what are you saying anon this team is no good or if he had JAMES BRYANT BOGART NASH BIRD JORDAN HE MIGHT WIN A GAME.oh please

I am not saying he is a good or bad coach or the team is good or bad, what I do know is that this is the team he wanted. As far as I know when he was appointed he was asked about the list and who he wanted and who he didn't and he said he could win with this list.

He has a thre year contract, he lost Herbie and chose to change the imports and has now lost Carter. If his strength lies in development we should be able to judge his coaching ability by the end of next season.

If DJ is playing well, Creek improving, Hill & Ng being consistent, Dowdell steady (I have been impressed with him this year) combined with 2 imports, Ballinger and 2 of Herbert, Bruce, Carter or another big then they should play finals next season.

Anonymous who were the six players that you speak of?

Anonymous, he applied for the job, they told him who was signed. He said he could win with that list, he picked them.

Clarke was signed before any player was signed, he has had complete input into every player bar Ballinger

36ers roster tipped to finish in the bottom bracket. Beat the Hawks one night. Then suddenly concerns re men vs youth coaching after an abysmal road loss. And we're at the top end of the bottom bracket regardless.

Bevo came through coaching younger players. Took a year or so until his style won through with the right players. Westover has countless years of experience and had a horror year last season and a pretty woeful start to this one.

I don't think youth-vs-men is an issue here. Clarke's actually coaching a pretty young team anyway. Against the Tigers, half the problem was just missing the right shots (other half was bad defense).

I can't work his rotations out? There are times when both imports and Balls are off together - that's 3 starters on the bench! I know the last game against the Hawks was a good game, but Ng hit 3 threes and came off....Shannon hit a pair and came off. I know it was hot on new year's eve, but I don't think there have been too many times where a player is on for more than a few minutes at a time during the season.

Is this juniors and has Clarke got the parents sitting behind him yelling for little Johny to get on the court!

clarity, to be technically correct, Clarke's signing was announced before any other signings were announced. I'd say that discussions and verbal deals could've been done prior to that.

I think this, along with youth-vs-men, is another red herring anyway. This is the team (sans import changes, imports, etc) for this year. What can be changed includes:

- getting the best out of them *now*
- who's kept for next year *later*

I'm buying into the 3 year plan and prepared to be patient. We've lacked an identity for a while now and need to build one.

Define 'AIS coach' for me....

I am happy for the 3 year plan. Although I want to win every game, I am more than happy when we leave everything on the court.

This weeks game will be good. A real test at home and something I hope we get out and win.

Remember the crows could never win on the road either (some would say they still can't). I think they won the AFL premiership in a year where their away record was dismal.

Lets get to the game this week. We need a big crowd for this one.

anon clearly you dont know a damn thing and are a fool then.
Holmes was the last person signed bar imports and was not even in contention at one stage.
People like you come on here and spruik like you know what is going on to make yourself feel important. Reality is you dont know a damn thing.
Johnson was only signed after he spoke to Marty and was signed on that basis perhaps you could ask him.
If that is your opinion then fine but dont pass yourself off like you are speaking from a position of knowledge, you just look foolish.

I've never been a fan of development for future when constructing a sport team. sure you may have 1 or 2 young talents in there but for the most part to me successful sport teams has been signing the right piece to win now. or you may wel end up like Portland Blazers and many other teams that just never lived up to expectation.

as far as Clarke as a coach? I have feeling he's a good skills coach but probably not a good head coach

Clarke is best man for this Sixers team he said he has a 3 year plan,if we dont make finals this year there is no need to panic,years to come with this unit of players we will do well in the years to come providing we dont make many off season changes.My concern is that sixers keep the same team and Bruce wants to play and herbert returns,this will be interesting,in fact this team is best ive seen in last 4 years ,let this team gel and I SAY now they will make finals next year and year after.If we miss out this year i say we have done well with alot of new players.

anon you know this because you were at the signing he knew what players were at the club and choose yes choose to coach the club.if he did so to make a name for him self he sure is .as far as a 3 year plan goes god help us if thats the way it stays by then the only supports we be clarke and isaac

we had a very good team for years with players we loved. after that it was an almost new roster every year and poor seasons. i think this 3 year plan is a great thing if it brings back stability. look at wollongong, everyone talks about them getting the most out of their team and their core has been together for a long time. i think thats the key.

with this team i think we should have had a starting centre til dj is more ready.. thats about it other than the troubles early with imports.

really look forward to keeping creek, ng, shannon, balls, carter and dj together for a few years that is a very good young bunch ( i know shannon is 33 but can play til 36 barring injury).

