Hoops

Latest on the Goorjian front - from ch9 news

From what I understand, Giant's coach Wright never could see a good player even if he hit him in the face. His mission in NBL basketball was to promote his son and make sure no one stood in his way.

bear, this is not a battle between you and me as to who is right and who is wrong. I'm just saying there are those who would have Goorjian coaching here and those who would not. A poll could very well show the majority against Goorjian but that's irrelevant if he has been ruled out of coming here to Adelaide. We would start to win a lot more games if Goorjian coached and that's exciting enough for me.

Dont forget Joyce brought Ballinger to Oz & Ballsie loves him. Get used to it 36er fans Joyce is the next coach!

Well EC, if we could make polls on here like on the old Ozhoops I would - not to prove my point as much as out of interest of the reaction of the generally die hard fans that post on here - I may well be wrong and living in the past.

I think that a lot of the excitement at Sixers v "Goorjian team" games was created by the crowds intensity, due to the fact we don't like him. The crowd to me always seemed to get up for those games in particular. I can recall very few boring games as such with his teams (excluding blowouts in recent years).

That said, watching him week in, week out is a completely different prospect. Unless you have a loaded team (eg Kings 03), I would expect a season may be too much for me to take. Again I'm harping on old times, but the Titan's teams produced some extremely boring basketball, even in making several finals appearances.

SOJ ?

Although it's starting to sound like Goorj will not be coming and it will be Joyce.

bear, I also speak for 5 season ticket holders and the people around me (7 years in same seat) plus all the people at work who support the 36ers. No doubt there is mixed reactions as to whether Goorjian is wanted or not. Your comment saying this guy is hated in Adelaide suggests all of Adelaide hate him. That is not the case. Just this topic alone has brought out for and against Goorjian comments. The boring style of basketball he coaches as some have suggested, firstly would not be so boring when you are winning and secondly nothing beats the boredom of this last season. I recall games here in Adelaide against Goorjian coached teams and the ones we played well in and won were exciting to watch. The ones we lost were boring. Does that suggest the style of basketball as being boring or the lack of success in those games make it boring?

EC, I'm speaking for my 5 season tickets and a fair percentage of those around me, who I have got to know in 15 seasons as member.

While I recognize that a few Sixers fans would support his appointment. I strongly believe the majority would want the club to look elsewhere (hopefully over Joyce as well)

In many years of going to the majority of home games I have witnessed a special type of vitriol reserved for Goorjian and his teams. I would rate him alongside Heal and Hodge as the all time villains Sixers fans love to hate (Although Bradtke is not far behind).

I still have a strong passion for the club, but I find it hard to reconcile that someone I have spent 18 years of well though out abuse on would become our coach. 98, 98-99 was so sweet because we beat his teams and his style of basketball, which was almost the opposite of the way the Sixers played at the time. Its worth a look at Game 2 in 1998 if you can get your hands on the tape, to see how negative basketball can shoot your own team in the foot.

That said it sounds like its all arguing over hypotheticals. I just hope Joyce is not the next step - we will need a translator for time outs otherwise.

bear, speak for yourself. I am a season ticket holder, only for the last 8 years but the passion is still there to continue for years to come. Don't say Adelaide hate Goorjian, only individuals hate him. Many season ticket holders like myself would welcome him here as head coach. His success rate in Australia is beaten by nobody and if success is needed in Adelaide, then you can't go past him. As for clubs going under whilst he coaches, don't stop looking at Goorjian as the cause, dig deeper and you will find that its a combination of things. With the successful fan base that Adelaide enjoys, the proud history and the increase in sponsorship which would come from a successful team as opposed to wooden spooners, even Goorjian may fail to sink this club. The foundations may be strong enough to withstand the increased financial burden that he may bring.

Defence wins Games - When Nathan Herbert went down,
SOS checked out SOJ's availability to come here.
I wonder then ?

Goorg can't just walk into clubs & demand the owners spend $$$ until he is happy. The cap is a joke but so are these business owners if they let an employee spend all their cash. It's easy to say he sent these clubs broke but he has always achieved his goals - playoffs & championships. Why are Sydney seeking him again ( & Adelaide) if he sinks ships? Because he doesn't! He's very good at what he does & an easy skapegoat for bad mgmt.

I wouldn't say Goorjian did a better job than Smyth on the basis of the limited time Smyth was allowed to coach the Boomers. At the time of Smyth's firing it seemed a reasonable decision to me, despite multiple retirements and an inexperienced squad - losing to NZ was "unacceptable" at that time. The subsequent poor results of Goorjian including 9th in 04 and 06 and Brown's recent loss to the Kiwis show a lack of consistency from BA . Goorjian should have been booted after 06, and Brown should be gone already if we are to judge by the same standards applied to Smyth. Also the success of the NZ team in 2002 show how strong they were in retrospect.

One of Goorjian's unfortunate legacies to me is the performance of his "boys" at international level. It seemed fairly obvious that if you played for BG, you got more minutes at the Boomers than your talent actually warranted. We went from the nepotism of Barry Barnes giving more minutes to Heal than he ever deserved (over Maher at his peak in particular), to seeing J Smith, Bruton and Barlow getting significant court time while superior players languished on the end of the bench.

I've drifted off topic now but very much agree with HOs last paragraph and Anons point re. supplements - I wonder how Diet Coke sales are this year??

well said annex2. It saves me typing it all!

You want to be the best, you have to go after the best.

I'm OK with Stacker, but think he will be a short term fix...

The fact he was "first choice" really concerns me. Either its a media beat up to get attention, or clearly management haven't been listening to the long term season ticket holding fans who never wanted Goorjian even considered.

I know due diligence should be done in the search for a new coach, but this guy is hated in Adelaide. His teams fold because dour defensive arm-wrestle basketball might win games (with poor referees and loaded teams) but doesn't win fans. Seeing his teams constantly beaten in the late 90s was a triumph of real basketball over rubbish. His international record shows the limited application of this style.

Thank God he is out of the picture - I would have happily cancelled my season tickets if he was employed.

Phoenix Suns center Amare Stoudemire might make his season debut Thursday night against Portland in Phoenix.

He proclaimed himself "80-20" for the Portland game after the Suns practiced Wednesday. A final decision won't be made until game-time, but Stoudamire will be activated and in uniform for the game.

"If it feels good, then it's possible that I'll play [Thursday]," said Stoudemire, who is in his fourth NBA season. "The way it's feeling, it feels pretty good. I feel like I'm real close."