Anonymous
Years ago

Will the NBL ever get it right?

Two excellent articles written by Boti.

A must read.

Go here: http://www.botinagy.com

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alexkrad  
Years ago

Maybe Boti should run the league seeing how he knows all the answers

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Anonymous  
Years ago

He's not claiming to have all the answers.

He simply points out the same mistakes made in the past and in part 2, does offer a suggestion.

Thinking outside the square (unlike the NBL)

Reply #519726 | Report this post


Bear  
Years ago

When this whole thing launched in 1979 - with BA's sanction (and little more) but with the work of volunteers across the Bankstown, Brisbane, Canberra, City of Sydney, Glenelg, Illawarra, Newcastle, Nunawading, West Adelaide and St Kilda clubs and/or associations, everyone wanted the same outcome.

A thriving national competition.

These were part-time players needing time off work to go on trips and with clubs supplemented by entertaining American imports. Sound a bit like the SEABL?

In that first decade of 1979-89, the game outgrew itself very quickly. There were 17 teams in two divisions by 1984. Sound a bit like the SEABL?

- Hhummm, food for thought...

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Bear  
Years ago

- And this is spot on...

The NBL presents a great product and, right now, the on-court evidence is exciting and captivating.

So why, apart from NEVER learning from mistakes of the past and regularly reinventing the wheel, hasn't the league moved to a sustainable model?

It's not as if there aren't any alternatives available.

Immediate past league CEO Fraser Neill had this vision - the NBL becomes a "television sport" where being on the box becomes the first priority.

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Isaac  
Years ago

Meanwhile, an A-League club are bringing in Tottenham Hotspur to play them in late May.


First priority shouldn't be TV. First priority should be stability, then TV. TV puts you at the mercy of third party media companies. A financially stable club is far more within the control of the NBL.

They need to find a way to make the player salaries work better for them.

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Bear  
Years ago

I think the article clearly hints that we need to take a step back to make slow steps forward, but this time do it smart!

The definition of insanity, I like it...

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Anonymous  
Years ago

The bell has finally tolled for the NBL which in reality, was a semi professional sport masquerading as a professional sport for many of the past few years. It will revert to the SEABL which was the NBL format in the early days. This is a good thing for it to regrow to a level that is sustainable in this country. I would even suffice to say the drop in standard would be minimal if at all. There is no reason why teams cannot train around work hours and those truly committed to improvement will find the time during the day to put the extra work in. Yes, they won't get paid as much and will have to hold down a job. But it could be argued that the standard of the NBL and quality of imports was better back when it was still emerging and semi professional. The crowd numbers certainly back up this premise. Be ready for change and embrace it. It certainly augurs better for young Australian players due to the increased playing spots available at the new highest level. Call me nuts, but I will even go as far to say that players having a job makes them a better player than the players currently running around calling themselves 'professional basketballers'. Take a look at the current daily schedule of some and you'd be appalled at how the day is pissed away around the one team training session they have. Yes, there are weight sessions and individual sessions as well but if you are truly committed, truly want it bad enough and are organised, you can fit this into your day around your job. Just ask the WNBL players who have been doing it for years.....

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Bear  
Years ago

Anon^ I agree, also the WNBL have been kicking goals lately, while the NBL has been kicking behinds...

Pun intended!

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Isaac  
Years ago

But it doesn't need to revert to SEABL-level. If the less-financial clubs are $500k/season off making it work, then a $500k salary cap goes a long way towards solving that. And that's worst-case scenario with no super-league over the top.

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Train  
Years ago

Would be interesting to see what the statistics were when the League was thriving in the early 90's. By that I mean, what was the salary cap, what were the average attendances in both teams in capital cities and regional teams.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Why even have a salary cap or a salary floor?

If Perth and NZ want to spend up big and Wollongong have Demos as their main guy on 60K a year and run a tight ship I don't see the harm.

Cheering for the underdog resonates with the casual fan. It works in the premier league, MLB and strong euro league comps.

Its always strange that the lower paid teams find a way to come up to the competition and cause upsets, kind of like the bench guys almost always beating the starters in scrimmages.

Reply #519777 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

You see it at SEABL and WNBL level. For years Canberra didn't play players and got it done on the court and beat the likes of Geelong and Bendigo.

Same with the WNBL, Dandenong have had the budget and players but have had their colours lowered by teams with less then half the budget.

Reply #519778 | Report this post


Bear  
Years ago

I am sure we aren't advocating a return to the 'good old days', while we can all romaticise, the landscape is very different now.

These days we have far superior technology and we should be using this much more to our advantage. People want to be more confortable, so of course stadiums and the cost of running games is of a higher standard and needs more $$$.

We should be able to learn from mistakes and also learn from what is working, to create the best possible league for the population we have. We must always remember how small this country is in population, therefore our economy isn't that of Europe or the USA in comparison, so we probably shouldn't even be thinking that big...

I tend to think that basketball is a great TV game, and it is so popular with the kids, these two areas are where we need to focus our attention IMHO.

Reply #519779 | Report this post


GordonG  
Years ago

Ken Cole's take on the NBL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlE0-F-qQvU#t=924

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Anonymous  
Years ago

NBL had been dying since the mid 1990s. It only a matter of time until its extinct

Reply #519801 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

I wrote up my two-league proposal in one spot. Keen to hear what people think.

NBL Dual-League Format

FWIW, I think a disparity in club spending in a single league would decrease stability. Cheap clubs can't justify replacing injured players, cutting imports, etc. Sometimes they'll succeed (Wollongong making the finals in 2013/14), but often they won't. If fans desert them, that will cause financial trouble.

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