Basketball On The Internet.

OTHER than our TV basketball callers' latest annoying fad of labelling some sort of play as that wellknown "Spanish action" - remember when "Euro step" was all the rage? - two pressing issues still threaten the NBL and WNBL - on-court advertising signage (decals) and officiating.

Comments by a number of NBL coaches in particular last week further highlighted what any fan watching the games already knows - the officiating stinks. It. Is. The. Pits.

Like most Americans, the US refs now operating in our league - all apparently from non-FIBA backgrounds - are the equivalent of litigious Yanks, using the tech foul as their weapon of choice.

The NBL, offering huge prizes for obscure and largely meaningless sideshows such as "content creators" could have done well to instead have spent that money on the far-less-sexy need for referee development and education.

No-one wants to see crap or dubious officiating dragging down the terrific standard of the players we now have in the league or of some of the high quality coaches directing them.

But equally, until the problems can be resolved over time - though how much time has Scott Butler required considering he has been in charge since Larry Kestelman bought the league? - watching every call challenged or contested by even the lowliest players on the star totem pole is tedious and aggravating for all concerned.

Yes Chris Reid, throw out an early tech for continued unchecked jawing at refs. It won't make the officiating any better but it will make the event less of an eyesore of minions twirling their fingers or crying their grievances to clearly increasingly irritated officials.

My solutions - immediately tech foul the coach of any player who flops, tech foul any player who twirls his finger for a Coaches Challenge if his coach ignores his pleas and finally, placing the ball at the foul-line and start counting to five rather than trying to organise the time-wasting player free throw huddles - might be harsh but let's get on with the game of basketball.

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When Cole Anthony at full speed went for his decal slide, many of us held our breath, as we did with Luke Paul and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk.

No-one wants to see a player - male or female, because they're slipping on the myriad of decals on the WNBL courts too - seriously injure themself.

And which sponsor of one of those decals will want their product forever associated with the slippage on their sign having ended someone's career?

None of this is anything new.

This decal issue pre-dates even current NBL management. In 2011, Adelaide 36ers import John Gilchrist tore up his knee, ending his NBL career prematurely. Yes, he slipped horrifically on a decal. For real.

How about the NBL spends some money NOW on new technologies for showing sponsor advertising on the playing surface, a surface which, above all else, must be perfect for the most precious commodities using it - the players.

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Before we forget it, here's Wani Swaka Lo Buluk putting a move on Elijah Pepper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oopsie daisy.

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The loss of Parker Jackson-Cartwright to a severe leg injury for the rest of this season is not just tragic for the Breakers but also for any fans of great little-big-man basketball. In the five games he played pre-injury he was delivering MVP-level stats of 26.6ppg, 9.4apg, 4.4rpg and 1.6spg. He most definitely is a unique talent.

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OK, so "Spanish action" is the latest catch-cry of every second television commentator, when they're not talking up a "high-octane" affair or blabbing about the DHO - isn't that where you can buy designer clothes but cheaper? - that poor old Euro-step hardly rating a mention anymore.

No texts or emails please. (I do know it is a DFO for clothing by the way.) I just wonder how many non-baller viewers can even guess what a DHO means, let alone understand what a dribble hand-off even is.

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RJ Brown, son of American basketballer Raheim Brown and a just-turned 16-year-old, provided arguably the "feel good moment" of not only the round but of the season when Trevor Gleeson subbed him in late against Illawarra.

The Adelaide Entertainment Centre crowd already was cheering when he rose from the bench, then roaring when he made a basket, only to have it disallowed. A defensive rebound followed which also brought a roar from the fanbase but when he then hit an off-balance 3-pointer to close the game, it was pandemonium in the place as both 36ers fans and his teammates revelled in his success.

It was a moment he will never forget.

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Meanwhile the 36ers' sister club, Adelaide Lightning are hoping for a big crowd when Geelong brings Chinese superstar Han Xu to the city. Of course, it might help if they had the date correct on their socials...

Hopefully some fans will show up on TUESDAY, November 17, rather than Saturday, November 21.

