i think the boys team over-acheived. Not many people (myself included) thought they'd finish top 5 after the loss of their starting AIS guard. Credit to the boys!

On the girls side of things, i think 3rd is also a reasonable result. Sure they've got plenty of talent, but the majority of this team (6 by my count) are still bottom ager's.

The girls should have done better. Having said that a bronze is great.Boys did well for the team picked.

Fildes is a great kid. He has potential and confidence. He has broken into the ABA scene in a big way and will do well. His old man has sent lots of DVDs to colleges in the States and I think it is only a matter of time before he gets an offer.

on paper the girls were the best team there on my opinion.

the SA girls should of won no question. I have no idea how they lost to Victoria. shoud not of happened. the sa boys choked there game against WA. terrible defensively. they got lucky by playing nsw first game as the nsw boys came out rusty and didn't play well at all. if they played later in the week NSW would of crushed them. Also no excuse to lose to qld by 40.

nowhere near the athleticism barlow has. also not as big. offensive game is strating to develop but defensively he isn't good. has work to do but possibly could develop to an nbl player

Looking at the girls side of things they underperformed like you wouldnt believe, they were easily the best team on paper and should have smashed every team there. Maybe they weren't coached right, the coach hardly played Bishop and Francis together at the same time, even when behind in the semi-final.

no way mate iv seen fildes play and have played against him, he is a pretty tough defender, with his work ethic there is no doubt he will be NBL and div 1 college potential.

Aaah, the old "blame the coach" line.....

Funny how the coach gets blamed - this age group has underachieved at Nationals every time - with a different coach each time.

Perhaps its something that's been common to these teams.

The stats actually show that Bishop played 36 mins in the SF and Francis 25. Therefore they were on together for at least 21 minutes, which is over half the game. Maybe the fact that they did not have an ideal preparation may have more to do with it than the coaching.

"Perhaps its something that's been common to these teams."
(#121648) What do you mean by that.

Im just wondering how many more SA girls will now be pulled into the AIS program, obviously the coach needs to get a couple more in there now, 5 not enough to develop them to win a national.

Should leave politics out of it and pick the best team available. Coach doesn't' recognise talent or is dictated to by others

(#122115)
Which coach AIS or state??
Not many state ones to choose from I hear.

realist

i agree to some extent, it would have been a tough gig as a coach, all the expectations plus the management of egos you outlined.
Still bronze was not good enuff with that list IMO

Since when did talent assure a gold?
They underperformed for sure, will they learn from it for next year?
Lots of first years in that group.

Realist- no team spirit, unhealthy rivarly, bad attitude,these accusations all semed to be directed to a certain player a few years ago. She wasn't there this time but the problems still exist.
"Brilliant" players don't only need basketball training. They need proper guidance, understanding and help in developing their talent and minds as they get older ie People that genuinly care about them. The other states handle this very well hence develop "brilliant" older players that seem to go further with their basketball than our "brilliant" players and win championships.

Is gold the most important thing to certain coaches above everything else ??

(#122155)
Isnt that the aim of the exercise?

Few egos in the boys team as well.

I can assure you Newley's brilliance was not developed here. Some one did decide to take him under their wing and it wasn't in Adealide.

Neither played in this u20 team!!WTF

Too say they have talent is generous, they under achieved claiming a multitide of excuses for why it wasnt their tournament.
Forget the coaches as the reason, to take away some of the players was a large mistake given the attitide to both their team mates and the game in general. One only has to cast their mind back to the 18's nationals in Adelaide and the behaviour of one particular player to understand why the chemistry was all wrong.
Time after time we here the credentials needed to be selected espoused and ignored. lesser talented players around the core group of 'team players' would have produced better results. Poor, damm poor selections.

(#122217)
I assume you mean the blokes??
There was only 10 try out for the girls!

Selected team was not up to scratch in boys. Selection process or politics reason for failure.

Ahhh, good to hear the Woodville U20 boys are still around....

Girls team was a team in name only and I did witness the foul mouth and attitude of a particular player at Wayvile.

Give the girls a break. They lost one game to Vic by 5 points and they went on to win Gold by heaps. The Game against the Vic things were not happening for them. Yes they might have been a bit soft but that is the problem with MOST of the SA players that go through our SASI program, people/coaches are TOO worried about players been letter correct and take their drive away from them - squash them instead of encouraging them. Player are too scared of doing the wrong thing. The Girls ONLY lost one game.

Only Lost....

"Ahhh, good to hear the Woodville U20 boys are still around...."
What is this about?

All players selected but in the work and deserved to be there, i cant think of any player in the boys or girls that didnt make it that deserved to, even if they did, what players would they push out.

#259 I couldn't agree more with your summary .... "Yes they might have been a bit soft but that is the problem with MOST of the SA players that go through our SASI program, people/coaches are TOO worried about players been letter correct and take their drive away from them - squash them instead of encouraging them. Player are too scared of doing the wrong thing."
I have seen it time and time again where players are crucified for stepping outside the drill training but then are absolutely battered for not making the most of an opportunity. Yes - skills are essential and the ability to be a team player is a given but every player out there that has any talent and has gone on to play at a higher has not let anyone take anyway their natural drive and flair and the ability to use it at the right moment.