Hoops

Kings sign Adam Thoseby

Yeah good call Wookiee, Blanchfield would've known that he's joining a team that has someone as good if not better than him at his natural position. Playing time and winning probably matters more to him over starting plus he's a top bloke that will put the team ahead of himself.

Acouth certainly made a lot of buzz amongst the folks watching that game. Some OU fans have even wondered if he'd want to attend US college. We'll probably see more of him over the next few pre-seasons and see how it goes from there. Gazey would make a terrible poker player with how chuffed he was and carrying on watching that kid played though.

Blanchfield might have signed for a certain reason, but surely with Newls on board it wasn't to start... Before his last AsiaPac game, he hadn't shown anything in recent history that would put him in the starting lineup at all...

Just because someone is a decent player, doesn't automatically make them a starter... If we only had starters and no actual bench depth, that would be, well, like most of our recent seasons, so hopefully Todd signed under the impression that he might not be starting but still have a solid contributing role, which to be fair, his recent few seasons once moving to Melbourne really only set him up to do...

They have a hard-on over Lisch being their PG, so he's starting there... I doubt Cadee gets the starting gig over Leslie, Newls at the 3, Ellis and then Humprhies, if they have a similar hard-on for him being our starting 5... Backing them up will be a good guard rotation and a weak couple of bigs, like usual...

Starting 5 will prob be Leslie, Lisch, Newley, Ellis, Humphries. Bench will be Cadee/Daly, Thoseby, Blanchfield, Garleep/Pineau, Acouth/Singh, respectively.

Starting 5 will prob be Leslie, Lisch, Newley, Ellis, Humphries. Bench will be Cadee/Daly, Thoseby, Blanchfield, Garleep, Acouth/Indian.

Dunno what Gaze will do but Leslie maybe too good to come off the bench. Recruiting him, Ellis and Humphries theoretically allowed Gaze to run some nifty plays they didn't pull off well last season.

One example is the pick and roll flare 4 out motion or a version of it. The best they could pull off was when Newley played the point forward for that play. As good as Newls was, he has his limitation with dribble penetration but enough to make him top assist man in the Kings last season.

Leslie would be a superior option for that play, with Ellis likely a better 3pt shooter than Whittington and Humphries the better mid-range shooter than Maric as the 1 in.

He wouldn't start over Lisch or Newley and surely Blanchfield didn't just sign there to come off of the bench.

Thoseby played for three different colleges in the US too, fair effort that.

With Lisch, Cadee, Leslie and Newls all taking up minutes at some point or another in the two guard spots, he probably won't get many minutes, unless he has some microwave action in limited minutes... His China stint and last night against Oklahoma proved very much that he's not afraid to shoot it, but it also proved that he's not afraid to only shoot the ball and not much else, even if he's not shooting well...

8 assists from Daly last night was a pretty nice effort, though...

He doesn't make enough shots

Kings only going with two imports?

How is their team looking?

Humphries
Ellis/Garlepp/Pineau
Blanchfield/Thoseby
Newley/Leslie
Lisch/Cadee

I see Maric is taking his talents to basketball hotbed Bahrain, no love for Khazzouh? Jeromie Hill & Prewster have seemingly been punted too.

Roster spot I believe. That's what I heard few days ago that's why I was puzzled when someone mentioned here that it was Daly. Matt McQuade cleared that up in last night game that Daly was signed as DP.

Anyways one spot left to fill up that roster. The money is on the Indian bloke.

Just when you thought you could have a picnic in the Hills, a sneaky little Sunday afternoon round ….

Rockets-Sabres @ The Tin Shed
Women: The Rockettes could be between a rock(et) and a hard place. They would want to snare a good W against Woodville, but still leave something in the tank. Sturt girls travelling nicely and with Conor back, will be strong albeit with Madge, but are likely to have had an absolute key banger the night before. Sturt knocked the Rockettes off by 40 last time they met, and should do so again, albeit with a margin thinner than keg beer at a rock concert.
Men: If North consider themselves serious contenders this year, then this is the game they need to win to get attention. Sturt look menancing with Jacob back on deck. Both teams could be a little battered from the night before (reminds me of St Mark’s boarders on a Sunday morning) North are missing Carter and if Tracy York can negotiate a win, then all bets are off for COY.

Tigers-Mavs @ Southern Siberia
Women: Any drop out of the 5 for the Tigeresses should be short lived.
Men: The Tigers need to get everyone to step up to the plate for this one. Mavs are underperforming in the area of D and are the 10th ranked team in defense yielding an amazing average of 92 ppg. The Tigers are underperforming in the area of O and are the 10th ranked team in offense (you won't win many if you average under 64 ppg). It’s the worst defensive team playing the worst offensive team. Both teams could be a little sore after the night before. “It’s Crunch Time” for Mavs who need to not only win, but twist the knife if they want to stay in touch. Tigers have got nothing to lose and should be dangerous in the return part of the season if they get their act togther. It’s easier to improve on offense than defense so imagine the riot if they took inspiration from the Tigeresses and sent Mavs home with nothing in the bag.

Woodville-South @ Skatorama
Women: The young Warriors host the older Panthers. The day game with better lighting might help the Panthers eyesight who are searching for their first away win. Last time they met, the Panthers easily accounted for the Warriors and there’s no reason why the same shouldn’t occur this round. They might even have time for a quick rollerskate to warm down.
Men: This should be a high scoring, fast paced affair. Al Green has done remarkable things this year and the South team can play ball when they want to. Both teams are a bit like drinking home made plum rakija on an empty stomach on a Sunday afternoon – dangerous! The only difference is that South might be a little more refreshed than the Warriors. However, if Centrals snare a W against them the night before, expect their heads to be bowed and the game to be won before tipoff.

Eagles-Bearcats @ Wayville
Women: Eagles were terrifying at home last season, but it is the Bearcats who are terrifying on the road this season. The Bearcats plucked the Eagles alive last time they met. The Eagles embarassed themselves with their shooting in that encounter and should makes amends this round, but there’s a reason why West are in the top 3.
Men: Much of the Eagles success can be put down to “The Rash” who has made the D of other teams look like social ball at YMCA. They are ranked #2 in offense. The Bearcats have been as solid as the Berlin Wall in defence and is second to Norwood in that area. The Eagles were knocked off by 7 last time they met the Bearcats and look like they suffer a similar fate today. Paul can ring his own bell, no Eagle Rock this afternoon.