Hoops

Import change: Why did it take so long?

Yep, I scrub cookies regularly, so that's what it'd be.
I'm a self admitted IT scrub, so thanks for that. : )

DICKO quotes DDFan: "BTW, you haven't noticed my soft approach lately?"

DICKO quote: "Yeah....I noticed it here"

DICKO quotes DDFan: "Boom, give it a rest mate, you're start'n to sound like DICKO .... DICKO .... DICKO."

If you're gonna quote me, school up your HTML skills soft cock.

DDfan, please give a report on Hodge after today's training. As he is new to the league, it would be good to get some early insight as to how he went. Not that today's training is anything to go by as no doubt he would be extremely jet lagged, but anything is better than nothing.

All good stuff mate, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's training. It'll be an experience seeing how he settles in. Shouldn't be a tough ask, it's a great environment, & a lotta fun.

"Are you committing to a strong affirmation of approval on Hodgey, or is there a yet to heard out clause?"

While I haven't really seen enough of Julius to comment on his signing in depth, I do think it is a positive move by the club. It was good to see they tried Pace and when he didn't want to come, they were able to net hodge. I'm excited they've gone with someone new and am looking forward to the next home game to see him in action. I wouldn't blame the club if he didn't work out as he is young, his scouting reports appear to show he addresses our weaknesses and he has had stellar High School and College careers and was also picked relatively high in the NBA draft. he definitely appeard to be one of the better options out there.

"Is/was there a shortlist for Balls/Maher/Davidson/Scoop/Ding/etc etc?"

It's a little different with the aussie players as they are a lot harder to replace than the imports. It would be impossible to bring in an aussie to replace Maher mid-season if he was injured. However, it's a completely different situation with Imports, there are so many more options out there hence making them much easier to replace and having a shortlist is definitely viable. I would've also hoped there may have been contacts in place if Ballinger were to suffer a season ending injury. The 6ers rely very heavily on their imports and therefore the club really needs a system in place
that reduces the chances of things going wrong at these positions. I think having a shortlist and regular contacts of possible imports around the globe is step you can take to achieve this.

"I'm a fan & I'm looking forward to what's ahead."

I am as well - believe me. It would be great to see us make the playoffs which i still believe we have a chance of doing and maybe knock some teams out in those sudden death games.

Chesty, I'm afraid, you have NFI. Not even close.

Minx mate, one paragraph at a time:

Minx: "The main question that should be asked of the club is why Chappell was not replaced sooner."

Previously explained, but lost on you.

Minx: "Firstly, I believe his signing was questionable."

I'll refrain from being pedantic, but shouldn't it be secondly? You seem to have a bone to pick, but do you even comprehend the nature of his injury?

Minx: "He was already on the decline in his last season with the breakers and the numbers he was putting up were not that impressive, especially considering he was the no. 1 option on one of the worst teams in the league. Considering he also was not a noted defender, his signing left the team as a whole pretty weak defensively as well as at the SF spot-one of the strongest positions in the league. His signing also didn't address any of teams major weaknesses from the previous season."

Quote the noise you made pre-season with his signing?

Minx: "It would have been nice if the club had put more effort into scouting imports rather than taking the lazy option and signing a player based on past performances (of which the most recent wasn't very good). I honestly believe that even without his injury, he probably would never have been or provided what the team needed."

You were one of the very few that had issues with Mikey's signing. Not many supported your view on Aussie forumS, but you've proven to be correct. Consider the plethora of basketball brains on the net that didn't support you. Credit to you though, it turns out that you were right. Yes, there's no denying it, you were right.

Minx: "The way the whole import situation was handled by the club was disgraceful and it has probably cost this team and its fans a playoff spot."

Let's wait & see. You did say "probably", so there might be some hope?

Minx: "When he got injured on the plane, the club should have immediately made a shortlist of possible imports to replace him in case he didn't recover,"

A back spasm, isn't necessarily a season ending injury. Yes there are obvious hardships that need to be accomodated, but it's not as cut & dried as you intimate.

Minx: "in fact, we really should have had a shortlist before he was even signed."

Is/was there a shortlist for Balls/Maher/Davidson/Scoop/Ding/etc etc?

Minx: "It was pretty incompetent of the club not to be ready for something like this to happen when most other clubs in the league generally are."

There's a HUGE difference between a healthy, but underperforming import, & a medically advised & sanctioned, underperforming import.

Minx: "Perth had G-Brown ready to go, the Breakers had Green ready, The Tigers had Lampley, the Dragons - Hendrix etc. Why were we the slowest team of the lot yet we probably had the worst import?"

I'll cut you some slack, but please, move on.

