Hoops

Boti's article in todays' "The Advertiser"

if you take Gleeson, I'll happily take Clarke for the Tigers

^ good post

Several times I heard him talk of the club that nearly closed it's doors and where we'd be at year 1 2 and 3.
I'm glad if we haven't promised the League's leader in minutes played a minimum amount.
I hate debts , especially moral debts . They're worse than money debts and his injury his hard to play on
but he trains lightly.

How is Diamon Simpson struggling? Of all the guys playing, he seems the best of the worst and best of the best.

I think the Sixers are so shit cause they are reading this shit forum and all the haters comments wanting martys head. Who can we get that is better?No wonder we get a bad wrap from the rest of the country. Harden the Fu@k up people, so what if were bad right now. I'm going nowhere!
My wife is off work on maternity leave, money is tight and I'm still forking out the $320 plus $20 per game on food/drinks. Take the good with the bad we will be a powerhouse again by 2015.
Look at the Crocs fans - 20 yrs AND NO TITLE!
Do you hear them crying? Look at the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team- haven't won a flag in 33 yrs and have had below 500 records for 29 of those 33 yrs with 19 consecutive losing seasons. You people want blood cause our team has been crap for 8 yrs. Just for a minute concentrate on our achievements instead of our problems. Real fans stick by the club and invest our money- not cry on public forums and threaten to walk away. Give Clarke his 3 yrs I'm happy with where it is heading. We need to retain Simpson/Johnson and Creek, the rest can improve (weigh) then we are just a couple of big pieces away from glory. YOUNGEST team in the league people!
Most of you idiots will probably drill me but I know the truth/ you have probably never hit a jumper in your life. Some posters on this forum don't even go to games!
My first game was 1988 as a young boy going to Apollo, got season tickets when I got a job at the age of 17 and are at EVERY game with 2 mates wearing jerseys usually sitting front row baseline heckling the opposing team. He'll we even get on tv following the team interstate and SUPPORTING the 36ers!

The Breakers you see now took Lemanis what 5 years to build the team you see now. Him and the current owners implemented the "Breakers Academy" giving him local players that fans will get behind and support that don't cost the club a bomb. That championship side was built, not bought. Sure he was blessed with Kirk Penney but as you can see from this years results, the NZ core of this team works very well together with well scouted Imports and Australian Vets. So I strongly disagree with comments like "This is why I don't see how a "3 year plan" can work in a professional environment." Chemistry is a key ingredient in a championship side and it doesn't always happen overnight and you can't buy it, we had to endure years of mediocrity as Breakers fans but it all seems worth it now. Lemanis and his Coaching staff have set the club up for a good few years ahead. There is much chemistry between players that it makes it easy for someone like Corletto to come in and enjoy his basketball and the guys he's playing with, then he plays some of the best basketball of his career.

This is why I don't see how a "3 year plan" can work in a professional environment. You can talk a 3 year plan if you are talking at a lower level or if you are trying to develop local players. But in the professional sports industry I think it rarely works. Players move around too much and imports very rarely stay for more than 2 years. Have a look at year one's team compared to year 2. Why go for young imports in a 3 year plan when they will more than likely move on. Besides Ballinger we very rarely keep imports for a whole season let alone 3 seasons!
Clarke moved on Hill, Holmes, Bruce, Dowdell. You don't think the money will now come flowing in at Johnson and Creek? It will be very hard to keep these guys because they are not local guys.
My guess is he'll move on Herbert next season. Helliwell will be lucky to keep his job unless we can't get anyone else. So who does that leave us with? Ng because he is settled here and is local, Weigh because he is the coaches pet and Crossy because he has a two year deal. So in Year 3 we will be back to year one again.
You recruit players to win now or maybe 2 years not 3.
Loyalty is almost no existant these days so you cannot have a "3 year plan", it's not the 90's anymore!

Even though it is "year 2" of his 3 year deal, it is more like "year 1" of a two year plan. Only so much can be done when you only retain 3 players from last season. (not counting Daly and Ballinger)

I think the club will give him until the end of next season to produce results. We could do a West coast and go from last to top 4 next year if we retain 7-8 of the same players just like Perth, NZ etc have over the last few seasons.

Dunlap did something similar to what Clarke wants to do. He got Blakemore, Brenton, Maher etc sent to the US for an intense training camp and the results spoke for themselves. He distanced himself though from the veterans with his style, then killed his chances by the handling of the Blakemore whack on Cattalini.

