Dr Damage
Years ago
Westover and Goorjian on the NBL
AUS - Goorjian tells NBL players: step up
AUSTRALIA (NBL) - Australia's FIBA World Championship head coach Brian Goorjian has stated his support for Chris Anstey's 'Euro' style vision for the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).
Anstey recently claimed that the European model of officiating, which allows more physical contact, would not only improve the spectacle of the NBL but also prepare Australian players more thoroughly for the rigours of international basketball.
Goorjian was unsure if the attractiveness of the NBL would be enhanced by the move, given the league's reputation as one of the world's best offensive leagues. However, given the lax nature of NBL defence when compared to other top competitions, he was certain such a change was in the national team's best interest.
"The NBL plays a unique style. It is a free flowing, high scoring style and I give it big ticks there," Goorjian said. "(But) the game isn't called like it is internationally, and I don't think that helps.
"I agree 100% (with Anstey), the game needs more physicality, more contact to it. I think in our game you are allowed to get away with stuff (offensively) that you can't get away with internationally."
But Melbourne Tigers coach Al Westover disagrees, believing the game should be called more strictly, forcing players to mould their games to the more consistent officiating.
"I probably think more the other way. If you come out and make the call then everyone knows what a foul is and the players have got to adjust."
Westover is wary of the low-scoring, half-court affairs that are the stereotype of European basketball.
"There have been a lot of scores over one hundred (this season), which is good," Westover said. "I think the average fan wants to see a free flowing, up tempo game."
Last year's NBL Coach of the Year, Westover stressed that improved education of the referees was more important than criticism, saying more time should be spent teaching officials what is and is not good defensive play. Goorjian too believes the issue is more with NBL interpretations of the rules than the refereeing itself.
"I am not panning the referees, it is just the rules we have elected to go by are different. You get pinged for fouls you don't get pinged for when you are playing internationally."
Interestingly though, Goorjian turned his focus to the athletes themselves. Having witnessed Australia's best taking on the world for the past five years, Goorjian believes some NBL players are unwilling to do the defensive and conditioning work undertaken by their NBA or Euroleague counterparts, and this limits their ability to defend at the international level.
"(The refereeing) is part (of the solution) but it's not the whole," the five-time NBL championship coach said. "I think it is more the guy guarding the ball, the skill package isn't as good as in the Euroleague."
"With defence comes conditioning," Goorjian added. "There is a lot of fundamental work. There is this physical aspect, it's the kind of training you don't want to do.
"Guys want to shoot the ball, and guys want to score."
Goorjian points to the drop in financial resources available to NBL clubs since the boom times of the early nineties, when he was coach of the Magic, believing that is why NBL athletes have not progressed at the same rate as basketballers overseas, and AFL footballers (Australian Rules) at home.
"Basketball (in Australia) hasn't moved forward physically like the footy, yet it has around the world.
"In the early nineties, when I went to St Kilda or Collingwood or those (AFL) teams, I thought the Magic were ahead of them. Then in 2005 you look at their facilities, their systems, their video and support staff - this thing has gone to a new level. That is what has happened in the Euroleague.
"A lot of the guys who play in the NBL, who are older, on a physical basis aren't close internationally."
While the criticisms of Anstey and Goorjian seem to paint a gloomy picture for the competition, both are quick to point out they are only trying to improve a good thing, with Anstey believing the NBL is still competitive with the best European national leagues.
"We (the Tigers) would definitely be competitive. I could definitely see a good NBL team making the playoffs in any European competition."
Similarly, the Sydney Kings head honcho believes the standard of the NBL is rising again and is attracting quality athletes from home and abroad.
"The level of kids who choose basketball as their sport to play, the imports that want to come and play in the country, I am starting to see an exciting surge in that." Goorjian said.
"The standard of the NBL, and the NBL moving forward is going to be very, very important to the national team& I hope the people involved in the NBL take note of that."
NBL General Manager Chuck Harmison says the national team is in the leagues considerations, but these concerns must be weighed up with the needs of the NBL's fans and television audience.
"We have to look at the attractiveness of the games, what will keep the fans coming in, and we also look at whether our style of game is helpful for the Boomers," Harmison said.
"It is important that we get feedback from Brian Goorjian about how easily players can move from playing in the NBL to international basketball."
As for the product the NBL puts on the floor, Harmison believes the Australian league is up there with the best.
"I watch the Euroleague, and to be honest, I like our style better," the former Illawarra Hawks star said.
"We believe we are competitive with other leagues around the world, but we are always looking for ways to improve the competition."
Paul Kennedy
FIBA Official Correspondent in Australia.