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NBL Results Round 8

Brisbane Bullets  109 (Harrison 16, Mayen, Murray 14, Norton, Williams, Hinton 13, Neto 10; Hinton 8 rebs; Neto 8 assts) d Perth Wildcats 104 (Doolittle 24, Dell'Orso 20, Pepper 19, Higgins-Titsha 11; Doolittle 7 rebs; Doolitle 9 assts) at Nissan Arena, Brisbane. Qtr-By-Qtr: 37-22, 26-21, 18-25, 28-36. Ignite Cup Pts: Brisbane 5, Perth 2.

Illawarra Hawks 107 (Maker 24, Harvey, Martin 19, Doyle 18, Hickey 12; Maker 9 rebs; Martin, Hickey, Doyle 3 assts) d Cairns Taipans 95 (Pinder 21, McVeigh 20; Brown 14, Paul 12; Pinder, Lewis 8 rebs; McVeigh 7 assts) at Cairns Convention Centre.

Tasmania JackJumpers 79 (Mathias 18, Magnay 16, Bannan 14, Armstrong 10; Bannan 11 rebs; Bannan 7 assts) d New Zealand Breakers 77 (Mennenga 29, Noi 9; Mennenga 17 rebs; Davison 9 assts) at the Silverdome, Launceston.

Adelaide 36ers 106 (Cotton 22, Cheatham 21, Rakocevic 20, Jenkins 17; Rakocevic 16 rebs; Cheatham 11 rebs) d Illawarra Hawks 78 (Harvey 19, Martin 12, Swaka Lo Buluk 8; Blanchfield 8 rebs; Hickey 12 assts) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Melbourne United 120 (Anthony 32, Oduro 28, Wilson 13, Machar 11; Oduro 14 rebs; Anthony 6 assts) d Brisbane Bullets 92 (Mayen 15, Norton, Hinton 13, Murray 12; Harrison 5 rebs; Neto 6 assts) at John Cain Arena, Melbourne.

Sydney Kings 110 (Davis 28, Craig 23, Cooks 15, Maluach 14, Johnston13, Cooks 14 rebs; Davis 9 assts) d South East Melbourne Phoenix 99 (Sobey 33, Krebs 16, Morin 12, Glover 11, Schwartz, Daniels 10; Morin 12 rebs; Morin, Sobey 4 assts) at Afterpay Arena, Sydney.

Cairns Taipans 100 (McVeigh 36, Brown 22, Bruce 14, Pinder 10; Bolden, Pinder 7 rebs; Pinder 6 assts) d Perth Wildcats 92 (Pepper 26, Doolittle 20, Wagstaff 14, Windler 11; Doolittle 8 rebs; Rillie 7 assts) at RAC Arena, Perth.

WNBL Results Round 4

Townsville Fire 80 (Jensen 23, Woods 22, Ellis 14, Fowler 13; Fowler 12 rebs; Woods 8 assts) d Geelong Venom 67 (Xu 25, Rotunno 9, Bowyer 7; Rotunno 6 rebs; Zhang 5 assts) at Geelong Arena.

Adelaide Lightning 100 (Westbeld 29, Aokuso 20, Ciezki 14, Brazel 10; Aokuso 12 rebs; McDowell-White 7 assts) d Tasmania Jewels 68 (Reid 25, Basham 18, Garbin 7; Jacobs 8 rebs; Garbin 5 assts) at State Basketball Centre, Adelaide.

Canberra Capitals 97 (N.Puoch 26, McConnell 16, Munger 15, M.Puoch 13, Atwell 12; N.Puoch 8 rebs; McConnell 11 assts) d Bendigo Spirit 83 (Melbourne 24, Pollerd 16, Wehrung 12; Griffin 11 rebs; Melbourne 6 assts) at Red Energy Centre, Bendigo.

Sydney Flames 86 (Shelley 22, Nicholson 18, Bourne 15, Shuyu 14; Dodson, Bourne 5 rebs; Bourne, Morgan 4 assts) d Southside Flyers 69 (Hank 21, Heal 16, Thompson 12; Hank 9 rebs; Siyu 6 assts) at Afterpay Arena, Sydney.

Perth Lynx 94 (Amoore 27, Peters 17, Key, Ciabattoni, Maley 14; Maley 13 rebs; Amoore 6 assts) d Bendigo Spirit 84 (Tolo 23, Melbourne 21, Pollerd 14, Griffin 11; Griffin 9 rebs; Melbourne 12 assts) at Perth High Performance Centre.