Basketball Test Matches: Australia vs New Zealand

[Andrew]

The Newcastle Falcons played in the NBL from its inaugural season (1979) up until 1999 when a lack of financial backing forced them out of the league.

[Fresh8]

Well, think of it this way. If the league keeps expanding... they may be back... but perhaps not. I'd love the NBL to make the league about 16 teams deep. So teams have to come from somewhere. If only they had the funds to finance it.

Any predictions for game 2? A New Zealand win may be on the cards according to The X - only cause he's kiwi.

[Andrew]

If there were still a team in Newcastle I'd find it a lot easier to support the NBL. Unfortunately the sponsorships deals and thus the money just haven't been there since the late 90s.

[Fresh8]

Yep. Well, unfortuantely when I think of Newcastle, I think of Joey Johns. So I'm interested in how the Knights deal with his retirement. We will only know down the road. He was the team.

[Andrew]

So far they've dealt with his retirement and injuries to other key players by contending for the wooden spoon.

[Fresh8]

Replaced the Bunnies. Go Bunnies! But yeh... apart form Joey, I don't know much else bout Newcastle.

Anyways, back on topic!

[[Q]]

when i think of Newcastle, i think of alcohol

[Fitzy]

whenever i think, i think of alcohol

[Ty-Land]

whenever i think, i think of alcohol

I only think under the influence of alcohol.

[Dan's Brain]

I only alcohol alcohol of alcohol.


Terrible. Apologies.

Anyway, solid win by the Boomers. I had intended to watch it but then completely forgot about it. And with a lot of the key Aussies not there, it didnt capture a great deal of my imagination.

[Andrew]

I was a bit skeptical about that too but I have to say I enjoyed the game nevertheless. The Boomers' victory probably had a lot to do with that though.

[Fresh8]

Well, it does suck that Bogut, Nielsen and Bruton aren't on the side right now but I guess it's good for guys to start watching and recognising the other 'names' of Aussie bball... plus, if Bruton were playing, I'm sure all of you would regret watching since Goorijan lets him hog.

I'm looking for Brad Newley to step up when he comes off the bench tonight!

[Ty-Land]

Bogut caught a bit of stick in an article in the Age today about not playing. Basically it was saying how David Anderson is a bigtime European player who gets well payed but still represents Australia, while Bogut who gets paid more and is in the NBA will only play in the Olympics and world championships. Just quietly, don't they realise that Bogut is still recovering from a foot injury and isn't even undertaking contact training at the moment, or extensive running. Secondly, this is Bogut's first off season to rest for over 5 years due to international commitments etc. I would rather see him rest now so he can develop next season in the NBA and build his confidence, so when the olympics come around he can play at an elite level. Much better than him risking injury due to pushing his rehab schedule forward. I mean, yes it is important that the Boomers qualify, but it's not like Bogut needs to carry the team on his shoulders to do so.

[Fresh8]

We don't have The Age up here but if that's how thsoe guys wrote about Bogut, they should cut the slack. It's like China telling Yao that he's shameful to the national team because he arrived 'late' to join China this Summer. I'm sure that if Bogut was healthy, he would have played.

[The X]

A sad day for the sport....would've been good to see a more competitive series....looks like that Patrick Mills youngster really was the difference in this series, as Sit alluded to before the start of the series....I think the smaller, quicker team that they fielded fared a lot better than a team of Bogut, Anstey, Bruton etc wouldn't fared....we could've beaten a full strength team I think as it would've played more into our games....ahh well, I guess I'm going to a dead rubber on Friday night, which sucks....hopefully they put up a better performance....I still expect them to win....they can't play poorly 3 games in a row....Kiwis need a new coach or their old coach back

[Fresh8]

Damn right X! Damn right! Lucky I didn't get tickets... although I gotta admit I wanted to as I thoguht it was likely to be tied 1-1 right now. Mills played really good and was just too quick for New Zealand but the second half was what won the game - from my undertsanding, it was the Boomers' defence that stifled the Tall Blacks. But yeah, Mills was a big difference maker coming off the bench.

