+1

actually someone needs to ask Boti why he doesn't bother EVER attending a 36ers press conference. Respect is a 2 way street, if you dont give it you sure wont get it. That is why Bednall is getting actual quotes from the coach.

So what did you learn from this article seeing Jai spoke to Marty.
So where does Marty expect team to improve over next few weeks and what is he doing to make it happen .
No nothing there no ownership or direction there again but what would you expect from coaches who ridiculed everyone with not us on tech foul
I am sure that boy Stephen appreciated him defending his over use on court even when carrying a injury.
Not too sure Diamon who was being hailed as our best import for long time a few weeks ago enjoyed being dumped on again.
Boti peverted not too sure your agenda is whether a hidden agenda against Boti or more likely a deflection away from issues that are there with coaching
to the journalist writing what true supporters are feeling .
Simply nothing done about coaching will see many more season ticket holders
show their feelings whether boti -- Jai or who else writes a article.

Nah I think this shows more of the issues Clarke has as a head coach in the Nbl

He is quoted by Bendall as saying that the reason for playing big minutes to young players is to get minutes in to them

Even in the AFL this thought process is generally only used if the best players are injured or perhaps very late in the season when there is no chance of finals

He needs to realize that first & foremost an Nbl club needs to "win" which means playing the players in form and performing on the night

Also successful clubs have always had there imports and veterans playing the most minutes and younger players work to deserve the extra court time.

even someone like Brett Maher (Adelaide) & Brad Newley (Townsville)had to earn a spot in the starting line up & court time

ummm all we have is younger players, what the hell are you on about. You want Ng and Helliwell to play the most minutes as they are the oldest, thank the lord you are not the coach

if you are a supporter who exercises your view point with your wallet may i suggest you arent much of a supporter. The Western bulldogs havent won for over 50 years but still have over 30,000 people that support them through membership

If you walk away then you will have nothing to support so good one you for beating your chest about not supporting the team

Hidden agenda??? I think you all should understand now What my agenda is....I want Boti out!

Where in Martys words did he dump on Simpson? Perhaps start your posts with "once upon a time...."
What i read was Clarke saying....Weigh can guard the 1, 2 and 3 man. Simpson can guard the 4 & 5. do you want Simpson guarding a SF/SG at the 3pt line?

At this point of the season and when the commitment from day one has been to rebuild would you rather the minutes going to Creek, Johnson or an import who won't be here next year?

Boti and his supporters remind me of the me me me Y Generation, you want it all right now, you won't go thru the hard yards with the team, you forget what happens when injuries strike a team, and you never mention the good things i.e Daniel Johnson for most improved,the signing of Creek

Hey KB3 where does Big D or myself say we are not going to continue to support Sixers this topic is about Botis article and our support of that article not support for the agenda of Boti P.
If you or others cant see the drop in season ticket holders around you or the mood of those that sat through last few years and even seeing go further backwards .
In life those that make the noises are those that care

Boti the perverted it's not the first month of his first year & we are calling for his head. He is half way through a 3 year deal & his coaching absolutely stinks!! Boti is just saying publicly what everyone else (bar you) is thinking! Apart from Bullets coach 'Richard Orlich' about 12 years ago he is the worst coach in NBL history. His W/L column suggests this & will continue to because he cannot coach mate.

Figures don't lie...

The sad part is a cash strapped organisation has it's hands tied over the issue & has no answer. They should cut their losses, let these two imbeciles go & find someone passionate about this team who will get some respect back & not charge an arm & a leg. Smyth & Maher spring to mind again - haven't we already posted all this?

Orbit and others perhaps you should stay out of things that you know nothing about there is a storm front brewing that is headed straight for Boti
It wont be the first time that he and his employer have had to get their cheque books out.

I loved the quote from Marty that it isn't about scoring. Glad Bendall followed up by saying: That would be consistent Marty with your earlier comment, it's not about winning... ? Lol

Boti doesnt attend Press conference-thats right,he leaves the game straight away in his car and GONE.

