keilor has also signed a 5'11 PG from the states as their other import..

Chuck Long - naturalised??? (4,5)
Kaba (4,5)
Import
Joel Bellman
Spencer or Crowe

6th man BJ Symons

Will SCM Casey or McKinnon finally win a flag....They get talked up every year by BigV but have fallen short...Could this be their year w/ Ringwood and a few others finally out of there way???

Casey will be team to beat, tough competition from McKinnon and Chelsea as Standerfer will always be hard to stop

Casey will be team to beat, tough competition from McKinnon and Chelsea as Standerfer will always be hard to stop

Mckinnon - Stith, Tomada, Eric Williams, Deng?
Hawthorn - Barry, Bogart-King, Kirk Smith, +2 imports
Casey - Lemons, Donlan, Polk, Louis, Hobba
Hume - Jeka, Prendergast, Jake Martin, Jordan Coleman, +import
Keilor - Kaba, Long, Simmons, Spencer, +import
Werribee - ?
Corio - ?
Blackburn - Trewella, D'Agostino, Malvaso, imports?
Chelsea - Standerfer, Colin Voss?, Brasser, Riggs

So if these are the main players from each team my predictions would be:

1) Hawthorn - if imports are quality then it is a tough starting group and some depth on bench.
2) McKinnon - If Deng is back then they have a group of 4 players that are as good as any in league. Would have been #1 if Ivan was still there.
3) Hume - Jeka/Martin/Coleman/Import gives them a solid core. Add Prendergast and some exciting young guys and they will be a big improver.
4) Casey - Experience is off the charts. Age of list may mean injuries or issues hanging with teams like McKinnon who will be very athletic.
5) Chelsea - Standerfer will be one of best in league. Big step up for Voss from D2M, will be interesting to see how he adapts. Similar for Brasser/Riggs, big difference between D1 and D2.
6) Keilor - Two solid imports should get them some Ws
7) Werribee - unknown roster
8) Corio - unknown roster
9) Blackburn - if they don't have 2 x solid imports then they may struggle. If they get imports then they could move up to 5-7

McKinnon may slide down the ladder...

Losing:
- Ivan - 17.5ppg, 6.7rpg
- Deng - 17.5ppg, 10.7rpg
- Maybank - 7ppg, 3.5rpg, 3.5apg

New import may cover some of this but big numbers and experience to replace

When McKinnon when a flag, then we should worry about them. They are the same as Casey....We talk them up, they lose!

While I do agree w/ Ivan and Deng being BIG outs for McKinnon. Would of left Maybank off though, that will get covered.

Where is Ivan going?

Who is staying at Casey? Lemons, Donlan, Ben Louis, Polk??? Hobba???

Heard Ivan is off to keysie, is that good or bad?

Pretty sure Chelsea signed Colin Voss as their second import, and that Riggs guy averaged over 20! Good depth I reckon.

Championship is not going to be as good as it was last year so it wouldn't suprise me for Chelsea to make Top 4. They used to beat Casey when they were in Div 1 and they are the favorites (suppose ably)

Any news out of whittlsea? I know they struggled last year but they had some really solid guard play. If they get an import who can actually make an impact in the middle they could move up the ladder

Correct Casey beat Chelsea but last time I checked Chelsea got a D1M Championship to get promoted unlike Casey and they still got promoted....hmmmmmmmm

Introducing the Hobart Huskies.....

The Southern Huskies are delighted to announce the launch of the Hobart Huskies as our development pathway team and also our inclusion into the Victorian-managed Men's and Women’s Senior Elite League (official name yet to be announced) for the inaugural twenty game season in 2019.

Following on from our recent acceptance into the Sal’s NBL in New Zealand, the Senior Elite League is another fantastic pathway for the development of men’s and women’s basketball. The launch of the Hobart Huskies helps to distinguish the team from the one that will be appearing in the Sal’s NBL and to help define the model we have in place for player development.

Our COO Mike Sutton believes that by entering the Senior Elite League we’re helping to ensure Tasmanian basketball talent has a defined pathway to follow towards greatness.

"We couldn’t simply stand by and have the possibility of second-tier high performance basketball not being played for a year in the south of the state," Sutton said. “When the invitation from BTAS arrived we met with a number of key stakeholders in the southern Tasmanian basketball community to ensure buy-in and viability. After careful consideration we couldn’t turn down the opportunity to ensure that development of basketball in the state would continue.”

The Senior Elite League will help to cement the pathway of both men’s and women’s basketball in the state and gives opportunity for fans to watch games outside of the Sal’s NBL season. Games will be played in smaller venues to ensure they are financially viable, but still accessible to fans.

