Hoops

Bullets to sign Torrey Craig

I really like Jervis but not sure he will be a starter for them. I see him as a super high quality bench player but a below average starter in the NBL.

His game is suited to the bench role. High energy, defense and hustle. You won't exactly be throwing him the ball on the block and asking for a bucket.

Like I said, i love his game so I hope I am wrong

"Jervis/Petrie
Kickert/Young
Craig/ ??
?? / ??
Gibson/Bruce"


The more I look at that team, the less scary it appears. Not as scary/talented as initially thought.

Craig is a stud.

But Jervis is stepping up to a starting position, Kickert has known defensive issues and Gibson is coming off a fairly average season.

Cj Bruton went back on his word with the Kings and the Wildcats. To be fair he had no legal obligation so he could what he thought what was the best possible destination for him and his family.

He also should've been starting, especially once Majok fell off the Earth the 2nd half of the season.

Hakkim Warrick also came off the bench last season.

And he was not on 2 sausage rolls and a tin of coke per game...

Yep CJ walked out on the Kings invoking his European option then turned around and signed with the Bullets. Out of curiosity who is the Bullets assistant coach?

I think Ebi Ere pulled something similar. Signed with the South Dragons invoked his NBA out clause to supposedly sign with Memphis but I think turned around and signed with the Tigers.

Didn't CJ Bruton say he was going to Europe before winding up in Brisbane too?
Maybe he took CJ's advice and used the same move

"Your forgetting to add the imports coming off the bench for those teams were basically duds or low budget types."

Did you do much research into that comment? We're talking about guys like Dave Thomas, Dontaye Draper, Kevin Braswell, Charles Jackson and Donta Smith.

One who doesn't count, because he started in the GF, is Ekene Ibekwe, but he came off the bench initially and moved into the starting line-up when Pledger's foot injury went downhill. I don't think he was a dud or low budget type either.

So was he really going to play in Europe and the Brisbane thing came out of the blue?

Gotta be sorry for Cairns supporters, then.

greybuoy; nope. Great team guy, trained hard and worked with the coaching team. Never saw or heard any evidence to the contrary.

Will be great to see how the Brissy roster ends up and how all their pieces fit together.

Looks like he averaged 12 points coming off the bench , last season. While the starter averaged 8 points.

KingPodge, can you comment on this?: Torrey Craig came back to the Taipans with a treatable case of post-traumatic (NZ) MVP syndrome, contested the coaching objectives and his role in the line-up, and was generally miserable for much of the season.
The obverse was that Fearne whinged at him even more.

Anon - excellent point.

Thunder Jam - Dunnigan will sign with Cairns, guaranteed!

End of the day boys Craig isnt going to say what the true reasons are. No matter how in the loop people feel they are, unless your blood he doesnt need to start killing his rep complaining. Just move on to the $$ and the big city.

Twinkle 1 - Podge 0

Twinkle that differs from the reality of the situation that I'm well aware of.

Craig came back for a 2nd season under Fearne, if there was an issue there he wouldn't have and his role was well defined in a unit that was mostly the same. That narrative just doesn't hold water.

Not sure if you have spoken to many players, or if you've making your judgement based on looking at the sidelines.

I'll say this, I'm not sure if I've ever 100% agreed with any coach i ever had... they always told me to stop shooting, I though i should keep doing it... more....

Kingpodge - A big factor in Craig not returning was the coach. It may well be that the Taipans wouldn't have been able to retain him anyway, given the dollars on offer elsewhere, but Craig had made his mind up at the half way mark of the season. Even though Craig played exceptionally well when Fearne had to put him in the starting side from New Year onwards - due to Weigh being injured - Fearne still continued to take a hard nosed approach with him. Fearne did not use Craig well in the first half of the season - IMO - and he treats the players badly at times. I can understand Craig not wanting to return.

So at this stage we're looking at something like:

Jervis/Petrie
Kickert/Young
Craig/ ??
?? / ??
Gibson/Bruce

It actually saddens me that you know that stat Paul. Your forgetting to add the imports coming off the bench for those teams were basically duds or low budget types. Craig is not one of them... anymore.

Well you'd be wrong Thunder Jam, it's all about the $$$$. and good on him, gotta make that cheddar while you can.

He left Cairns because he was sick of being on the bench, GUARANTEED.

Funnily enough, of the past 18 NBL grand final teams only six have had two imports starting, so amongst successful teams it's pretty common.

A players verbal commitment these days is not to be trusted. Its the business and both parties play along if it suits them. As for the import off the bench thing, Paul ofcourse decent players come off the bench ala Jamal Crawford for the third straight season. But was just an observation that most of the decent imports you get in Aus don't usually do so, they prefer to start and usually teams open with their best 5. Not saying this is solely the reason Craig left Cairns, but if Brisbane offered him the starting gig its something...

It Happens people go back on their word. Cattalini Screwed Perth like that. Cj Bruton did the same ...

With Torrey Craig looking like signing with Brisbane , must be a slap in the face for Cairns, considering he told them he wasn't going to return to Cairns due to pursuing a contract in Europe , but then entertains contract talks with Brisbane , maybe he did'nt want to return to Cairns, were they that devvo to have lost him? or not really concerned?

"No decent import would like that"

Lots of decent imports come off the bench around the world. It's not really whether you start but the minutes you play and the impact you have.

In the case of Craig, who was more likely to give the team some spark off the bench, Torrey or Weigh? And who would you prefer to have alongside Bruce to provide some punch?

Weigh was a good offset for the starters because he was happy to stand in the corner, Craig was more valuable off the bench. Of course Craig can start too, Fearne just thought the combos worked better that particular way.

With every signing the Brisbane team makes, my heart sinks as a 36er fan. Starting to run out of decent options to fill key spots. And I have zero confidence in Joey Wrights ability to pick new guys. Well done Andre, came in and has made an impact, its the offseason when the coaches can actually be most effective!

Boom Boom Boom, Boom go the Bullets

LK alreay building another team.

Andre already building a very good team

Jervis, Kickert and Craig make a very synergistic and powerful combination, hard to see a better one on paper.

That's good looking balanced front court! Petrie, Kickert, Jervis, Young and now Craig! Plenty of grunt, scoring, rebounding and rim protection.

Smart signing - Jervis and Craig balance Kickert's weaknesses.

Nice pick up, underrated. Never really understood the idea or strategy behind him coming off the bench. No decent import would like that, yet he did it with class. Bullets get a good one.

Looks like, despite strange circumstances Josh Jenkins' decision to play footy was a wise one.
He was featured today on Win's new country footy show.
Danny Frawley seemed to like his chances as a rookie prospect and the basketball background makes recruiters drool. All the best young man.