Lets just get rid of Clarke first then focus on the Boti bashing.... only 1 has a losing record, and the other is doing his job if people are talking about him, for better or worse.

Perhaps it's still lost on the NBA Playstation crew, kobe24....who has the money to pay out Clarke? and who has the money to bring in a coach? And the young players who have been recruited by Clarke will they stick around with a coach they don't even know?
'Lets just get rid of Clarke first' come on buddy, try and just think a tad deeper, you sound like Homer Simpson. Im not saying be Einstein but think about how and what would happen....or we will be all traveling to Mt Gambier to watch the Pioneers.

Getting rid of Clarke & having no coach might actually help the W/L column BTP. Thats a great idea & i'm not being sarcastic!!

Remember that the 36ers don't pay Boti to give them favourable coverage. It's not always going to be positive, especially not when the signs are rarely positive. If the club want PR, they have to arrange that separately and it's something they should've had for years and years.

(Boti-haters, don't jump on me yet.)

I don't think Jai is the best basketball sportswriter in SA. From what I've read of Jai's stories, they're not particularly insightful. I remember one Sunday Mail piece (in the pre-season) which was so fluffy I almost threw up. It was not far off a New Idea "Lleyton and Bec's new baby!" feature.

But on the other side, all season Boti hasn't been able to hide his dislike of Clarke which isn't far off the tone of Hoops to be fair. A match report after a loss seems full of Clarke references; after a win, not so much. I'm sure it's as much Clarke's doing as not, but the disconnect is pretty obvious.

So, on one hand you have a FAQ seemingly set out by the coaches, and the other you have criticism and opinion with few direct answers or new questions.

The recent story featuring Cattalini and Ninnis, save for the last paragraph, was almost a bit underwhelming. Ninnis suggested a problem was player turnover but then admitted that changes would likely be needed after this year - player turnover is going to happen when you're losing and trending downwards.

I acknowledge your PR point Isaac but the clear abuse of Boti's pen is overpowering.

As you said the difference between Hawks fans and the 36ers fans is vast.

The 36ers have a pied piper calling for blood every two years while at the same time expecting the core group to stay the same.

They are completely irrational suggestions. Which journo in Adelaide has led the culling of the last few coaches. Two faced is to polite.

I dont recall Boti offering to put money into save the club or lodging his application for the coaching role. Yet he feels it appropriate to spew rhetoric and wrote articles that even followers of the game fail to understand.

In my opinion he has no right to attack the club that proffers him a living, no 36ers means he is unemployed yet year after year he is happy to attack the club.

The article yesterday was bordering on delusion. Even stooping to getting a quote from an ex coach who was sacked. What a suprise he had something negative to say about the club.

When things where bad at the lightning he did not once attack Breheny. Why? Because he has too much to lose personally by annoying the owner of the Lightning.

Another low for him by quoting a guy who doesn't even think enough of Adelaide to live here. Everything about it was pure attack and opinion.

Boti himself set the tone with the coaches by betraying their trust as he has done many times with many others.

Perhaps the club could ban his driver from getting free entry to games. The 36ers are bigger than Boti.

"won by all intensive purposes"

Possibly the most intelligent part of your post, and that's saying something.

I don't think you have to apply to be a coach or invest money to write your opinion. If you have a criticism of him, you can set these points aside because they'll otherwise just distract from your argument.

Also consider two things: that when things are going well, Boti is not far off free advertising for the club; and that 36ers fans are all very capable of calling for a coach's head without the "pied piper". I remember many of us thinking it was time for the club to move on Smyth before Boti eventually wrote something approaching a recommendation.

In this period, I think Boti's opinion of Clarke has been clear for a long time and neither coach is afforded any real concession which didn't seem so as true for those before them.

But has Clarke made strong efforts to build his personal brand and reputation or to endear himself to fans? Has he sold people on his plan or vision? Hasn't seemed to. Nor do the club seemed to have help him in this regard. Every comment from the Grantham that I've seen has seemed to distance them from him. Are we seriously going to have that for another season?

