After the Taipans fairytale run to the 2011 iiNet NBL Championship Grand Final, hopes were high in Far North Queensland for a repeat.
While the departures of Ayinde Ubaka (193-G-85, college: California), Ronald Dorsey (197-F/G-83, college: McNeese St.) and Daniel Dillon (194-G/F-86, college: Arizona) to Melbourne, few outside Cairns expected them to mount a playoff challenge, but behind MVP runner-up Jamar Wilson (185-PG-84, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Albany) they remained in the hunt until Round 24 when injury finally caught up.
Coach Aaron Fearne looks back on the season and ahead to 2012/13.
It was a pretty difficult start to 2011/12 wasnt it, with three of your starting five leaving?
Definitely. I wanted to keep a chunk of the team wed put together and gone to the finals with. A classic example is what Perth, Gold Coast and New Zealand have been able to do. We added six new players to our group from last year, so it was somewhat starting over because we do run the Shuffle and a lot of things we do defensively are somewhat complex.
Then the season is about to start, Alex Loughton, Ian Crosswhite and Jamar Wilson are injured and you have a rookie import in Andrew Warren, were you a little worried?
That was definitely a concern. Alex and Ian had no pre-season, Jamar popped his pec and was pretty much getting ready to get sent home before we got some news that he could play without it. Andrew was definitely pretty close to going home and then he found his form and was phenomenal from that point on.
When Alex and Ian came back Dusty (Rychart) went down and missed the next 15 games, so we only played something like five games with Alex, Ian and Dusty all playing together and the year before they were a huge part of our success.
You must have been happy to have kept around the .500 mark early?
I thought Jeff Dowdell, Dean Brebner and Aaron Grabau moving to the four-spot did a great job of holding things together so we could move on. We got to 7-7 and I thought if we got to that point wed get better at the back end of the season.
We won seven of our next 10 from that point. Then Alex wins player of the week and strains his Achilles that same week and was pretty much done for the year, and Ian unfortunately lands on someones foot at training and is effectively out for the rest of the year. So we kind of ended how we started.
There were some bad nights when teams locked out Jamar, did you need another ball-handler?
I think we were extremely similar to most teams except for Perth, Gold Coast and New Zealand. We definitely had some games where we were pretty poor offensively and a lot of pressure got put onto Jamar to make plays, and we definitely need another legit guy doing that.
You look at the top three, theyve got two guards who make plays off the bounce, that answers the question. We need another legit playmaking guard at the two-spot, but thats not an easy thing to do either when we dont spend to the cap.
What about the offensive inconsistency, can you explain it?
No (laughs).That patch where we won seven-of-10 we were shooting 46 or 47 per cent as a team, we couldnt have been playing much better or shooting much better. But then we had games where we just couldnt knock shots down. We were doing enough shooting during the week, maybe too much. We were definitely covering the bases that way.
Did that lack of continuity of guys knowing the Shuffle offence play its part - guys not getting rhythm shots?
Thats definitely a huge part of it. I look at it two ways, I either throw the Shuffle out and go with something simple if were going to have a high turnover of guys all the time, or weve got to keep our core group together. Once we get good at running it its very difficult to defend.
Youve recruited Cam Tragardh, Cam Gliddon and Clint Steindl, that seems like a very offensive focus
Weve been one of the top three defensive teams the past two or three years. Weve established ourselves as a pretty gritty defensive team, but weve struggled to put enough pressure on the scoreboard, so were just trying to get a better balance. Youve got to have people who can score and thats what were trying to add to the puzzle.
Will we see a different style from Cairns this year?
No, well definitely continue to run the Shuffle, and when the opportunity presents to push the ball well do that. The games just easier when youve got guys who can shoot the ball. Cam Gliddon and Clint can obviously shoot it, Tragardh runs that middle lane pretty well and Jamar can do what he does. Were trying pretty hard to get Alex done as well, because when hes on hes pretty good as well.
So does that change what you are looking for from your second import?
Yeah, we will probably be looking for more of a big banger, a wide body whos tough and physical. But Ive got plenty of time to get that done.
