SAW,
Good point, but currently the three inner south clubs have some of the highest team numbers in juniors. This is partly due to the higher income area they inhibit, but maybe also to the work those clubs do to get players. If you look at Centrals and the Western located clubs, perhaps it is the lower ecomonic area that fotball (with it's lower significantly lower cost) draws a larger number of it's players from restricts the basketball development in these area's.
While I applaud the merger to make the Southern Tigers, I am sure that it hasn't been without it's difficulties. Rather than looking at club merger, my opinion, for what it is worth (probably not much) is that the competition needs to allow clubs to maintian their status, while allowing for an 8 team competition.
Who can predict where the next generation of basketballers will come from. It seems curretly that the Modbury and Golden Grove area's have made North a stronger club after a previous low. (Dean Kinsman probably helped a bit) And it seems that this may be running out. ie The age of families may be ageing. This seems to be the case with Forrestville and Sturt. Their younger teams seem to be very strong, (indicating a larger young family pool living in the area) but as this area ages will that mean that they too suffer a decline.
Looking at the Western suburbs, West was very strong back in the Bowden days. While now it is in the football heartland, it seems that the local concil is looking to improve the area and induce young families into the area. Be careful in looking to force mergers when in 5 - 10 years the wetern suburbs may have a larger number of high economic young families.
Let us instread that this into account in designing a competition structure which helps those players/teams/clubs that are stronger now, but also when the inevitable highs and lows that occur throughuot basketball over time, help those lpayers/cteams/clubs in the future.
Any competiton which has promotion/relegation must start with each club having the same ability at U/10 or U/12 level to have their team in the top division. Thus for example the centrals U/12 girls team from last season needs to have the opportunity to be a div 1 team. Then from their on they would not feel the need to change clubs because of not getting an opportunity to compete in div 1. This means that as long as this team is coached well, rather than losing players to other clubs they might infact gain players.
So SAW in a long winded answer. I applaud the Sothern merger and think that they will benefit from it as will all SA Basketball, (especially considering the number of young families moving to the area) but better still lets have a competition which has the ability to provide for the short term and long term development of the game making the mergers not necessary.