The crucial thing for me is that I don't learn anything new from Boti's columns this year. I already stopped reading the NBL's reports because they're pretty plain. The rumours are often online (forums, social media, etc) first. If I want to know that Diamon Simpson didn't play many minutes or that we lost, I've already seen it on Hoops right after the game from fans offering their verdict. I'd rather be finding out why it's been happening. And not just stopping after the first answer, but asking for the next answer. e.g., imaginary scenario:

(Boti writes that few minutes for Simpson isn't enough. Should've come back in at x minute mark.)
Jai: "Why only 22 minutes for Simpson?"
Marty: "He defends PF/C whereas there were times when the opposition went small and we needed more coverage at SF."
(Jai moves on to the next question whereas I want to see the following.)
Mythical reporter: "Is it a problem of conditioning or maintaining a certain pace? Is he not following plays as closely as you would like? If so, how are you combating that? Is it about effort levels? Radford called him on effort in the last game, is this a team-wide problem? Is he not spreading the defence enough? Would you describe your approach as reactive or proactive? Should you forget about wondering how Simpson is going to defend x off the dribble and wonder how x is going to defend Diamon in the paint?"
Mythical reporter: "Do you feel that on-court leadership has been an issue with a core of young players? What emphasis have you placed on trainings this week? What makes you feel that the current starting five is the best? What is being done to improve the defensive rating of the team?"

In summary, I have a problem with everything: bit bored of Boti's columns, don't go out of my way to read Jai's or those from the NBL, we complain a lot on Hoops, the coaches aren't doing enough, the club aren't doing enough, and so on!

Anon, don't know. Maybe ask them.

Just to compare, here's a report from Keeble in the Illawarra Mercury following a Hawks loss, after a horrible passage across half-time and in a season that was 1-8 at home at that point.

Match report

Very different style. Negative points are generalised (team rebounding, etc) - nothing brutal about the coach or individual players. Nothing about Glover's game (mostly horrific) or about the merits of taking a firing player out of the game due to foul trouble. I was at that game. If that had been the 36ers at home, Hoops would've been livid and you can bet Boti would've singled out people off and on court!

"At this point of the season and when the commitment from day one has been to rebuild would you rather the minutes going to Creek, Johnson or an import who won't be here next year?"

Creek has averaged 17 minutes last year and 15 minutes per game this year hardly huge minutes. Last season DJ had 20 minutes a game as the only center in the team. Hardly rebuilding for the future with those sort of minutes.

Also why is Simpson less likely to be here next season? A quality import is hard to find and other teams will want DJ and Creek and can offer them more money and more opportuntity then Clarke has provided.

"who played in a team that paid double the salary cap at the time"

Where is the facts for that? Are you saying they paid $2 million (if the salary cap was $1 million then)? As I recall they were over but not by that much and no where nearly close to double the amount

"you want it all right now, you won't go thru the hard yards with the team, you forget what happens when injuries strike a team, and you never mention the good things i.e Daniel Johnson for most improved,the signing of Creek"

We want it all right now? We just want a team that actually wins at least 50% of their games and that is not embarrassing to watch with a coach that actually knows what he is doing.

So we should not be unhappy with how the team has been going. Lets have a look at the last 3 years

2010 = Bottom
2011 = 2nd to bottom however that was flattering as the only reason they weren't bottom is because Sydney rejoined the league again.
2012 = Most likely bottom AND probably a worse record then last season.

Yeah we are looking great and we have no reason to be upset with how the team is going.....

Injuries is a weak excuse as almost every team has suffered injuries or has had adversity
Cairns - Loughton, Crosswhite, Rychart
Perth - Martin, Knight
Townsville - Schenshcer, Hinder
NZ - Lost their best player in Penny, CJ being Injured.
Sydney - Bruce, Dann
GC - Harvey
Tigers - Lost Mills, change of import
Hawks - Gruber, change of import

DJ could have been most improved last season but Clarke choose not to play him.

