Aussie Hoopla Nbl & Nba Podcast

Craig Moller grew up playing both basketball and football in Sydney, signing a scholarship with the Fremantle Dockers at 14 years of age. In December 2012, he was officially drafted by Fremantle in the 2013 rookie draft and spent two years in the AFL system before being delisted and returned to playing state league basketball, a pathway that led him to the NBL. Moller entered the league with the Sydney Kings under coach Andrew Gaze before moving to Melbourne United where he won an NBL championship in 2018. He returned to Sydney in 2020 and was a part of the Sydney Kings team that was forced to withdraw from the Grand Final series as a result of COVID-19, handing the title to the Perth Wildcats. After spending a year playing in Germany, and rehabbing from a severe leg injury, he joins us to discuss a wide range of topics with the host of Aussie Hoopla, Dan Boyce. Topics include... Craig fills us in on his basketball journey since signing a deal to play in Germany in 2021 (2:00) The different coaching styles o

Dwayne McClain played 105 career NBL games, averaged 25.4 points per game, finished third in MVP voting in 1993 and was a part of the All-NBL Teams in 1991-1993. He was the first NBL player to be sponsored by an international brand (Coca-Cola) and, along with Andrew Gaze, was the first NBL player to have his own signature shoe (with Reebok). The 'D-Train' joins host Dan Boyce on the show to discuss his time with the Sydney Kings, Gold Coast Rollers and Brisbane Bullets and his experiences playing in college and the NBA. Although fondly remembered in Australia for being a part of the exciting Kings squads of the 1990s, he also won an NCAA championship with Villanova where he was the game-high scorer against a supremely talented Georgetown team that featured Patrick Ewing. To win the championship McClain and Villanova University had to play 'The Perfect Game' and he takes through that period of his life and how it shaped the rest of his career. Tune in to hear all of this and a lot more. Topics include... Dwa

Tyler Harvey entered the NBL by storm, taking the Illawarra Hawks to the semi-finals and finishing runner-up in MVP voting after a season where the team finished dead last. Since that time, he's consistently been among the league's highest scorers, and he's, without a doubt, one of the greatest shooters the league's ever seen. Tyler enters his fourth season with the Hawks and has averaged 18.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists since entering the league in 2021. Harvey joins host Dan Boyce on the show to discuss his time and college and if he made the right decision entering the NBA draft as a junior, his experiences overseas and in Australia, how he approaches basketball and life when he's away from the court... most notably becoming a father only three weeks ago. Tune in to hear all of this and a lot more. Topics include... How Tyler is spending his NBL off-season (2:00) Why he loves playing in Australia (4:30) His view on last season and how he is approaching the next season (7:00) Whether he made the

Very few have accomplished more than NBL legend Mark Dalton by age 20. In that time, he had played for the Australian Boomers at the 1984 Olympics and averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds as a starter in the Canberra Cannon's second NBL championship. Dalton played seventeen seasons across five NBL teams. This included the Canberra Cannons, Geelong Cats, Sydney Kings, Brisbane Bullets and Wollongong Hawks, and his all-time numbers sit amongst some of the best to have ever done it. Ranking in the top 40 for games played and rebounds as well as sitting in the top 25 for total steals and blocks. Yet, he never played for the Boomers at the Olympics again. He says poor advice from AIS coaches stopped him from taking a scholarship from major US colleges, and his NBL journey saw him unceremoniously axed from multiple NBL teams. Dalton joins host Dan Boyce on the show to discuss a myriad of topics, ranging from all of this plus NBL free agency, his son Callum, his NBL career and his recent fight against cancer. Tune in

Chris Harriman played two seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Sydney Kings and the Hunter Pirates (runner-up in the 2004 rookie of the year award) before taking up an opportunity to coach college basketball. Since then, he's coached at some of the top college basketball programs, including Saint Louis, Nebraska, New Mexico and the University of Cal (Berkley), where he is an assistant coach to  Mark Fox. While few may be aware of who Harriman is, many are familiar with his work. During his almost 20 years coaching in the US, he's helped develop some of the NBL's best talent, including Kevin Lisch, Keanu Pinder, Brian Conklin, Tim Coenraad, Rob Loe and Jack McVeigh, amongst many others. Harriman joins host Dan Boyce on the show to discuss a myriad of topics, ranging from the current state of college basketball, thoughts on the Australian basketball system compared to the USA, how the NBL hurt young basketball talent with the points system during the 2000s and advice for anyone hoping to play or coach in th