Sounds like Aron Baynes, a North Queensland boy
Yeah that type of player. Unfortunately we dont have the coin to get Aron just yet, he has aspirations of really establishing himself in Europe and we obviously support that. But hes a Cairns boy, so well see what happens down the track.
Daniel Kickert selected the top Australian playing abroad in last week's games - May 20, 2013
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EUROBASKET CENTER
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Here is the weekly review of the top performing Australian players, who play currently abroad. This week's number one is an international power forward Daniel Kickert (208-83). Heto a victory against the closely-ranked Azovmash in the Ukrainian Superleague in Wednesday night's game.
[read more]
Here is the weekly review of the top performing Australian players, who play currently abroad.
#1. This week's number one is an international power forward Daniel Kickert (208-83, college: St.Mary's, CA, currently plays in Ukraine). He led Budivelnyk to a victory against the closely-ranked Azovmash (25-14) 89-82 in the Ukrainian Superleague in Wednesday night's game.
Kickert recorded 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 27 minutes on the court.
It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. Budivelnyk Kyiv (28-11) is placed first in the Superleague.
This year Kickert averages: 9.4ppg, 4.0rpg, 2FGP: 52.2%, 3FGP: 48.8%(20-41) and FT: 69.2% in the 15 games he played so far.
He has a dual citizenship: Australian and Dutch.
Kickert is currently a member of the Australian senior national team.
#2. Second place goes to former international center Andrew Bogut (212-84, college: Utah, currently plays in NBA). He managed to help Golden State Warriors to win in overtime against the San Antonio Spurs (58-24) 97-87 in the NBA last Sunday.
Bogut recorded 5 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
The Golden State Warriors have 47-35 record this season.
It's Bogut's first year with the team.
His overall stats this year are: 6.2ppg, 8.5rpg, 2.0apg, 1.7bpg, 2FGP: 48.4% and FT: 44.3%.
Bogut played for the Australian national team in 2008.
#3. The Australian player who performed third best last week abroad was an international small forward Joe Ingles (203-87, agency: Priority Sports, currently plays in Spain). He contributed to a Regal FC Barcelona's victory against the ninth-ranked Unicaja Malaga (18-16) 57-50 in the Spanish ACB on Sunday night.
Ingles recorded 6 points in 15 minutes.
Regal FC Barcelona (23-11) is placed third in the ACB.
It was his team's third consecutive victory in a row.
There are only two games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be critical.
This year Ingles' overall stats are: 7.0ppg, 2.1rpg, 1.5apg, 3FGP: 36.9% and FT: 73.0% in the 22 games.
He is also a member of the Australian senior national team.
#4. Forward Shawn Redhage (203-81, agency: Warren Sports International, college: Arizona St., currently plays in Puerto Rico) led Quebradillas to a victory over the seventh-ranked Mets (10-11) 85-75 in the Puerto Rican BSN in Wednesday night's game.
Redhage was MVP of the game. He scored 23 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.
Pirates de Quebradillas (22-8) is placed second in the BSN.
It was his team's seventh consecutive victory in a row.
Redhage has relatively good stats this season: 12.8ppg, 3.2rpg and 1.2apg.
He is a naturalized American.
Redhage used to play for the Australian national team
back in 2008. He played also for NW Tasmania Thunder in Australian league.
#5. International swingman Brad Newley (199-85, agency: Beo Basket, currently plays in Spain) helped G.Canaria 2014 win their game against the 16th-ranked Blancos de Rueda (12-22) 78-62 in the Spanish ACB last Sunday.
Newley recorded 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 25 minutes.
Herbalife Gran Canaria 2014 (19-15) is placed seventh in the ACB.
There are only two games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game is very crucial.
It's Newley's first season with the team.
This year he has relatively solid stats: 11.6ppg, 4.1rpg and 1.1apg in the 34 games.
Newley plays currently for the Australian national team.
#6. Center Aleks Maric (211-84, college: Nebraska, currently plays in VTB United League) helped his Russian team Lokomotiv win their game against the closely-ranked Unics Kazan (14-4) 80-72 in the VTB United League on Wednesday night.