We signed Creek but he hasn't been getting the minutes and his minutes have gone down this season. In fact, Clarke has done him a diservice by signing him as his AIS mates are doing excellent in College and look to have a much better future then Creek.

"Weigh can guard the 1, 2 and 3 man. Simpson can guard the 4 & 5. do you want Simpson guarding a SF/SG at the 3pt line?"

Weigh struggles to guard a 3 man yet you think he can guard a point guard? In fact its more like Weigh plays 2,3 and 4. However I would have more faith in Simpson guarding a 3 then Weigh guarding a 4. Simpson is 6'7 quick and atheletic so why couldn't he guard a small forward (as long as we obviously have a captable power forward and center on at the same time)?

King James you realise that Weigh is playing on one foot at present and should actually not be playing at all. He is playing in pain, trying to do what he can to help the team.

Fully fit he is much better defender than what we have seen of late

BJF, that just shows another poor coaching decisions by Clarke to play him 35 minutes when he is injured and to play him at power forward at times.

Either he is healthy enough to play 35 minutes or he isn't and shouldn't be playing those sorts of minutes.

Regardless, many Wildcats fans don't think he is a very good defender.

Isaac - interesting point re the Mercury article. However, I reckon it sounds like the articles that got written in the Advertiser through the period of the 36ers' gradual decline, earlier this century, which followed a period of success.

As such, the comparison is undermined by the fact that Wollongong has a coach in whom the fans and local media believe, because he has built faith through the team's results of the last few years. The 36ers were bottom 2 years ago, second bottom last year - because a new team entered the league and finished below us - and are on track to return to bottom more formally this year. I compare the sentiments on this forum when he was first signed and in the first half of last season with now and conclude that Clarke has not built faith through results. Au contraire, the team's results under his direction have destroyed it. For these reasons, I take your comparison with a grain of salt.

I have been puzzled about the lack of engagement by the 36ers' organisation, especially the coaches, through the media. I struggle to recall, even in the early days of last season, any quotes from Clarke or Radford. There may be an issue with the different requirements of being a coach in a professional league,which requires PR skills, and the less public role of coaching at the AIS. Perhaps Clarke lacks the skills or personality to carry out this part of the job and is suffering in media coverage as a result? Pure speculation on my behalf, as I know none of the characters involved, beyond what I read here and in the paper.

Boti the preverted.........you have some serious hidden agenda champ. You mention some valid points but the emotion and anger in your posts tells me it is personal.

I would agree with Isaac and the King's points above.

If you follow the soccer you'd find the reporting on Rini Coolen before he was demoted was in the same manner. The Reds have not lost a game since Kosi has come on board. The 36ers fans know we have a good squad we just need a good coach.

Pretty sure 3 -0 is a loss jake

Great post by King James and Isaac putting a lot of things into perspective and clear un biased views.
As Isaac and I have posted that nothing Boti or anyone else can write anything to incite or change views of true supporters who are seeing and establishing their own views.
BJF you added substances to views of many why is Weigh getting so many minutes and as you put on one leg it makes the decision to deprive minutes off Creek and Simpson even more ludicrous

Hahaha Muzz Buzz........it is a bad loss. I actually posted at half time of the soccer and hadn't checked the prog score. I am sure all 36ers fan would accept 5 wins / draws & 1 loss in 6 games after a change in coach.

Tactically in games, Clarke does things i cannot follow. If the opposition have gone small, why not put on Simpson to exploit that at the offensive end?

When you get the opposition in the bonus from foul trouble why not try to get to the foul line? or at least use the threat to get easy shots in the lane.

The normal "time and score" rules for last quarters that i am familiar with don't seem to apply with this team. And no ones seems to be asking the right questions in this regard, just occasionally the TV commentators drop hints...

You hear stories of how Dunlap used to to hold a monthly coaches seminar sessions and answer questions on the last few games, what the plan was and how it panned out, and then he would run through his philosophies on man pressure, zone defence, etc etc. and answer questions on those again from any coach in attendance.

