Aussie Hoopla Nbl & Nba Podcast

CJ Bruton is currently building his first NBL roster as an NBL head coach, and he joins Dan Boyce on the Aussie Hoopla podcast to talk through his process and how he's managed to land some big names like Robert Franks and Antonious Cleveland.  Bruton took over as the team's head coach just prior to last season's tip-off, with the roster having already been finalized by former 36ers GM Jeff Van Groningen and Coach Connor Henry. Bruton, a six-time NBL championship winner as a player, joined Adelaide after a stint as an assistant coach at the Brisbane Bullets. Prior to that, he played 17 seasons in the national league, winning 6 NBL championships as well as being a dual Olympian, playing for the Boomers 104 times. He was part of Australia's gold-medal winning Commonwealth Games team at the 2006 Melbourne Games and was an assistant coach for the Boomers when they also won Commonwealth gold in 2018 on the Gold Coast. Topics include... The day-to-day grind of CJ's first time recruiting as an NBL head coac

Aaron Fearne was head coach of the Taipans for nine seasons and led the team to three postseason berths. Fearne was named the NBL Coach of the Year in 2015. Prior to the 2018/19 season, the Taipans announced that Fearne would not return as head coach and shortly after he moved to the US to take up a role as an assistant coach at the University of Charlotte. Aussie Hoopla's Dan Boyce spoke with 'Fearny' about the differences between college basketball and the NBL, his time with the Cairns Taipans, his year in the NBA with Nathan Jawai and his message for players or parents of players who want to make it onto an NCAA basketball team. Topics include... Aaron Fearne updates us on how his transition to coaching in the US college system after 9 seasons as head coach of the Cairns Taipans (2:00) How the University of Charlotte is recruiting players in Australia and New Zealand (6:00) How Covid is still impacting college recruiting, even in 2022 (7:30) The major differences between coaching in the NBL and the

Josh Powell rose up from being a homeless teenager to reach the NBA, where he played seven seasons, before playing overseas which included a stop with the Sydney Kings during the 2016-17 season. He now plays for the Killer 3's in the Big 3 competition under coach Charles Oakley and Powell joins Dan Boyce on the podcast the discuss overcoming the odds, his time playing for the University of North Carolina State, winning two NBA championships with the LA Lakers, his friendship with Kobe Bryant, highlights from his 17 years as a professional basketball player and what went wrong with the Sydney Kings in 2017. Topics include... Playing in the Big 3 with the Killer 3's under coach Charles Oakley (2:00) Being homeless as a teenager and how he overcome a rough home life in order to reach the NBA (6:00) Playing college basketball for North Carolina State (11:00) Going through the NBA draft and not being selected and his first years as a pro playing in Europe (14:00) Signing with the Dallas Mavericks and hi

Shawn Dennis spent 16 years in the NBL as a coach with the Newcastle Falcons, Perth Wildcats and Townsville Crocodiles, this included winning NBL coach of the year in 2016. Since the demise of the Crocodiles Dennis has coached in Japan's rapidly growing B.League, the country's premier national league despite having only started in 2016 has become one of the highest paying leagues in the world. This NBL off-season numerous players are engaged in talks with both Australian and B.League teams with Japan's national league likely to snatch up a number of NBL players for the coming season.     itchell joins Dan Boyce on the podcast the discuss where the team fell short, what needs to change and plans for the roster for the upcoming 2022-23 season.   Topics include... How basketball is improving in Japan and the rise of the B.League (2:00) What players in the NBL are Japanese teams wanting to sign (7:00) How former NBL players are faring in Japan ie. Nick Kay, Shawn Long, Angus Brandt (9:00) B.League sala

The South East Melbourne Phoenix went through an up and down season in 2021-22 where after sitting among the top team teams in the league for the first half of the season saw a late-season slump cause them to miss the playoffs.   Head coach Simon Mitchell joins Dan Boyce on the podcast the discuss where the team fell short, what needs to change and plans for the roster for the upcoming 2022-23 season.   Topics include... Missing the playoffs last season and Simon's views on where the team fell down (2:00) Finishing the season with a win against the Wildcats (6:00) What is the process the Phoenix follow to recruit talent in the off-season (12:00) Plans for the Phoenix backcourt and what they need in point guard (17:00) Waiting on Zhou Qi and his decision on where he plays this season (18:00) Simon and his relationship with Mitch Creek and how it's developed over his three seasons with South East Melbourne (20:00) Ryan Broekhoff and his health (22:00) Signing a one year deal and whether it makes puts m