Cairns Taipans forward Tim Coenraad nailed an incredible three-point fade away to send game two of the 2011 NBL Grand Final series into double overtime, the first time this had occurred in NBL history. He joins this episode of the podcast to talk about his time in Cairns, how close the team came to winning it all, and, of course, gives us a play-by-play of the aforementioned shot. He also tells up about playing alongside Patty Mills at the Melbourne Tigers in 2011/12, a season which ended up tumultuous, to say the very least. Topics include... What retirement looks like for Tim Coenraad (2:00) What his role will be within the Hawks organisation moving forward (4:00) Looking at how his career ended and the stories behind his multiple comebacks (8:00) The things he will miss and the things he’s happy he'll never have to face again now his NBL career is finished (14:00) What was the closest he ever came to playing for another NBL team (22:00) Looking at different eras of the Hawks, starting with the

Cairns Taipans forward Ron Dorsey nailed an incredible three-point fade away to send game two of the 2011 NBL Grand Final series into double overtime, the first time this had occurred in NBL history. He joins this episode of the podcast to talk about his time in Cairns, how close the team came to winning it all, and, of course, gives us a play-by-play of the aforementioned shot. He also tells up about playing alongside Patty Mills at the Melbourne Tigers in 2011/12, a season which ended up tumultuous, to say the very least. Topics include... Growing up in Detroit (2:00) Following in Joe Dumars footsteps (6:00) Beginning his pro career in Finland (9:00) An NBA try-out with the San Antonio Spurs (12:00) Signing with Cairns and their run to the NBL Grand Final (15:30) Dorsey, Ayinde Ubaka and Daniel Dillon all leave Cairns for the Tigers (27:00) Patty Mills joins the Tigers (29:00) Winning a title in the New Zealand NBL (35:00) Wrapping up his career and then retiring from pro basketball (36:30) Life after bask

In this episode, host Dan Boyce asks the question, 'Should we have an NBL Pride Round' and, together with Sydney Kings superfan and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community Olivia Evans discuss the positives and negatives of the Pride Round, Cairns Decision not to participate in it and the reaction of fans on social media to devoting an entire round to the  LGBTQ+ community.   Topics covered include… How the LGBTQ+ community has responded to the NBL announcing it's Pride Round (2:00) Should there be an NBL Pride Round (7:00) Multiple NBL players decide not to participate in Pride Round (11:00) The positives and negatives of having a Pride Round (26:00) Cairns Taipans' statement on why the entire team will not participate in Pride Round (34:00) 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 L

Five months ago, Cam Bairstow retired from basketball at the age of 31. Cam joins the podcast to talk with host Dan Boyce about fighting through the pain of those injuries during his time in the NBL and what he plans to do for a second career. The talented forward played a total of 74 games for Brisbane, Illawarra and most recently, the Adelaide 36ers, but perhaps his greatest achievement though was his two seasons in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls, lining up on 36 occasions from 2014 to 2016. Bairstow also represented Australia during both the 2014 FIBA Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics campaigns. Topics include... How he decided it was time to retire (2:00) The luck and help from others that Cam experienced which helped him reach the NBA (9:00) Was Cam Bairstow’s AIS class the most talented in AIS history? (10:00) Memories of playing at the AIS (12:00) Hurdles faced during his time at New Mexico University (14:00) Playing for Steve Alford and how his ‘Bobby Knight’ style didn’t mesh with Cam (16:00) The way A

The Melbourne Tigers left possibly the biggest imprint in Australian basketball history, winning four NBL championships in fifteen years (1993 to 2008) and being home to basketball royalty like Andrew Gaze, Lanard Copeland, Mark Bradtke and Chris Anstey. Al Westover, who was born in California and originally left the states to join the Tigers as a player during the 1970s, re-joined the team as a coach in 1992 and was a part of all four of the club's championship runs. Al, who left the Tigers after playing in one NBL season with the team, returned eight years later to assist head coach Lindsay Gaze, a partnership which lasted until 2005 when Lindsay retired, and Al was named head coach. In his first year as coach, Al not only won the NBL Coach of the Year Award but won the NBL championship with a re-tooled roster featuring Chris Anstey on his return from stints in the NBA and Europe. Two years later, Westover and Anstey won another NBL Championship, a feat that saw Westover become the first coach in NBL h

With the release of the NBL salary cap figures and player salaries via a number of News Corp articles, it has become very clear that there are many nuances within the economics of the NBL, so our host Dan Boyce reached out to Sydney Kings CEO Chris Pongrass to help explain how the cap works, soft cap vs hard cap numbers, the myriad of player exemptions and how NBL teams utilise them to benefit from NBL salary cap rules. Topics include... Thoughts on how the Kings roster has come together so far (1:30) Jaylen Adams' chances of returning to the Sydney Kings (3:30) The nuances of the NBL salary cap and how teams navigate it (7:00) The inaccuracies of News Corp’s article on player salaries and how the salary cap works (10:00) How do the Sydney Kings prioritise salary cap exemptions when signing players (14:00) How the Marquee Player rule works (18:00) What parts of a player's salary go towards the NBL cap (22:00) How the Next Stars Program works within the cap and why building your team aro

