If available Michael William "Mike" Krzyzewski. Proven record with rookies and experienced professionals.

Shane Heal out of the question.... what about an American?

im still happy to keep Clarke, i just hope there are some serious changes made and that this season has opened his eyes up to realise being arrogant and too proud to admit any wrong doing is not going to help anything.

S.Vidmar

Ange Postecoglou is so hot right now!

** the above post is in jest, Ange is a soccer coach**
(just in case the Adelaide board are reading)

Im happy to give Clarke at least another year, he obviously has a good reputation, recruited the best young player in Creek and is a Boomers Assistant coach. Bevo took a few bad seasons to put together his team, so i say give Clarke a few years and i reckon he will be ok, if he is able to bring in the best young talent out of college/ais as Goorj used to with guys like Wortho, Barlow, Kendall, etc, which i reckon he will be able to, he will build a strong team IMO.

I do think he is more Gorj than say Smyth with his robotic/stubborn structure on offense and defensive mindset, but like Goorj he will also be good at recruiting and developing our top talent in the NBL, which will over time lead us to having a strong team with plenty of Boomer level talent, my guess is when guys like Anthony Drmic, and most recentish ais grads, are ready for the NBL, Adelaide with Clarke would have a recruiting edge.

Thats why i'd keep him and have some patience, if he proves not to be able to bring in the top young guys and improve the players and team each year then after his 3 years i wouldnt sign him back, but id atleast give him 3 years, he did take over the bottom side and possibly re-signed too many of them, so lets give him a chance to build his team, if its the same story next year then id be a little less patient.

Vince Crevelli seems to be a highly respected SEABL coach at Sandringham. Could be a good NBL coach

Okay give Clarke a little more but keep in the back of the mind Ian stacker, Brett Maher and Phil could earn another run too. I know lots wil not agree, some will but there are 3 serious options.

"You cannot make a silk purse of of a pig's ear" would be a good way to look at the players available. However, it is what the Coach does with those players is what a Coach is judged on.

If Clarke learns from his mistakes and appropriate changes are made to the roster, than he is worth one more year. However, whether or not he gets a third is up to what happend this off season.

Some coaches worth considering;
Gorjian: win plenty! Plus c'ships. but WILL send your club broke.
Stacker: back in fashion now he is AIS coach. >.500 most years.
Joyce: >.500 every second year. Have to put up with Daniel Joyce.
Black: >.500 if he gets team of vets and double salary cap budget. Program will be crap tho.
Molloy: trys hard, will put a good program in place but just not smart enough to be a winning heach coach.

funny one moses.

keep clarke one more year if no good results then recruit an experienced coach!!!!!need give this group one more year together,creek will improve in time and sure once team settled with good imports and no changes we should do better in 11/12 season.

Clarke.

Anyone but Clarke and Ninnis - had a couple of bad years that I dont see getting any better. How long do you take a risk with him for? the whole three years? in the mean time you have lost fans like myself and others who are no longer prepared to go and pay the money to attend the games and support the club.

SHould be getting an experienced coach for next season, not wiating and seeing how he goes, he has had a year and our situation has not changed!

Keep Clarke. It's been a frustrating season but I still think he is the best option moving forward. Particularly if he can keep attracting young AIS recruits as he has with Creek.

Of all the names mentioned in this thread not one would make me any more at ease with the sixers situation right now. Paitience is required, rebuilding isn't fun, but once things start falling into place it will be worth it.

I wouldnt be going an experienced coach to replace him, i would be going after an experienced coach to be an assistant to help him and develop him for years to come. Even if Jan Sterling came on for the year, i think it would really help Marty to have a proven winning coach tell him what is needed.

I'd be keeping Clarke myself...a season now under his belt and lessons hopefully learned.

Clarke.....

Has had only one year and really until 6ers get a legitamite big and some that can shoot a consistant shot the 6ers will always struggle.
I agree with Jonno with recruiting best young talent and Clarke will be the key to that.
Clarke looked and coached like "its been a long frustrating season" on Friday night.
The big question is,
who will he keep and who will they let go?
If he can get the team that can keep up with the top teams.....
Then we'll see if he can coach in the big league

Just a question regarding Goorjian.

Everyone seems to spout the old "sends clubs broke" line, but isn't it just a correlation effect? i.e. the teams that hire Goorjian are the ones that were badly managed anyway?

Even though I have said many negative things towards him, Clarke should have one more year. If things are the same next season it will be cheaper to pay him out rather then keep him for his final season i.e. Less crowd, less sponsor dollars.

Otherwise Stacker would be a good choice. I don't think he has had a losing season (I could be very wrong there)?

For those that say Goorjian will send the club broke is rubbish! Whoever is in charge of this club will make sure that he doesn't over spend and are in control of their money.

Showtime, Clarke had the choice to get Schenscher but choose not to.

