Sixers 08
Years ago
An Assessment of the 36ers 08/09 Team
There is a lot being said of whether or not the team that Coach Ninnis has put together could contest for a title this season.
When breaking it down per player I think it becomes clearer.
Guards
Brett Maher His best days are definitely behind him but that doesn't mean he can't lead this team to a title. With less minutes and hopefully greater production as a result, we could see Maher have one of his better seasons in recent years. Injuries are always going to be the big question mark on his year. If he stays healthy will go a long way to success.
Brad Davidson Was the inspiration and heart of the team last year and his leadership and work ethic may be more important to this young group than anything else. If he can produce consistent games, this will go a long way to on court success. My concern is that if he ends up the starting PG, I don't see us being able to win a championship on the back of his play. If he comes off the bench however would be one of the better back up guards in the league.
Ryan Kersten This I feel is the second best signing in the off-season. A young guard with a lot of potential and genuine ability. However this signing is for the future not the now. If Maher and Davidson go down at the same time can he hold our backcourt up?? One thing for sure is he does bring that true PG mentality to the group that we didn't have last year so if he can stay as a back up guard, should be a solid year for him and the team.
Brad Hill I am really not sure about this signing and there are tremendous amounts of question marks around Brad. Is he healthy? Can he with stand big knocks? Is his dad going to cause problems if he isn't playing? IF the answers are yes, yes and no this will help at the offensive end, his scoring power is second to none and from what I hear he has bulked up well. If the answers are no, no, yes, could mean a tough year. The big concern on Brad is his defence and smarts, not sure if he can rank highly in either category but if he is middle of the road with it he will be handy of the bench.
Forwards/ Bigs
Jacob Holmes I love Jacob as a role player on a team, 6 or 7th man who just plays solid. Sadly for us he is our starting 3 men and not someone who can win us a Championship in this position. He ranks about 6th for the 3 spot and I feel this is our greatest danger with next years group. Cant question his work ethic and desire but don't think he can be affective in this position unless Ninnis runs something where by the 3 man plays a role in the offence. Hope I am wrong with this assessment but history says im not.
David Cooper As a back up player who will play pinch minutes, Cooper is a great fit for this team. Needs to get back to playing inside and not floating on the perimeter and use his 6 fouls at the right time and will allow our key bigs to have a productive year. Finally the role player he is, he will be able to play as one and have a great year doing so.
Luke Schensher Our best get in the off-season. Yes is coming off injury but is a good post up big who can also turn and face and hit the shot. How effective he is will depend on what offence the team is running but is a vast improvement on bigs from last season.
Imports
Adam Ballinger If he does what he did last year, we will go deep into the playoffs. The good thing for Balls is if he has a quieter night there should be people able to back him up and chip in. Looking for him to have another good year.
2nd import / Hodge This import spot is key to our success. My gut feel says that since Hodge hasn't signed yet, not ever an intention to play with us he will head to Melbourne or not in our league at all. If we can get a tall guard (mee in his hey day like) we could be in for a good run. My fear is that we will recycle an import like Dave Thomas and see same results as when Chappell was here.
On paper there is a high "potential" score with this team. If the youth steps up to the plate, the vets have an injury free year and the second import has a huge impact the team could do quiet well. On the flip side if we get the exact opposite to this it would look like another year out of the finals.
I believe a top 4 finish should be in this group's site and if Ninnis achieves that in his first year with a youngish group, it's a good result.
Going on off-season signings I would envisage the league to look something like this
Melbourne
New Zealand
South Dragons
Cairns
Sixers (Being positive)
Perth
Gold Coast
Townsville
Brisbane
Sydney
Wollongong
Singapore
West Sydney
Only my opinions look forward to constructive chat about this&.