Jacob Wiley joined the Adelaide 36ers as a replacement for Mitch Creek in 2018.  His 'one and done' season saw him finish the year as one of the premier forwards in the league and fill the highlight reels with multiple posterizing dunks. Wiley averaged 12.3 points and 5 rebounds playing for then coach Joey Wright, who he credits with helping to shape his basketball career. After initially re-signing with Adelaide for another season, Wiley exercised his European out-clause in June 2019 to play with Spanish team Gran Canaria. He now plays for the Shiga Lakes in Japan's B.League, a team that also competes in the newly launched EASL (an Asian champions league). He joins Dan Boyce on the podcast to share with us his thoughts on playing in the NBL and how he is already talking to NBL teams about returning next season. Topics include... Playing in Japan and the newly formed EASL league (2:00) Why Japan is after the best frontcourt players in the world (3:30) Why he wants to return to Australia and play in th

Tim Soares joins the Sydney Kings as one of their newest imports, and he's focused on being the best centre in the league and leading the team to back-to-back championships. He's a player who has taken an unusual journey to reach the NBL. With his mother and father, both professional basketball players who met while in Brazil, he developed his early game in Brazil (he is only the second NBL player ever to grow up in Brazil) before moving to the USA to play college basketball. With his family having a strong Christian faith, he chose to play at the little-known Master's University in California, an NAIA school, before nominating for the NBA Draft. Due to COVID-19 he was unable to participate in any pre-draft workouts for teams and ultimately wasn't selected in the 2020 NBA Draft. Since then, he's played in Turkey and Israel prior to signing a deal to play in Australia, which he hopes to use as a springboard to the NBA like former Brazilian and Sydney Kings star Didi Louzada. He joins Dan Boyce on the podc

General Manager of Basketball Operations for the Perth Wildcats Danny Mills joins the podcast to provide some insights into the hirings and firings made by the Perth Wildcats this season. The team added Corey Webster and imports Brady Manek and TaShawn Thomas while saying goodbye to Vic Law and Michael Frazier. Danny provides clarity on what motivated the Wildcats to make each roster change and how he expects it to improve the team. Topics include... What's been happening behind the scenes at the Wildcats since the team's 35-year consecutive playoff streak was broken six months ago (2:00) John Rillie's integration as head coach and his first few months with the team (4:00) What role will the Cleveland Cavaliers play with Luke Travers during this NBL season (11:30) What surprised Danny in NBL during his first year as Perth Wildcats GM (13:00) What's different in the NBL season this season compared to last (17:00) Why Perth decided against the NBLxNBA games and plans to face Euroleague teams in the fut

Off the back of winning a silver medal as part of Australia's 3x3 team at the Commonwealth Games Daniel Johnson joins the podcast to discuss the Adelaide 36ers re-look roster and what he's hoping to achieve in his fifteenth season in the NBL. Johnson, who has scored more points in the NBL than any other player since 2008, is a seven-time All-NBL Team member, including three All-NBL First Team recognitions. Johnson is also a long-time Australian state league player and has had many stints overseas. Topics include... Winning the silver medal in 3x3 competition at Commonwealth Games (2:00) Heading into season 15 and what he's been able to achieve during this career to date (4:00) Thoughts on the 36ers new-look roster for 2022-23 (6:00) Mental health, balancing basketball and life and the Kings forfeiting the championship in 2020 (12:00) His pathway to the NBL (11:00) His rookie season with the Melbourne Tigers (15:00) Moving to Adelaide and his time with the 36ers so far (20:00) His relationship with fo

Jordan Hunter exploded in his second year in the NBL, his production jumping from averaging 0.9 points and 1 rebounds in 63 total minutes to 9.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 20 minutes per game. Then, prior to the 2021/22 season an unfortunate fracture to both his finger and his foot then saw him miss the entire 2021/22 season. Hunter joins the podcast to take host Dan Boyce through his rehab, the mental hurdles players he faced and the importance of having passions both on and off the court. He also dives deeper into the tutelage he has received from Aussie basketball greats like Luc Longley, Andrew Bogut, Daniel Kcikert and Aleks Maric and how they've helped shape his basketball IQ. Topics include... His season ending injuries and working himself back into shape via the NBL1 (2:00) The soul searching that players face during injury and how he handled it missing an entire season (7:00) Jordan's passions off the court and his goal to write a fantasy novel in the future (9:00) Mental health, balancing ba

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