First season as head coach in nbl with a team which has had changes, injuries, etc throughout the season yet managed to overcome early troubles and make it to finals. Think he did slot better than some would expect. Think if core players stay around or another season if there is one, you will find we will have better results. Scotty did a great job, and alot better than Smyth for past couple years.

i think ninnis has to go but i see why people think he should stay. we as fans of the 36ers dont want to look like we blame the coach every year we dont win, especially after the smyth incident. we also all like scotty as a person, and can see he is trying his ass off every night which we respect.

my reasons for wanting him gone is we won only one game more than last year! this years roster added luke, aaron bruce and hill while really only losing copeland, mottram and ng. compare the 2 rosters, there a world apart.

with a 15-15 record we would have finished 7th last year, just above the blaze on %. this year 2 teams had to release there imports due to finance in hence really only making it an 8 team race. were happy to finish 6th? our 14-16 last year was against 13 financial teams. no easy wins against depleted cairns teams. oh and we still lost to them.

our defence game up 98.7 ppg over 31 games, a 5 point improvement on last season. I thought ninnis wanted to bring in d and make it a priority. im sure if we had luke last season we wouldnt have given up 104 or even the 99 this season. Luke is 2nd in bpg and changes so many other shots as well, a 5 point improvement is poor when you add that kind of a player, and come in claiming fixing the d as your main priority.

we were 1-12 when we gave up 100 plus points to opponents. so in our elimination final we give up 130, good job!

our offence dropped to 6th and 96 ppg, as to 104 and 2nd last year with a less talented side.

im not saying smyth is better im just saying scotty did no better, with a better side. scotty is a great guy just not a great coach.

sorry forgot to mention we added holmes aswell this year.

here is the roster from this year and last

08 09
c Mottram C Schenscher
PF Ballinger PF Ballinger
SF Chappell/Hodge SF Tyndale/Hodge/Grizzard
SG Maher SG Maher
PG Davidson PG Bruce

NG Hill
Copeland Davidson
Cooper Cooper
Dench Holmes
Sutton Winitana
Burdon Burdon
Dodman Hoban
Kersten

which team do you think is better? one game improvement not good enough.

The Breakers had the same issues in Lemanis first season or two, no real major improvements but it was largely because he was playing with a team that the previous coaches had put together that really didn't work. He patiently waited for all the luggage's contracts to expire and then built a team that he thought could get the job done.
Last season they came close, a few tweaks here and there in the offseason (thank god for a point guard that puts 20+ on the board and passes well) and here come the semi's.
I would just be patient for another season and then make changes if there is no drastic improvement, if Hodge had worked out and came and killed us in that quarter final I'm pretty sure you all would sing a different song.

He needs another year at least.

He needs another year at least.

He will get another year, no doubt...
after that i think he is open slather!

Here are the 2 glaring problems I saw with coaching in last nights game.
1. Not starting Hill in the 3rd quarter or not bringing him on sooner (didn't get on until the 5 minute mark)

2. When guarding Henare on ball screens. His defender went under the screen which is the right thing to do but the big still hedge out which makes no sense for a guy with no offensive game. They kept on getting open looks because player were rotating to help out which the didn't need to do.

Other than that I wouldn't say Ninnis hard a bad first year and he is passionate.

Tough year for the team, we had the nost talent since we won the back to back titles. Had a few injury worries, Paora, Davidson, Maher.

Jacob didn't perform as expected. Bruce was inconsistent, but I suppose that is to be expected in your rookie year. Hill has come on in the last few weeks, lets hope he can become a more consistent force, a backcourt of Bruce & Hill over the next five years should be exciting to watch.

Schenscher performed above expectations, probably a little too well and will head overseas as a result.

Ballinger was as advertised, solid. Maher showed glimpses of his former self but understandably didn't reach the heights we have become accustomed to.

Cooper, you know what you are going to get, might have been a little bit down on recent yers.

Second import spot, picked the wrong guy to start with. Picked the money man second and it didn't work out. Picked the next available option third and it never clicked.

