Anon
Years ago

Australian basketball heading into a golden era

Australian basketball is on the cusp of a new golden age, according to former champion Andrew Gaze.

Gaze spoke in Melbourne at the unveiling of the NBA's Larry O'Brien Trophy, which is being taken around the country by San Antonio's title-winning duo Patty Mills and Aron Baynes.

Mills and Baynes are among six Australians currently playing in the NBA, and Gaze expects their success to pave the way for future generations.

"When a 16-year-old kid that's great at basketball and is being attracted by other codes, they have something very tangible to look at and say, 'You know what, if I stick to this sport, this is achievable'," he said.

"That I think helps kids maintain a desire to play at the highest level and not choose other sports."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-16/future-of-australian-basketball-in-good-hands-says-andrew-gaze/5602596

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Anon  
Years ago

Can we ride this wave and see some improvements in the sport at its highest level here in Aus?

Reply #484175 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Australian basketball heading into a golden era, when at the local level, it is turning into a great pile of cow dung.

Reply #484178 | Report this post


iminyonek  
Years ago

Hi there

you say that grass roots basketball is in the toilet

what do you see as being the problems with it and what sort of solutions do you believe need to be implemented

R

Reply #484213 | Report this post


iminyonek  
Years ago

hi there

By the way - I absolutely agree with you - just wondering what you see as possible solutions and how we might go about implementing those

R

Reply #484214 | Report this post


HO  
Years ago

There is evidence almost everywhere that grass roots basketball is actually in very good shape. I heard a rumour that even NSW, who have been in the doldrums for years, reported good growth last year.

Reply #484216 | Report this post


LC  
Years ago

Grass roots basketball in Victoria at least is Booming. This extends from juniors through to Big V / SEABL. Plenty of clubs wanting to join up too that are not currently part of these leagues today.

The issues is the translation of support from grass roots to the NBL. The NBL lost connection (in general) with grass roots level and hence the decline in support. The NBL needs to reconnect with grass roots / juniors.

Reply #484226 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

It does seem that basketball has taken the backseat in terms of participation at a youth level. I think the rise of soccer in this country may of played a part in that aswell.

Pretty much everyone who i know that is a basketball fan doesn't watch the NBL. It's pretty much NBA or nothing. In fact most basketball fans i know make fun of the NBL, calling it 'terrible' etc. It is said because back in the 90's the NBL was booming. Hopefully with the success of Exum, Simmons, Maker etc. it shoves basketball in this country back onto the right path.

Reply #484249 | Report this post


Billy Hoyle  
Years ago

i think that the NBL will never get back to the glory days partly because of the success that Young Australian players are having overseas and in particular the NBA.

Think about it, when you watch a particular sport you want to watch the "best". When people watch rugby league , they dont go out of there way to watch English, French or Japanese leagues. They watch the NRL.

In the Nineties We watched the NBL because A) it was pretty exciting and it was actually on TV and B) there wasnt a great deal of access to the NBA.

Now with ESPN and particularly League Pass of course people that are interested in bball are going to watch the NBA. And honestly the NBL does not stack up for a number of reasons.

Now when young players and fans in general can watch an Australian player make it in the NBA they will aspire to that level. The NBL will further become a second class league as the NBA will be an achievable standard.

Reply #484287 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

"i think that the NBL will never get back to the glory days partly because of the success that Young Australian players are having overseas and in particular the NBA.

Think about it, when you watch a particular sport you want to watch the "best". When people watch rugby league , they dont go out of there way to watch English, French or Japanese leagues. They watch the NRL.

In the Nineties We watched the NBL because A) it was pretty exciting and it was actually on TV and B) there wasnt a great deal of access to the NBA.

Now with ESPN and particularly League Pass of course people that are interested in bball are going to watch the NBA. And honestly the NBL does not stack up for a number of reasons.

Now when young players and fans in general can watch an Australian player make it in the NBA they will aspire to that level. The NBL will further become a second class league as the NBA will be an achievable standard."

Yeah, this is true. Most people's thinking is 'why watch the NBL when i can watch the NBA?'

Reply #484296 | Report this post


Solid Moves  
Years ago

@Billy, I agree with you on 99% of that one. The NBA is superior to the NBL and we want to watch as much quality hoops as we can.

However if i can point you to look at some Euro leagues and also the PBA who pack stadiums and also have access to the NBA via the internet. Maybe the NBL needs to take a look at what they do and copy it. People love the sport as a whole, and if we can make the NBL attractive then i have no doubts that the crowds and interest will show.

Sub par athletic imports dont help the fact either... It's little things like that who put us behind the 8 ball

Reply #484301 | Report this post


Billy Hoyle  
Years ago

Solid Moves,

Thats a good point. The NBL should look at Euro Leagues as a potential model.

I think though that the Euro leagues have a much larger population to work with as well. Many more people to market to and much bigger salaries.

I only wish the NBL would get back to the point that it was at in the late eighties to mid to late nineties.

I think the NBL really should look at some kind of affiliation with the NBA , like a DLeague South type of scenario where late 2nd round picks like Ennis get farmed out, get paid and hopefully get to return to NBA.

NBL should be marketed that way to DLeague ers, get paid much more and still have a connection to the big league. Although it looks like alot of DLeaguers choose that option as it is still close to home and directly linked to NBA.

Reply #484309 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

But even the Euroleague is a top competition and not that far off the NBA in terms of quality. They're pretty much the two top leagues in the world.

Reply #484395 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

The NBL has to have a league wide plan to rein-gauge with the grassroots while at the same time improve the quality of imports (eg image if most teams had imports at the same level as perth's in 13/14) by tieing up a development pathway with the NBA (go direct to the team if need be).

the grassroots campaign will take at least 10 years to really pay off. But it will make the kids really care about there local team. only a long term plan will work if you really want the NBL to be strong.

I really like the NBL. To see good young australian players grow into the game and to see quality imports...

Reply #484404 | Report this post


Andrew  
Years ago

The glory days have been back in Perth for the past 2 years

Reply #484449 | Report this post




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