The guy in charge now has no idea what he's doing.
Shouldn’t be so harsh on him, he ran the lightning which was losing money hand over fist for a number of years so good breeding ground for his current role.

Simplistic view I think. Plenty of the hp participants would welcome the changes I reckon

Thanks for posting Scott

This announcement was a little surprising.
I like a lot of what SA Metro are doing, especially on the women's side. Their depth chart is impressive and they currently have 2 quality head coaches leading their AJC U16 and U18 teams.
The men’s side is a little hit and miss and they rely heavily on 2-3 players per team.
Butler can take plenty of credit from the program he will depart. I guess it’s inevitable that if you’re in a position similar to this for a long time, you will have plenty of detractors.
Basketball SA would want to hit home runs with his replacements or heads may roll further up the chain of command next.

Agree with much of Blues67.

I have no idea who would suit these roles from SA. Do they need to go interstate? And if they do, is it an attractive enough proposition for the right candidate?

Not sure I understand why people think the HP manager is personally completely responsible for testing results on court.

If you don't have the talent coming through the system you won't win no matter who is HP Manager.

Yes a bad one can make things worse and a good one can make things better but they are just one part of the whole picture. The reality is SA girls basketball has been strong for decades under multiple HP managers and good and average state coaches. The boys side has been below par for at least a decade and this fixation on the girls side doesn't match where the issues actually are.

But that's standard practice for sa basketball across the board right now.

I don't think he was horrible but I don't think he was good either. Chances of them funding better when they're splitting the role and offering each less money than collectively while having to work for two different organisations is very unlikely.

A real surprise from my end. The SAM program is in a good spot at the moment, so I'm not sure why to make such a move now.

Hard pill to swallow for the outgoing HPM, did his job and got results recently only to be offered half his role moving forward (probably with a pay cut as well).

Begs to ask the question, moving forward who makes the final call on issues when the male and female coach are at odds on things?

Yes, SAM girls have been strong for decades, often medaling, but rarely winning gold. The last few years have seen them winning multiple gold medals.
Just saying that as HP Manager he must of played a part in some of the success and deserves a little credit.

IMO HP Program has been very good over many years - excellent people involved at many levels.

would Jen Screen or Jan Stirling return ? - would be great candidates for the girls program lead position.

Jenni Screen would be great but going by the comments on this thread relating to reduction in salary, doubt whether she would leave a role with Victoria.
Sterling is well past it and the reason why she was moved on by BA.

Would Screen be a great pickup? The Vic Metro results from her tenure tell a different story.

Jenni Screen has been working as the Hawthorn Hawks AFLW Player Development Manager since mid-year this year. I wouldn't have thought she'd move jobs quickly, particularly interstate.

Would love to see those appointed come with zero connection to any current district club, time to start a fresh and remove any "friendships" in selection. Much like SA Country did, who would also be a worthy applicant by the way!

Mel Downer $1.01 favourite

I think this would be a downgrade for Downer both in her role within basketball and her salary. She's already the HP Manager for SA Country.
If Basketball SA can get her to switch to metro, good on them but I’m not so sure it will happen.
The other name being thrown around is Tracy York, if this happens then they would have been better off staying with Butler.

Is Jenni Screen working for AFLW and BV HP simultaneously?

Any idea who is the line manager for HP? Would it be direct to the CEO with a male and female HP Manager?

There are a few comments about salary being a restriction for the best candidates - how much does the role pay?

Jenny Screen hasn't been with BV for about 4/5 months now.

bball fan - I know no facts but from what I can work out - I would guess to say yes that would be the reporting line

So few with so much to say that have no understanding of how the program works.

If nothing else cab we start with finally getting rid of country? This whole BSA = metro and country while SA Country also = country is horribly unfair to those in metro which keep the sport going.

Bit of a silly comment Nightwing.

Whilst the governance might have a historical hangover, and would beneft from some changes, getting rid of Country would not be a good option for several reasons.

Such as?

And what about metro?

Due to distances, there is still a need for country and Metro, but that doesn't mean that the same coaches can't control both, i.e. other states work really well.

Nightwing you might be surprised at the numbers of country players and the fees involved, get rid of country and there would be financial issues in the sport I reckon, not saying there can't be better synergies but

Country associations need to exist as do metro associations when the clubs finally step up

Sa Country as an association in itself is a wasted double up of cost.

Interesting concepts @nightwing, so I understand what youre saying, but would you still have SA country representing in nationals etc ??

Like Vic NSW Qld and WA manage to do without a 2nd wannabe state body?

Yes

The current HP manager oversees both metro and country programs then country have their own as well. Everything about sa country is a double up of resources. Currebtly the minority of members in country get loaded up service in admin, HP, ref development while metro members get half of a role dedicated to them.

Fair shout

SA Country should be treated the same as SA Church. Country whinge and complain about everything, hence the red carpet service