Kersten, probably didn't see him play enough to comment. Everyone knows he has potential, hopefully he can go on with it.

Overall a disappointing year, the talent in that squad should have finished higher than they did.

12 wins and 3 losses at home.. 3 wins and 13 losses away. Is the main issue.

I think Ninnis has done a reasonable job this year considering it was his first year in with an inexperienced coaching team and he at least made it to one finals game. However he had set backs with fitness and imports which didn't help his cause.
My big disappointment this year was losing a match winning player, (Hodge) in a management stuff-up.
None of these things were Scotties fault and I think he will have learned a lot from this year.

The on road performance was the killer. If we were 6-10 instead of 3-13, would there be such an outcry?

any time you take over a team from assistant coach to head coach you are going to have problems.
in normal situations,the good cop,bad cop thing is in place in the coaching ranks.
bad cop kicks arses(h/c) good cop pats arses(a/c)
when a/c gets main job and you dont clean out your roster his attempts to be bad cop tend to fall on deaf ears with players not responding.

in saying that,i am not sure if that covers the bad rotation of players and other poor decisions through the season!!!!

We simply are no further advanced still with no real game plan and cannot provide real defensive pressure against good teams. Player for player we had a better team but only improved marginally. The real concern is how we play with no heart espec. if we start losing these 30+ loses are a bl---y disgrace.
Yes I am one of very vocal posters that wanted a change and whilst wanting a Bevo type coach was ok to give Scotty a go when finances demanded that and yes we have to give him another year but get a experienced coach with him there is a few around poss. available. But I thought we at the least would be coached and play with a little passion. Passion is not arguing with Refs the previous guy could do that.
You watch all the other teams with cuts ,screens and other structured moves. Ours is get it in to Schens. or shoot the 3 points usually under pressure.
What about the turnovers. I have seen almost double the silly turnovers this year than in any previous year. Whilst 2 plyrs mainly responsible for a lot of those. The coach and his systems also has to wear a lot of the blame. Not much point Scotty making finals to lose by 30 and allow opp. to score 131 . Great last game for Brett too guys . Yes give Scotty another year but change something to give better direction etc. There is no excuses look at the kick in the guts Spirit and Taipans got and they put it out there each week with very ordinary teams

maybe the new nbl should encourage in some way the bringing in of better coaches.
rather then clubs spending lots of money on players maybe the focus should be on coaches.
goorj shows us every year how ordinary players respond to good coaching,it is know secret!!

same thing that happened to the nbl office staff over the years,just because you played in the nbl it doesnt mean you will be any good as a ceo of nbl.

i can assure you 99 percent of the players in the nbl wont make good coaches of nbl teams!!

I was probably dissapointed with the way we somtimes gave up
cant remember a season where we had so many 20+ point losses

In a condensed league I think Ninnis wont fit

Definately a descent job for first year my concern is the mental attitude the team has away from the dome, surely the coach needs to accept that its his fault. I like him as coach and want to see him the coach next season. He knows his own faults as a coach and that he needs to learn more so thats a positive. At least we made the finals.

Players win games ,Coaches loose them? You guys are pathetic how you come on here and bag a guy in his first season as head coach. What makes it worse is that it comes from people who are nobodys when it comes to coaching. Why is it when the sixers do not win you all could have coached better and this and that should have been done. Funny that none of these comments came out when the sixers were on a roll. NZ were at full strength last night and are a good unit. It is a shame that Brett's last game finished that way, but i also believe that Scott and management have to address the playing away issue. If they could break even on away games they would be right up there. Ninnis has endured more than most coaches this season with injuries and the Hodge issue.

Have to give him another year, rookie season as a coach was filled with turmoil, never giving him a chance to fix problems the team were having. Give him a good off season to try and find what went wrong on the away games the judge his performance next year. I think everyone expected another Phil, instant success.

