Funny Talking Hoops Recap

Talking Hoops Recap, 5/9/06

Show hosted by Paul Bell, Brett Maher and Corlette Brown

Talked about how Corlette won the Miss Indy 06 competition.

They spoke about the 36ers inter squad scrimmage at Mt. Barker on the weekend, the squad was split into 2, Maher said it was fairly even, Darren Ng draining 6 teams bought Ng's team right back into it. Ng ended up with 31 points, Majstrovich also played well. Maher mentioned Farley, Copeland and Horvath having good games for his team, saying that he choked with a lay-up and a 3 he missed. He said it was a good crowd considering that it was fathers day. Said that the defense was improved. Spoke about the upcoming NBL blitz, where they play half games against 3 teams, then finals, Maher said it will be good, and the 36ers have a tough draw playing Brisbane, Melbourne and the Dragons, and he said it would be good preparation for the team. Bell said it can be hard to guage with West Adelaide winning the ABL equivalent and not having a great season in the ABL.

Spoke about the All Star game coming back to Adelaide for the first time since 1995, Maher said it would be very exciting and having the cream of the crop playing and its usually a up and down style of game, and is expecting the World All starts to step it up against the Aussies this year. Maher was there with Farley, Hemmerling, and said it got good media coverage.

They spoke about the World Champs, Spain beating Greece in the final, without Pau Gasol, locking the Greeks up defensively, and mentioning Greece beating the US as a big result. Bell and Maher spoke about whether the US team losing, takes any of the gloss of the NBA performances of guys like Wade, Maher said it wasn't the best US team but they still had a great team, the Greeks went nuts about the win as you would, and teams used the zone effectively against the US again.

Andrew Gaze Interview: Asked about what he thought of the World Champs, said he thought they were great, and it was good to see they were well received with good numbers of fans supporting the event, which hasn't always been the case, and said the standard of the competition was great. Said he thinks the Australians did ok, considering there close to loss, where they should of won against Greece, and they also had other win able games, on that they did ok, but were a step below with the games below teams like the US and the young team they had can explain some of the inconsistency.
Asked about getting itchy feet, watching games like the Australia V Greece game, he said never in his life had he want to through the tv out the window more, he had seen the result on the internet, still watching it going no way they could lose it, and said you get itchy feet, as he said you think that even he could get out there as a 41 year old and win that game. Bell said that a result like that is one thing that is good about basketball that you can still win a game with 25 seconds left. Gaze said that he prefers watching the style of play in the European and International play, than the NBA. They spoke about Gaze being on Dancing with the Stars, not expecting to last to long in the series.
Asked about his shoes, He has a couple of new ones coming out, trying to improve them along with the apparel. He said he still gets out and watches the Tigers team and expects them to be good, saying they look very sharp. Asked about the rumour of Andrew starting a NBL team in Asia, he said him and Nigel Purchase have been looking into it a bit, and he thinks the league expanding into Asia is a good idea, with the Singapore team, and he is hoping to be involved in something in the future. Asked if he wants to get into NBL coaching, said he coaches a Tigers junior team, and enjoys it but with his other things he is doing he doesn't have the time at the moment to commit to it and he also has only been out of playing NBL for 18 months, wanting to do other things and is enjoying what he Is doing, said he may look at it down the track if he is good enough, depending on his other commitments.

Mike Daws, Current BSA/36ers CEO and New Lightning CEO, Interview: He spoke about the announcement of the All Star game being in Adelaide, Asked about him taking on the role of Lightning CEO, he said it is very exciting, with it being first time under private ownership, Mike never having worked for a private owner before, saying they have a very good roster and Lightning and the Thunderbirds are the 2 top Women's Sports teams in Adelaide, and thinks there are opportunities for them to be further promoted. Said the Lightning will be playing there games at the Dome this season. Said initially it will be a full time position, he may be able to do other things for Marino in the future, there is a lot of work to be done with the lightning, they are deciding on a new marketing person tomorrow. Spoke about the Lightnings playing roster, said they are one big player short, they are chasing Abby Bishop, with other clubs like Canberra and Dandenong also after her, said its going to be a long hard process, they are also looking at alternatives in the US, said there is a shortage of bigs in the WNBL. Said they have some great talent in Jess Foley, Erin Phillips, Sam Woosnam, Lauren King, Narelle Lindsay, Dee Randford, Carla Boyd, returning to Adelaide, he thinks they are a competitive unit and with the extra big they should be top 2. Asked about the restructuring of the 36ers, with Mike going to the Lightning, said new owner Mal Hemmerling would be taking over as like a CEO himself, and hasn't finalized the structure of the 36ers yet, will have a hands on role and leaving the Adelaide City Council in November. Asked about the naming rights, Maher mentioned a idea, for ABC being Adelaide Basketball Centre, if they go for ABC instead of Distinctive Homes with Eddie Groves taking over the stadium. He said Distinctive Homes have been great supporters and want to be involved in basketball at some level, and the naming rights will be decided shortly. Asked about ticket prices, said they wont be going up, trying to maintain the level of last season, make it more family friendly, moving back to the Dome, they are going to be looking at ETSA park for the lightning for the next season. Said the 36ers Season tickets have gone down $5. Asked about ideas such as discount for long standing members, said they try to add as much as possible, having gone down $5, and cheaper per game than the Crows, Power or United. Said Vince Marino will be down for every game, said he likes working for Vince, who is very passionate and supportive of basketball, Vince having been a coach at country carnivals in the past.