Do you think Coaches read these posts. Some of the comments are just plain embrassing - calling for heads; can the guy coach men.

Clarke is only half way through his first season. Howard is only in his 3rd game. Have some patience.

The problem is he is an AIS coach. They always play 10 man rotations and never give starting quality players the minutes the deserve.

LOL @ Jake, check the forum you just posted on. this is Hoops where majority (not all of you) have expectations so far out there that NASA couldnt send a satellite that kind of distance. there are too many unrealistic fans that want everything and they want it yesterday. i too loved the glory days and they showed it can be done, but you gotta get back to reality

Personally I've been a bit peeved at the Sixer reality for the past few seasons....

Everybody goes on about this "3 year plan" How can a team be built on the basis of a 3 year plan when most of the players are only signed for 1 or 2 years?

Please explain!!

Not every target player is off-contract in every season. Not every plan works perfectly in year one so there's room to adjust (swap out players, see which positions are best filled with imports, etc). Not necessarily defending it (though I'd say every coach has a long term plan of some sort) but explaining it again (I think I explained it last time you asked this).

"Not every target player is off-contract in every season. Not every plan works perfectly in year one so there's room to adjust (swap out players, see which positions are best filled with imports, etc). Not necessarily defending it (though I'd say every coach has a long term plan of some sort) but explaining it again (I think I explained it last time you asked this)."

Isaac - I get your point(s), but I was actually hoping for somebody else to provide another perspective. I think there is more to professional sport than devlopment of players for a 3 or 5 year plan.

The fans still have to pay full price and are expected to remain faithful and patient for a work in progress? When the team does have a good game, the coach slaps at the fans for being neysayers after a few losses and then reverts back to the shelter of a 3 year plan after they get thumped by the second bottom team for their 11th consecutive road loss.

Sorry, but I still think it just a cop out and Clarke needs to learn that the supporters paying out their hard cash for season tickets every year aren't the enemy and perhaps have a right to be disappointed when the team is doing poorly. Redminds me a bit of Phil's "they need 5 or 6 weeks to gel"

That said........we still go to every home game and support the team that will eventually succeed in the post season - (in 3 to 5 years!!)

How do I get a previous post to quote in a new post Isaac?

Beware the 3-year plan. Scott Ninnis had a 3-year plan. Never made it to year 3.

the difference being this coach turns up to work

clarkes a douchebag hes idea of only 1 import per team is idiotic. if there were only 1 import per team i would stop following the nbl and take a lot of people with me.

Marty needs time to deliver , I know all of us faithfull want results sooner rather than later. He has done a solid job thus far. Lets face it people the league is a lot closer than the current W/L posistion of the top to the bottom ranked teams.

I am curious to know how Clarke has selected his 4 imports this season. As a first time NBL coach, what exposure would he have had to overseas players and for what reason would he have had it if he was developing junior players at AIS? His first 2 were unsuccessful, his second 2 are 50/50 at best so far. I am not so concerned about his ability to coach at NBL level but what qualifications did he have to choose his imports?

Boss who you going to take with you, your chump mates that are probably social hack players that think they know everything about basketball because they wear Lebron and Kobe shirts in their social game??

Boss who you going to take with you, your chump mates that are probably social hack players that think they know everything about basketball because they wear Lebron and Kobe shirts in their social game??

EC, I don't know, but I would have thought there are others at the Sixers who keep an eye on potential imports? The coach can only spend so much time looking for that perfect import (esp during the season).

To me it would make sense that the coach would say: "this is the kind of guy I need". Others then go off and trawl websites and speak to their contacts to get a shortlist of possibles. You'd think the coach would then express his opinion on that shortlist and then ownership makes the final decision?

Happy to be corrected by those who have some inside knowledge...

Also, I don't see this as being as simple as Marty being a coach of youth but not men. To me, his record is one of being a development coach AND THAT IS SURELY A GOOD THING for the Sixers long term.

As we are all seeing, getting a good import is a crap shoot and very few star imports really dominate the league like they once did.

I think long term success in the NBL comes to those teams who attract and develop the best core of young Aussies.

Hopefully Marty's connections at the AIS and ability to develop players will finally see us attract some top tier talent and turn them into some new stars.

Lets not forget that Maher is the only elite player the Sixers have produced in the last 15+ years (Cattalini kind of). That is a shocking record and has a lot to do with why we have been crap for 7 years.

