Hoops

Unstoppable rise of the 36ers, championship faves?

Adelaide will run into Their kryptonite again at some point...

(Illawarra).

Adelaide then day light, I don't like the idea but at present that's how it is.

We're red hot , who's next...

More than happy to give Adelaide the credit they deserve. They sure beat the snot out of us...

Some are in 7th heaven while 8 is lucky for others...

Forum haters still denying Adelaide any decent credit.

"Remember they had a 4 game skid" - How is that relevant now? Its well into the season and by this point teams should have found their form and have some consistency in performances.

They're on a 7 game win streak in a fiercely competitive league, everything points to them being faves. They win on the road and usually road winning teams are more likely to win championships, they have fine tuned offense, improved defense and a bench that contributes each week.

When will you take them seriously? Especially the knob jockey with the ladder prediction. Still huffing and hoping on Melbourne United, even after they have once again showed they are utter garbage once again this week and are going NOWHERE.

First it was everyone predicting Adelaide will be last.

Then it was they're being carried by Jerome Randle.

2 games ago it was "we can't take them serious unless they prove themselves against Sydney"

Give credit where it is due, Just like what was given at the beginning of the year with Sydney. Not saying the Sixers will win the championship but they deserve to be labelled faves at the moment and respected for their ability to fight back. Which is pretty incredible.

In the post game interview after Friday night's game B.T. said there is a strong and positive culture in the (sixers) locker room at the moment, the team has a belief they can win any game and from any situation (relatively speaking).

While it's not unusual to hear these type of statements from sports players it was the emphatic manner in which it was said which gave me the impression the whole of the team is in a great mental space.

Joey appears to have the players focused and accountable to each other.

They might be on a big W streak, but they also had a 4 game L skid, so it's easy enough to get a few results going the opposite way and suddenly you're back down the bottom. The games are so close that some of the tight ones they're winning might start going the other way and then they look pretty average again...

Having said that, the resilience and confidence they're playing with will hopefully keep them on the up.

I see Adelaide as finals contenders, but without a set system all the time they can have a chance, but so is every other team.
Atleast it is wide open..

People aren't trolls just because they disagree with you.

Be careful in regards to jumping the gun. Adelaide are certainly playing well but would be foolish to get too far ahead at any stage of this season.

Lets just see how they go.

Talent trumps coaching? Surely a troll

I'd say that's a fair amount of experience

They had better get experienced quick then or they'll be retired before they know it.

College and pro ball are completely different. Three of those guys are rookies and Sobey and Hodgson are developing players. Their ages are irrelevant.

Adelaide has an inexperienced side.

Drimic is nearly 25, Hodgson is 25, sobey is 26, deng 24 in three months. All have been playing at college or in the Nbl for minimum 4years I'd say that's a fair amount of experience. Both drimic and deng were talked up as nab potential as is sobey now, as I acknowledged previously ferguson is young.

Adelaide aren't as young as joey conning every one, ferguson is young but the rest are over 24.

As for who is championship favourite, Adelaide might well move into favouritism this week.

Adelaide are the team to beat right now. No doubt about it!

7 game winning streak, this season is huge!

Adelaide aren't as young as joey conning every one, ferguson is young but the rest are over 24.

Kings certainly need to bite the bullet on Khazzouh. Right now they are extremely fragile.

There is no championship favourite. See who is playing well in the last 4 rounds before finals to identify favourites. Even then, you'll probably be wrong (think 2014-15 36ers).

15W-13L will probably make playoffs in a season as even as this. 14-14 may well make it with splits becoming important. Adelaide are the only team with a winning record on the road (6W-3L). The next best are Brisbane (4-4) and Sydney (5-5).

Adelaide now have a winning record at home, as well (4W-3L), courtesy of the 7 game winning streak.

Adelaide have the split on Sydney (3-0) and are likely to end up with the split on Cairns (2-0 and +29 at the moment). They're ahead with Brisbane (2-1 +3) and even with Perth (1-1 +3) and Melbourne (1-1 -3). Adelaide will probably lose the split with Illawarra (0-2 -45).

So if Adelaide can go 5-7 or even 6-8, they have a very good chance of playing finals. The issue might be whether they can maintain their pre-Christmas form after the 10-day break between next Thursday (vs Perth, in Adelaide) and New Year's Day (in Melbourne).

