Basketball On The Internet.

SAY what you like about Scott Ninnis, no-one can dispute the man is a winner. Aligned with CJ Bruton's poor record since being handed the Adelaide 36ers' poison chalice, Ninnis' appointment as an assistant this NBL season was seen by many as positioning him to step up if the inevitable was necessary.

Today, after another abysmal set of performances in the last round, that inevitable was enacted with Bruton sacked in his third season as head coach, his record standing at 27-40.

One of the NBL and Australia's all-time greatest players, Bruton simply did not fulfill the promise he showed as a long-time assistant but will always have on his resume the fact he coached the first - and still the only - NBL team to beat an NBA team, an achievement which occurred prior to last season.

When Adelaide performed so dismally in Christchurch against a depleted New Zealand before turning in arguably its worst ever performance in a 59-94 debacle in Hobart - then blamed the NBL scheduling - it was evident it had lost all touch with reality.

Reality bites and today Bruton is out of a job, Ninnis is elevated and while there is a sense of relief, there also is one of hope among the 36ers' long-suffering but loyal supporter base.

Ninnis, who turns 58 on Christmas Day will already know by then if he has the makings of a contender or if this team is another lump of coal.

Daniel Johnson is now a free agent again after South East Melbourne did not retain him to cover the injury loss of Craig Moller, and re-signing the 7-time club champion immediately makes more sense than retaining Tohi Smith-Milner.

Whether Ninnis is permitted to make any such player moves remains to be seen but having not wanted, coveted or sought the head coach role, he will have carte blanche to call it anyway he sees it.

This is a man who was a member of the Adelaide 36ers' 1986 "Invincibles" championship pacesetters, then switched to a season in the SEABL with Adelaide Buffalos and won the championship, before an NBL stint under Brian Goorjian at South East Melbourne Magic where he won a championship in 1992.

With star Magic playmaker Darren Perry injured, Ninnis played a huge role in that success, as he did again back in Adelaide as part of Phil Smyth's 1998 championship team.

When the whining about last weekend's schedule started, Ninnis was conspicuously quiet, having played and lived through a far more demanding playing schedule than today's princesses. 

In between Goorjian and Smyth, under coach Don Monson at the Sixers, he was allowed to thrive and explore his amazing athleticism, suddenly becoming a Boomers prospect.

Retiring as a player, he joined Smyth as an assistant at the 36ers for championships in 1999 and 2002.

As a coach in his own right, he took Sturt to championships in 2001 (his rookie debut) and 2002, also claiming SA's Coach of the Year honours on both occasions.

Last year in his return to senior coaching, he steered his beloved South Adelaide Panthers to the championship.

He coached the 36ers previously for two years, succeeding Smyth, going 15-15 and reaching the playoffs in 2009 and eighth in 2010 with a 10-18 mark.

More than a decade on and in a comfortable place as a mature adult, husband and parent, Ninnis might just be the answer. At least he will know the question.