Full Court Press...

Issue 21, October 2014 ing a huge 40th reunion on the course will be updating you on Happenings (check out 18th October which looks to be their progress via our Face- www.nswbasketball.net.au shaping into an awesome book and web! Go girls! for more details) night— if you can please sup- now is a regular port it go and support it if you contributor and this months can! 25th 4 A Cure From the Desk of Danny our article on “Numbers” is a good CEO… During September saw us read—thanks Steve! 26th Basketball 4 A Cure appoint our under 20’s coaches Due to a number of requests October the month of selec- ( see our article on page 3) we we have bought back the “find tions for our state teams, ECC look forward to the future suc- Do you have events to a word” on the back & SCC ( see the article below) cesses of our teams under our advertise? Let us know on page ...enjoy! Great to see the Hill’s basket- coaches in the 2015 season! news@ nswbasketball.net.au Happy Halloween and ball extension approved and Don’t forget to follow our Jayco until next month keep underway—Hills is certainly a Opals in their quest to reign bouncing! huge growth opportunity for supreme over the USA from Basketball! Sept 28 to Oct 6 ( for all details Danny Martinez This month, St George is hav- see our article on page 4) We of Inside this issue: State Teams, East Coast Challenge and Southern Cross Challenge Update

With the conclusion of the junior representative season, selection trials for BNSW state teams, CEO WRAP 1

ECC and SCC are soon under way. STATE TEAMS, EAST COAST 1 CHALLENGE AND SOUTHERN The U/18 State Team trials are about to begin for NSW Metropolitan athletes. Trials start up 1st CROSS CHALLENGE UPDATE November at Bankstown Basketball Stadium. Trials are open to any NSW Metropolitan athlete ASSOCIATION HIGHLIGHT— 2 born 1998 or 1999 currently registered and playing in a BNSW affiliate Member Association with HORNSBY a Metropolitan residential address. HILLS BASKETBALL STADIUM 3 The 2015 Australian Under 18 Championship will be held in Ballarat from Saturday 11th EXTENSION APPROVED – Saturday 18th April. BNSW will select a squad of 20 players to participate in the 2014 East Coast Challenge held from Wednesday 7th January – Friday 9th January 2015 at Hills Basketball Nsw under 20 state 3 coaches appointed Stadium. Jayco opals focused th th 4 The ECC trials will commence over the weekend of 25 and 26 October. Basketball NSW will to topple usa for select Four (4) teams (2 male and 2 female) to participate in the 2015 East Coast Challenge (ECC), work supremacy to be held at Hills Basketball Stadium, Wednesday January 7th - Friday January 9th, 2015. The Mudgee basketball 4 ECC will involve teams from NSW Metropolitan, Victoria Metropolitan, South Metropol- associations 50th itan and ACT. anniversary

Lastly, BNSW are happy to announce they will be entering Numbers tells stories 5 two (2) NSW Metropolitan teams into the Southern Cross & Challenge. This is a round robin tournament held in Victo- St George basketball ria and involves teams from ACT, WA Country and Metro, associations 40th SA Country and Metro and Victoria. 2015 basketball nsw 6 Please visit the BNSW Coaching and Players section of the hall of fame BNSW website at www.nswbasketball.net.au to view all the trial forms. Find-a-word!!! 6 Full Court Press... Association Highlight Association: Hornsby What year was Hornsby Basketball Association established? We are unsure when the first competitions got off the ground though some players played in competitions in Hornsby in the 1970’s. The first “permanent” junior comps began in 1987 and the first rep teams were in 1990. The first Championship was the Men's team which won the Div 3 Men's Sydney Championships in 1990 defeating Campbelltown in the final at Auburn Basketball Centre. The first Junior Championship win was by the U14 Boys team which defeated Sydney Comets at Bankstown Stadium to win the Sydney Div 2 Men's Title in 1991. The first State League Championship win was the Women's team defeating Lithgow in the final at Bankstown Stadium in 1993. How many registered members do you have? Just over 2500 members What is your main playing venue? Brickpit How many courts do you use for your competitions? 6 courts from 5:30 to 8 and 5 courts from 8 to 11 p.m. What were the Association's highlight achievements in 2014? Our greatest achievement this year was the strength of our women’s rep teams winning both the very bottom and the very top – with the u12 women state champions and the Waratah women state champions. Teams in between has credible results with the 16w1 Metro runners up and the 16 women 3 Shield champions (div 3). What does Hornsby BA hope to achieve in the next 2 years? We are already work- ing on consolidating the consistency and strength of our representative program. We want to feed the foundation by working with the local schools to help educate their teachers and encourage more students involved in our programs. What priority(s) is Hornsby BA currently focused on? More Courts are always a priority. We use the courts of all the major schools in the area, but continually have to adjust when school programs & functions are running. What players, volunteers, officials or other participants is Hornsby BA currently looking to recruit? We do not look for volunteers. Volunteers who are excited about what is happening find us. The most important thing we can do is to continually offer courses & notify people of courses elsewhere so they can educate themselves in the sport. The more people around us who have sat the numerous “mini courses” available, the stronger the program and those same people help us to educate others by their involve- ment & excitement. Please provide preferred contact details for anyone wanting to join up & play at Hornsby Basketball Association: Email address: [email protected] or call 9980 6255