Last week Jacob Jackomas was announced as the new Illawarra Hawks new coach, replacing his mentor Brian Goorjian.   With Goorjian announcing he will be coaching the Bay Area Dragons based in the Philippines Jackomas will take full control with the Hawks and look to take them one step further after their semi-final loss to the Sydney Kings.   Jacob Jackomas previously acted as Goorjian's assistant coach for more than a decade, his extensive coaching resume includes stints in the NBL, China and the Australian Boomers program over the past 6 years.    Jackomas has also had a little taste of being the Hawks head coach after he covered Brian Goorjian's absence earlier this year when he came down with the coronavirus. In his one-off game as an NBL head coach Jacomas impressed fans by delivering a win against reigning champions Melbourne United. With his new position only being announced a week ago he joins Dan Boyce on the podcast to discuss his unorthodox journey to becoming an NBL head

This week Aussie Hoopla host Dan Boyce put out an open invitation to NBL fans to join him on a 'fans only' podcast to discuss the biggest stories in Aussie Hoops and get a fan's perspective of what's topical in Aussie Hoops right now. Fans joining Dan on the show this week are; - Matt Corcoran - Bullet's Fan - Ashley Proud - 90s NBL aficionado Topics covered include… Is the NBL Play In Tournament a good idea? (2:00) NBL Awards, who should have won? (15:00) Nathan Sobey re-signs with Brisbane and Bullets fans groan, are they ungrateful or warranted (23:00) Underachievers and Overachievers this season (35:00) NBL Playoff Predictions (43:00) Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball, head to Aussiehoopla.com. Check out previous podcasts featuring; Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Leroy Loggins, David Andersen, Andrew Vlah

Ben Knight has been announced as the 2022 winner of the Sydney Kings’ Ring of Honour award.  The fan and member-voted award will be presented officially at Sunday’s massive clash at Qudos Bank Arena against the Illawarra Hawks.  The Ring of Honour recognises players not just for their talents on the court, but for other reasons worthy of recognition consisting of:     The most entertaining;    The most courageous;    A great teammate; or    Those who gave back to our community.   Ben joined Dan Boyce on the Aussie Hoopla podcast to discuss his NBL career which included playing for nine teams (an NBL record) during his 16 seasons in the league. He also shares insights into the merger of the South East Melbourne Magic and North Melbourne Giants, helping to create a culture in Cairns, narrowly missing out on a championship in Townsville before returning to his hometown Kings to help them win a championship in 2005. He talks about his decision to help the Singapore Slingers become th

Rob Beveridge ticked off a bucket list item when he was named head coach of the Australian Boomers and guided the team to a 3-0 record in February's FIBA World Qualifiers held in Japan. The team, NBL development players and European talent faced a gruelling quarantine process and only two days or preparation for the tournament which Bevo gives his insights into the experience. Beveridge added this achievement to a resume that features a Paralympics silver medal from 2000, an assistant coaching role with the Boomers at the 2004 Olympics, coaching Scotland at the Commonwealth Games 2018 and the two medals won at the junior World Championships in 2003 (gold medal) and 2019 (bronze medal). Beveridge has spent the past three seasons coaching New Zealand's Southland Sharks and he also shares some of his knowledge of the league and why the league is more popular than ever before. Topics include... The growth of the NZNBL over the past few years (2:00) Signing Mojave King and how recruiting pla

Whyalla born and bred Chris Blakemore began training with the Adelaide 36ers in 1990 before spending two seasons at the Australian Institute of Sport and signing a rookie contract with the team in 1993. He played three seasons with the 36ers (1993-1995), a period where the team saw a young core of Blakemore, Brett Maher, Scott Ninnis and Brett Wheeler develop into a playing group that ushered in a new era of success in Adelaide. Blakemore would win Rookie of the Year in his first season and the league's Most Improved Player in his second season. This early 1990s also saw highly regarded college coach Mike Dunlap hire to coach the team, an era renown for a lot of wins on the court and issues off the court. Topics include... Early beginnings in Whyalla, SA (2:00) The college football scholarship that could have been (5:00) Choosing between the AIS, NBL and NCAA as a pathway to becoming a professional (7:00) His rookie of the year season in 1993 (11:00) Adelaide 36ers 1994 run to the NBL Grand Fina

