Hoops

College players coming back to Premier League

Not sure of his plans, George Blagojevic is graduating from D1 Hartford this summer in the US. Would be a great wing man at 6'8' on any Aussie roster.

Already have seen Cohen Blythe also from Geelong on the Supercats roster after a brief stint in the US college system and returning after a year or so Jordan O'Leary is gaining big numbers on the Stingrays Youth League team, likely next season he will be playing at a higher level.

Still a few over there from the Geelong region, those are the ones I am aware have or are about to come back.

LOL Crickets......

PS: I'm sure there are guys I forgot and sorry if that's the case. Am keen to hear of others forsure.

Hey Dickie V!

To be honest I don't have a lot of coverage over the guys outside my own club, former players of mine or athletes we don't have as "featured athletes" on our site.

Bar Uche who went to High School to continue his journey, for a variety of reasons including getting more exposure. So he didn't need my assistance (albeit we have done a few little projects together and I do have a good relationship with the coach at his school).

You could assume some of the reasons Uche left, by the way, were that we traditionally have not supported kids very well in that space here in SA and due to a lack of athletes of that calibre in years gone by overall, there was not really much of spotlight on SA talent.

The featured athletes and Uche happen to be all the division 1 college men from South Australia. They are not able to play here in the offseason and I doubt their schools would want to them to play locally here either. They are all in their fresman or sophomore seasons right now.

Here is what I do know that I can share here. The ones who MIGHT be eligible to play locally and MAYBE willing to:
Harry Reesmt - Juco - finished his 2 yrs - Sturt junior
Jack Turnbull - NAIA - finished his 4 yrs - Sturt junior
Jordan Heading - Provisional D1 NCAA - completed 4 yrs - Sturt junior

Ryan Girardi - Juco - should be able to play - Norwood Junior
Ben Janssen - D2 - should be able to play - Norwood Junior

Koen Sapwell - D2 - should be able to play - Centrals junior

Ray Harding - Juco - should be able to play in the offseason - North junior

I am mostly not sure what these 7 guys plan to do in offseason.

Anon; thanks for your post regarding my volunteer work/hobby. I'm not too sure what you are referring to. I jokingly tell the kids and families I work with when they ask how much they should pay is I work for "free tickets" and "free merch" so I can proudly watch them play and so that myself, my family and friends can proudly rep them and their schools around town. Nothing better basketball-wise than sitting in the gym, front row seeing a former player dominate vs Team USA at world championships, or drop player drop 20 down in LA live in an 8,000 seat gym.

Happy for you to post here or hear directly any concerns you have of substance. Just hit me up with details and I will gladly have a conversation :)

Please no bagging, I know little about Andrew and what he does but believe he would have a good understanding of who is where (from SA clubs).

Finger on the pulse, or hand in the cookie jar?

The Goldfields Giants currently have positions available on our roster for the 2013 WA State Basketball League (SBL) season.

We are looking to replace at least two roster spots with a couple of quality Australian players. Our preference is for a starting-quality point guard and a hard working big man, with the priority on getting a starting point guard. However we will consider any player who has the attributes to contribute towards the team, and to help us in our quest to win our third championship.

For those unfamiliar with our team or the league, the Giants are based in Kalgoorlie in regional Western Australia and have two Championships in the past 6 years. Kalgoorlie auguably is the gold mining capital of Australia and is currently experiencing the mining and industrial boom that is being felt throughout WA.

The WA State League is sometimes referred to as the unofficial western conference of the ABA and the quality of the league is similar to Big V/Central/Waratah. Most teams play with two imports, while there were also many NBL and ex-NBL players competing in 2012.

We regard our club as one of the most dynamic and professionally-run basketball clubs in Australia outside of the NBL, and we will be doing what we can to field a team capable of winning a championship in 2013.

For any prospective player, a move to Kalgoorlie and to the Giants will not only reap rewards in a basketball sense, but also in a career sense, in particular with the abundance of jobs available in the region and the associated skills shortage it has created.

We have the ability to provide remuneration to any player we feel could make a difference, while assistance with employment, accommodation and relocation can also be negotiated.

If you may be interested at all, please email us at admin@goldfieldsgiants.com for more information. Alternatively you can fax us on 08-90213373.