2014 Alex Delaney Page 2 Hills Basketball Stadium Extension Approved Hills Basketball is pleased to announce that after many years of effort, the Association has reached an in- principle agreement with The Hills Shire Council which will see our plans for expansion of the Hills Sports Stadi- um finally become a reality. While there are still a number of items to be ticked off including approval from the Office of Local Government, Hills Basketball is confident that an agreement will be finalized in the near future. “Council has agreed to lend us the money for the project.” said Hills Basketball President, Steve Nicholls. “And we are grateful for their support of what is undoubtedly a worthwhile and long-overdue community project.” Nicholls added, “There are still a number of details to be finalized, including the level of oversight of the project by Council. We have always welcomed scrutiny of our plans as we believe we have an overwhelming case for expansion, so we don’t see this as an issue.” When asked about a timeframe for the project, Nicholls was careful not to over commit. “It really is impossible to give any exact timeframes at this stage as there are a number of differ- ent organisations and factors that have to be coordinated.” He stated. “Having said that, it would not be unrealistic to think the first shovel might hit the ground in early 2015.” The project involves extending the existing stadium by adding two courts, with one being a show court with seating for 600. Upgraded change room facilities, office space, a new referees room and other additions also form part of the plan. In posi- tive longer term news for Hills Basketball, Council’s decision includes a new 20-year lease on the building. Source: Hills Hornets

NSW Under 20 State Coaches Appointed

Basketball New South Wales is pleased to announce the appointment of head coaches for the NSW Under 20 State Teams for the Australian Junior Championship to be held from 22 – 28 February 2015. The women will once again have Peter Lonergan at the helm after guiding the girls to the Silver Medal at the Championship in Perth last year. Peter a well respected NSW coach over many years is currently the Player Develop- ment Manager for North’s and his continued involvement with the Under 20 state team program is a tremendous benefit to the BNSW player develop- ment program. The men will be coached by Tim Hudson a long time coach for both NSW country and metro teams who for the past four years has been head coach of the Central Coast Crusaders Waratah Men’s Team .Tim’s extensive coach- ing background has seen him involved as head coach for Barker College, Ab- botsleigh School for Girls, Waverley College, Sydney University Men & Wom- en, Hornsby Spiders Waratah Women and up until this year was the assis- tant coach for the . Tim’s commitment to coaching at both the junior and senior level together with his experience and passion for the game is a welcome addition to the BNSW coaching program. Jayco Opals Focused To Topple USA for World Supremacy has announced the Jayco Australian Opals Team to compete at the 2014 FIBA World Cham- pionship for Women in Turkey. The team is dominated by the cream of the WNBL, in addition to WNBA and European-based stars looking to return the Jayco Opals to the World Championship podium. Jayco Opals Head Coach has ushered in a new era for one of Australian sport’s most successful national teams, picking six World Championship debutants to complement his core of seasoned international stars. ABC continue their unrivalled coverage of Australian basketball on the international stage with ALL Jayco Aus- tralian Opals games at the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on ABC2. The 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women will be held in Turkey from 28 September to 6 October. Jayco Australian Opals Team – 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women

Rebecca Allen – Boomers – Elizabeth Cambage – Cayla Francis – – Lightning – Melbourne Boomers – Spirit – – (WNBA) – – Phoenix Mercury (WNBA) – Bourges (France) Coaching Staff Head Coach: Brendan Joyce Assistant Coaches: Damian Cotter and Lori Chizik Technical Assistant Coach: Scott Butler

Mudgee Basketball Association’s 50th Anniversary

The Mudgee basketball Association will celebrate its 50th Anniversary celebrations over the weekend of the 13th, 14th & 15th February 2015. A meet and greet will be held on Friday night followed by a dinner on Saturday night. All players and Committee member who were, or are still involved with the Association since 1965, are invited to attend.

