Isaac
Years ago
Funny Basketball Academy update
Hi guys, here's a great update on what's happening with the Academy courtesy of Scott Ninnis:
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I just wanted to take a few minutes to bring everyone up to speed with the progress of the Academy.
The process has taken slightly longer than anticipated, but the dealings we have had with all interested factions, namely BASA, 36ers, SASI, the State League Clubs, as well as the potential players, while extremely positive, has been a time consuming exercise.
Firstly, we have had to change the name from the South Australian Basketball Academy to the Adelaide Basketball Academy. BASA felt that the SA part of the name was too close to theirs and requested we substitute it with "Adelaide". A minor detail, as we will have a naming rights sponsor that will substitute for the SA or Adelaide anyway, but time consuming nonetheless.
Two weeks ago, we met with the potential players and made a presentation about the Academy to them. Those in attendance were:
Adam Benson - Sturt
Adam Blight - South
Eric Burdon -North
Brenton Campbell - Forestville
Chris Clausen - Centrals
Ben Evans - West
Brad Gerlach - Southern
Jarrod Graves - Woodville
Nick Hambour - North
Bronson Kies - North
Thomas McKenzie - South
Marcus Ng - Woodville
Brad Sullivan - Forestville
Matt Sutton - Forestville
Andrew Webber - Norwood
Michael Zorich - North
Also invited, but unable to attend were Andrew Puttifoot and Brad Bungey. Others we are considering are Ashley Nitschke (Norwood) who was uncontactable at the time of meeting, and A.I.S players returning to Adelaide at the end of the season. Joe Ingles (Southern) is unavailable for consideration because of his involvement with SASI.
The criteria for selecting the team is as follows:
Body type and athleticism;
Skills and potential;
2004 ABA statistics; and
Coachability and character.
Obviously, we need to decide what overrides what and why eg., A kid with great potential may only play limited minutes in a very good team.
We will be selecting a squad of 16 players, aged 18 to 23 years with the intention of having at least one player from each state league club.
As with South Australian teams throughout the years, we have many outstanding guards and these selections will prove extremely difficult with some very good players possibly going to miss out.
Earlier last week, I emailed all players to find out their interest and their work / study commitments so we can start formulating times for team trainings, individual sessions, strength and conditioning and additional off court sessions.
The team will be selected and announced next week (barring anymore unforseen delays).
Our intention to run the Academy in a very professional and thorough way has resulted in some delays which I apologise for, however, we are convinced it will be worthwhile in the end. Our overall objective is simple: To help improve the quality and standard of basketball in South Australia, whilst developing a future player-base for the 36ers.
I look forward to answering any questions, criticisms or suggestions anyone may have.
Thank you for your support.
Scott Ninnis