He recorded only 4 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Lokomotiv Kuban (12-6) is placed third in group B.
Maric is the league's best rebounder.
His total stats this season are: 9.6ppg and 7.5rpg.
Maric is an international player who is currently on the senior Australian National Team roster.
#7. Former international point guard Patrick Mills (183-88, college: St.Mary's, CA, currently plays in NBA) helped San Antonio Spurs win their game against the Memphis Grizzlies (56-26) crushing them 105-83 in the NBA in Sunday night's game.
He recorded only 3 points in 5 minutes on the court.
The San Antonio Spurs have a solid 58-24 record this season.
This year Mills averages just 4.7ppg in the 64 games.
He used to play for the Australian national team
four years ago.
#8. Swingman Daniel Dillon (194-86, college: Arizona, currently plays in Romania) helped Oradea win their game against the closely-ranked Gaz Metan (20-10) 73-68 in the Romanian Liga Nationala last Thursday.
Dillon recorded 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.
CSM Oradea (23-7) is placed second in the Liga Nationala.
Dillon has reliable stats this season: 11.6ppg, 4.9rpg and 2.7apg.
He used to play for the Australian national team
back in 2009.
#9. An experienced former U18 international guard Mark Dickel (188-76, also represented by Priority Sports, college: UNLV, currently plays in New Zealand) helped Otago OceanaGold Nuggets win their game against the fifth-ranked Zero Fees Southland Sharks (4-3) crushing them 95-66 in the New Zealand NBL on Sunday night.
Dickel scored 12 points, grabbed 9 boards, passed 6 assists and added 3 steals in 37 minutes.
Otago OceanaGold Nuggets (7-0) are placed first in the NBL.
So far his team won all seven games in the Regular Season.
Dickel is currently second on the league's list of best passers and also on the list of most steals (first place).
This year his total stats are: 5.9ppg, 6.6rpg, 7.3apg and 3.9spg in the seven games.
Dickel used to play for the Australian U18 national team
seventeen years ago.
#10. Forward Ater Majok (208-87, college: Connecticut, currently plays in Belarus) helped Tsmoki-Minsk win their game against the leader Grodno-93 (29-1) 74-66 in the Belarusian Premier League last Friday.
Majok scored 6 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in only 12 minutes.
It was the game of the round between two top 3 ranked teams in group x. Tsmoki-Minskis placed first.
Majok has averaged so far 9.3ppg and 6.8rpg in the six games.
He is a former international player as three years ago he still played for the Australian senior national team.
#11. Former international center Andrew James Ogilvy (211-88, college: Vanderbilt, currently plays in Germany) helped Brose Baskets Bamberg win their game against the seventh-ranked Phoenix Hagen 104-94 in the German BBL on Sunday night.
Ogilvy scored only 2 points.
Ogilvy averaged so far 10.6ppg, 3.6rpg and 1.3apg.
He used to play for the Australian national team
two years ago.
#12. International power forward David Barlow (205-83, college: Metro St., currently plays in Spain), who plays in the Spanish ACB could not help UCAM Murcia to beat CAI Zaragoza. Barlow cannot count Sunday's game as one of the best ones.
He recorded only 3 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 28 minutes.
His team was crushed by 34 points 108-74.
Barlow has averaged so far 6.5ppg, 4.4rpg and 1.1apg in the 33 games.
He is also in the roster of the Australian national team.
The list of other players, who all have Australian passport but never been selected to any of Australian national teams:
#1.Thomas Ammar (199-G/F-87, college: Mars Hill, currently plays in Lebanon) led Byblos to a victory against the closely-ranked Al Moutahed (23-9) 96-92 in the Lebanese Division A in Friday night's game.
He recorded 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Byblos (14-17) is placed sixth in the Division A.
Ammar has averaged so far 8.0ppg, 3.6rpg and 1.6apg.
He has a dual citizenship: Australian and Lebanese.
#2.Josh Duinker (210-F/C-89, college: Richmond, currently plays in Spain), who plays in the Spanish LEB Gold (second division) could not help Caceres Basket (12-14) to beat River Andorra (22-4).