All teams that competed from the first games in 1965 through to 2014 are urged to contact former team mates and get together for the weekends activities. Check out the Association’s Face Book page or contact us on 0427220776, 0263736345 or [email protected] for more information.

Page 4 NUMBERS TELL STORIES

By Steve Carfino I have a thing for numbers, so when I see a player in the NBL wearing a certain number I wonder if they picked that num- ber of if that number picked them. It’s funny how I remember a person’s number in a sport I don’t know a great deal about. I think of Rugby League and #6 Wally Lewis comes to mind. AFL and #5 Gary Abblett pops into my head, along with a cer- tain religious reference. Let’s not forget the number 10 worn by the great man himself, . I made a few phone calls and asked some of Australia’s NBL legends why they wore the number and the story behind it. I started with giving my good friend Cal Bruton a call and a hour and a half later he gave me his reasons plus some great stories going all the way back to his childhood in New York City. Cal wore #4 with the Bul- lets because in those days a player could only wear numbers ranging from four to fifteen. Usually the smaller players (guards) wore the smaller numbers. He chose number 10 when he went to Geelong, 5 when he went back to Brisbane. When I asked what number he feels defines him, he said 55 for the . In Perth is where he felt he had the most impact as a player and a coach putting together one the greatest sporting dynasty this country has ever seen. One of the gentleman of the NBL and a great player who only played for one club is . Brett’s story, unlike Cal Bruton’s, took about 3 minutes with nothing that surprised me. He was given the #5 as a 10 year old, wore it all throughout his juniors, the and representing his country as an Australian Boom- er. Some players had more obvious choices they idolized as kids. James Harvey and #33 (Larry Bird) John Rillie (Reggie Miller) and Dwayne McClain loved George Gervin. The great Andrew Gaze had a far less glamorous motivation for wearing his beloved #10. In the 70’s two im- ports playing for the Melbourne Tigers were #13 Doug Dodge and #10 Bruce Case. Dodge’s number was a little unlucky, so he went with Case who had a grey patch in his hair like the premature greying Gaze.

CJ Brutons’ first number in the NBL was #41 with the Perth Wildcats. 4+1=5, the number his dad wore with the winning a title. CJ has also worn numbers 22 (Brisbane), 24 (Wollongong), 30 ( and Sydney) 3 (Brisbane) and finally 23 in New Zealand, which will be retired later this year.

St George Basketball Association’s 40th Anniversary

The St George basketball Association will celebrate its 40th Anniversary on Saturday the 18th October 2014 at The Haldon House Function Centre. All players and members who were, or are still involved with the Association since 1974, are invited to attend. All teams that competed from the first games in 1974 through to 2014 are urged to contact former team mates and get together for an evening of reminiscing. Check out the Association’s website www.stgeorge.basketball.net.au or contact us on 0418 287 386, 02 9533 8833 or email Save the Date—2015 Basketball NSW Hall of Fame

In 2011 Basketball NSW conducted its inaugural and highly successful Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony. 2013 saw this success continue combining the induction ceremony with the 75th year anniversary celebration. Basketball NSW is continuing this tradition with an induction being held in 2015, honouring those who have made outstanding contributions or have achieved at a high level in basketball in NSW.

It is extremely important that our sport at this time in our history and those in the future have a sense of the history of basketball in NSW. This history becomes a rich source of inspira- tion and passion for all basketball people. The development of an inner soul for our sport is imperative not only for past recognition but for providing a guiding light for the future for all in our sport to follow.

The Basketball NSW Hall of Fame is a Biennial event, recognising those who have contributed to Basketball in NSW.

2015 Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony When: Friday 13th March, 2015 Where: Albert Palais Function Centre

More details to follow.

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