Congrats and good luck to T-Ferg!

He won't need to do too much creating for himself with Russ in the team playing 43 minutes a game, so probably a good spot for him (although perhaps not so much for his development).

Great fit. Higher than most predicted.

exceptional attitude and work rate - he will bulk up and he will ball out because he will WORK.

to the usual haters, the "project" was priceless, get a grip. He had little impact on losing the series.

Well done T Ferg, you bloody beauty.

Not bad overall. Most of the picks ahead were for PGs and bigs with similar players picked ahead of him being Malik Monk and Luke Kennard. Arguably he lost his projected draft spot at no.12 to Kennard who is a defensive liability but better scorer. If only Fergie had better scoring numbers in the NBL...

Brad Newley from the Crocs, drafted by Houston.

Ater Majok - GC Blaze - LA Lakers

Brad Newley - Townsville - Houston

Chris Anstey - SE Melb - Dallas

Ben Pepper - Newcastle - Boston

It has achieved significant publicity for the club and league and confirmed Australia as an alternate pathway to the NBA.

It has also given exposure and opportunities to Sobey, Creek and Wright that they would never have got without Ferguson.

It would be an even bigger deal for the NBL if he succeeds later.

^^
Create interest in the 6ers brand here and OS.

Plus if they had him on a 2 yr deal it is payday for the 6ers too!!! $$$$

I can see both sides of it. It might bring more publicity for the league and its clubs, which is a good thing.

But if that player comes over to the NBL and takes up an import spot with a guy who doesn't actually contribute much on the court (and Ferguson really didn't contribute that much on the court) then it becomes a risk.

Winning is still the No.1 goal in any pro league and clubs have a responsibility to put the best team on the floor - we're not just babysitters here to give opportunities to kids who want to play pro for a year rather than go to college.

One thing that gets overlooked in these discussions is that I don't think the 36ers thought they were going to be a contender last season.

We had just come off a season missing the playoffs with an old veteran team those guys like Gibson, Petrie, Walker and Ebi Ere all departed and we signed a bunch of young guys like Drmic, Deng, Jacobsen and took a flyer on Ferguson probably thinking it would be good exposure for the club and highlight reels for the fans to keep them coming back despite the inevitable losses.

Then after an expected poor start to the season we all of a sudden clicked and steamrolled our way to the top of the ladder. My money says there will be no signing of a prospect straight out of high school again this season.

One positive though with all the NBA scouts coming out here to scout Ferguson it also shone a light on guys like Sobey, Creek and even Joey who wouldn't be on Utah's SL team right now otherwise.

Yeah I'm not sure about the Summer League thing. I'd be more inclined to think having a couple of Aussies already at Utah would have been more of a factor in those guys getting a look there than Ferguson being at the Sixers.

Sobey, Creek & Joey would've already been there if that were the case. In all likelihood it was the attention from scouts watching Ferguson.

It's not like the Jazz were thinking gee this Exum kid from Melbourne is so good lets go look at the Adelaide 36ers for more like him...

Have we ever had so many NBA scouts come over in one season? Have we ever had any come over actually?

if 6ers had a two year deal with no NBA out clause, then they could get paid to relinquish his rights. Happens for Euro teams, so why would the NBL be exempt?

It didn't create the chance solely for Sobey, Creek and Wright, but if he did bring more scouts eyes and a direct link to agents and teams that may not have otherwise been there. So yes his presence did help with those 3 getting their shot now most likely.

In return it has also brought in more sponsor interest from major companies. Maybe not throwing money in right now by the boat load, but helped secure more interest which in turn gives a better financial setting for the club going forward to sign a winning team for years to come.

Anyway congratulations to Terrance and good luck. He seems like a really nice, down to earth kid. I hope he goes well.

I'm more of an optimistic type. They were a team that struggled through financial issues in a league that had started to falter. They went with the option of going with young, unproven Aussies/imports and it paid off where they almost won everything. A big part of that success was the chemistry of those young blokes. Now they look good heading forward.

