Hoops

Thoughts on the COE boys game last night

Yeah I've been thinking the same thing 412... In hindsight he, and a couple of others were probably close to peaking when identified and taken to COE/NBA Global Academy.

414, I'm not saying he's a bust at all. I was one of those highly impressed with him at u16s in Perth and thought this could be one of those kids to go all the way.
But 15 to 18 is a pretty significant development period for an athlete/player, and I just don't see the improvement in him that I thought I'd be seeing in him. No longer the dominant force he once was.
I wish him the best though in the next 3 or 4 years of development and hope there's another peak coming. Time will tell I guess.

Think tas will get Armstrong next season.

Yeah, someone will get okwera after his u20s performance.
Think Perth would have been after him, no pfs and he was from w.a

Lol, he’s fine and only turned 18.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d6mGEIVkomk

If he’s crap at 21 then you can say I told you so. Way too early to be callin him a bust.

And don't get me wrong, I do think most of the COE team players are very good players in their own right, but those I've seen early on and been following their progress over the past few years I don't really see the improvement in them I thought i'd see with all the time they've spent at the COE, NBA Academy events, etc...

But yeah, maybe not the development system I thought they were.... exposure/opportunity benefits is definitely on their side though.

Coe kills ya natural game, it’s been said a bunch of times. Better off going somewhere else.

I only caught the 2nd half of the Mens game against Norths, and unfortunately have to say I found the COE team disappointing and underwhelming. BTW, I think they only lost by 9pts, although for most of what I saw they were down by 20 until the last couple of minutes. So the final score was maybe a little flattering.

Granted they're up against grown men and some with vastly higher/greater experience, but the COE team is meant to be the cream of the crop of our young basketball talent in the country right?
What I saw though really makes me wonder whether their identification and maybe development system isn't flawed.

While I agree with Aussie that King was the one clear stand-out, although Bannan certainly had his moments, the rest, well...

Last year I went to watch the COE play Creighton @ SHORE and back then it was again King and Giddey that were clear stand-outs. Shame Giddey wasn't playing against Norths. I really looking forward to seeing both of them get their shot in the NBL and hopefully beyond.

I saw a number of these kids a few years ago at the U16s Nationals in Perth and back then Wigness was a man amongst boys. Although he did have a great partner in crime for the back court of the QLD North team who I think didn't get enough praise and recognition for how dominant they were that year. Davies I think was his surname.
But back to Wigness, in 2017 there was a good bit of daylight between him and everyone else back then, King included. He was the player everyone at the tournament was buzzing about and rightly so.

Now fast forward almost 3 years from that tournament and I unfortunately have to wonder what happened. Considering all the extra/specialised training and development he's received at the NBA Global Academy/COE, the numerous opportunities of experience and exposure around the world he's received as a result, I don't see the proportional improvement in the way he plays. I just see a slightly taller version and physically stronger version of what I saw in Perth.

It's not just Wigness I've observed this about, because there's a few others in the COE team that were at those Perth u16 Nationals and got the chance to go to the COE/NBA Global Academy 2-3 years ago but I just don't see the improvement. King is probably the only exception who is now the one creating the daylight between himself and the rest.
Some might want to throw Giddey's name into that, hasn't he only been at the NBA Global Academy/COE for about a year (or less). So his surely his key development came elsewhere.

Dare I say they key benefit coming out of that NBA Global Academy/COE system may be the worldly exposure & experiences the kids get.
Because in terms of "cream of the crop" I've seen a few other players of comparable age (2001/02/03) who I'm sure could give the COE a good run for their money and then some (and I'm just thinking of kids from my lowly basketball state of NSW).

Morgan in the girls was better than most of the coe guards of the same age.

Waratah League streaming this season ?

Sydney Comets also got a strong team as well coming in.

How do you rate North Bears seeing how well they handled CoE up against NBL1 South clubs ?

Wigness was very good in the blitz last year.

The Bears did play well.

It was great to watch a live basketball game again.

What positions do you think the 36ers should sign there imports and who should they sign. Joey said he wanted a 3 who could put it on the floor. I was thinking DJ Kennedy playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He has a great shot and handles and would come cheap also if they pair him with maybe Chris Warren or DeLeon starting at the point if Gibson moves to the 2, you would have two exciting imports that would fit in with Joey's uptempo style.