Recently Released NBL Free Agents List

from the NBL

NBL RELEASES FREE AGENTS LIST

The National Basketball League (NBL) today released its free agent list in order to allow clubs to begin their recruitment process for the 2010/11 season. 
The free agent list shows players from all clubs that had not signed new contracts with their existing teams by the deadline of 5:00PM AEDT today (Thursday 1 April).
Any player on the free agents list may now be approached by any club who wishes to offer them a contract for season 2010/11.
Some of the league's leading stars appear on the list including the reigning NBL Most Valuable Player Corey Williams as well as fellow 10-point players Tywain McKee, Adam Ballinger and Ayibde Ubaka.
The full Free Agents List is below:

2009/10 Team	Player		Player Points Ranking
Adelaide	JOHN	GILCHRIST	10
Adelaide	ADAM	BALLINGER	10
Adelaide	CORTEZ	GROVES	8
Adelaide	MATTHEW	BURSTON	8
Adelaide	JACOB	HOLMES	7
Adelaide	NATHAN	HERBERT	6
Adelaide	BRAD	HILL	5
Adelaide	DAVID	COOPER	5
Adelaide	TOM	GARLEPP	3
Adelaide	CHRIS	MOLITOR	1
Cairns	JULIEN	MILLS	9
Cairns	RICH	MELZER	9
Cairns	PHILL	JONES	7
Cairns	GARY	BOODNIKOFF	5
Cairns	KERRY	WILLIAMS	4
Cairns	DWAYNE	VALE	3
Cairns	MICHAEL	CHITHAM	D
Cairns	JAMES	COMINO	D
Gold Coast	MICHAEL	JOINER	10
Gold Coast	ERRON	MAXEY	10
Gold Coast	AYINDE	UBAKA	10
Gold Coast	CRAIG	BRADSHAW	9
Gold Coast	MIKA	VUKONA	8
Gold Coast	GREG	VANDERJAGT	5
Gold Coast	CASEY	FRANK	5
Gold Coast	PERO	CAMERON	5
Gold Coast	TYSON	DEMOS	4
Gold Coast	TOMMY	AMMAR	D
Gold Coast	BRENDAN	TEYS	D
Melbourne	JULIUS	HODGE	10
Melbourne	MARK	WORTHINGTON	10
Melbourne	MIKE	ROSE	9
Melbourne	LUKE	KENDALL	7
Melbourne	BEN	KNIGHT	7
Melbourne	DARYL	CORLETTO	7
Melbourne	NATHAN	CROSSWELL	6
Melbourne	TOM	GREER	6
Melbourne	DANIEL	JOHNSON	6
Melbourne	TIM	LANG	3
Melbourne	MATT	O'HEA	3
Melbourne	RYAN	BATHIE	D
Melbourne	YUSUF	QAAFOW	D
Melbourne	ROBBIE	STONE	D
Melbourne	BODEN	WESTOVER	D
Melbourne	EDIN	ZUNIC	D
New Zealand	RICK	RICKERT	10
New Zealand	KEVIN	BRASWELL	10
New Zealand	AWVEE	STOREY	9
New Zealand	OSCAR	FORMAN	7
New Zealand	JOHN	RILLIE	6
New Zealand	JEREMIAH	TRUEMAN	4
Perth	SHAWN	REDHAGE	10
Perth	LUKE	SCHENSCHER	10
Perth	KEVIN	LISCH	9
Perth	GALEN	YOUNG	9
Perth	SAM	HARRIS	2
Perth	MARKO	DERIK	D
Perth	JARRAD	PRIOR	D
Perth	JOEL	WAGNER	D
Townsville	COREY	WILLIAMS	10
Townsville	ROLAN	ROBERTS	9
Townsville	STEPHEN	HOARE	8
Townsville	BRAD	WILLIAMSON	7
Townsville	PETER	CRAWFORD	7
Townsville	CAMERON	TOVEY	6
Townsville	KELVIN	ROBERTSON	5
Townsville	JEFF	DOWDELL	4
Townsville	TODD	BLANCHFIELD	D
Townsville	CHRIS	CEDAR	D
Townsville	KEEGAN	TUDEHOPE	D
Wollongong	TYWAIN	MCKEE	10
Wollongong	CAMERON	TRAGARDH	9
Wollongong	GLEN	SAVILLE	9
Wollongong	DAVID	GRUBER	7
Wollongong	TIM	BEHRENDORFF	6
Wollongong	LUKE	MARTIN	4
Wollongong	DANIEL	JACKSON	3
Wollongong	GARETH	DAWSON	D
Wollongong	ZAC	DELANY	D
Additional Free Agents
	WADE	HELLIWELL	8
	NEIL	MOTTRAM	6
	MARTIN	ITI	4
	LUKE	NEVILLE	9
	ZARRYON	FERETI	5
	DAMIEN	RYAN	7
	LUCAS	WALKER	2
	BLAGOJ	JANEV	5
	LUKE	COOPER	4
	JASON	CADEE	3
	PERO	VASILJEVIC	5
	LIAM	RUSH	9
	THALO	GREEN	7
	KAVOSSY	FRANKLIN	9
	DANIEL	JOYCE	5
	BJ	CARTER	4
	ANDREW	RICE	4
	DANIEL	DILLON	3
	GRAEME	DANN	6 *
	MARK	DICKEL	9 *
D = Development Player
* = Points appeal pending