And it was exciting to watch!

They were tipped to finish last but won the league in exciting fashion. The should have won the semi series but they didn't but that happens all the time in all sports. They had the wood on Perth all year so it would have been an interesting GF series if they made it. It just came down to a 2 game patch in the semis where people seem to be judging a whole season with a young team who were supposed to finish last by miles. I enjoyed the year and look forward to following the futures of all these exciting young players provided it.

How did Ferguson year help the Sixers.

1. We got to first place and won the minor premiership.
2. Our coach showed we work as a team, we don't ditch a player from the group in order to get someone else in.
3. We showed faith in the team whilst others in the competition sacked players.
4. If you are signed by the Sixers (especially as an import), as long as you embrace the team, your contract and job security is safe.
Perth might have won the finals series but they cut and replaced all season, that win didn't get a single player into the NBA. Hell they have never had Perth wildcats called out in the biggest draft in the game EVER despite their 30+ years of finals experience.

Joey and team helped mature a teenager and groomed him for Adult basketball.
Now a trusted entity which hopefully sees a few players lent to Adelaide for a season similar to James with Perth.

"1. We got to first place and won the minor premiership."

I'm not sure what the point of this statement is. You can also apply this statement to Sam Johns and Adam Doyle too.

Did TF contribute towards the minor premiership? Yes. Did he make a significant impact? Not with 4.63ppg @ 38%.

Kevin White scored 4.74ppg @ 44% in LESS minutes.

"2. Our coach showed we work as a team, we don't ditch a player from the group in order to get someone else in."

So? How does 'not ditching' a player become a success factor in a year where the Sixers lost in the semi finals to the 4th placed team at home?

"3. We showed faith in the team whilst others in the competition sacked players."

I have no issue with showing faith and letting a Joey's plan time to evolve. But blindly keeping with the same thing and hoping the different results is foolhardy. Eg Ebi Ere.

"4. If you are signed by the Sixers (especially as an import), as long as you embrace the team, your contract and job security is safe."

Are you suggesting that as long as you are a good club man, you should have a contract regardless of your contribution on the court?

"Perth might have won the finals series but they cut and replaced all season, that win didn't get a single player into the NBA. Hell they have never had Perth wildcats called out in the biggest draft in the game EVER despite their 30+ years of finals experience."

So all this time you've been concerned about which NBL team is linked to the highest NBA draftee? How foolish of the other 7 teams in the league to be focused on winning an NBL championship? God the Wildcats are such chumps, all those meaningless championships and no draftees.

Can you explain how Perth 'cut and replaced all season'?

They cut one player, his replacement went home citing mental health issues, the cut player returned, then was released for violation of the drugs rules. My maths is terrible but thats one cut, which puts them amongst Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns and Brisbane.

Maybe the Jazz should cut Ingles with only 6.5 points @30mpg.

Putting a team on the floor takes more than just one players results on game day. How a player approaches the game off the court and in the gym also helps build the team. Remember all the reasons Ingles was picked up by the Jazz?

Don't for 1 minute credit Sobeys improvement or improvement across the entire team linked to TF at all. Especially with those scouts coming to watch games, that didn't motivate or improve the group at all.

Did the hype with TF also help in attracting a new buyer.

You quote the fans, Sixers fans wanted a decent team but we didn't have the cash flow that was getting splashed around the league. Our coach tried something outside of the box and going from expected last to first place, I can't see how anybody can be against the investment in TF.

"Maybe the Jazz should cut Ingles with only 6.5 points @30mpg."

Comparing Ingles' value to the Jazz with TF's value to the Sixers is a very poor start to a counter argument.

Please try again.

"Don't for 1 minute credit Sobeys improvement or improvement across the entire team linked to TF at all."

So Sobey and the team became 'extra driven' because TF was on the team? Perhaps we need to update TF's CV to include consummate Glue Guy.

Seriously, suggesting a team of adult players looking up to and be inspired by an import that provides 4ppg @ 38% is lunacy.

