Hoops

Boguts speaks out about the NBL

Luke Schenscher is well known, both for his ability and appearance , which is used a bit in media.
But he'll be gone too.
Basketball ( both mens and womens ) would do well with Erin Phillips playing in SA, and involved in media promotion etc.

Julius was starting to get a lot of media coverage , and becoming well known, with people going to see him play, and about to break a lot of NBL records.
Brett Maher - this season, rightly attracted media and the crowd.
Erin Phillips- known by every South Australian.

Now they are gone.

This is where good television advertising helps. You show some spectacular scenes of games over exaggerating dunks, 3 point shots and alley oops whilst announcing the names of the players in the scenes, ie Adam Ballinger of the Adelaide 36ers, CJ Bruton of New Zealand Breakers, Chris Anstey of the Melbourne Tigers etc and then they come on and promote what the viewer has just seen. By dong this, you show snippets of games and you put names to the players involved. This can then extend even further to advertisers of other companies' products in using the players to promote their products, like the Gillete commercial where they use Roger Federer, Tiger Woods and Thierry Henry. It makes the names of the players household names and then an interest is generated in going to the games not necessarily because of the game but because people want to see these players in action. The sports that attract people are the ones where that names of players are known and this needs to be promoted.

The success of the league will largely depend on the attitudes of the players.

TR, I agree the players are the face of the league and should be out promoting it but its just not happening. Players are happy to take their salaries which although only occupy themselves for 6 months of the year, whilst earning more than the annual average salary in this country, they do not give anything back in the 6 months of the off season. They choose to go spend their time playing in other leagues and earning even more money, or use the time to visit family interstate or overseas or whatever leisure activities they choose to do. I personally think that players should be the face of the club for a full 12 months of the year less 4 weeks annual leave like everyone else in other industries and spend the off season promoting the league.

Agree with many of the things you mention HO, and it was certainly a combination of both - but...

Ultimately the NBL's administrators and management have been well short of the mark. They lacked leadership qualities, provided little direction and most importantly didn't have the balls to stand up and take action (whether the action be right or wrong in anyone's elses eyes). The league's governing body had no spine, no backbone and ended up being the "lame duck" as you put as a result of their own ineptitude.

Give an inch and the club's took a mile (at least some of them).

You could go right back to Rick Burton when things started to unwind.

As many others have said, the value proposition has been great (the actual basketball), however the value communication (marketing) has been exceptionally poor from the NBL admin level, but also at club level.

Engaging the grass roots level is a big key - and most clubs have moved so far away from this over the past 10 years it has no doubt contributed to the problems the league has been encountering.

Starts at the top HO...the NBL have shown no leadership or provided any direction whatsoever. It has basically been a rudderless league, letting the teams pretty much do what they want and fend for themseleves.

I'm with TR...pretty much right on the money.

yeah it's easy to throw your 5 cents in when your sitting pretty on the otherside of the world. If you aren't part of the solution, your part of the problem.
Props for him chucking cash in last season

I don't think Bogut is fully in a position to make a comment like that. His professional basketball life has been overseas and he could not possibly appreciate what is happening here. His commitment to the NBL by handing over some of his own cash to help Sydney Spirit is admirable but he cannot fully understand the problems here when he is not an active part of it.

Beat me to the post...

I'm glad he has spoken out about the NBL - he has used some of his own cash to help keep the Sydney Spirit going last season despite the fact they were always going to fold for next season.

If only we heard something from the NBL...now that's another story.

I just hope that when the NewBL gets up and running thast we have enough talent left in the country to have a tough competition - I wouldn't begrudge any of the top level Aussie talent trying their luck in Europe due to the high amount of uncertainty surrounding the new league - and when it may actually get up ansd running - if at all!