When you watched Smyth, it was simple obvious, predictable but effective stuff, {until the other coaches worked out it was also}

With Marty, I just cannot follow what he is thinking in last quarters, and no one seems to be asking him the right questions, just hope SOS have someone who is.

The Bednell story is now on the advertiser website http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/pressure-builds-as-sixers-wane/story-e6frect3-1226256206221

... and now I have read it, it offers no hope for the future, well under Clarke anyway. He and Neil Craig have a lot in common.

Ushiro, I remembered to read it just earlier and was pretty unimpressed. Certainly nothing in the article to make me want to post Jai a medal for uncovering new details, and no real insight from Marty either. Excusing Jai would be the fact that the editor may have culled bits and that the length of the piece may have dictated what he could or couldn't fit in.

Earlier in the season, Ballinger and Crosswell did a a Q&A on AdelaideNow that was pretty good. I wonder if either of the coaches would be receptive to doing that, maybe with a player like Herbert or Ng.

Read Jai's piece and looked back the past couple of weeks in the Sunday Mail. Last week Jesper Feldstadt was the basketball writer and the week before it was Scott Walsh. Are they all better than Boti or does that newspaper just not really care? Read his Saturday piece and yes, not only have we have put up with a decade of crap but can anyone honestly say better is on the horizon as things are?

In an era where basketball is often miles down the sports list or not represented at all on big city big paper websites, I'm not sure anyone will be hiring a new full-time basketball writer in a hurry. The future here will be mostly reporters covering multiple sports and doing it averagely, bland AAP-style reports, or more focused but untrained net writers (freelancers, BPL-type pageview-driven stuff or bloggers like CBAB and so on).

The opportunities are always there, but they're not so lucrative as to attract consistent new talent.

Isaac - I don't know who they are (I'm sure you do) but KB3 and Boti the Perverted appear to have some serious problems with their comments. I agree with other people on this post when they note that the vitriole used by Boti the Perverted and to a lesser degree KB3 that they have personal issues with Boti and this is their avenue to vent their anger/rage (and possibly their own "agendas"). It should be noted (if either of the above bothered to find out) that Boti has a deadline to submit stories to the Advertiser after a game (36ers and Lightning). He normally goes to the media room and writes the story on a laptop and then submit electronically for publication (prior to editing). This deadline makes it impossible for him to attend the after game media conference. Boti has also not worked for the Sunday Mail for several years and for a period of time there were no basketball related stories in the Sunday Mail. Therefore as suggested above he does not get into his car and leave immediately after the game (and by the way Boti does not drive). As Isaac and many other have pointed out - Boti is just voicing the anger, anguish, frustration, disappointment of 36ers fans with the current inept coaching and the belief that change is necessary indeed mandatory. And no I am not Boti,and over the years I have disagreed with some of the stories and opinions that he has written, BUT, he is entitled to his opinion. I have actually spoken to Boti on occassion and if you sit down and talk to the man you will discover that he is exteremely passionate about SA basketball (at all levels), has an extremely long family association (including the in-laws) with basketball in this state and will listen to other peoples opinions and discuss issues with them. KB3 and Boti the Perverted have the guts to confront Boti in person if you feel so passionately about him or maybe your too pathetic to actually talk to someone "face to face" and have an intelligent conversation and put forward valid points which don't scream of a deep dislike, may I say hatred, of Boti for whatever reason you may have.

Most of it is said on here , don't really need the paper. I confess Clarke's subs are an enigma to me.
We can only hope to finish the season with Maher and with these two as his assistants.

ANON12, no, I don't know who they are. There are countless people who are not fans of Boti from within clubs, at junior level, etc. There have been people within the 36ers for years and years (predating SOS, Clarke, etc) who have grumbled about him.

That's funny that he doesn't drive. I had a meeting with him at the pub a week or so ago and made a comment as we were getting drinks that I would bet there was something peculiar about him, and my guesses were that he either never drank alcohol or didn't drive. Had no idea!

Boti the perverted where are you? There are some good arguments above & you've gone missing!

