Hoops

Un20 nationals underway

Vic women were amazingly good, congratulations to them and of course all teams for their efforts.

Vic men had to fight hard, well done to Tassie for giving it to them, bad luck as you guys could have got up for sure, but Vic held their nerve and congratulations also to the Vic men on another terrific result.

For the second year in a row, Victoria has swept the U20’s Australian Junior Championships. The final day of the tournament was capped off by an unbelievable Men’s Championship game which showed off the incredible talent that Australian junior basketball has to offer.

U20 Nationals: Tournament Recap

Boys game was amazing both teams deserve a medal, Jack white was standout

Vic women were always going to win with the line up they had it was nothing to do with the coach, who sat with his arms folded at the end of the bench looking totally disinterested .

I agree, Greeny. I think it's absolutely disgraceful that BWA didn't even acknowledge the Championships when we had 3 teams representing WA.

I agree, Greeny. I think it's absolutely disgraceful that BWA didn't even acknowledge the Championships when we had 3 teams representing WA.

^your absolutely right

Agreed ^
They should be allowed to have a country team as well like the other age groups.

Because they have the largest and strongest junior basketball competition in the Southern Hemisphere from which to choose athletes a d develop them over the years.

As a West Aussie it's nice to see the girls playing well and being competitive against the Vics. It would be nice if BWA could recognise the u20 tournament and put a couple of articles up on their website on how the teams are going.

Everyone has one, but not everyone is one?

We’ve had 5 days of exciting basketball and we’re down to the final 4 teams in each division. It's time to preview the semifinals match-ups of the U20’s Australian Junior Championships.

Semifinals Previews

Kara if you read the post correctly it didn't knock the girls it knocked the coaching, yes WA did a mighty effort so too those Vic guards / wing players that had to battle with those bigs from WA for that 3rd quarter, I was not alone in this opinion that the coach was lucky to get away with that win , several very experienced coaches were all holding the same opinion. Hopefully the coach will watch that game again and realise what happened, as the momentum did not change until he finally added a true post into the mix in Hellesey who then proceeded to monster the boards and pull down the rebounds at both ends. If you were watching the game you would have noticed that, and if you did infact see the game and didn't pick up on that then your obviously NOT a coach.

Vic women are beating teams due to the depth they have within the team that the others simply do not have, not through superior coaching. Lol

"Nothing wrong with reporting the score but describing some performances in a way Olgun, or whoever writes this, has done without actually being there is rather inappropriate."

Alpha: you're 100% right. Blind reporting would not only be unprofessional but highly unethical. Olgun recently moved to the U.S. to study journalism at DePaul University which is why he hasn't been at the Nationals. However, as LC previously mentioned, he's built some amazing relationships and sources with players, media, organizations (Basketball Australia etc) and receives video footage of the games he reports on/recaps.

No reason for you to take my word for it, but he's one of the most (annoyingly) principled and ethical people I know in terms of journalistic integrity and he's left many news scoops he's received to be broken first by someone else because he wanted to make 100% certain of the facts before reporting.

In terms of needing to brush up on his media skills, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't room for improvement (although there are very few basketball journalists who couldn't use some improvement ESPECIALLY when only 20 years old). However, the only thing more annoying than his principles is his perfectionism, and I've got no doubt that attending a top 10 ranked journalism University will very quickly bring his media skills up to scratch.

In the interests of full disclosure, while I've never met Olgun, I've gotten to know him pretty well as I also contribute to The Pick and Roll.

Did you watch THAT game lol

We’re now in the home stretch of the U20’s Australian Junior Championships, with the top teams now separating themselves from the pack.

Day 4 Recap – Victoria looks unstoppable

Oh and I forgot Colten - who i believe is actually ACT? but could be NSW

ok. so far we have:
Geremy McKay - Vic
Ben Simmons - Vic
Deng Adel - Vic
Kai Healy - NSW
Jonah Bolden - NSW
Thon Maker - NSW
Noi - NSW

I can now also add to that list:
Callum Barker - Tas
Tad Duflermire - ACT
Deng Riak - Vic
Matur Maker - NSW (heard rumours he's pretty good)

I haven't looked into the girls but i agree that if QLD has Wallace and the Froling twins they would be very tough to stop!

Why do they not have country teams like the do at all other nationals any idea ?

Can anyone name the players that are missing this tournament due to being in the USA?????

I know of a few scouts definitely in attendance but have no intel on any specific colleges.

This U20’s Australian Junior Championships is proving to be one of the most unpredictable of recent years. Both the NSW men’s squad and the Queensland women’s entered Day 3 at 2-0 and full of confidence. They’ll both enter Day 4 with 2-2 records after being swept in their respective double-headers. Here’s how Day 3’s action panned out.

Day 3 Recap – WA men back on track, VICs continue to roll

BTW: Olgun wrote the tournament preview for BA's website this year. He is well connected.

Is the person reporting at the games or just going off stats?

No I have not - not my reporting...just sharing.

Bit like the reporting from Olgun Ulic, you have to,wonder where the info comes from

NSW women were lucky to get the win, not back on track yet!
Still think VIC men will take the gold, their roster is just too deep.
Vic women the same, don't think anyone has a match for Alanna Smith and Rachel Antoniadou combination. Add Alex Sharp and Elle Hellesey into that mix with support from all the other girls and they look a very impressive side on and off paper.
What's happened to QLD men's side???

Who ever does the reporting, do they actually watch the games or just go by stats?

Rhys Vague (10 pts, 4 rbs) W.A.

Matthew McCarthy (8 pts, 14 rbs) Vic'

Not seeing the game or any of the live stats, these two must have had a dog fight and had a big baring on the result. For Vic to keep W.A's big out of the paint and limit him to 4 rebounds you would likely have to give more credit to McCarthy for what appears to be a big defensive effort, I would have thought...

Day 2 of the U20’s Australian Junior Championships is in the books and what a day it’s been. The NSW women’s squad looks to be back in form after their big loss to Victoria in Day 1, while the Tasmanian men’s squad is looking like a team that can compete for the championship. Here’s how Day 2 played out.

Day 2 Recap – NSW Women back on track, Tasmanian Men a frontrunner

Have a feeling the women's comp has probably already previewed the GF match, with VIC dominating NSW, Vic's coach ran his key players sparingly, with his bench seeing good minutes and nsw was reported to be the main competition. Vic women got the ball into the bigs with ease, massive 30 points in 20 mins from Alannah Smith,, who also took care of the nsw bigs causing lots of fouls to be called against the nsw big Danielle Milisivic who played just 7 mins for 5 fouls.
The experience of Vic guard Rachel Antoniadou was evident keeping control of their game and causing issues for the nsw guards. All Vic's contributed their coach would have to be pleased considering Smith and Sharp only just arrived from CofE Thursday.
Anyone know what happened to Alannah Smiths nose to need her interesting taping.

Day 1 Recap is now available.

Day 1 Recap – VIC remain dominant, QLD Men start 0-2

I've just put an overview of the 36ers membership pricing for 09/10 online.

adelaide36ers.com

You'll see the usual Gold and Silver season tickets, plus options in the first few rows (previously used for corporate tickets only, I think?) and a base membership that is suitable for fans that want to show their support while not being able to attend games.

Hollywood Seats that give you a view as good as the coaches and players themselves will be available on a game-by-game basis for $550 per game. Keep an eye out for chances to win those seats for a game during the season too as no doubt that will be a little hefty for most!

That link again: adelaide36ers.com

(Corporate pricing will be added at a later date.)