Perth young gun Luke Travers has gone from development player to solid contributor to potential NBA lottery pick in the past three years. Stepping up his game, perimeter shooting and strength each season to now be a major part of the Wildcat's success, Luke joins Dan Boyce on the podcast to discuss his decision to play in the NBL over college, the people within the Perth Wildcats organisation helping him prepare for the NBA draft and lessons learnt along the way. Topics include... Snapping the Wildcats three-game losing streak with a win over Tasmania (1:00) How the Perth Wildcats players view the JackJumpers roster who many fans refer to as Perth 2.0 (2:30) Growing up in Rockingham and watching the Wildcats as a junior (3:30) At what point as a junior did he feel he could play as a professional (6:00) What led to him deciding he would attempt to reach the NBA via the NBL instead of college (7:30) His first season with the Wildcats and takeaways from his "learning" year (8:30) Winning an NBL cham

This episode host Dan Boyce put out an open invitation to NBL fans to join him on a 'fans only' episode of Aussie Hoopla to discuss the biggest stories in Aussie Hoops and provide a fan's perspective for fans to listen to. Fans joining Dan on the show this week are; - Matt Corcoran - Bullet's Fan - Brendan Boyd (1/3 of the Basketball Blokes Podcast) - Taylor Cowper - Wildcats Fan   Topics covered include… The NBA All-Star Weekend and its NBL flavour this year (2:00) NBL Next Stars is it sustainable? (16:00) Thoughts on the NBL's highest-selling jerseys (21:00) The exposure gained from Asian players Zhou Qi, Liu Chuanxing and Kai Sotto can the NBL maintain the interest and the Asian pipeline next season (28:00) NBL crowd numbers... the good and the bad (33:00) What we like and what we don't like about the Tasmania JackJumpers (40:00) Adelaide, Brisbane and Cairns... which team is in the most trouble of missing the playoffs? (48:00) The passing of Jack Bendat and his legacy and im

Xavier Cooks is in his third season with the Sydney Kings but due to injuries has played only 26 games over his NBL career, averaging 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists per game since entering the league in 2019. This season, with a full bill of health, Cooks is having a career-best season, averaging 13 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists while leading Sydney to a top-five record thus far. He joins Aussie Hoopla's Dan Boyce to talk about the teams big win over the Perth Wildcats this week, his decision to play college basketball and overseas by debuting in the NBL, his experiences with the Australian Boomers and plenty more. He also takes us through the ups and downs he faced dealing with his injuries which kept him out of the Australian Boomers in 2019 and has impacted his ability to play at his best in the NBL. Topics include... The Kings win over the Wildcats and the altercation between Matt Hodgson and Dejan Vasiljevic (2:00) How injuries have impacted his past seasons and how b

Mike Kelly is currently the associate coach of the Perth Wildcats and recently was named as part of the coaching staff for the Australian Boomers FIBA World Cup qualifying team. He joins Aussie Hoopla's Dan Boyce to talk about how the Boomers are preparing for the first round of qualifying games and how the Perth Wildcats are faring during a season heavily impacted by COVID-19. He also takes us through the ups and downs he faced as head coach of the Cairns Taipans from 2018-2021 and how it developed him as a coach. Topics include... Thoughts on the Perth Wildcats loss to the Sydney Kings this weekend (2:00) How do the Perth Wildcats split responsibilities among the coaching staff (5:00) Being named as an assistant coach for the Australian Boomers (7:00) How the Boomers coaching staff have been recruiting players for the FIBA qualifiers in February with most NBL players unavailable (9:00) How COVID-19 is making it extremely difficult to count players (14:00) The ups and downs of

Jayson Wells played three seasons in the NBL (2001-2003) with the Canberra Cannons and Cairns Taipans before embarking on a professional basketball journey that saw him play internationally for 13 years. His playing career saw him spend time in Argentina, Dubai, Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, Sweden and Ukraine. Playing under Cal Bruton at Canberra he teamed with Tonny Jensen, David Patrick, David Simmons, Troy Pilon and although the team only won three games that season, he shares tales of the fun they had on and off the court. Replacing import Matt Garrison he joined the Cairns Taipans for two seasons and helped them become must-see tickets in Queensland's upper north. He joins Aussie Hoopla's Dan Boyce to talk about how his time in Australia shaped his career, how he transitioned into an author, coach and motivational speaker as well as working alongside NBA stars like Lebron James, Kevin Durrant and Chris Paul.  Topics include... Since retiring from bask

