Aussie Hoopla Nbl & Nba Podcast

Jeff Van Groningen, the current GM of Basketball for the Adelaide 36ers has been involved with the National Basketball League since 1994. Having spent with the Geelong Supercats, Melbourne Tigers, Brisbane Bullets, Sydney Kings and Adelaide he joins host Dan Boyce to talk about the highs and lows faced by the Adelaide 36ers this season before diving into the NBA interest around potential top-10 pick Josh Giddey. Van Groningen shares what questions NBA scouts are asking about Giddey as their scout potential draft picks for this years NBA draft and how he has seen Giddey develop as a player this season. Jeff also tackles the abuse Ben Simmons has received in both traditional and social media, whether it's fair and the consequences it could have. Topics include... Recruiting a roster amidst a pandemic. What were the obstacles and nuances to putting together the 36ers team in 2021 (2:00) What concerns and questions were players asking when they were deciding where to play in 2021 (8:00) The decis

Aaron Grabau played 405 games with the Cairns Taipans, was the only player to be a part of both the team's inaugural roster in 1999 and the teams first NBL Finals appearance (2011). He became a Taipans legend and to date is the only player to have his jersey retired by the club (twice, which you'll hear about on the show) and he joins Dan Boyce on this episode to go discuss his career as well as the first 15 years of the Cairns Taipans in the NBL. Grabau takes us those first few years of the franchise where winning was a surprise benefit, to the success achieved under coaches Alan Black and Aaron Fearne. We revisit the Taipans visit to the 2011 NBL Finals where they finish one game short of becoming NBL champions and get his take on some of the greatest Taipans players of all time. Grabau's resume also includes five state league championships, three ABA National Championships, two ABA National Championship MVP awards, all with the Cairns Marlins. Grabau finished his career as the Taipans all-t

Head Coach of the New Zealand National Men's basketball team, the Tall Blacks, joins Dan Boyce on this episode to talk about his time in the NBL, Steven Adams chances of joining the squad in the future, how New Zealand basketballers aspire to play in the NBL and coaching plans for the Tall Blacks future. Pero Cameron was a part of the inaugural New Zealand Breakers squad who entered the NBL in 2003 and went on to play five seasons in Australia. He was also a part of the inaugural Gold Coast Blaze team in 2007. He played 130 NBL games and averaged 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists and was one of the greatest "screen setters" in NBL history and a consummate professional. His greatest success came whilst playing in the NZNBL where he is a 9-time NZNBL champion (1995-1997, 1999-2002, 2008, 2009) and for his efforts playing for the New Zealand national team, known as the Tall Blacks. Pero was the captain of the New Zealand Team that defeated Australia in the Oceania championships in 2001 and achie

Melbourne United rookie Jack White had just begun a fantastic rookie season when he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against the Cairns Taipans in April. Jack now faces 12 months of rehabilitation to get back onto the court and in uniform for United. We spoke to Jack about his take on his own rookie season prior to the injury, get an update on his injury and rehab as well as take look at why he chose to sign with United for his debut season as a professional, memories of playing at Duke University with NBA stars like Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum and Cam Reddish and what teams he think will find themselves in the NBL Finals this year and what Melbourne needs to do to get there. Topics include... An update on Jack's Achilles injury post surgery? (2:00) What is causing the increase in injuries in the NBL this season? (5:00) Jack’s take on his season before so far (9:00) Jack’s role with Melbourne United and how it’s different to his role at Duke University (12:00) Wrapping up colleg

Mark Leader joined the Devonport Warriors NBL team in 1983 after graduating from Western Oregon University.  A 6 month holiday in Australia that turned into a 12-year NBL playing career that included championships in 1989 and 1994 with the North Melbourne Giants. Leader, who is the only Giants player to be a part of the two title runs, he also captained the squad from 1993 to 1995. After his career Leader turned his hand to coaching, first with the Giants NBL program as an assistant under Brett Brown and then as head coach of the Ballarat Miners and Geelong Supercats in the state league where he won national championships at both clubs. Mark joins Dan Boyce on the podcast to discuss Tasmanian Hoops in the 1980s, Geelong Supercats returning to the NBL and his championship seasons in 1989 and 1994. Life after basketball... how Mark has spent his time since retiring in 1995 (2:00) How Mark was recruited to Australia from Oregon, USA (4:30) The Devonport Warriors NBL team which existed from 1983-