“The basketball landscape in Tasmania is certainly changing for the better and there was no guarantee that it would be the same in 2020,” Sutton said. “With this addition to our pathway we’re able to help shape that future with the assistance of Basketball Tasmania.”

The BTAS Huskies Academy, headed up by Coach Anthony Stewart, will play an important part in the development of players, with the Elite Senior League the first logical step into elite competition before moving on up through the pathway.

With the league ready to tip off in March next year, the high-calibre, invitational competition features elite players from across Victoria and Tasmania. We’ll join existing Tasmanian teams, the North-West Tasmania Thunder men and the Launceston Tornadoes women in the brand new league.

Zeverona working with the Elite team also or just Y/L?

Bruno did the same thing last year and ended up back at the pacers during the season.... hear that general feelings are that he can really score but doesn't result in wins. thoughts?


Does anyone know if they have brought their New Zealander guard back? a real young guy who showed some promise.

Chelsea earnt their way to D1 from D2 after winning the championship
Chelsea then waited in D1 until they won the championship to go to SCM

Casey sooked about being in D3 back in the day. Got promoted
Casey made finals once in D2 demanded they go to D1
Casey paid a team to play D1 to get promoted SCM
Casey then felt entitled to the new Premier League

#patterns
#winsomething
#stophatingchelsea

Zeverona is nowhere near an Elite league guard. Will be lucky to sit on the end of the DV Men's bench.
Bruno is the master of empty stats, shops himself around for the right situation (meaning HIS mins and HIS shots) and doesn't stick it out if neither of those things come his way.
Tough reputation to have as a young and talented guard.
Whittlesea - how can a club of that size feature that much turnover with no ability to keep their own talent? From the outside looking in, the culture hasn't seemed like a good one in years.
A danger to be relegated AGAIN in 2020.

@ (none)

a club of that size?

Pacers are tiny in comparison to surrounding clubs such as Eltham and DV?

@watcher

What size are they in relation to Coburg? Craigieburn? Broadmeadows?
Again, from the outside looking in the club seems to be trending downwards, and the attitude of someone such as Bruno only playing if he's guaranteed a certain amount of mins kind of sums it up.

I don't think you can demand 35 minutes when you're 5'8 and can't play d.

Does not play any defense at all! Can shoot a 3 ball though...

Yeah explosive scorer.

With that roster Corio Bay will be toward bottom of the ladder. (Unless players have improved across the board)

Latrobe City should of been relegated anyways!!!

Latrobe City successful team consist of Vashon Weaver (retired), Canovan (Eltham), Billie Hughes (Melbourne???) and some other old vets that have retired and/or not up to it anymore. There really good juniors don't stick around unfortunately...

Why did Chelsea's mens' team go up to SCM after winning the title but their womens' team had to stay in Div 1 after winning it ?

didnt their womens team have some ínhouse'issues, perhaps they did not have the returning players to warrant the step up

^^^^^ Agree ^^^^^

Stop phishing mate

Any practice games been played by SCM teams???

Smethurst still can't believe he’s not coaching Chelsea! Time to move on mate.

Hume have signed Jordan Coleman and Jamal Shabaz as their imports.
Both look to be elite athletes so assume they will be a high tempo team.

Agree anon^, CB is on a bit of a rebuild, should be better for it though and may surprise a few this season if they can gel.

Still not much news out of Bellarine, which is a D1 team that will look very different from that which Geelong had on court last season.

Plenty of changes down the Barwon district for the coming basketball winter season, largely due to the structural changes we are all going through, but as they say - a change is as good as a holiday!

Around 8 weeks until 2019 season kicks off, pretty quiet on the player movement front.
Who are the big improvers from last season?
Are any of the new teams looking like a threat?

I agree. be good to see some action on the Big V Website a little tease, do they struggle for content because the clubs are feeding them enough?

No pre-season tournament be good to hear about some practice games or hidden games that have been going on behind closed doors

Blackburn play the Vic U20 team next week I think so may get some news out of that.
Keilor have added Kaba, will have 2nd import, plus Charles Long and Ivan Harris apparently. So essentially 4 players that have been imports...

Werribee have a game against Coburg Men, I think youth league are also playing them in a weeks time.

anynews on Div 1 men who we think might make the leap up to SCM for 2020

Seems like we had a rush of signings, would love to hear some stuff from coaches and players - even its one week at a time jibes

Where/when is the Coburg-Werribee matchup?

Shepp to find it difficult with very little local talent sticking around!

SCM will come from - Hawthorn, McKinnon or Casey with Chelsea being a massive threat

D1M will come from - Westernport, Bulleen or Shepparton with Bellarine being a threat

Nice spelling too.

Can we consulate into one thread please I am confused and both threads have little news as it is - but more news than the big v website!