Everyone else, with Clarke out of the AIS for a number of years and new faces in there, why would he have any more of a chance of recruiting young players then any other coach? That value will diminish every season and even more so if we are on the bottom of the ladder.

KingJames, Marty is now assistant coach with the Boomers which would maintain a link to players with higher aspirations. The AIS links will perhaps remain relevant for players he's coached as they return from college.

Yeah good points Isaac

Clarke is worth another 1-2 seasons I reckon. I think he has the capacity, knowledge & connections all to be a great coach. This year was always going to be tough and was more of a learning curve. I would expect some improvement next year and then again more the following year.

We (well most of us) dont know what goes on in the inner sanctum of the club......maybe Marty said everyone was playing for their spot on the roster next year, this year. Maybe thats why he hasnt played DJ (knowing he will be there next year) as much as anyone would have liked, maybe he is throwing the challenge to players like Holmes to produce? Maybe he was playing Balls at Centre all year to help develop his post defence? Sometimes you have to take a step backwards to take 2 steps forwards!

You have to remember Maher & Stirling were part of the panel that selected Marty as the coach so if they believe he is capable of returning the club to the glory days then I am happy to trust their judgement!

Give him time and I think it will pay off.

All of the coaches previously mentioned are no longer head coaches in the NBL for one reason or another so I wouldnt go near any of them - stick with Marty!

If Marty is as proud as everyone is saying he is then he wont accept sitting on the bottom of the ladder for very long!!

Clarke

$$$$$ - Goorjan.

$$$$ - Beveridge.

$$$ - Stacker.

$$ - Green.

$ - Me.

operation get brendan joyce!!!

Im with King James, nothing I've seen makes me like this coach but you probably have to give him another year.

Killed me they appointed him to the Boomers and gave him some credibility.

What am I missing here? AIS coach, on the boomers but you watch him with this team and you pull your hair out.

I just really hope there isn't ten teams in the league next year.....

I would love to see Kevin Brooks get in at a assistant coaches role with Clarke. after small chats with him he is keen to get much further into coaching but he has to start somewhere and that somewhere should be with Adelaide.

No to Goorg . -- no to Brooks as Ass. Coach
Get a experienced coach as support to Clarke as with a 3 yr contract is not going to be paid out
Only problem calling this a developing year what did we develope and what did we achieve.
Then posters say give him a chance to get it right but thats what he had this year with 4 goes to get a decent import and got it wrong every time .
Turned down Schens. and then played Ballinger centre whole year getting smashed week in week out on the boards etc.
Then we are saying pulled in Aust best young player in Creek . Well he might be exciting at times etc but surely a player that has no real shot currently and only one basic move can be listed as Aust. best .
To lose so many last qtrs does not look good for a coach but surely a experienced coach will help in that area and with team recruiting etc.
He is going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat in recruiting to renew supporter base interest

Despite my quarrels about the situation, I'd look at keeping Clarke around for another season.

The step-up in defensive work is noticable, even if that presence only lasts 2-3 quarters. I think with a healthy combo of Herbert and Carter on the court, we would be much more effective. Could even space out rotations to have at least 2 decent defenders on court all game that way.

The offense needs the work; most of that really comes from confidence in the shot. Creek needs to work on his jump shot; and considering his athleticism, I think just needs to be willing to take contact more going to the hoop, he could be a serious scorer. Even if 10-15pts comes from the line.

Marty gets another year IMO despite the criticism from me.

Well this time next year will be interesting, my prediction is that we will all be back on here debating the same issues some calling for Clarke to go and debating whether he should get another year or not and the arguement for him not going being that he is developing the team......someone remind me 8/3/12 about this thread and comments....

heres my prediction. if we still have ballinger then unless theres a miracle we will have the same threads next year. call me an idiot but the whispers have started. "maybe its ballinger??"

Would be interesting to hear Boti , but that could be any time between 10.30 and 11.40 pm.
It's hard to follow it.
One of the ironies of Clarke telling fans that the players need to go back to Kindergarten, is that he is there teacher/instructor.
Seems he wanted to slow down the game and defend a 15point lead, in the last qtr., on Friday and the players had no idea how to play.
The crowd booed the team for first time in 29years.
Adam Ballinger coaching , next season , makes sense,
financially.

For those supporting Clarke - I'm curious.

It's subjective, but even if we assume Creek and Johnson are largely here due to Clarke being appointed as coach (and you can debate their influence on overall results... or their confusing court time), what has Clarke brought to the Sixers?

Offensviely, defensively, player development, team culture, intensity... that sort of thing. Why does he deserve another year given this year's performance?

If we retain Clarke, I'd really like to see the Sixers just leave it at one import next season and work on putting together a really solid team. If Schensch isn't contracted next season, offer him the import $$$ and build around him. Hill has shown this year that he deserves his spot in the team and Clarke should get some credit for that.

Does anyone have a list of who's a free agent next season?