Duinker scored 6 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.
Caceres Basket was crushed 82-59 on the road by the second-ranked River_Andorra.
Duinker has averaged so far 7.3ppg and 5.1rpg.
He is another player who holds two passports: Australian and Dutch.
#3.Luke Martin (182-PG-81, college: UTEP, currently plays in New Zealand) was not able to help Zero Fees Southland Sharks (4-3) in their game against Otago OceanaGold Nuggets (7-0) in the New Zealand NBL. Martin cannot count Sunday's game as one of the best ones.
He scored only 2 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished 3 assists in 26 minutes.
Zero Fees Southland Sharks were crushed 95-66 in Dunedin by the leading Otago OceanaGold Nuggets.
It was Zero Fees Southland Sharks' first loss after three consecutive victories.
Martin is ranked sixth on the list of the best passers in the league with 4.0apg.
This year his other stats are: 6.0ppg, 2.7rpg and 2.1spg in the seven games he played so far.
SBL: Lightning surge clear of pack (Week 10 Men's Wrap) - May 20, 2013
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Lakeside Lightning withstood yet another stern challenge from a rival championship contender to confirm themselves as outright title favourites in round 10 of the Mens State Basketball League.
Lakeside beat second-placed Perry Lakes 108-96 away from home in a standalone fixture played in front of a big crowd at the WA Basketball Centre on Friday night [read more]
Lakeside Lightning withstood yet another stern challenge from a rival championship contender to confirm themselves as outright title favourites in round 10 of the Mens State Basketball League.
Lakeside beat second-placed Perry Lakes 108-96 away from home in a standalone fixture played in front of a big crowd at the WA Basketball Centre on Friday night.
The Lightning dominated the Hawks from the outset and took control with a 33-20 opening quarter and stretched the advantage to 17 points by half-time.
The Hawks fought back in the second half, but couldnt get close enough to mount a serious challenge.
The win gave Perth Wildcats assistant coach Andy Stewart bragging rights over NBL colleague Shawn Dennis, who is leaving the Wildcats and Perry Lakes to take on the role of head coach with the Townsville Crocodiles next month.
Prues double-double consisted of 17 points and 22 rebounds, while Cecil has 30 points and 10 boards in a monster display.
Import Michael Lay top-scored for Perry Lakes with 27 points and Corey Easley added 21 points.
But it wasnt enough for the Hawks, who were lucky to hang onto second spot after East Perth failed to capitalise on the result.
The Eagles suffered a shock 89-85 defeat on Saturday to lowly Goldfields, who are starting to build momentum on the back of three straight wins and could threaten to break into the top eight over the next few weeks.
The Giants dominated the first quarter against East Perth but were outscored in the next two periods, with their lead slashed to two points by three-quarter time.
The home side steadied in the final quarter to win a tight game on the back of 30 points from Jaycen Herring and a massive double-double from Markhuri Sanders-Frison (22 points, 15 rebounds).
There were tight results all around in week 10, with an average margin of less than nine points across the seven games.
Wanneroo came out on top of Mandurah in one of the rounds highest-scoring affairs, winning 115-104 on the road to move into the top four at the Magics expense.
Reigning champions Cockburn surprised Perth Redbacks 104-99 to stay within sight of the top eight after a slow start to the year and South West moved to within touching distance of the play-off spots with a 117-109 win over struggling Stirling.
Ty Harrelson sunk 39 points for the Slammers at 50 per cent from the field and went toe-to-toe with Senators top-scorer Jordan Wild, who registered 34 points at 67 per cent to go with his 15 rebounds.
NBA prospect Luke Nevill had 38 points and 15 rebounds for Kalamunda but couldnt stop the Suns from suffering a 116-106 defeat at the hands of Rockingham. Courtesy of: http://www.sbl.asn.au
Adam Doyle (176-PG-91) never made a state team or junior development squad, and faced serious doubt that hed ever play basketball beyond junior level. Fast-forward to a breakout 2012 season, and the young Forestville point guard has quickly become one of the stars of the CABL competition.