"Especially with those scouts coming to watch games, that didn't motivate or improve the group at all."

So players only play well when there are scouts coming to watch someone else? Why didn't you tell the Sixers management? All this time they could have just hired some NBA scouts to rev up the boys.

So how come the boys were so 'rev'd up' the whole season only to go MIA in Game 3 at home against the 4th place team missing AJ Ogilvy?

"Did the hype with TF also help in attracting a new buyer."

I see, an astute businessman will go and buy a team because of an import who will leave at the end of that season.

"Our coach tried something outside of the box and going from expected last to first place, I can't see how anybody can be against the investment in TF."

OK now we're back to 'we were first place because of TF'.

I am not against the investment in TF. I am however against making sweeping statements aligning a teams success on one individual with a stat line like Terrence Ferguson's.

As with any investment, its a gamble. As with any gamble, you go in and at the end assess how well it went.

Lets assess the short term. The Sixers won the minor premiership, were favourites to take out the championship, didn't make it past the SF.

Now it would be as wrong for me to blame TF for the loss as it is for you to suggest we won the minor prem because of TF. However, if you look at the eventual champions, all their imports had significant contributions throughout the playoffs.

Therefore I would suggest a team that wants to go all the way needs all their imports to contribute significantly. This was missing with the Sixers. Even Marvelle Harris who was more quiet in the latter half of the season stepped it up for the Hawks in Game 3.

Now the long term, I am open to the TF investment having long term benefits. In fact I am hopeful, but I don't see any.

If you tell me that the fans were drawn to the games which will lead to more memberships next year, thats speculative. And if more fans attended more games last year it was because we were winning and winning with an exciting brand of basketball thanks to Sobey and Randle under Joey's system.

If you tell me this will lead to more NBA prospects coming to the Sixers to develop, that's speculative.

I WANT to believe the TF experiment was a fruitful exercise, but with the evidence before me I can't make that call.

"Did TF contribute towards the minor premiership? Yes. Did he make a significant impact? Not with 4.63ppg @ 38%."

You can't argue based on points per game then think comparing it to Ingles is terrible. I don't rate players on one attribute. You have to compare the whole package. I agree there are plenty of $70k imports out there who could have replaced TF, however none of them are going to give you anything any better in the NBL. There is a reason cheap imports are cheap.

Can TF flat out shoot? OKC think so and so did the Sixers when the kid landed in Adelaide from first training sessions. We never really sore a pure shooter in his games however ability versus experience is something you have to wait to develop.

Not many thought they would last through the finals series. We might have wanted them too, but too young was always a risk the wheels would fall off.

Sorry to put it in there but Eli actually held his own during the finals series. It was the rest of the season that he stank.

To those thinking the Sixers are going to get paid by Philly, put yourself in TF's position.

You are projected first round, you will get a guaranteed contract that this 1.5x an entire NBL team's salary cap, which increases in year 2.

Why would you jeopardise that with even the slightest chance that the Sixers could not release you from your contract for a payment?

Also I don't buy into the whole Sixers put together a second rate squad not expecting to win theory.

What is the benefit?

There is no draft so tanking for first pick is out.

To save money for a big push next year? You are required to spend $900k of the $1m cap.

Any team should be constantly assessing their players.

Melbourne made 2 changes Jackson & Williams for Ware and Boone.

Cairns got rid of Fuquan, Brisbane Dolla Beal.

Perth Johnson ---> Ingram which became Cotton.

Even Sydney make an attempt with Bryson ---> Blake ---> Jackson.

With the exception of Beal all saw a shortcoming in their roster and sought to remedy that shortcoming.

Is it that much to ask that the Sixers person the same assessment and take the necessary action?

"With the exception of Beal all saw a shortcoming in their roster and sought to remedy that shortcoming."

The two teams that didn't make a change last season came 2nd and 3rd, yet you're saying not making a change was a bad thing?