Dejan Vasiljevic played his junior basketball with the Melbourne Tigers program before accepting a scholarship to attend Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence and shortly after the University of Miami. Vasiljevic graduated in 2020 band declared for the NBA Draft but with COVID-19 cancelling any opportunity for NBA teams to see players work out prior to the draft his stock plummeted. Dejan returned home to Australia and after considering a number of European offers decided to play his first professional season in the NBL with the Sydney Kings. He is currently averaging 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists after 18 games and alongside former teammate at the Melbourne Tigers, Josh Giddey is a top candidate for the NBL's Rookie of the Year award. Dejan joined Dan Boyce on the podcast to break down his journey so far and his transitioning his game to the NBL. Dejan's family heritage and how his family had to flee war-torn Serbia (2:00) Junior basketball memories playing for the Melbourne Tige

Earlier this month the Adelaide 36ers signed former San Antonio Spurs swingman Brandon Paul as a replacement for Donald Sloan. He's set to debut with the 36ers after spending two weeks in quarantine and he joined us on the Aussie Hoopla podcast to share stories of playing overseas, his time with the Spurs and plans for his time in Australia and the Adelaide 36ers. Brandon's quarantine routine (2:00) Thoughts on the Adelaide 36ers (8:00) What he thinks he can bring to the 36ers line-up (9:00) Growing up in Illinois and attending the University of Illinois (11:00) Lessons learnt from his basketball mentor and 3-time NBA champion Dickey Simpkins (14:00) Memories from playing at the University of Illinois (16:00) The impact his family had on his basketball journey (18:00) Going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft and his experiences playing in Europe (19:00) The role Brett Brown played in bringing Brandon to Australia (24:00) Tim Duncan, Gregg Popovich and Patty Mills stories from playing with the Sp

Luke Nevill grew up playing basketball for the Stirling Senators in Western Australia. After struggling to get noticed by elite coaches in Australia he moved to the United States to play high school basketball with Kell High School in Marietta, Georgia. It didn't take long to be noticed by the University of Utah and accepted a scholarship in 2004. He decided to redshirt his first year as a Utah Ute and developed his skills during training sessions against fellow big man Andrew Bogut. With NBA interest growing around Nevill he decided to return to college for his senior season, leading the Utes to the NCAA Tournament. At the conclusion of the season, he was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 16.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.7 blocks per game. Nevill went undrafted and after participating in a training camp invitation from the Cleveland Cavaliers he became one of the first Australian's to go on to play in the NBA D-L

Doc Adkins is largely unknown to most current NBL fans but is truly an unsung hero of the league and responsible for much of the NBL's success since it was started in 1979. He helped recruit players such as Cal Bruton, Leroy Loggins, James Crawford, Steve Carfino, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Chuck Harmison and many other NBL Hall Of Famers who would go on to develop the league to the standard it is today. He is a true pioneer of Australian basketball and worthy of being included in the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame. On this podcast, he joins Dan Boyce to talk about his involvement in the early years of the NBL. Topics include; How Dr Dave Adkins became involved in Australian Basketball (2:00) Bringing Cal Bruton to Australia (13:00) How did Dave "sell" the NBL to import players in the 70s and 80s (16:00) How was recruiting import players different in the 70s and 80s compared to the 90s when basketball was exploding in Australia (30:00) Dave's relationship with Toronto Raptors head coach N