... and the 36ers have had a not so great record of local big men leaving Adelaide to play elsewhere. Therein lies the current problem with Schenscher being the latest. Why is it that everyone bar the coaching staff can see that it is a big body that is required, not another SG which there is in abundance with local talent in the team.

doesnt matter about what experience he had in selecting imports, look at ninnis, gleeson, and other coaches out there imports are 50/50 at best they strugle to adapt to our officiating versus there friendly officiating leagues they normally in,

EC, don't forget Radford is there as well. And that experienced Westover sent home an import (and might've considered the other too). And that Wright has sent home a couple as well.

spare a thought for the Breakers fans, on paper we have had a very strong team for a few years yet no championship and yet we persevere with our players and coach in the hope that they will get it done while you guys seem to call for heads to roll after every loss.

The fact is that after what could be considered a very good tenure at the AIS, Clarke is now cutting his teeth at the professional level this season.

He has brought with him a new system, new ideas and new methods. Like everything, experience takes time, whether you are a coach or a player.

I use the example of Hill. Whilst he still has his own doubters, Hill has improved this season. He has been more consistent and improved his decision making. How much of that can be attributed to experience, and how much can be attributed to Clarke's influence? I would argue it is a combination of both.

I think the litmus test for Clarke will be year 2. We need to give him a bit of time and an opportunity to show that his skills, planning and methodologies can work.

I reckon if we had the NZ "salary cap' we'd be doing a lot better.

Spinner, this is not a long-term plan without an intention of winning now. Of course there is more to professional sport than just development of players. If they weren't trying to win now, would they have axed two imports trying to find the right combination? Brought in Bruce to cover for Carter instead of just elevating Daly?

mmm. There are definitely very valid points ABOVE, AND on BOTH sides of this discussion. I am remaining "mutual" until Marty's had atleast a full NBL season under his belt. Its refreshing to see intelligent and mature discussions are actually possible on this forum. (Someone will now post *BuRrRrrrrp!") :)

In his early days - he was keen on Shannon (played with Anstey) but he had higher offers, then
and keen on Howard , training with the Bucks, then.

I think Marty is trying to develop a culture, which can't just be done at the drop of a hat.

I am struggling with alot of clarks rotations, I dont like the 5 on 5 off idea. Personnally players should be rested with subs coming in for 1-2 people at a time, not the entire team. Even though we have a good bench 5 I would still rather see more of the starting 5 on the court for 30odd minutes.

I think clark stuffed up in the signing of DJ, we havent got anywhere near enough from him this season as to what was expected. Thats pushed Balls to play centre again and not only lose his favoured position, but we dont have a solid centre on court with him to draw defenders. I know this isnt our only problem, but geez it would have turned alot of those small 2 point losses into wins.

Agree with Skud that although believe can be a player the signing of DJ as our no 1 centre was a mistake thus forcing Ballinger to be main centre , especially when picking a guard orientated roster even not adding some size after losing DeVries , could he not see by then.
One of things get annoyed about is this young team tag.
Sorry there is only Creek and DJ and Dowdell that would callanywhere young and certainly none of starters are young with Hill when starts being youngest.
Clarke has shown his inexperience
in rotations
Under pressure decisions
Stupid stupid pump up statements
In team structure for NBL comp.
Seriously this team has a lot of good players and much greater depth than had for many years.
Hope he has learnt from 1st half of year

I'd be interested to know if we could have afforded Schenscher if we had only brought in one import. The way this team looks to me right now, I'd be happy if we just ran Shannon at the point next season and had Schenscher instead of Howard or his equivalent. Hopefully the Crocs didn't sign him for more than one year?

Ineedmore, you got any proof that NZ is rorting the Salary Cap? No I didn't think so..........

no but the tax department does. breakers will be thoroughly investigated at years end including investigated for double contracts.

You're not confusing the Breakers with the Melbourne Storm are you ;P?

Bean, I'd say we could have. One concern with Schenscher was with the pacing of his game. The other was that his points value would preclude us getting the second import. I think it would've been OK money-wise.

AFAIK, Schensch is only on a one year deal up with the Crocs but will undoubtedly spend a bit of time in the off-season trying to line up something outside of the NBL (which doesn't always work for the early movers).

Bretts, its not so much the age as the lack of established, quality players. Balls and Holmes are the only guys on this team who have established themselves as NBL players. Even then, Holmes is a very limited player. The jury has been out on Hill and Ng for a long time and they are perhaps only now beginning to establish themselves as NBL players. Then you have Carter with a little bit of experience, but he's still young and hardly an established vet. Then DJ, Dowdell and Creek are all young and inexperienced.