That doesn't make sense to me, the evidence suggests making changes wasn't really that successful for most teams that did it.

And one of the other teams in the play-offs, who made a change, got a guy who played under 16 MPG, as Ferguson did.

At the beginning of the 36ers season, Ferguson might've made sense on a budget and once they were winning, it probably didn't make sense to rock the boat. In hindsight, I'm sure they could've done more with that position, but half the league probably felt the same way with their signings.

I felt like Harris was an issue for Illawarra, but he seemed excellent early on, and then by the time they might've considered replacing him, the team were winning. Similar situation to Adelaide and similar result in the end.

"WTF? Obviously would have an NBA out clause if that were the case. Go away!"

That's exactly my point. Why do people then think the Sixers can get paid by Philly?

"The two teams that didn't make a change last season came 2nd and 3rd, yet you're saying not making a change was a bad thing?"

Cairns came 2nd on the ladder, they replaced Fuquan Edwin for Tony Mitchell.

Perth finished 3rd. We all know who replaced who there.

Why do you think they did not make changes?

My statement did not suggest making a change will automatically lead to success if that is how you are reading it.

"That doesn't make sense to me, the evidence suggests making changes wasn't really that successful for most teams that did it."

Are you suggesting then that because 6 the of 8 teams that made changes to their roster and only 2 of those made the playoffs, one should never risk any changes?

"And one of the other teams in the play-offs, who made a change, got a guy who played under 16 MPG, as Ferguson did."

Tony Mitchell scored almost double TF, at a better clip, and better stats across the board (except TOs) with the same amount of minutes. Also noteworthy is Mitchell only has 8 regular season games to familiarise himself with the team, TF had 27.

" In hindsight, I'm sure they could've done more with that position, but half the league probably felt the same way with their signings."

Like I said before I am open to an existance of a long term benefit in keeping TF, but I am yet to see something tangible.

I don't think anyone is arguing that the Ferguson signing has 'paid off' for the Sixers.

Essentially, there are those in this thread saying "well it was a gamble, didn't really pay off, but kudos for trying, maybe there are some benefits in additional exposure received".

And others who are dismissing those statements as though they are insanity by saying that "well it was an obvious risk, why the hell would you take it, there is nothing tangible to show for it".

There is not even any real disagreement here. If you are on one side of the discussion, dismissing the other out of hand is a bit OTT.

Sorry for the confusion LoveBroker, I was going on ladder position at the end of the season, not before the playoffs, so I'm talking about Perth 1st, Illawarra 2nd and Adelaide 3rd.

Mitchell at Cairns is a great example, how did he work out in the playoffs? He was more of a hindrance than a help. The two teams with the best consistency throughout the season finished 2nd and 3rd despite being relatively low budgets.

Consistency of roster has been a key to success in the NBL for some time, and it seemed to work for Adelaide and Illawarra last season.

"I don't think anyone is arguing that the Ferguson signing has 'paid off' for the Sixers. "

May I present exhibit#1 from FM....

"Don't for 1 minute credit Sobeys improvement or improvement across the entire team linked to TF at all. Especially with those scouts coming to watch games, that didn't motivate or improve the group at all.

Did the hype with TF also help in attracting a new buyer."

"Sorry for the confusion LoveBroker, I was going on ladder position at the end of the season, not before the playoffs, so I'm talking about Perth 1st, Illawarra 2nd and Adelaide 3rd."

Paul with all due respect, that is anodd way of representing the placings at the end of the season. Perth #1 and Illawarra #2 I can understand. Why is Adelaide 3rd and not Cairns?

"Mitchell at Cairns is a great example, how did he work out in the playoffs? He was more of a hindrance than a help."

Was he? He was hot-headed and prone to fouling yes, but lets look at the stats.

Fuquan was 8ppg @ 40% in 20 mpg.
In the 2 playoff games Mitchell played, he was 10.5ppg @ 40.1% in 15 mpg. Now the minutes is probably a function of the fouls but when on the court he was more effective than Fuquan.