Whatever happens, I was going to be happy if they won 10 games this season. They've cracked that and will get more wins. I'm stoked with how Wright has managed to get them to this level so quickly.

I also get a bit of a kick out of the irony that the top team has scored less points for the season than their opponents have scored against them!

Melb UTd???? They don't play for their coach! They don't like each other. That's crucial

too early - adelaide carrying form - 3 losses between top and last

Crash and burn hopefully. best part about this season is Perth.

If it's Kings then daylight and Melbourne are officially the team to beat where does that leave the 36ers? ;)

Don't know about favourites, but solidly in the mix now.

Usually the only scalp Adelaide gets is a win in Perth based on past few seasons. But now its everyone. And they are so much fun to watch!

Team to beat now LV since they've beaten next best placed Sydney back-to-back-to-back?

Not to mention Brisbane away twice, Melbourne away, Cairns away and almost Perth away.

With this league anything can happen and it's so close that making big calls can come back to bite.

Potentially, this game might be the difference between Adelaide making the playoffs and missing the playoffs.

They are officially title contenders in my eyes. One thing to go on a bit of a run etc but they have won too many expected losses on the road to be ignored any further. Weeks back Joey Wright was hopeless and I for one wanted him out, but this team has somehow clicked and is legit. Its not the 7 in a row thing, its the quality of teams they have beaten on the road. Road warriors win titles.

Basketball Australia is pleased to announce the head coaching appointments for the Australian U17 Men’s and Women’s Basketball programs, as well as the head coaching appointments for the Men’s and Women’s Australian University Games teams for 2011.

Heading the U17 Men’s program will be Guy Molloy, while Marissa Fillipou will take over the U17 Women’s Program.

Veteran coach Bruce Palmer will again helm the Men’s Australian University Games team, while Opals assistant coach and head coach of the AIS Women’s Basketball Program, Phil Brown, will coach the Women’s University Games team.

An experienced coach at the NBL level where he led the Cairns Taipans between 2000/01 and 2004/05, Guy Molloy was also assistant coach to Brian Goorjian with the South Dragons, where the pair led the side to an NBL championship in 2009.

In the same year, Molloy led the U17 Men’s side to qualification for the World Championships and as a result of this success, was named Basketball Australia Male Coach of the Year that year. Earlier this year, he coached the U17 side in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championships in Hamburg, where the team finished sixth.

“The first time through with the program, it was a new experience, both for the coaching staff and for Basketball Australia,” said Molloy.

“The team performed admirably at the Worlds and got to a five-versus-six play-off, so I’m highly motivated and very keen about moving forward over the next two years with the young crop of great new players.”

An assistant coach of this year’s U17 National Women’s team, Marissa Fillipou was the assistant coach with the Dandenong Rangers WNBL team in 2006/07 and has coached numerous state teams, with great success.

“I’m just unbelievably excited and humbled for the appointment,” said Fillipou.

“I’m really looking forward to getting into it and starting to work with the athletes and the coaching staff and full staff to work towards bringing a medal home to Australia,” she said.

An NBL head coach for seven years with the North Melbourne Giants, Brisbane Bullets and Hunter Pirates, Bruce Palmer has since worked in the sport across a number of roles including elite player development, as well as the management of a number of programs within Queensland State basketball. He has also previously coached the Australian University games team and was thus the obvious choice to carry on with the role.

“It’s a huge bridge between our 19s and our seniors, so we need to use it accordingly,” said Palmer.

“We need to identify those kids in that group that can make a Boomers squad. Obviously it’s an honour to represent Australia, and we want to make sure the guys that put their hands up for consideration recognize that honour, and we are going to be far better prepared than we have ever been.”

Phil Brown is a two-time WNBL Coach of the Year and has coached numerous Olympians including Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor. He spent four years as an assistant coach with the University of Oregon’s Senior Women’s team before returning to Australia to take up the AIS head coaching role.

“I’m delighted and excited about the opportunity to once again coach the Australian team to the World University Games in China in 2011,” said Phil Brown.

“It’s a great opportunity to build upon what Opals coach Carrie Graf has implemented and this program will work very closely with the Opals program in terms of the structure, the personnel and the philosophy.”

The successful applicants for the assistant coaches roles will be announced following the Australian Development Camp which will be held at the AIS between the 17 and 23 January, 2011.