Compare that to top teams who have quality, experienced 'locals':

Hawks - Sav, Davidson, Forman, Campbell
Breakers - CJ, Penney, Boucher, Vukona
Taipans - Crosswhite, Loughton, Rychart, Jones, Grabau
Crocs - Schenscher, Hinder, Crawford
Perth - Redhage, Martin (only 2 this year, but 2 of the best in the league)

From the day Marty took over, Perth is the team who I thought we should be trying to emulate. Beveridge is establishing a style for the Wildcats and developing his players to fit roles on the team. Fortunately he has some good talent coming through to support his two star players: Knight, Wagstaff and Weigh all have a lot of ability.

I reckon the Sixers are about a year to two years behind where Perth is right now. We do need to pick up one or two more talented players, but if Marty continues to develop a system and develops good players to fit it, we'll start seeing a perennial powerhouse again.

Thanks Isaac, I did have the impression that part of the reason we didn't chase Schensch hard was that Marty wanted a more up-tempo team. I can understand that, but I think this season is proving that it was a mistake. A number of teams have gone for size and we have not shown that we have the speed and pressure game to neutralize this advantage.

If I was choosing the Sixers team for next year right now, I'd keep Shannon as our lone import and see if I could lock Luke up for a couple of years. You could then let Holmes go and strengthen the backcourt by getting a guy like Madgen (or if you hit the jackpot, a Goulding or Weigh).

question- why weren't Ian Stacker (the current AIS coach) get the job and maybe Clarke as assistant. as mentioned above don't think he's experienced enough for a pro team. many of his current philosophies indicate his methodology is still stuck at coaching juniors.

Mystro, if I had any proof do you think I would be posting on a basketball chat forum?

Sure, the comment was a bit cheeky but not that wide of the mark either.

It's a valid point LA Boy...

I can only think that Stacker does have some baggage with him whilst Clarke has been widely touted as a promising up and coming coach and has plenty of upsise so to speak.

LA Boy, remember Radford's there with Clarke. He's not all fresh and alone on the bench.

Anon, I think things would've been different had we put up more money for Bevo but lowball is an unfair way to describe it. From what I heard, they had a bit of a verbal agreement and then Bevo started loading up on a few extras he wanted that added up. In hindsight, it would probably have been worth it, but at the time Bevo had little more experience than Clarke and it's never nice to be held out for ransom.

Had Bevo come here, I think a few of the crucial Cats would be playing in Adelaide right now.

But with Bevo in Perth and Gordie in Wollongong, I am happy to have Clarke (sans media missteps!). I think he'll get there.

who's Radford? was he NBL coach of the year with championships too? sorry I'm not too good with the history.

but regardless having a vet coach beside him doesn't mean he should be given the full power. he should've still served as apprentice to a proven head coach for many seasons before given the job. just like phil jackson under doug collins, kurt rambis under phil jackson etc.

You guys in Adelaide jump on and of the bandwagon every fucking year unless you win maybe it's the stare that sucks

Clarke will be fine...Rat is very good as an assistant, plus marty trusts him...2 years were they need to be...sit tight and stop being crazy hats..

u too bballfan...chill out bruz

Ineedmore, Cool Story Troll

@mystro if you think the breakers are under the cap think about this.
Penny and CJ alone are over half the salary cap. Braswell aint playing cheap either. That leaves ball park 350 to spend on

-Pledger
-Abercrombie
-Henare
-Webster
-Wilkinson
-Boucher
-Vukona

Vukona is on over 100 so that leaves 4 players and an import to fight over the remaining 250.

Out of those players remaining one is the hottest talent in the L and another the former defensive player of the year and i bet you they arent playing that cheap.

Pledger, Abercrombie and Webster would not be on as much as you think. They were all marquee players in the NZNBL. They would have received alot of their income for their respective clubs, The Waikato Pistons and The Harbour Heat.

The Breakers is not their sole source of income..

No doubt the Breakers are well over the salary cap, as was the winner last year in Perth! and past winners Titans / Sydney- ridiculous, Melbourne and the old Sixers and Perth Champions.
There are also other teams spending well over the cap to try and win it like Gold Coast, Perth again and Townsville.
I wreckon there has only been one team ( Wollongong) under the cap and won it in the last 20 years since they had a salary cap.
It tough on guys like Marty that coach teams like the current Sixers, Wollongong and Cairns who are definatly not spending the same amount of money but the same results are expected of them.