Basketball On The Internet.

WOULDN'T it be great if the NBL occasionally pumped out some original ideas of its own instead of slavishly following the NBA and AFL? Hoops Fest, for example, is a wonderful idea, despite being a direct rip-off of the AFL's "Gather Round" where all teams compete in the one city, Adelaide.

So now we have the NBL version of that staged in Perth, which, along with the Ignite Cup - the "in-season tournament" that rips off the NBA - and the so-called "play in tournament" we're currently enjoying which also is an NBA idea copy.

After all, we could simply have the same format and call it the Top Six - as we did decades ago - but no, we have to make it sound cool and misnomer it as a "play in tournament". By any definiton, three individual finals games do not constitute a tournament but hey, if the NBA says so, our league will follow like neutered sheep.

Now seriously, does every club - NBL and WNBL for that matter - really need an extra regular season fixture in Perth for a gather round, er, "Hoops Fest"?

That said, Hoops Fest and gathering many of our elite athletes in Perth for a special event has great merit and could revive the All Star format. No, absolutely NOT as the NBA has debauched it but in our own unique form.

How about for the men's Hoops Fest, the NBL announces four teams to compete in Perth - teams representing Australia, New Zealand, South Sudan and our Imports. Some years that team could be known as the USA but in others, where non-Americans are selected, it would revert to the Imports.

Two double-header fixtures at RAC Arena, maybe on the Friday? Australia v New Zealand - the great Tasman rivalry. The Imports v South Sudan. On Sunday, the two losing teams meet in the opening match and the two winners compete for the Hoops Fest Championship.

What do we have on the Saturday? The WNBL's Aussies versus the Imports, along with the NBL Dunk Competition, WNBL 3-Point Shoot-Out and NBL 3-Point Shoot-Out.

Assuming everyone was available and no-one injured, here's two possible teams for that WNBL showdown.

IMPORTS: Megan McConnell, Lucy Olsen, Kadi Sissoko, Mackenzie Holmes, Han Xu, Olivia Eoupa, Haley Peters, Unique Thompson, Sania Feagin, Brianna Turner.
AUSSIES: Courtney Woods, Jade Melbourne, Isobel Borlase, Anneli Maley, Cayla George. Jaz Shelley, Alex Ciabattoni, Lauren Nicholson, Isabelle Bourne, Alex Fowler, Alicia Froling, Miela Sowah.

Yes, I know there are players such as Dallas Loughridge and Kelsey Griffin, among many other notables left out of the Aussie team but it was hard enough pruning it to 12.

Now again, with these teams for the men's games, I realise I may have left out your favourite player, be it Dejan Vasiljevic or Sam McDaniel for the Aussies, Milton Doyle or Casey Prather of the Imports or Reuben Te Rangi and Tohi Smith-Milner at New Zealand.

So to make Hoops Fest more interactive, maybe helping select the second fives for each team should fall to a fan vote? The coaching roles would go to, for the Aussies, the Australian coach of the highest-placed team in January, pre-Hoops Fest, be it Dean Vickerman, John Rillie, Adam Forde etc.

For the Imports, the highest ranking team coached by an American-born coach - e.g. Brian Goorjian, Josh King, Mike Wells, Scott Roth, Justin Tatum etcetera.

Whoever is coaching the Breakers automatically inherits the New Zealand outfit. And for South Sudan, the coach is a recent former NBL coach, be it Rob Beveridge, Joey Wright, Darryl McDonald ... hey, maybe the NBL can rejuvenate Stu Lash?

Anyway, here are a few prospective teams I whipped together, based on everyone being 100 per cent healthy and available - which, of course, they currently are not. But back in mid-January?

AUSTRALIA: Bryce Cotton, Nathan Sobey, Jack McVeigh, Xavier Cooks, Will Magnay, Matthew Dellavedova, Elijah Pepper, Chris Goulding, Josh Bannan, Isaac Humphries.

NEW ZEALAND: Shea Ili, Flynn Cameron, Mojave King, Sam Mennenga, Tyrell Harrison, Keanu Rasmussen, Taine Murray, Finn Delany, Carlin Davison, Sam Waardenburg.

IMPORTS: Kendric Davis, Bryce Hamilton, Kristian Doolittle, Zylan Cheatham, Javale McGee, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, David Johnson, John Brown III, Dylan Windler, Jesse Edwards.

SOUTH SUDAN: Sunday Dech, Lat Mayen, Makuach Maluach, Majok Deng, Jo Lual-Acuil, Bul Kuol, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, Kouat Noi, David Okwera, Akech Aliir.

Hoops Fest! The Four Nations Championship?

Nah, lets add a couple of redundant regular season fixtures!