Maybe has a bit to do with Goorijan's coaching style as I think he likes to get his guards touches but it's up to the kid to step up and make use of those touches. His quickness will give the Aussies something extra if they ever play Team USA... we all know how much quicker guards succeed against Team USA in the past especially since they suck at defending the pick and roll.

Thats looking a bit too far ahead... but go Boomers! Yeah! Anyone know what college Mills is off to? I was laughing at a report that said it was a shame he wasnt gonna play in the NBL. If Mills knows what's best for him, he should go off to college and avoid the NBL at all costs.

[Andrew]

Bogut caught a bit of stick in an article in the Age today about not playing. Basically it was saying how David Anderson is a bigtime European player who gets well payed but still represents Australia, while Bogut who gets paid more and is in the NBA will only play in the Olympics and world championships. Just quietly, don't they realise that Bogut is still recovering from a foot injury and isn't even undertaking contact training at the moment, or extensive running. Secondly, this is Bogut's first off season to rest for over 5 years due to international commitments etc. I would rather see him rest now so he can develop next season in the NBA and build his confidence, so when the olympics come around he can play at an elite level. Much better than him risking injury due to pushing his rehab schedule forward. I mean, yes it is important that the Boomers qualify, but it's not like Bogut needs to carry the team on his shoulders to do so.

I suppose by conveniently ignoring that fact, they can squeeze in some more NBA/pro athlete bashing. Sad.

Even though it means Friday night will be a dead rubber, last night's game was great to watch (if you're Australian, anyway). They stumbled a bit in the second quarter but they put together a magnificent second half. I liked the way they avoided getting caught up in a three point shootout and were actually trying to post people up. Patrick Mills impressed me the most, it's a shame he's not heading to the NBL. Their interior defense was somewhat lacklustre though.

Is anyone else getting a little annoyed at how the team's sponsors are named every time the team names are mentioned during the game? I guess they're obligated to do it but it's getting a bit much.

[Dean]

I was laughing at a report that said it was a shame he wasnt gonna play in the NBL

Patrick Mills impressed me the most, it's a shame he's not heading to the NBL

I watched the game last night, and decided that i have no idea why everyone is so high on Brad Newley.. He didnt do anything special that stood out for me, and even when the bench rotation was in, it didnt look like he was the best player on the court. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Did anyone else notice how much Australia dropped of when Sam MacKinnon wasnt on the court? We would get up like 13, then MacKinnon would get subbed out, and NZ would be back again.

Oh and yes, agreeing with everyone, Pat Mills pwned.

[Andrew]

What I meant is that it's a shame for the NBL, though it's certainly the better decision for Mills personally.

[Dean]

Yeah i agree..

Listening to the commentators on last nights game, i couldnt help but hear them agree with me, saying they thought Joe Ingles should have made the team..

[Fresh8]

Stephen Black should be on the team ahead of Ingles.

I watched the game last night, and decided that i have no idea why everyone is so high on Brad Newley.. He didnt do anything special that stood out for me, and even when the bench rotation was in, it didnt look like he was the best player on the court. Anyone care to enlighten me?

I have a feeling that the head coach of the Aussie team likes to give his guards a lot of touches of the ball... I don't know but it seeme dthat way at the last world championships... i haven't seen a game in this NZ series... so maybe someone can fill me in on that?

Newley often plays really good for the Crocs as he gets his touches and that. He's talented scorer but that's about all he is. Perhaps he is not looking so great in Australia for the same reason he never really shone at NBA tryouts... in tryouts and rookie camps, he would always become a facilitator and try and set screens and make the extra pass... not looking for his own shot. Perhaps you guys can watch what he does off the ball.