Townsville would be talking with Schensch right about now regarding extending his contract IMO. Adelaide cannot "officially" speak with him at this point but he'd know that the market is there if he wants to test it. I think the market for known centres is slim:

Hinder would be happy enough in Townsville
Knight will stay in Perth
Khazzouh has a year to run in Sydney
Davidson will stay in Wollongong
Burston would probably stay put if they wanted him? Nevill showed signs but I'd be worried that the Tigers seem to have improved without him
Breakers would probably try to keep Wilkinson and Pledger would be a gamble
Not sure of Loughton's position, or Crosswhite
Clark is friends with Wright so would stay at the Blaze if anything

The rest are in Europe I guess.

@KingJames
I think Stacker has had 4 <.500 seasons out of 9 as head coach. I think 1 with Geelong and 3 with Townsville. Correct me if I'm wrong though....

Just assuming that Clarke is a great coach as far as the quality of the coaching goes and its the players who are not buying his system, then does that not go against the coach for not being able to train and discipline his team? We are at the bottom of the ladder (almost but inevitable) and therefore the question has to be asked as to why?

I have also raised the question before regarding paying out someone's contract. Surely a contract would be based on performance. If you are not performing, then your employer has the right to terminate your contract. If this is a breach of contract, then it is also a breach of contract to not perform at the level expected on your contract. If I fail to perform at work at the level expected in my position, then I wouldn't be sacked and rewarded with a couple of years of pay. An employer cannot be held financially hostage by an employee not performing in his role.

But Loco, you drafted Kevin Durant at #1 and you're 4-13.

I would very much like to see what G Mcloud would do over here, if the gong ever looked like folding again I'd be on the phone soonest for his signature.

But whats the team going to be - we don';t need an inport guard unless its a homicide or a real speedster like -- ( gong guard? - but then what do we do with Herbert and Carter as Daly has shown he can do back up PG - put their contract money towards the import PG or Centre ?

got to say , we need Creek to do what Trevor Torrance and Tim Morrisey failed to do , and that's develop from a very successful junior with good rebounding and a strong drive but no outside shot , into a confident shooter with range - this can happen in the off season - but will it.

I would love to see how Johnson went as a back up to Ballinger in the PF position coupled with a mature import centre who could bang Harris into shape at training. just leave Holmes as training fodder.

read + as = adequate 25+ min NBL Player
read +- as = a 10= min NBL player
read - as = Training fodder


PG + Herbert , Carter,
+- Daly
- none

SG + spend Import$ ?
-+ NG , Creek
- none

SF + Hill
- ?

PF + Balinger
+- Holmes
- Dowdell

C + Johnsone, or spend import$
+- Harris


just realised from this list just how strange our team structure is -- V sad.

meant to post - no need for in import Point guard - shooting guard is just up for grabs, would love to see Creek do a Penny Taylor and go to vic seabl and use huge court time in a slightly lesser competition become an (outside) scoring demon (she uped her offensive skills by doing this when dropped from the OZ squad in 2000)

EC, same applied to Ninnis then and Smyth in not getting a playing group on track, right? Both also had terrible seasons.

I used to go out and watch Steve Breheney training the Adelaide 36ers and Ninnins too soft on errant players.
Clarke is a hard working coach with strict discipline
Good communication. Loves teaching.
Got the PG and SG spots wrong with 4 Imports.
Got the Centre position wrong.
Not so good on game night speaches and tactics, in his first year as a professional coach.

I don't think an import PG is the right choice. We need someone who's played in the league before, and preferably someone who won't just jack up shots and try to get into a shooting rhythm.

From the glimpses we've seen this season, Adelaide has a really effective transition game when Bruce, Hill, Creek and possibly even Johnson can run the floor. I think that should be nurtured, having young guys in the team gives you the energy to run more and you can pressure teams that are slow to get back on D.

Loco, you ask a very good question.

EC, I doubt they put a performance clause in his contract which to me would be a poor management decision. I think Clarke would have still signed if they had something like "If during any season the club finishes bottom or second to bottom on the ladder then management has the right to void the contract if they feel it is necessary". Furthermore, if i failed to perform at work I would never expect to get an elite position in the same field as Clarke has done.

"But we've definitely gone forward (as a club)."

I would like Boti to ask him how they have gone forward as a club.

Clarke...

But I feel a Blue Chips spending spree coming on... Butch McRae will sign next season with 2 highly paid buddies.

Libertine - It was my first season and I picked based on ESPN's predictions... for roto. I'm near tears thinking about it :(

"It definitely wasn't a fatigue thing," Clarke said of the Sixers' dramatic fade-out which led to a section of the crowd booing his team.

"If they paid their money and didn't like what they saw, that's their prerogative," he said. "I don't believe that's how you support your team .....

Mmmmm!! Guess it's our prerogative whether to purchase tickets and go to the games as well.....

And re: my fantasy team, the Leroy Smith Superfreaks have a three year plan, so there's nothing to worry about.

Really keen to see the crowd numbers for Sixers next home game.