 

New Hoops concept hits Australia

Elite Classic Kicks off in Adelaide

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

There is more info and a fan forum at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elite-Classic-Basketball/264829268543
The tourney homepage is at: http://www.highstakeshoops.com

NCAA Final on Tap

Blue Devils, Bulldogs square off for NCAA Crown

Butler’s Bulldogs scraped by Michigan State 52-50 and Duke blasted West Virginia 78-57 to set up Mondays Championship tilt in Indianapolis, just five miles from the Butler campus. The Blue Devils (34-5) go in as slight favourites but will have to contend with what will be essentially a home court advantage for Butler (33-4). The key to the match will be Butler’s defence; so far, no team has scored more than 6o points against the Bulldogs. Duke will look to make it a run and gun affair.

After much soul searching, I will have to go against my beloved ACC and choose Butler to finish their dream run by 4 points.

The Weekend Ahead

NIT Over, Final Four up next

Dayton’s flyers pulled off a 79-68 win over last years NCAA Champions North Carolina in the final of the 2010 NIT tourney this week. The win helped to soften the blow for the Flyers who missed the NCAA tourney and finished their season with a 25-12 record. The Tarheels concluded their dismal season with a 20-17 ledger.

Final Four Predictions

Michigan State (32-4) – Butler (28-8):

The Bulldogs of Butler will attempt to gain their first berth in the Championship game in their own backyard against Michigan State who are looking to go one better than last years championship loss to North Carolina.

I will go with the locals and pick Butler to advance by 7.

West Virginia (31-6) – Duke (33-5):

This one pits the ACC against the Big East in a battle for the second berth in the Championship game. Duke seems to be the logical choice but the Mountaineers have been on a mission throughout the tourney.

I think Duke’s outside punch may prove to be the difference, Duke by 3, possibly in overtime.

College Hoops Roundup

Other Tourney News

Other than the NCAA Men’s Championship, we are also down to the Final Four of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Recently in Regional Finals, the Connecticut Huskies routed Florida State 90-50, Baylor’s ladies avenged the loss by their male counterparts by beating Duke 51-48, Stanford escaped 55-53 over Xavier, and Oklahoma routed Kentucky 88-68. Final Four Matches will see undefeated Connecticut (37-0) face Baylor (27-9) and Stanford (35-1) square off against Oklahoma (27-10) on Sunday US time with the winners meeting for the national title on Tuesday night.

NCAA Division 2

In the Division 2 Championship matches, Cal Poly Pomona defeated Indiana, Pa 65-53 for the Men’s title while Emporia State stopped Fort Lewis by an identical 65-53 score for the Women’s crown.

NCAA Division 3

In Division 3, Wisconsin-Stephens Point took the title with a 78-73 victory over Williams and Washington-St. Louis topped Hope 65-59 for the Women’s crown.

Also in the NAIA, Oklahoma Baptist won a thriller over Azusa Pacific 84-83 for the title. Unfortunately for Azusa Pacific, their ladies team also went down in the final losing to Union-Tennessee 73-65 in the title match. The win was Union’s second consecutive NAIA crown.

Elsewhere, in the CollegeInsider.com tournament, Missouri State topped Pacific 78-65. Virginia Commonwealth University won the two out of three series over Saint Louis University to claim the College Basketball Invitational tourney crown.