Jason Dix Interview: Said it wasn't a hard decision to retire as he knew it was time. The factors were his knee injury, the time commitments and training, cant doing what he used to be able to do, and a good opportunity to go out on a high. Said in his team they had some guys who stepped up in various games, and filling roles, with his game not being the best, the rest of the team helped it, and everyone played there role so they managed to win the title. Asked if he thought he would become the player he was, he said not really as he took everyday for granted and didn't really think about it until he was like 25, until he decided he wanted to focus on winning the title, doing his role for the team to win a championship, said from there it was all good, having played in 5 grand finals since 2000, winning 2, said to his team mates you have to take these opportunities as you never know when they are going to come. Asked about the Nationals, said coming up against Dandenong, with bigger players, more NBL experience and a good import, said the difference between there team and the Eastern states teams was they play more team basketball, said they were right in it against Dandenong, said a full strength team like Sturt or Eastern also would be competitive. They won the 2nd game against a team from the Waratah league. He announced his retirement to his team mates the Monday after the Grand final as he didn't want to detract from the team's achievement. Maher asked him if he was going to get into coaching, he said he hadn't given it much thought, big time commitment, and he wants to spend more time with work, and would like to see the ABL back on Wednesdays, said he will still be around as Forrsetville was like a family to him. Asked who impressed him out of the Forestville team this year, he mentioned Matt Sutton, said he was sensational at the nationals with the way he runs the team, and his all round game, said he was the best point guard at the nationals and said he thinks he is ready for a NBL call up, and if injuries happened to the 36ers the 36ers should be happy having Matt there. Said his highlights were the championships, having the team play as a true team, and he was lucky to have people sacrifice for him and the team and found that humbling, and also highlights of playing with guys like Robert Rose and against guys like Maher.

Maher and Bell spoke about Dix, being the stand out at ABL for years even though never playing for the 36ers, deciding on a career in Finance instead.

Rick Burton, NBL commissioner Interview: Said it was exciting to bring the All star game to Adelaide. Said the main incentives were Adelaide being a great basketball town, the new 36ers ownership group, and having the best purpose basketball stadium in the country. He is hoping for a sell out, possibly breaking the All star game record. Spoke about Foxtel, supporting the league again, games on Wednesday, Saturday a game out of New Zealand and possibly out of Singapore aswell. Said they are using the Aussies V World All stars format again, likening the concept to State of Origin with the Australian Patriotism. Said they are having legends pick the teams, to ensure they have 2 really good teams. Said they are having a Slam Dunk comp again, they are going to turn it into a Entertainment event, like a carnival atmosphere. Said he is excited about the new season, said he thinks the talent level is getting better, having the most players with NBA experience in the league, mentioning Fuller, Heal and Cornell, and thinks that they have got better imports and the Aussies continue to impress. Asked about FTA TV and expansion, said Gold Coast have put a submission forward to re enter the league, and the board will vote on it at the blitz, and he expects it to pass. Said on the FTA, that they are always looking at ways to increase exposure and feels there are some opportunities out there, mentioning the great sponsorship with Fox. Maher said playing in the Gold Coast is a great atmosphere, Burton said the Gold Coast have a new stadium there which will be really good. Spoke about the kings sacking there import, said it was unfortunate when athletes come into the public eye in that light, and the league and fans don't accept that kind of thing and the kings took a stance and the NBL supported it. Said he was in Tokoyo for some games for the World Champs, said the Greeks played great against the US. Mentioned some of the European stars like Ginobi, and Gasol, said he wished it had more coverage in Australia. Asked if he thought it was time that the US bought out all there big guns. Said he wasn't convinced of that, saying that he thinks they have to stay together and spend more time as a team, the Greeks had been together for years, mentioned that they are bringing the same group back for the next Olympics, mentioning many teams being under strength, including Australia, missing guys like Anderson, Anstey, Saville, Schenscher and Nielson, with those guys he thinks they would have a top 8 side, said the challenge for the boomers is getting enough games together against good competition. Asked for his top 4 NBL teams, said Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, saying Horvath will be a real joy for the 36ers, said if they can stay healthy and play great defense they will be up there, Cairns being the 4th side.

Maher and Bell spoke about the 36ers chances this season, said offensively they should be able to match anyone, and if they can get there defense clicking they should be up there. Spoke about Melbourne being up there again, and Melbourne having a similar team back, with few changes helping teams to have a good start to the season. Said it is hard to say how teams will go without seeing them, Maher said its going to be a even season and a lot being decided in the last few games.

Maher said training has been going well, working hard, having a defensive emphasis after the Dragons games, and will be interested in seeing how it goes at the Blitz, The next pre season game is against Perth on September 14th, with Paul Rees Testimonial following the game.

Dana called in: Said she is looking forward to the new NBL season, spoke about the Lithuania loss last week, saying they had too many turn overs, said similar to the Aussies they had a lot of young players aswell, Maher said unfortunately the World Champs are not taken as seriously the Olympics, she asked Maher if he knew any of the Turkish players, he said he knew 2 or 3 of them. Spoke about the Greeks beating the US, having guys playing together for 8 years and being able to play great teams in Europe. Said the Lightning playing out of the Dome is great news, speaking about Dome V Wayville, with the Dome having better seating.

Scott Ninnis called in: Asked Maher, how the scrimmage went on the weekend, Maher said it went well, with the defense being a lot better. Ninnis said it was good to hear they are getting better and asked if they had finally been working on it. Spoke about Holmes's pre-season form, said he has been out standing, and has been playing great, and is pleased with the form beating both Adelaide and Wollongong, said they also have to work on there defense. Spoke about Kavossy Franklin said he plays good defense having to go against Cortez Groves, said his intensity helping the whole team, plus his scoring. Said that there is no one on the dragons who are superb individual defenders, but said you don't need great individual defenders to have great team defense, comparing it to the back to back 36ers teams.

Another great show, look forward to next week!!

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