Basketball On The Internet.

IT'S official. Marty Clarke will not be continuing beyond the three years he already has held the NBL reigns of the 36ers.

Colleague Jai Bednall had it up at adelaidenow first thing today: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/marty-clarke-moved-on-from-adelaide-36ers-after-three-years/story-fndekpx4-1226612326627
and my observations about the decision followed at: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/winds-of-change-meant-this-day-was-coming-for-sacked-adelaide-36ers-coach-marty-clarke/story-fndekpx4-1226612653526

Now the challenge becomes finding the new coach to lead Adelaide out of the depths it has plumbed since Scott Ninnis was cut after his second year (of three) for delivering a 10-18 record and eighth place (of 8).

It was the 36ers' first crash into the bomb shelter and Sydney's arrival in 2011 as a ninth team, meant Clarke's first season (9-19) was still an eighth-placed finish, but not last.

That came in 2012, when 8-20 was good enough for ninth (and last), with an encore in the bomb shelter this season, when most pundits had picked his team for playoff action.

For a man most hoped would be the Second Coming of Phil Smyth as a debutante, it was a sad demise.

ROB Beveridge and his assistant-coach Shawn Dennis have a lot on their mind at Perth with a Grand Final series coming up against New Zealand.

But both are out of contract when the iiNet Championship Series concludes, making them attractive options for the 36ers.

Beveridge already has said he is ready to move on and many are linking him to lucrative opportunities in China.

With a wife and three children - plus Bevo declaring he will do what is in his family's best interests - don't rule him out of staying in the NBL.

Adelaide and Townsville are both available.

Dennis' name was brought up by Sixers CEO Dean Parker, which has to be a good sign if your name is Shawn Dennis.

Bullets championship and former Gold Coast coach Joey Wright is another high-profile candidate, currently doing high performance coaching in Queensland and working as an association general manager.

"It's the first time I've worked in basketball outside of the NBL and I am really enjoying it,'' he said.

"But Adelaide would be a great opportunity.''

In Adelaide recently on business, Wright and Sixers' management did not connect but there appear to be plans to change that soon.

KINGS centre Ian Crosswhite has a case to answer, apparently, charged with striking New Zealand's Will Hudson in Game 2 of the semi-finals on Monday.

It is alleged he struck Hudson with an elbow to the back of the head.

The Finemeister, Basketball Australia's general manager of Professional Leagues and Operations, Chuck Harmison - PLOCH for short - viewed vision and decided either that Crossy had a case to answer, or the budget needed another quick $1,000 injection (executive lunches can run up quite the tab).

The refs did not report Crosswhite but never fear, PLOCH is here!

JUST reinforcing the ridiculousness which is the NBL, this week Wollongong guard Adris Deleon was named joint Player of the Month for March.

Yes that's right. The same Deleon who did not win selection on the NBL's All Star Five First, Second or Third teams.

Yet for at least one month Deleon, along with Melbourne's Chris Goulding, were the best players in the league!

Such crazy stuff.

Wollongong's Gordon McLeod was Coach of the Month for March, his second monthly award last season.

New Zealand's Andrej Lemanis was Coach of the Year - minus October and March, of course.

MY (e)mail is that Lemanis is going to be our next Boomers' coach.

I hear he was annointed by outgoing Boomers boss Brett Brown as his logical and preferred successor.

HAD to take a quick restroom break and dang if I didn't hear the odd PLOCH.

BEEF of the Week

HOW is it we can reach NBL semi-finals and not have the stats working properly at the league website?

It's a rhetorical question, admittedly because personally, I don't like the new stats format anyway.

But I'd be happy if it just worked when a final is on.

Too much to ask?

JAN Stirling, Vicki Valk and Peter Buckle walk into a bar. The barman looks up from where he is cleaning glasses, stares at them and says: "Will this be some kind of lightning round?"