Minx: "After about 5-6 games, it was pretty clear he wasn't going to cut it. His fate should've been finalized after the home loss to the Gold Coast which made our record 2-6 and there was a week in between games to replace him. Not making the decision here was really unforgivable in my eyes."

Pfffffffffffft.

Minx: "The fact we weren't even looking for a replacement was just shocking."

Not trying to undo the faith that was shown in Mikey, but do you know that for a fact?

Minx: "The change now has finally been made but it will most likely be too late for the team to salvage its season."

Not a strong argument, in my view.

Minx: "I am looking forward to seeing Hodge play though and hopefully he can prove a keeper for next year."

Are you committing to a strong affirmation of approval on Hodgey, or is there a yet to heard out clause?

Minx: "But so many things just didn't seem right in the way this situation was handled and has really left many fans asking questions. There seems to be serious problems with our import selection process, the coaches ability to scout imports and the clubs ability to make decisions which are the best for the team."

Let's acknowledge your concerns & move on.

Minx: "IF the whole situation was a $$$ issue, then why on earth did Mal buy the club if he wasn't going to be able to replace under performing imports?"

You're no doubt more astute that Mr Hemmerling, & you've loudly made your point. Disregarding that, Mr Hemmerling is a smart operator & would have taken advice from many sources before commiting to investing such a large sum of his own funds into our franchise. He wouldn't have known that a back spasm would be season-ending, & neither would anyone with an ounce of brain power. The single-minded medical professionals had that responsibility, but having said that, my personal view is that aromatheropy would've been more productive.

Minx: "There were a number of other bidders when the club was up for sale and I would have much preferred to see the 6ers go to one of them if it meant the ability to replace Chappell would've been improved."

Just how would they have handled Mikey's yet to happen injury? Also, Mr Hemmerling must've put in a more convincing argument for his services. FFS, they didn't even make 1st base, & you reckon they would've been our saviour?

Minx: "There were a large number of shortcomings by the coaching staff and management in terms of this situation and the major problem is that the fans cop it and have to deal with an under-performing side for the season."

I'm a fan & I'm looking forward to what's ahead.

Minx: "Unless Hodge turns out to be an absolute gun and this team makes the playoffs and causes some damage as a result, the club needs to really look at how it handled this situation and see where it went wrong."

Mate you've told us where they went wrong. Tell those that need to know FFS.

The main question that should be asked of the club is why Chappell was not replaced sooner. The way the whole import situation was handled by the club was disgraceful and it has probably cost this team and its fans a playoff spot.

Firstly, I believe his signing was questionable. He was already on the decline in his last season with the breakers and the numbers he was putting up were not that impressive, especially considering he was the no. 1 option on one of the worst teams in the league. Considering he also was not a noted defender, his signing left the team as a whole pretty weak defensively as well as at the SF spot-one of the strongest positions in the league. His signing also didn't address any of teams major weaknesses from the previous season. It would have been nice if the club had put more effort into scouting imports rather than taking the lazy option and signing a player based on past performances (of which the most recent wasn't very good). I honestly believe that even without his injury, he probably would never have been or provided what the team needed.

When he got injured on the plane, the club should have immediately made a shortlist of possible imports to replace him in case he didn't recover, in fact, we really should have had a shortlist before he was even signed. It was pretty incompetent of the club not to be ready for something like this to happen when most other clubs in the league generally are. Perth had G-Brown ready to go, the Breakers had Green ready, The Tigers had Lampley, the Dragons - Hendrix etc. Why were we the slowest team of the lot yet we probably had the worst import?

After about 5-6 games, it was pretty clear he wasn't going to cut it. His fate should've been finalized after the home loss to the Gold Coast which made our record 2-6 and there was a week in between games to replace him. Not making the decision here was really unforgivable in my eyes. The fact we weren't even looking for a replacement was just shocking.

The change now has finally been made but it will most likely be too late for the team to salvage its season. I am looking forward to seeing Hodge play though and hopefully he can prove a keeper for next year. But so many things just didn't seem right in the way this situation was handled and has really left many fans asking questions. There seems to be serious problems with our import selection process, the coaches ability to scout imports and the clubs ability to make decisions which are the best for the team.

IF the whole situation was a $$$ issue, then why on earth did Mal buy the club if he wasn't going to be able to replace under performing imports? There were a number of other bidders when the club was up for sale and I would have much preferred to see the 6ers go to one of them if it meant the ability to replace Chappell would've been improved. There were a large number of shortcomings by the coaching staff and management in terms of this situation and the major problem is that the fans cop it and have to deal with an under-performing side for the season. Unless Hodge turns out to be an absolute gun and this team makes the playoffs and causes some damage as a result, the club needs to really look at how it handled this situation and see where it went wrong.

