The Rays, owned by Matt Shanahan and Pat Reidy took out the championship of the inaugural High Stakes Hoops tourney in Adelaide.
The title match saw the Rays defeat the Coasters owned by netballer Julie Corletto 95-81. The win brought the team a windfall of $175,000. Shanahan proved to be an astute young coach , being diligent in preparing his team by holding video sessions and using a “Hoya Paranoia” strategy, having his team stay at an off-site hotel through the tourney.
Overall the tourney proved to be an innovative event with crowds steady if not spectacular through the duration of the event. Hopefully it will be a solid base for an annual event. From a fans viewpoint, it would be great to see the purse rise which would hopefully see the talent levels of overseas players boosted. While all imports had stellar credentials by Aussie standard, the fact remains that fans will not see too many just below NBA level players on our shores simply due to financial restrictions. Maybe Foot Lockers continued involvement along with TenHD and a bit more advertising can change that.
Tuesday at noon Australian time, a new innovative basketball tourney will kick off with the start of The Elite Classic-High Stakes Hoop$ tournament. The classic will see eight teams vie for a minimum purse of $250,000 over the five day event. The event can be seen live on Australia’s OneHD.
The Classic will provide some unique features including a “Game Breaker Phase”, where on one occasion in each half for a three minute period, every made three point shot will count as four points. The phase can be initiated by either the coach of the team or the on court captain.
The Classic will also feature the “Game within the Game”, where points are awarded for winning individual quarters. This will be compiled by awarding two points for every quarter won by the losing team. The winning team will automatically receive eight points.
The rosters for the event have a smattering of talent from across the globe, some instantly recognisable with NBA pedigree and most with NCAA experience along with some of Australia’s favourites.
The Rosters:
Rush Team Rights Owner – Lanard Copeland
Coach – Sedale Threatt.
25 Michael Boone *
23 Lonnie Harrell *
9 Chris Brown *
22 Michael Rose **
24 Brad Bridgewater
10 Sedale Threatt Jr
11 Yusuf Qaafow
12 Daniel Dillon
14 Thalo Green Fleet
Team Rights Owner – Brett Maher & Consortium
Coach Ken Cole
12 Troy Jackson **
23 Willie Farley **
15 Brett Maher
21 Chris Goulding
20 Riley Luettgerodt
24 Luke Schenscher
7 Tom Daly
25 Chris Molitor
22 Oscar Forman Rays
Team Rights Owner Pat Reidy & Matt Shanahan
Coach – Matt Shanahan
25 David Fisher *
14 Freddy Robinson *
11 Kevin Lisch **
13 Peter Crawford
33 Tony Ronaldson
10 Damien Martin
15 Adam Gibson
20 Brad Hill
24 Ben Allen
David Bowley Cyclones
Coach – Bruce Bolden
21 Terrence Woodberry *
22 Mario Brown *
14 Graeme Dann
10 BJ Carter
20 Clint Reed
9 Deba George
24 Steven Broom
11 Josh Knight
12 Brad Gerlach
25 Jordan Dodman Monarchs
Team Rights Owner – John de la Torre
Coach - Al Green
20 Isiah Victor *
11 Scott O’Gallagher *
24 Martinis Woody **
12 Wayne Oliver **
21 Ed Millard **
15 Rashard Tucker **
22 Galen Young **
13 Brad Williamson
14 Julius Hodge
23 Lance Allred Coasters
Team Rights Owner – Julie Corletto
Coach Darryl “D Mac” McDonald
23 D’Lancy Carter *
10 Mike Helms *
11 Bennett Davison **
15 Sean Lampley **
12 Luke McMillan
13 Kevin Ratzch
4 Brad Davidson
7 Darren Ng
9 Derrick McDonald Pythons
Team Rights Owner – Lance “Buddy” Franklin
Coach – Mark Bradtke
10 Mark Bradtke
5 Tony Danridge **
11 Kevin Johnson **
15 Harry Lum **
23 Corey “Homicide” Williams **
4 Dante Sykes **
13 Geremy Robinson **
7 John Rillie
9 Michael Florence
8 Mike McDaniel Reef
Team Rights Owner – Stewart Briggs & Dale Ryan
Coach Dale Ryan & Mick Downer
14 Jason Cameron
8 Nathan Niesler
13 Todd Blanchfield
15 Blogoj Janev
12 David Bartholomaeus
9 John Fitzgerald
10 Keith Borgen
11 Jason Curtis
5 Anthony Esparza
4 Stephen Hoare
*denotes Draft pick from Overseas Player Draft.
** denotes overseas player signed directly by team, these players did not nominate for the Draft and were signed as free agents.
TBA denotes To Be Announced.
The Draw:
Tuesday 6 April 12:00 pm Cyclones v Monarchs
2:00 pm Coasters v Rays
4:00 pm Fleet v Rush
6:00 pm Reef v Pythons Wednesday 7 April 12:00 pm Pythons v Coasters
2:00 pm Rush v Cyclones
4:00 pm Rays v Reef
6:00 pm Monarchs v Fleet Thursday 8 April 11:00 am Fleet v Cyclones
1:00 pm Reef v Coasters
3:00 pm Rush v Monarchs
5:00 pm Pythons v Rays Friday 9 April 4:00 pm Semi-Final #1
6:00 pm Semi-Final #2 Sunday 11 April 4:30 pm Championship Game