Doyle admits to almost giving away the game after being told by a number of coaches he was too small to play at a high level.
Instead, he worked hard. Really hard [read more]
Adam Doyle (176-PG-91) never made a state team or junior development squad, and faced serious doubt that hed ever play basketball beyond junior level. Fast-forward to a breakout 2012 season, and the young Forestville point guard has quickly become one of the stars of the CABL competition.
Doyle admits to almost giving away the game after being told by a number of coaches he was too small to play at a high level.
Instead, he worked hard. Really hard.
Standing 510 in a really thick pair of socks, the Eagles floor general doesnt physically resemble the big, strong prototypical point guards favoured by modern coaches at elite levels of competition.
Instead, Doyle relies on dont-blink-or-youll-miss-it quickness, an outstanding basketball IQ, and perhaps his most valuable and feared trait- his relentless defensive pressure.
He has the ability to change a game with his defensive work, says Eagles coach Andy Simons. His offensive game has definitely improved, but his defence is what sets him apart. Hes just a really tough kid.
But the accolades didnt always come so readily. Doyle spent a large portion of his junior years playing division 2 behind 2012 Woollacott medallist Tom Daly at Sturt, and was told countless times he was too short to play.
It definitely puts you down, says the lightning-fast guard. But at the same time it motivated me to want to work harder my parents really helped me through it. I just thought screw it, Im gonna show you.
And show them he did.
After making the transition to Forestville in his last year of juniors, Doyle turned some heads with an outstanding season in the under 18s, catching Simons eye and earning himself a spot on the senior teams bench. However despite the unexpectedness of the accomplishment, Doyle quickly realised he was going to need something to make up for his lack of height if he wanted to compete at CABL level.
The only reason I made the CABL team in my first year was because Andy loved my defence, says Doyle.
I didnt really expect to make the team or get any minutes, but my job was just to get up the floor, pressure their guards, and get off again. That was it.
However after a tumultuous off-season that saw the departure of starter Matt Sutton and back-up guard Harri Harvey, Doyle found himself suddenly thrust into the starting role of a veteran team looking to make another tilt at a championship, an opportunity he admits came on sooner than expected.
I probably wasnt quite ready at the time my offensive game just wasnt quite there yet. We had scoring threats everywhere that year so we went okay, but guys were helping off me pretty easily and I just wasnt able to make them pay like I wanted to.
Despite a solid second season, Doyles confidence was rocked when he was dropped from the starting line-up for the finals, Simons electing to hand over the backcourt duties to the some of the Eagles more experienced guards.
The relegation, whilst disappointing, was what Doyle claims sparked his determination to train even harder over the summer. That off-season Doyle went down to Wayville and made 350 baskets everyday, turning his shot, until then a liability, into a strength.
Most of the time I was by myself, I had to rebound for myself, and it was boring, says Doyle matter-of-factly. But you have to do it to get to where you want to go.
The hard work gradually began to pay dividends over the next two seasons, his offensive numbers rising from 4.8ppg and 1.9apg up to 13.3ppg and 4.5apg by the end of the 2012 regular season.
But it was his impact in last years finals that announced his arrival as one of the premier players in the league, Doyle displaying the full extent of his new offensive capabilities during the post-season.
Bumping his scoring average up to 19.3ppg whilst shouldering heavy minutes for the Eagles, Doyle stepped up in the grand final with an MVP performance to lead the Eagles to their second straight title, netting a game-high 23 points in the match, earning himself a 36ers development contract for his feats.
It was an amazing feeling after putting in all the hard work to see it pay off. I was just happy to win the back-to-back titles, the MVP award just made it even better.
Asked if there was any advice that he would give to players of similar stature who had aspirations to play at a high level, Doyles response was simple.
Dont let people say you cant do anything. They dont know you or how you go about what you do, he says.
Dont try to focus on everything right away. Work at something you know you can be better at than anyone else, thats what gets you noticed. The rest will come.
At least if you work at it like Doyle did. Courtesy of: http://www.basketballsa.com.au
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