Random Dribbling - Say g'day to Shane
TweetEXPECT Cairns Taipans to announce 202cm US forward Shane Edwards as the final piece of their 2012-13 iiNet NBL Championship puzzle soon.
The club already has revealed it was performance and not sentiment which won local guard Kerry Williams his "last chance'' contract, and with Jamar Wilson, Alex Loughton, Dusty Rychart, Aaron Grabau and Brad Hill returning, the core is solid.
Now roll in Cam Tragardh, Clint Steindl and Matt Andronicos and the Taipans definitely look like finals material.
Must confess I'm also a fan of their Horsham-born development guard Shaun Bruce (Aaron's little brother) so you have to give coach Aaron Fearne a big tick on his off-season work.
HEADING south and there's little reason to believe Townsville has done much wrong in the off-season either.
Consider how solid Paul Woolpert's core group will be, led by London Olympian Peter Crawford, then Jacob Holmes, Russell Hinder, Michael Cedar, Ben Allen, Chris Cedar, Todd Blanchfield and Mitch Norton.
Effectively, Hinder's return from a broken leg last pre-season means he slots back for Luke Schenscher and the only genuinely new faces become imports Jason Forte and Curtis Withers.
That's a great basis for Woolpert to start from, and both the 203cm Withers and 196cm Forte are 28, so not exactly newcomers to the world of pro ball.
LATE in the Olympics, The Advertiser newspaper I call home asked various sportswriters to contact someone from their respective sporting team for a comment on who or what had inspired them during the Games.
I sought Luke Schenscher and Daniel Johnson of the 36ers for their reactions and DJ's positive comments regarding Liz Cambage's dunk over Russia made the article.
But Schensch's comment was equally well-conceived.
He said Peter Crawford - his former swingman teammate at the Crocs - and his selection for London was what had inspired him the most.
Have to wholeheartedly agree.
PC's on-court contribution in London may have been less than he might have liked, but to win Olympic selection for the first time at age 31, is testament to the focus, commitment and effort he made.
He truly personifies that adage we tell our kids: "Hard work will pay off.''
Speaking to Boomers coach Brett Brown during the Games preparation, he said: "PC's is a remarkable story.
"He's our hired gun, a role player. We'll use him how we used Steve Kerr at the Spurs.''
High praise indeed, reinforced by Schenscher's observation Crawford had been an inspiration.
MARK Worthington's audacious bid to switch from basketball to AFL may have fallen short today but, as always, Wortho landed on his feet.
In the end, the West Coast Eagles were not prepared to take the punt on a 29-year-old, even though, as I wrote yesterday, in footy terms he is a very young 29, not having been bumped and battered on ovals for the past decade.
I thought Freo or the Swans might make a run at him but Wortho ruled it out.
"No, that's it for me,'' he said. "I'm off to Serbia.''
Basketball Australia's press release on the matter included this nice quote from the dual-Olympian.
"I've scratched the AFL itch and now I can look toward this new international opportunity that basketball has presented to me."
Fair enough. Nothing ventured, then nothing gained, after all.
Clearly Wortho needed to give Chris Anstey a call and get some rucking tips after the way The Big C dominated the recent EJ Whitten game.
His final thought on the NBL.
"Back them Adelaide Blazers mate," he said.
"They might be alright.''
PRETTY sure Lance Hurdle will be the most popular new import with headline writers nationwide, the 188cm American guard with big shoes to fill at Wollongong.
Let's face it, the Hawks' recent record with import guards is very solid, Showron Glover exempted.
Ty McKee, Gary Ervin and Ayinde Ubaka form a nice trio of quality players to wear the Hawks colors during Gordie McLeod's reign but living up to the past should be no hurdle for Lance. (Apologies. I didn't mean to start already).
Since finishing at University of Miami in 2009, he has been an NBA D-League fixture.
"He can get up and down the court pretty quick, he's athletic, a quality shooter and our fans will enjoy watching him compete every night,'' McLeod said.
Gordie's strike rate with import guards - three out of four so far - is way better than most, though he had a bit of a blind spot with Glover.
The coach maintained Glover just "brings something different."
Yes, as one Hawk told me, he did bring something different. A bad player.
THE 36ers will run into old foe Brian Goorjian on their China trip next month.
Goorj's DongGuan Leopards will be the local Chinese team in a four-nation tourney featuring the Sixers, Serbia's OKK Belgrade and US outfit Elkhart Express.
The Express are based in Indiana and play in the International Basketball League (IBL).
If the 36ers sign Knox Raiders SEABL import CJ Massingale, as looks a very big chance now, he won't make the trip.
Not only are the Raiders still heavily involved in the SEABL playoffs, but the Sixers also have already had to submit their travelling party.
Veteran Pero Vasiljevic, 34, who has logged NBL time at Canberra Cannons, Melbourne Tigers, Victoria Titans, Victoria Giants, West Sydney Razorbacks, Singapore Slingers and Gold Coast Blaze (wow, just realised six of those seven clubs are gone now...) will make the trip.
Pero is auditioning for the fourth "big" role, behind Luke Schenscher, Daniel Johnson and Anthony Petrie.
If Massingale makes the final 36ers team, he should pan out in much the same way that Shawn Redhage, Mike Kelly and Andre LaFleur did when they were upgraded from SEABL to the NBL.
He has seven years here under his belt, including two SEABL MVP awards, a championship, a grand final MVP trophy , membership of the SEABL's 30th anniversary team and a bunch of All Star Five selections.
If that doesn't sound as if he could make the step up, nothing would.
THE SEABL's inlfuence this year continues unabated with Wollongong also picking up 204cm Aussie forward/centre Auryn MacMillan from Kilsyth Cobras.
Macca has three SEABL seasons under his belt, has played in Germany, and slipped a little under the radar playing college ball at Gardner-Webb University from 2006-2010.
This season he delivered 13 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Cobras and should work well in the Hawks' frontline of Larry Davidson, Oscar Forman and Dave Gruber, with occasional appearances by Tim Coenraad when he's not at small forward.