Clarke is more comfortable with young players and would love to build around some young Aussies (Johnson, Creek, Weigh), fresh out of college imports and a couple of good character/won't rock the boat vets.

Agree with Kobe24, Clarke is not a viable Head Coach yet; but he would arguably be a fantastic assistant coach. I'd personally like to keep Marty on as an assistant coach for a few seasons and have someone else take the helm.

Regardless of the Marty excuses; the fact is that people want to play for him and are willing to come to this club, regardless of the record. So if they would still be willing to do that if he was an assistant coach, then go for it.

I'm thankful that I'm not a Melbourne Tigers supporter. We think the Sixers have problems.

Agree Isaac, I have been a Breakers fan since they entered the league with Jeff "the maori" Green and have seen players come and go and coaches but the position the club is now in is because the owners gave Lemanis a decent shot at building a team and didn't pull the pin when public opinion leaned that way after a few stumbles especially the year before last when we missed the playoffs.

I think Marty has shown he can draw up good plays and can teach, but yeh there's always one or two major questions around matchups and rotations. I think if you can get 2 great imports and they are generally your 2 best or 2 of your 3 best you're well on your way to having a good team plus if you keep them around for a few years you get some stability.

The consensus on what makes a very good NBL coach is someone who is able to be ruthless and who can think strategically under pressure. Someone who knows what the other team's weaknesses are and picks them like a pre-schooler picks a scab. Someone who you know can draw up a simple winning play with 2.8 seconds left on the clock. I would imagine that these great coaches were probably the kids at school that used to fry ants with a magnifying glass, or pull the wings off flies.

However, stability is one important thing in a club, any sporting club. When coaches, captains, players are sacked and replaced, or office staff or sponsors keep coming and going, that provides an un-necessary static in a sporting club. You only need to look at footy clubs to see that the ones who have been successful over the time have had stability in their playing and coaching roster, as well as stability off the field.

When you compare Perth and NZB against the Sixers, both these teams are more stable than the Sixers. Don't forget it was only a few seasons ago that Brett pulled the pin and that left a huge vacuum.

Winning is the measurement that shows the ultimate success. 50% wins is the benchmark for "ordinary" performance. In his last seven seasons, PS snagged a win rate of 51%, but more importantly, our average ladder position was 5.6 out of around 12 teams (ie top half) When you look at the last 5 seasons (1 x PS, 2 x SN, 2 x MC), the Sixers are basically winning 40%, but more importantly are averaging a ladder position of 8.4 out of 10.4.

Yes, there has been problems with injuries to key players, imports mis-firing, local players not performing, but the two areas that are deficient IMO are stability and a strategic edge. The overwhelming consensus seems to be that Marty Clarke is a coach who is very good at development.

Finally some common sense has forced everyone around a table to talk about the future of Basketball. <a href="http://www.basketball.net.au/fs_newsitem.asp?id=71341&amp;orgID=1&amp;Oname=BA&amp;O1c=8&amp;O10c=3">Link</a> My reasons for why this has to happen and quickly (Mens only, Womens have already done it, almost): 1. At last years AFL draft, 7 state basketball representatives where pick up by AFL teams. At the moment, if you are not the super talented and not chosen to join the AIS, then their is no structure in place to develop you for NBL. OK, some clubs have development programs, but its not organised like the AFL and you have to have played as a junior in the area to eligible. Also Pendleberry went from the AIS to Collingwood due to a better future. This is the same issue as there is nothing in place once he left the AIS. 2. We came 10 in the Worlds last year. We heard all kinds of reasons why, Injury - who cares, with the amount of good senior players this should not be a issue, but then, they are not in the squad in the first place! 3. NBL is the winner as well. At the moment, unless you are a BN or a JI, NBL wants a 23yo fully rounded player. How does a player get from U18 to 23 years old unless they are lucky with ABA selection, job, education etc. If a structure of development were in place they would get quality players. 4. A draft creates interest in the sport. If a draft was held in May or June, it keeps the public interested in the sport during the off-season. Papers write about the sport and TV will follow. Then money will follow as the sport is seen as a true professional sport, not just a Boomers development squad as it is at the moment. 5. In 1975 I was selected for Footscray U19's, the then equivalent draft. I dropped out due to no support from the club and family. It was then a sport not a profession. I see Basketball now at the same level as AFL in the late 70's. OK for the seniors, but for the up and coming, other sports offering more. This move will bring Basketball into the late 20th century, not quite up to date, but getting their, only the players, officials, and spectators will do that once they all see and enjoy the benefits.