Adam Caporn is the current head coach of Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence and an assistant coach with the Australian Boomers. Caporn was Australia's first player recruited to Saint Mary's College of California which lead to an influx of Aussie talent through the doors of Saint Mary's that included NBL and NBA stars like Daniel Kickert, Patrick Mills, Matthew Dellavedova and Jock Landale all play for the Gaels. Caporn returned to Australia after two seasons in California to play three seasons with the Wollongong Hawks (2003-06) and three seasons with the Perth Wildcats (2006-09). After retiring at only 27 years of age he returned to Saint Mary's as an assistant to head coach Randy Bennett, who had recruited him to the Gaels a decade earlier. The opportunity to become the head coach at Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence arose in 2014 and Caporn returned home. He has since also become an assistant coach with the Australian Men's National team. Topics include; The merry-go-rou

Luke Schenscher went from playing domestic basketball in Canberra to become the first high school student to play for the Australian Boomers in three years. His rapid development earnt him a scholarship to Georgia Tech University and then played two NBA seasons, one with the Chicago Bulls and the other with the Portland Trailblazers. Unable to secure a long-term NBA deal he returned to Australia where he would play 211 NBL games over 8 seasons with the Adelaide 36ers, Perth Wildcats and the Townsville Crocodiles. He was the starting centre on the 2010 Perth Wildcats championship team and named to the All-NBL second team in 2009 and 2011. Topics include; His retirement from basketball and becoming a teacher (2:00) Growing up on a farm in Hope Forest, SA before gaining the attention of the AIS (12:30) Developing his body and game through the AIS (14:30) Becoming the first high school student to make the Boomers squad (19:00) Heading to Georgia Tech University (20:30) Reaching the NCAA champ

The Adelaide 36ers signed former EuroLeague star Tony Crocker as their second import and final roster signing for the 2020-21 NBL season. The Oklahoma native carved out an impressive college career, playing alongside Blake Griffin at Oklahoma University, reaching the NCAA Elite Eight in 2009. Tony's decade-long pro-career has included significant stints in the Basketball Super League in Turkey and the EuroLeague. The 33-year-old forward most recently played with Pinar Karsiyaka in the Turkish Super League and the Basketball Champions League and having won a number of slam dunk competitions during his time in Europe he is expected to excite the Adelaide fans with his above the ring playing style. Tony averaged 10.5 points during the COVID shortened season for Pinar Karsiyaka. Prior to that he had played alongside Russian basketball legend Alexy Schved at Khimki Moscow, finishing runners-up to CSKA Moscow. Topics include; How the coronavirus impacted Tony Crocker's basketball journey (2:0

With the recent passing of Stormin' Norman Taylor, Aussie Hoopla host Dan Boyce and Norman's Illawarra teammate Greg Hubbard remember the player and the man who was the most effective scoring in NBL history. Taylor holds the Illawarra club record for most points in a game with 54, against new Hawks coach Brian Goorjian's Eastside Spectres in 1990. He finished with three MVP awards, scoring 1855 in just 67 games, as well as an average of 27.69 points at the phenomenal shooting percentage of 65, plus 10.57 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Topics include; Thoughts on the Hawks removing Illawarra from its team name (2:00) Thoughts and feelings on hearing of the passing of Norman Taylor this week (9:00) His debut in 1987 and winning the NBL Rookie of the Year (11:00) Memories of playing at "The Snake Pit" (14:30) 1988 - A dismal season for the Hawks... What happened? (17:30) Remembering Stormin' Norman Taylor, his career highlights and impact on the Illawarra community (21:00) Th

Donald Whiteside played for the Hobart Devils from 1992-1993 after graduating from Northern Illinois University. After leaving the Devils he played in Latvia, Czech Republic and Spain before signing an NBA deal with the Toronto Raptors in 1996, six years after graduating from college. Topics include; Thoughts on the US election (2:00) Being one of the very first players to jump from the NBL to the NBA and his start with the Kalgoorlie Goldminers (8:00) Playing college basketball at Northern Illinois (12:30) How did he find his way to Australia (16:00) What he thought about the Hobart Devils roster (19:00) Playing under player-coach Cal Bruton (20:30) Thoughts on NBL talent in 1992 and his rivalry with Doug Overton (21:30) Deciding to return for a second NBL season in 1993 (25:30) How his 1993 season was different from his 1992 season (28:00) Jim Havrilla breaks the backboard (29:30) NBL opponents he enjoyed beating the most (32:30) Playing basketball in Kalgoorlie (33:30) Leaving the Devils and p