The reason why a lot of NBA scouts liked him was because of his off-ball play since he didn't really try and force the issue in terms to scoring. However, I don't think he will be anything special in the NBA. I've only been high on him because he was the next player after Bogut that had a legit chance to make it to the Pros in the States.

[The X]

Will, I'm still glad I'm going to the game tomorrow night, even though it's a dead rubber....I get to see one of the best shooters in the world (Kirk Penney)....he's less than a year older than me I believe, as I recall seeing him on TV when he was a high school senior....Tony Bennett (former NBA player) I think was coaching local semi-pro team & he called Penney one of the best high school shooters he had seen ever....

I'm a big fan of Penney & I think once all is said & done, he will be the greatest basketball the country of NZ has ever produced....

I was thinking about the series today & how the Aussies, even though they didn't have their strongest team, are still a lot more talented than the Kiwis....you look at who on NZ would definitely be on the Boomers team, & the only player who would be a lock is Kirk Penney....someone like Bradshaw would be earmarked as a player for the future....players like Mark Dickel & Pero Cameron probably wouldn't be on there either, although Dickel might scrape in, but unlikely....

you look at the NZ roster over the last 5-6 years, it was led by Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Sean Marks, Phil Jones, Dillon Boucher & a young Kirk Penney....that is the team that finished 4th in the World Champs in 2002, that is the team that beat the World Champs in that tournament....the fact is they have over achieved in a huge way & I've never been prouder of them....they had a Yank coach in Tab Baldwin who developed the National Program by himself, & implemented a system that fit the team to a tee (unfortunately the new coach doesn't know what he is doing)....and another big factor they had for them, was that nobody respected them....in 2001 we knocked the Boomers out of the 2002 World Champs as they didn't send their best squad to take us on....in the subsequent years, when they would field a full strength team, the Boomers thought they would roll us, but they did not, as we use to split & win about half of those 3 games series....

but that day is over, people have woken up & don't sleep on us anymore....we are kind of like the Butler's & other Cinderella NCAA tourney teams....if we execute & everything goes right, the other team isn't switched on & we fight for everything, we can win....unfortunately in this Olympic qualifier series, we haven't executed well & I'll take my hat off to the Aussies, this is the best they've played in years....

so yeah, sorry for the rant guys

I'm hoping for a win tomorrow night to restore the 1-2 series loss that I predicted at the start....

[Dean]

How old is Penney?
Im a big fan of Mark Dickel ever since i was in NZ in 2004.. The olympics were on while i was over there, so i got drilled with NZ Basketball haha.

[The X]

How old is Penney?
Im a big fan of Mark Dickel ever since i was in NZ in 2004.. The olympics were on while i was over there, so i got drilled with NZ Basketball haha.

Penney would be 26 I'd say, about 4 years removed from his Big Ten college days when he starred at Wisconsin....he may even be as old as 27 by now....last I heard, he was a backup SG for Maccabi Tel Aviv, which is one of top 3 or 4 teams in Europe....

if you didn't already know, Mark Dickel played 4 years at UNLV & as a senior, was an Honorable Mention All-American after leading the nation in assists (9.1apg). A lot of those assists were to junior college transfer Shawn Marion

from what I can remember, he was fast, could run 100m in under 11 seconds or so....he was a good passer....never a good or consistent shooter....

unfortunately he missed out on all the pre-draft camps & a true shot at college after a strong senior year as he landed on his head or knocked his head in a pickup game & almost died....it put him out of the game about 4-6 months from memory....highly disappointing....

but yeah, I'm a big fan of Dickel....he's a coach's son....I'm only disappointed he never played at the highest level....I guess he was always a player that suited more of an uptempo game, so you don't see his best for NZ as we slow it down & make it more deliberate to make up for lack of athletic talent....

[Fresh8]

Have fun at the game X Get Penney's autograph on ur Irish jersey!

Oh yeh... I didn't mean to sound like I wanted to say NZ were bad. They aren't. I just was expecting a lot more from them to tell you the truth.