The Cairns Taipans saw Fuquan's unwillingness to be agrressive and took a gamble on Mitchell. Just because Cairns got swept does not mean it was a bad move, they got swept because of several factors, namely how bad Jawai, Gliddon, McCarron and Wortho played.

In fact I think @ 10.5ppg, Mitchell was their 2nd highest scorer after Trice.

"The two teams with the best consistency throughout the season finished 2nd and 3rd despite being relatively low budgets. "

I'm all for consistency but I just don't see that those two teams were where they ended up because solely of consistency. They played well and believed they were comfortable with their line up went with it.

On the flip side, if Perth had kept with Jaron Johnson, it is likely consistency would have seen their 30 year streak end. Perth went with consistency 2 seasons ago and persisted with DeAndre Daniels, and they went within 1 game of missing the playoffs only to be swept by Wilbekin's Taipans.

Last season the Sixers stuck with Ebi, and missed the playoffs.

"Consistency of roster has been a key to success in the NBL for some time, and it seemed to work for Adelaide and Illawarra last season."

I wouldn't say its absolutely key, but it certainly lends to success.

Paul with all due respect, that is anodd way of representing the placings at the end of the season. Perth #1 and Illawarra #2 I can understand. Why is Adelaide 3rd and not Cairns?

I got the impression from the games I watched that Mitchell was ultimately a hindrance for Cairns. Seemed like the difficult sort that teams don't want when they gamble on someone new to the league.

As a 36er Fan, I get why they signed Ferguson as they need as much publicity as they can get (and it seemed to work) but, ultimately, the sacrifice was a more experienced impact player who would have helped us come the Finals series against Illawarra

There is a difference between final ladder position and playoff seeding, although NBL nowadays will tweak the ladder after the final round to match the seeds in order.

"I got the impression from the games I watched that Mitchell was ultimately a hindrance for Cairns. Seemed like the difficult sort that teams don't want when they gamble on someone new to the league."

I am making a guess here but I think Fearne saw Fuquan more and more shy away from being aggressive, which resulted in Fearne giving less minutes and the cycle just kept getting worse with no turnaround in sight.

He saw a gap in his team and sought to remedy that gap. Given the lateness of Fuquan's axing Mitchell may have been an option within limited choices, I don't know. But at least we can say he tried, even after the wash up, w can say Fearne tried something different for a hopefully different outcome.

I have recognised Mitchell's shortcomings but from the stats I can also see he was more effective than Fuquan with his time on the court. Furthermore since that change of personnel, Cairns went 5-3 (with one of those losses thanks to the last second call on Gliddon contesting Cotton's shot).

In a season where 2nd to 4th all had 15-13 records, that was critical to them getting to second place.

Overall, if I were a Taipans fan given the benefit of hindsight I would still back Fearne's move to swap out Fuquan. Even though it didn't eventuate in a ring still you know the coach is constantly heading in the RIGHT direction which is all you can ask for.

"As a 36er Fan, I get why they signed Ferguson as they need as much publicity as they can get (and it seemed to work) but, ultimately, the sacrifice was a more experienced impact player who would have helped us come the Finals series against Illawarra"

Correct....to back that up TF played 5 and 7 mins respectively in the last 2 SF games against the Hawks. And when Drmic got tossed out in Game 3 those minutes just went to Creek.

Joey probably lost confidence in TF by that time, so it was not a good use of an all important import slot.

The completely ridiculous claim that ladder positions don't match playoff seedings.

He saw a gap in his team and sought to remedy that gap. Given the lateness of Fuquan's axing

Edwin left for personal reasons, he wasn't sacked.

"Paul with all due respect, that is anodd way of representing the placings at the end of the season. Perth #1 and Illawarra #2 I can understand. Why is Adelaide 3rd and not Cairns?"

Adelaide finished above Cairns in the regular season and they both dropped out at the same stage of the playoffs. Therefore to me Adelaide stays above Cairns.