The injuries this year were no worse than what other teams endured. In the last quarter of the regular season and then again last night's KO game, the full squad was healthy. No excuses when it comes to injuries. Ninnis is a great person, I've always liked him but what he has done this season as head coach is well below par. He has provided no guidance for the team to overcome their on road mentality. Even the home games although mostly won, the team was lucky to get away with not playing a full game. Its this sort of playing at home that just scraped them in but was always going to leave them short on the road. The focus just hasn't been there. The numerous time outs called when things weren't going well, only for the team to go back on court and have learnt nothing from it. This season has been pure frustration and would not like a repeat next season. Sorry, Ninnis can stay as an assistant, but a decent, experienced head coach is required. If money was an object, then you can't even blame Ninnis fully. He provided what he was paid for and the club needs to re assess this situation for next season. No 2nd season as head coach for Ninnis, he is still developing.

Gordie is ready to move to Adelaide if he gets the call.

You have to give him another year, you cant expect to get everything right with a rookie head coach and a new group of players all the time. I think he did an ok job, had some issues but will work through them. The last thing i want to see is us become like some soccer euro soccer team cutting the coach after a 3 game loosing skid.

The word is Scotty will be back and we will get a experienced assistant coach. I reckon Gordie might be best fit for us though a few to chose from.
Appoint now get the jump on what we need and who is committed . If Schens has to committ now so we can get good alternative whilst still avail.

Yea i was thinking gordie mcleod would be the best choice, an experienced coach who has led teams to the playoffs and has a rep of getting his team to over achieve, perfect mentor for scott

Which Assistant(s) goes?

I believe Hill as well as Scotty already contracted.
Have to add something to the mix and adding bit more
direction and desperation into team and Gordie would definetly seem right fit

yes interesting post mortem -engine still a tad warm. Initial assessment indicate cylinders in reasonably good shape and all major parts present and functional but exhaust analysis has revealed:

#1 Incomplete combustion- engine was getting older and whilst still willing there where limitations. Recent modifications to hot up engine had been successful to some extent but ill fitting and leaks around most seals are clearly evident.
#2 Owner needs to know that you cant add on a few new parts and then expect grand prix performance which would explain why this vehicle was out performed by more ordinary vehicles built from ground up.
#3 Ownership A few issues with past ownership formerly owned by a benevolent society with complex committee structure and whole garage needs systems review. Registration check indicates ambiguous current ownership arrangement- not helpful.
#4 Mechanic -relatively young bloke and keen and has good workshop experience and absolutely committed and will have learnt a lot that he will apply. Could he have done more -yes- would the organization give him a blank canvas and a blank cheque?? Listen you don't get it- its not all about the money; remember those ordinary vehicles that out performed.

Sixers will be a project and what was apparent was some individual talents but a lack of synchronization and some of those parts added where just not genuine parts and it showed.

It was about this time last year , that 100 people applied. Rod Beveridge was chose , but knocked it back. Ninnis signed a 3 year performance based contract. Recruited a few new players who are not strong enough.

Personality and personnel is what stands out to me.
We can all argue about performance, plays, rotations, player selections and rosters compared to other years.

The thing that stands out to me is personality. Some people have a charisma, that comes across as strong, confident, capable, no excuses necessary. You hear those people, and you know immediately that they are leaders, winners, and wherever they go the team will follow. They lead by inspiration, and they never accept defeat or that something cant be achieved.

I know of Scottys a great guy, and past record as a player etc, but I still dont hear a leader that troups would follow into battle. Everytime I hear him interviewed, I just wish that I would see less excuses, and something to give me confidence about the future, not because were going to pick better players next year, and not because we will have another year to learn the plays, and not because we had problems with the import.....
How many years has Goorj changed imports during the season and moulded them into his web to win? How many times has he done what needs to be done, ruthlessly to achieve. I dont like the guy, but he has something in his personality that is consistent with winners.

I know its only his first year, and I'm not calling for his head, but I cant say I am excited for the future with him as our leader and motivator. What our results say to me is, that the team is 'motivated' in Adelaide by the supporters, but they are not 'motivated' when they are playing away and dont have crowd support, that's when you need a coach to steer the ship, fire them up, motivate them mentally.

I hope I'm wrong, but that's what I see.

PS. If BA are looking at Brett Brown for a Boomers coach, would you try to entice him to coach the 36ers?