Chesty, can I point out that there a few issues which differentiate our situation from those of other franchise import replacements.
1 .. The Breakers are to be congratulated for their swift action on replacing their season ending injured imports. No doubting, they did well.
2 .. Some replacements may not've been available earlier.
3 .. You could cynically say that the Tigs had Lampley inked in as a mid-season replacement. ; )
4 .. Cairns bungled Catt's situation, & that shouldn't be overlooked.
5 .. Other franchises have the $$$ to do affective quick fixes.

Am I missing anything? Of course I am, but I'm not here to prod you.
That'd be illegal. : )

Note to Sturty:

If text formatting was evident on this site, I would've cottoned on that I was outta the loop. iZac mentioned HTML, so I did some homework. I'm now enjoying the benefits of a more communicative arena. Glad you noticed. ; )

Note to all boarders:

I'd still very much would like a means of PM communication, & some form of post editing on this site. I don't know about you guys, but as soon as my post goes up, I see grammatical, spelling, & loose wording that I'd love to put right before it gets bastardised by insecure/un-informed posters.

PS: iZac, it's Adelaide, you can't be too busy today. Make my day & fix it, if you want a Chrissy card next year. : )

EC, I attend Monday & Tuesday training sessions due to my volunteer commitments in the laundry & shot-clock.
I NEVER saw anyone supervising Mikey's rehab program. Taking that a step further, I wouldn't have a clue who their medical advisor (only one medical technique/direction taken) is, not having seen him, so I wouldn't miss him if he were no longer around. I doubt very much whether he is, or would be sacked My misgivings were merely through personal observation.

Thanks for the heads up Statman. : )

BTW: There's plenty I will never pass on, it stays locked away. Needles to say, that's why I've trodden the angry guy path previously. ; )

DDFan, where do you get your info from? You seem to have an understanding of the situation by saying "You'd be disgusted if you knew what his recovery program entailed, so I won't upset you by telling yah. : )" and yet you don't know something simpler like whether the medical adviser was sacked or not.

Kev mate, I got what Boom Patrol was saying, but I thank you for spelling it out for the 1000th time.
Now I'll go through my little rant & see if you can spot the difference between my side & the general consensus.
1 .. Mikey was not injured when signed.
2 .. Mikey suffered prolonged back spasms, as a result of the flight over.
3 .. Mikey was under professional medical advice for his recovery program.
4 .. Phil does not have the credentials to question that medical advice.
5 .. Phil, Mr Hemmerling & all concerned, listened to the prognosis of the professional medical adviser.
6 .. The medical adviser hasn't been sacked as far as I'm aware.

If you're still with me, I'll make it easy for you. I don't have very little faith in the medical advice that they got. You'd be disgusted if you knew what his recovery program entailed, so I won't upset you by telling yah. : )

BTW, you haven't noticed my soft approach lately?

If Phil blames Chappell for the team's poor performance, just how wrong do you think he is? How many games have we lost by small margins that the normal expectation of an import may very well have corrected? Phil took too long to dismiss him but Chappell knew he wasn't performing and not getting much improvement yet he waited to be dismissed. That wasn't exactly in the best interest of the team. Unlike Wheeler last season when he offered to take a pay cut. Sorry, I don't place all the blame on Smyth.

Could we please have a nurse to DDFan's room? It appears he has forgotten to take his medication again.

EC and DD (and whoever else doesn't get it):
Boom Patrol is saying that Phil will blame the 36ers poor performance in 07/08 on Chappell, in order to try and secure another season as head coach for the 36ers in 08/09, and in doing so, will probably end up doing a 'Cal Bruton' and run the team into the ground. It's not that hard to comprehend what he's saying.

Boom, give it a rest mate, you're start'n to sound like DICKO .... DICKO .... DICKO.

How does an injured import who failed to get his form back make Phil look like a bad as a coach? The only bad coaching decision he made was taking so long to decide that Chappell wasn't getting any better.

Word it however you like, it still doesn't make sense.
Have another crack at it, you're not even close yet.

This only a cursory glance at Hodge's side of things, so bear with me.
1 .. He's just finished his season in Italy, without seeing his family.
2 .. As hoop fiend said, he'd be cutting it fine to be here for the 'Backs (an away) game.
3 .. If he did make it for the 'Backs game, what condition do you think he'd be in? Family, sleep, organisationally & emotionally deprived/exhausted.
I too, look on in interest as to how it'll all pan out.

If we were a european club we wouldn't have sacked chappell til our second import was in the country.

Once Hodge said he wants to take his time, we should have gone to option three.

I'd almost put money on the fact that Melbourne had Lampley ready to go before making the call to change.

How soon did Greene get to the Breakers?

Go for the draw is always the best option. Then in the next 5 see what happens.