Young Filipino talent Kai Sotto has signed a multi-year deal with the Adelaide 36ers this season and after missing the teams first four games made his NBL debut against the Cairns Taipans this week. The 18-year-old played 10 minutes and filled the box score, showing his versatility with 1 point, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Sotto is already an emerging figure within the Philippine national team program and an NBA draft prospect decision and he joined Aussie Hoopla's Dan Boyce to discuss getting back onto the court, his decision to develop his game in Australia and how he is settling with the 36ers.  Topics include... His self analysis on his first game in the NBL (2:00) Kai talks about his father Ervin sotto who was a Filipino basketball player and how he has helped guide his basketball journey so far (4:00) Growing up in Las Piñas, Manila the capital city of the Philippines (5:00) Thoughts on the Pinoy fans and their expectations (7:00) Why he decided not to go play coll

Guy Molloy has called it quits on coaching the Melbourne Boomers WNBL team after almost a decade with the club. Molloy will move to New Zealand to take on a dual role which includes coaching the New Zealand Tall Ferns (National Women's team) and coach the Wellington Saints in the NZNBL.   Molloy has spent 32 years coaching at a national level in Australia which included stints with The Australia Women's national team, Canberra, Perth and Melbourne in the WNBL and for the men spent time in the NBL coaching both the Cairns Taipans and South Dragons. It's fair to say no other coach has the experience Molloy has at coaching both sexes at a national level and he joins the podcast to chat with Dan Boyce on the differences between coaching men and women and the lessons he's learnt from coaching in our national leagues. Molloy also coached Ben Simmons and Dante Exum as head coach of the men's national under-17 side, the Emus.     Topics include... Guy on his decision to l

Adam Ballinger played twelve seasons in the NBL, spending time with the Victoria Giants, Wollongong Hawks, Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne Tigers. Over his career, he averaged 15.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 340 NBL games. Prior to the NBL he played college basketball with Michigan State where he won a national championship alongside NBA stars Jason Richardson, Mateen Cleaves and future NBL stars Mike Chappell and Dave Thomas. Topics include... Ballinger on making a living post-basketball as an artist/cartoonist (2:00) Growing up in Indiana and gaining a scholarship to Michigan State University (7:00) Winning the 2000 NCAA National Championship alongside Mateen Cleaves, Jason Richardson and future NBL stars Mike Chappelle and Dave Thomas (11:00) The NBL connection that exists within that team (17:00) That game where Michigan State University faced the Canberra Cannons featuring Magic Johnson (19:00) Finding his way to Australia and his debut season with the Victoria Giant

Isaac Burton played 96 games in the NBL over four seasons with both the Sydney Kings and the Newcastle Falcons. A defensive ball hawk who excited the crowd with flashy dunks was a fan favourite in Sydney and the NBL during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Burton became embroiled in a point-shaving scandal during his time playing basketball (and baseball) at Arizona State University, a moment in history that has recently been made into a Netflix documentary called "Bad Sports". The documentary focuses primarily on the players at the centre of the ASU scandal, namely Stevin “Hedake” Smith and Burton, but it also zooms out to lay bare the real villain in their story: the NCAA, which doled out stipends so insufficient that athletes came to see point-shaving as their only means of survival.  Burton re-joins Aussie Hoopla to go into further detail on the point-shaving incident, discuss his involvement in the crimes and interactions with the FBI and how it impacted him. He also discusses his time

After being part of the Boomers coaching staff that guided Australia to the bronze medal game at the 2019 FIBA World Cup and leading the Sydney Kings to the NBL Grand Final as the team's head coach Will Weaver was offered the chance to coach the Houston Rockets last season, and what a season it was. Acting as the assistant coach to the Rockets head coach Stephen Silas, Weaver saw first-hand player movements such as Russell Westbrook and James Harden being traded to Washington and Brooklyn respectively, the Rockets breaking NBA records for the most injured roster of all time as the team saw 3o different players log minutes for the Rockets in 2020-21), two of those players being NBL stars Jae'Sean Tate and Cam Oliver. Topics include... How the opportunity to coach the Houston Rockets came about (2:00) What was the process he went through to become an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets (5:00) What is Will Weaver's specific role within the Rockets coaching staff (7:00) How the Ro