Basketball On The Internet.

THE best aspect of Brendan Joyce’s appointment as Opals coach is not the culture shift, enthusiasm, work ethic or his heart-on-the-sleeve, bleed green-and-gold approach – though, of course, that is mightily refreshing and upbeat.

But maybe if you’re isolating one single aspect of what the man brings to the role that is the most refreshing, it is his complete lack of bias toward selection.

Today’s announcement of the new 16-player squad for camps in Dandenong/Ballarat from July 22-25 includes players his predecessors would not have considered.

With all due respect to them – and they include our only World Championship winning supremo Jan Stirling, a coach Joyce greatly admires and emulates – coaches coaching within the WNBL will form opinions about their own and opposition players.

And those opinions will then carry over and possibly taint their chances at national selection.

You can say it doesn’t/hasn’t but it is only human nature.

Let’s say, for instance, for your WNBL team you are trying to recruit a, for argument’s sake, point guard from a rival club. And she looks likely to come. And you are planning accordingly.

And then she goes to a different club, or to Europe and you are left a little high-and-dry.

Next time her name is mentioned, will your reaction be positive or influenced?

It’s a random example and the type of issue which Joyce will not only never confront, but he also has it right about athletes in team sports.

“Most players, and of course there are exceptions, but many only start to hit their peak at 27 and on,” he said.

But if you are not already established in the Opals at that age, your chances of getting a second-look have been zilch.

Until now.

As Joyce said in an article we ran online at NewsLtd today (here’s the link: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/lauren-jackson-will-lead-the-opals-at-the-oceania-series-for-world-championship-qualification/story-fnii09gt-1226681385593) players in the 23-to-27 age bracket who were on the outer tended to stay there.

Joyce though is looking at players such as 2013 Townsville Fire Grand Final leader and now Adelaide Lightning guard/forward Jess Foley to get onto the Opals radar.

The Grand Final and the WNBL finals generally made an impact on Joyce, who watched with interest to see which players not already under the international microscope stood up to the glare of our biggest stage.

Spirit guard Kelly Wilson, clearly, caught his eye and when he brought Lightning guard Amy Lewis into camp, she too stood out.

Wilson 28, and Lewis, 27, also have spent much of their careers on the Opals periphery.

It’s easy to reluctantly but eventually give up on your Olympic dreams out there.

But the-more-the-merrier when it comes to applying pressure for spots in that coveted 12-player international rotation.

So if you are Renae Camino – a Grand Final MVP in 2008 and 27 this year – you have to be loving the fact the door again is ajar and that the new Opals coach has a real handle on it.

NICE to see Mark Worthington joining Melbourne Tigers was formalised today, even though if you’ve been coming here for a while, you knew it on May 3 when he said it.

Even better though to see the NBL website reactivated and carrying the story.

You know things are on the move again.

SOUTH Adelaide will stage its first State League charity game on Saturday when it hosts Woodville at Marion Stadium.

The Panthers received approval from ‘youth beyondblue’ to raise much-needed funds and awareness for the work they are doing helping people suffering from depression.

The women's and men's teams will be in beyondblue uniforms, designed by Adrian Kendrick.

They will be auctioned after the event to add to the donation of the door entry profits.

Fisher Crash Repairs’ sponsorship of this event made it possible.

VIGILANT scrutineers at Basketball Australia hounded me today for (mistakenly) yesterday asserting Serbia’s women did not attend the World Uni Games because they had a prior commitment to the annual Borschtfest.

I am now reliably informed it has not been known as “Borschtfest” for some years now, since beetroot was removed from the traditional Balkan cabbage soup.

It is actually now known as “Kupusfest” and those bubbling cauldrons are, apparently, something to behold.

Who knew?

I slouch corrected.

Apparently too, neighboring countries are quite aggro about the aftermath of the Kupusfest, referring to that as the annual “PhartFest”.

SUMMER league watch:

Our reigning league MVP Cedric Jackson played 12:56 for two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one point – ironically the exact amount Portland beat Atlanta by today in overtime, winning 70-69 in Las Vegas.

GOTTA love Gordie McLeod who was candid in a NewsLtd online interview which went up today at http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/wollongong-hawks-culture-faces-test-in-absence-of-stalwarts-glen-saville-and-mat-campbell/story-fnii0att-1226681487243

BARON Davis is in mourning after being informed by reliable FBI sources that “E.T.” was not a documentary.

Speaking of which, if you like a little sci-fi comedy and haven’t seen “Paul” yet, definitely hire it.

THIS just in. A family of heritage listed rats was today spotted storming out of Adelaide Arena complaining about unsafe living conditions.