I agree if we cant get Schensch id be happy to get Petrie or Wagstaff instead of Dowdell and/or Holmes, as even though they are undersized against most C's they would provide some interior defense, rebounding and versatile scoring, and some toughness/attitude.

With Point guards, as far as Aussie PG's go i reckon a fully fit/inform Bruce is only behind Gibson and Martin as far as Aussie Pgs in the NBL go, and a Bruce/Carter combo is about as good as it gets from Aussie pg combos, so i hope we can retain them both, obviously if we can get Gibson, Mills or Markovich go for it as they would be upgrades, but i dont think anyone else is better than Bruce, after a pre-season and fully fit playing like his rookie season/college career.

I think that a faster moving/free flowing offense would suit Bruce better than a slow overly structured offense, so i hope Mary releases the shackles a bit next season if Bruce is still here, i think the whole team would benefit from this also.

I agree with Paul fast moving wings and a aussie pg seem to be the way to go, say we Sign Schenscher (or Petrie or Wagstaff) at C id like to see the 36ers go after a athletic versatile 2/3/4 like a Tremell Darden in one import spot and the other go for an athletic Scoring 2/3 with a decent outside shot and the ability to carry his team to victory ala 2002 Willie Farley,(obviously if we cant get Schensch or someone we would need a import 4/5 who is athletic and provides a inside presence, Ira Clark mould) that along with say Bruce and Ballinger and a fast moving offense would be a good start to reviving the 36ers and atleast make us more exciting to watch and higher scoring, slow paced offense doesnt suit most of our players including guys like Johnson, Creek, Hill, and id say Howard would have been better in a faster/less structured offense, and Winder would have been ok as a SG/SF in a fast moving offense, he just wasnt a pg, i wish they tried him as a SG he did well there in the pre-season along side Carter when Devries was missing some games.

Regarding the article posted up the top, I'd like to see the point guards on champion teams in the 10 years preceding the last 10 years.
It's way to early in the morning to think about it but I reckon there were a few import point guards.

2000-1991: Grace (naturalised), Mee, Mee, Gaze, Tolbert, McCaffrey (sp.), Grace, McDonald, Gaze, Perry, Grace.

That was one of the points I was making in the article, the change that has occurred in recent times, but looking at that list their are still four guys who were role players for their team, one of them exceptional at it in Mee.

Paul where is petrie at with his injury? I heard he is off contract and will draw a lot of attention. Just haven't heard much thats all. He is clearly i feel nearly the most versatile player in the league at both ends of the court. Two of our most versatile players have been badly injured redhage and petrie. Would adelaide be in a position of finance to grab someone like petrie? It would be a great combo of petrie and ballinger. ballinger could focus on his scoring role and petrie could just lock down on the defensive end and take the heat of ballinger. Just wondering how he is going because i know i would and adelaide would love the way he plays every night.

Thanks Paul.
To use one of the favourite quotes floating around these days:
Is it the singer or the song that's changed.

Would Darnell Mee, at his peak, be good enough to get any of this year's teams into the final just by being on their roster?

My view is that you need a team that really complements each other to succeed. Despite having Penney and Bruton the last couple of years the Breakers fell short because they didnt have enough defensive players to complement those guys - Ronaldson, Rickert and Forman together werent the fit for a team wanting to win a championship.

Darnell Mee needed a team with offensive weapons that he could set up, and he was more than capable of covering for some teammates' defensive weaknesses at the other end. But he was not a guy who could be relied upon to put points on the board as a main scoring option.

As for Petrie, he has only just started walking again and last I heard still had a big limp. He surely would have been in for a big pay day as a free agent this off-season but the uncertainty about his recovery may temper that a bit.

I would certainly sign him if I was Adelaide as long as his recovery was on track. A few other teams will be thinking the same thing though I imagine.