Aussie Hoopla Nbl & Nba Podcast

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

The Perth Wildcats announced the surprise signing of exciting import Vic Law for the 2021/22 NBL season. While many hoops tragics were convinced Law was likely to be in Brisbane for a second season, Law instead headed west and will look to pair with NBL MVP Bryce Cotton and help the Wildcats secure their eleventh NBL championship. Last season Law averaged 18.8 points, 8.4 rebounds per game (fourth in NBL), 2.6 assists and 0.6 steals before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in his first NBL season in the NBL. The injury kept him out of action for five months but once he had rehabbed the injury he was offered the opportunity to play for the Los Angeles Lakers at the recent NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Law averaged 10.0 points and 4.3 rebounds for the Lakers NBA Summer League team, including a game-winning performance against the Clippers where he came up with the clutch triple and defensive play to seal the win.  Law played his college basketball at Northwestern University before a s

Talking to us directly from quarantine, the Adelaide 36ers newly signed sharp-shooter Dusty Hannahs. He joined the podcast to talk about his time in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies, his college basketball experiences as well as goals for this NBL season which include winning a championship in Adelaide.   Topics include... Handling quarantine, hobbies and interests (2:00) Thoughts on the Adelaide 36ers so far (5:30) Knowledge of the NBL and its players (6:30) Playing college basketball for Texas Tech and the University of Arkansas (9:00) Going undrafted and his journey to reaching the NBA (14:00) Playing as a professional in Greece (26:00) What he thinks he needs to develop to return to the NBA (27:00) His experience playing in the TBT (The Basketball League) (29:00) The biggest hurdles he has faced during his career so far (32:00) The biggest highlights of his career (33:30) Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Listen to our previous interviews with

This month the Perth Wildcats announced former Director of Scouting at Philadelphia 76ers Danny Mills would join the team as General Manager of Basketball Operations. Mills’ primary role will be to oversee the basketball department, with a particular focus on recruitment, talent identification and player pathway strategy and development. Mills was born and raised in Perth and played juniors for both Wanneroo Wolves and Willetton Tigers. He was an eight-time WA State Team representative, a Perth Wildcats training squad member in 2002-03 and played college basketball at Oregon Tech from 2004-07.   He joined the podcast to talk about his time with the 76ers during its "Trust the Process" era, thoughts on Ben Simmons and his future, plans for the Wildcats roster for this season and memories of his time as a player and being a lifelong Wildcats fan.   Topics include... How the role was offered to Danny and what a general manager of basketball does (2:00) Danny's experiences playing basketball

Coming off leading the Australian Boomers to their first medal Brian Goorjian joined the podcast to take us through not only his experiences coaching the group but his take on the men who spent countless hours in building a sport, building stadiums, coaching junior players which ultimately led to Australia's bronze medal-winning group. Topics include... Returning home to Australia (2:00) The Boomers medals are Australia's biggest win in global sports (7:00) The legends who paved the way for the Boomers success starting with Ken Watson (13:00) Adrian Hurley and his input to Australian basketball (20:00) How Lindsey Gaze is responsible for the stadiums the Boomers played in as junior players (13:00) Why the NBA and the G-League want more Aussie coaches (28:30) How Brian approached this Olympics as a coach differently to any other (36:00) How he varied his coaching to different players on the Boomers (41:00) Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Listen to o

Despite many vocal hoops tragics thinking Nick Kay shouldn't have made the Boomers squad he played a key role in the team, often taking on the toughest defensive assignments (listen to him talk about guarding Kevin Durant) and nailing a number of clutch three-point baskets when needed. Nick joins the show to talk about making history by winning the Boomers first Olympic medal, his experiences with the team, Boomers culture night, playing for Brian Goorjian, how close he came to playing for the JackJumpers and his plans for this season in Japan. Topics include... Nick's take on the team emotional after the Boomers bronze medal win (2:00) The Boomers culture and stories from the team's culture night prior to the Olympics (5:00) How the squad came together and added to the foundation built from the 2019 World Cup squad (7:30) A covid scare in Las Vegas puts the team's Olympic chances in jeopardy (9:30) Aron Baynes goes down and how it changed the squad (11:30) Facing the USA in the semi-fina

South East Melbourne Phoenix guard Cam Gliddon knows a thing or two about playing in bronze-medal games begin a part of the Boomers squad World Cup squad in 2019 who fell to Spain in the semi-finals before losing the bronze medal game to France. Gliddon joins the podcast to talk with Dan Boyce about the Boomers roster this year compared to 2019. How the team is different without Andrew Bogut and Aron Baynes, insights into the team's offensive and defensive structure under former coach Andrej Lemanis and how it compares to Brian Goorjian's squad and plenty more. Topics include... The Boomers lose to the USA after being up by 15 points in the first quarter and its emotional toll on players and fans alike (2:00) Was this the last chance the core group of Mills, Ingles, Delly, Baynes had of achieving a gold medal together (7:00) The mental impact of losing the semi-finals prior to playing in the bronze medal game (10:00) The Boomers end of game body language after the USA loss and how it will

Former Wildcats star Trevor Torrence was a part of Perth's first NBL championships (1990-91) and he joins us on the show to discuss his playing career and how he has transitioned to working with corporations and elite sporting teams in the area of emotional intelligence (EI) with Genos International. Ben Palmer, the CEO of Genos International also joins the discussion to shares insights into the success Genos International has had working with the Phoenix Suns in the NBA and how the Suns credit the Australian developed program as an integral part of this 2021 success and NBA Finals appearance. Torrance played in 11 NBL seasons with Perth and Gold Coast. He played in 305 NBL games and averaged 9 points and 3 rebounds per game. Topics include... Emotional Intelligence (EI), what it is and how it helped the Phoenix Suns reach the NBA Finals (2:00) The Boomers culture and the EI strengths it is built around (9:30) How basketball in the 1990s was void of emotional intelligence and how it would

Gary Ervin joins Dan Boyce on another episode of Aussie Hoopla to walk through his basketball journey and share memories of his time playing in the NBL. Ervin was the NBL's Most Valuable Player for the 2010–11 NBL season after racking up 20.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game playing for the Wollongong Hawks. Ervin also spent time with the Townsville Crocodiles and Adelaide 36ers. Ervin played 112 games in the NBL over four seasons and averaged 16.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Topics include... Gary Ervin on what he's been up to since leaving Australia (2:00) New York basketball and the night Ervin scored 30 points in 3 minutes (3:30) Playing in the Jordan Classic with LeBron James and Chris Paul  (7:00) College basketball with Mississippi State and Arkansas (9:30) The NBA Draft experience (16:00) The G-League and fighting for an NBA spot (19:00) Finding his way to Australia and the Wollongong Hawks (22:00) Why he loves Australia and his comparing his other experienc

Andre Moore joins the show to talk about his NBA and NBL career as well as what's happening on the Australian Basketball scene today. Moore was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the 2nd round of the 1987 NBA Draft. In 10 games with the Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks, he averaged 2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Moore then embarked on a career in Australia when he signed with the Brisbane Bullets in 1990 and led them to that year's NBL Grand Final before losing to the Perth Wildcats. His teammates on Brisbane included fellow Americans Derek Rucker and Leroy Loggins. Moore's outstanding play saw him selected to the 1990 All-NBL Team after he averaged 26.9 points, 12.6 rebounds, and two blocks per game while shooting 61.1% from the field. After playing for the Bullets, Moore spent time with the Hobart Devils (1995) and Cairns Taipans (1999-01). Topics include... Andre Moore launches his first signature sneaker 20 years after retiring from the NBL (2:00) Working in juvenile dete