Remember put the agenda aside & take the emotion out!

Isaac, my apologies, I was under the misconception that as the creator (if that is the correct term) of the site that you were aware of who posted items. Once again my apologies for making an assumption.

No, rarely so. Regular aliases I begin to associate with interests or themes (e.g., associate them with an age or a certain team) but not much beyond that. An IP address usually wouldn't tell me anything beyond their ISP and maybe state, but I only check that if I'm blocking someone. Too time consuming otherwise given that there are about 170 new posts each day.

Well, that's covered it all then.

What an outstanding thread, no sarcasm intended.

I wish I had something to add.

Oh... Sack Marty.

PS Radford got the tech.

Reds havent won a game under Kosi either....and we dont have draws in basketball

Sports writing is a fickle art. Most reading have a strong opinion about their team and whats best for it and they chastise any writer who differs from their opinion.

At least Boti makes it entertaining, which really is why we bother with sports at all - entertainment. Agree or not, Boti has a unique voice and wicked sense of humor. He's not always right but he's always entertaining.

If you don't understand his colloquialisms (or just had to look up that word) then I suggest you aren't his target audience.

Winston Gruberguiger, very logical & greatest blog name ever. Congrats young man!!

Ok, ok my deepest apologies forum.

it's mythical reporter number one and Jai second.

Sport is entertaining, indeed! but why did we have to put up with 15 years of Warrick Giddey put downs?
That added up to a whole Advertiser page of B/S over Giddeys career. Kingma, Goorjian, hell, the list is endless.

Seriously Winston whats entertaining about attacking players livelihoods on a personal level?

Its hilarious and I must say predictable, you've all been all an interesting case to work with, some of your efforts efforts I applaud and thigh slap to cotton eye Joe........

But all Ive done is exactly what Boti writes weekly - but I've done it to him and I've attacked his personal livelihood. The horror!

Boti is a bully and I'm calling him out.....if you don't like it then just like Bot-tulism's rants.........suffer in your jocks.

You smoke some good shit mate!!

boti the perverted man you need help in a big way . Is your problem that you were not breast fed or did some one steal your hand bag or are you just a fuxxing arsehole by nature. Your hatred of Boti is so intense it makes you seem like a scorned lover FFS get over it. OK we get it you dont like Boti guess what a lot of people dont find you that much better . by the way Boti is and we always be the best b/ball writer in this state FACT so to you NUMB NUTS SUFFER IN YOU JOCKS

Wah wah wah.....you sound like Boti ragging on some Australian Olympic player over his career, but which one??? Could be anyone couldn't it!

You sound like you were dropped on your head as a kid.

boti the fuckwit two things l enjoy one is dickheads who hide and slander people . the other is cry babies and you fit both so go and have a little sook get mummy to put your dummy in your mouth and let the big boys talk its nite nite time.

Boti the Perverted. You certainly sound like someone who has a personal agenda against Boti. From some of your comments it sounds like you are either an ex player who Boti may have written about or the parent of a player that Boti may have coached. Alternatively, do you actually live in SA. With regards to the comments about Warrick Giddey, the comments are what journalists call "fill ins", that is they fill in a gap in an article. Also, I know for a fact that Warren found the articles quite funny, because that's the kind of guy that he is, and doesn't take himself or Boti's comments about him seriously. That is something that IMO, and the opinion of many people, you need to do. You have issues, build a bridge, get over it and stop annoying people on this site who are sick to death of your inane vitriole and your rants about Boti and anything Boti related. GET A LIFE GIRLFRIEND !!!!!!!

Perverted, but if you stop reading his articles, you'll miss those Brendan Joyce "&#^@*^&#" comments? How will you live?

I find that Bill Simmons works his regular jabs in with a lot more variety or humour.

I think it's possible to enjoy having regular representation of basketball in the paper, knowing there will be Around the NBL on Thursday, that the match report won't be an AAP reprint all while getting tired of the same old jokes and targets and pining for days and heroes past.