1990 marked the beginning of the most exciting era in Wildcats history after businessman Kerry Stokes purchased the franchise and moved the team into the iconic 8,000-seat Perth Entertainment Centre. The season was a turbulent one to say the least with the first controversy coming when coach Alan Black was fired and replaced by Bruton only two games into the season. The team then limped into the playoffs in 5th place and a 17-9 record. After knocking out the North Melbourne Giants in the Semi-Finals the team moved forward to a Grand Final match-up with a tough Brisbane Bullets squad featuring Leroy Loggins, Derek Rucker and Andre Moore. Tens of thousands of people across Western Australia tuned in to the live coverage to see the Wildcats triumph 112–106 in Game 1 of the Grand Final series in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,200 at the Perth Entertainment Centre. Brisbane tied the series at 1–1 after winning Game 2 in convincing fashion at home, 106–90 and in the deciding game, the Wildcats blew the

"Jumping" Joe Hurst played his college ball with Northwest Missouri State University, before starting his professional career for the Hobart Devils in the NBL. During his debut season, he averaged 32 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block and captured league MVP in the process. Strangely, he was left off the All-NBL First team that season and become the only MVP in NBL history to not make the All NBL First team in the same season. Hurst played a second season with the Devils in 1989, averaging 29 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block per game. His numbers not quite what they were during his debut season thanks to a number of mid-season injuries. Hurst also played professionally for teams in Sweden, Iceland, Croatia, Indonesia and Portugal before playing a final season for Hobart in 1992. Topics include; Joe Hurst's current role as Bendigo Basketball's director of coaching.and how it allows him to stay close to the development of Australian Basketball (2:00)

Bruce has over 30 years experience in basketball from his days playing in Melbourne to becoming one of the seven winningest coaches in NBL history. The colourful American began his career playing with the Coburg Giants in the NBL before transitioning to an impressive coaching career which included NBL coach of the year honours in 1988 and the NBL championship in 1989. Palmer's NBL coaching resume includes the North Melbourne Giants (1987-1992), Brisbane Bullets (1993-1995) and the Hunter Pirates (2003). Topics include; How did Bruce Palmer's reputation as an NBL bad boy begin (2:00) The bond between US NBL coaches he shares with Brian Goorjian and Al Westover (13:00) Melbourne pick-up basketball in the 1970s and 1980s (21:30) How many imports should NBL teams have on their rosters? (27:00) What structure does the NBL have to take operate under to enable larger expansion (32:00) The challenges the Hawks face trying to play games in regions outside of Illawarra (36:00) Br

The JackJumpers were unveiled as the league’s 10th team this week and despite not entering the NBL until the 2021/22 season, they will soon begin formulating their playing roster. Tasmania JackJumpers CEO Simon Brookhouse joined Dan Boyce on the podcast to talk about their plans for signing a coach, a playing roster and what fans should expect on game day. Topics include; The impact the JackJumpers have already made in Tasmania (2:00) Why the deciding against returning the former "Devils" branding (7:30) What the feel of a Tasmania JackJumpers game day will feel like for fans (9:00) Current plans to remember past Tasmanian basketball players and teams during the season? (12:30) The search for the team's first head coach (15:30) When to expect the team's first player signings and what type of budgets is the team working under (19:00) Plans to take the team into venues all across Tasmania (26:00) What is the daily requirements of the JackJumpers CEO? (29:30) Visit dunk.com.au for your n

Donald Sloan has signed to play with the Adelaide 36ers for season 2020-21. Coming off a stint with Baskets Bonn in the Basketball Bundesliga, and will be the only import on Conner Henry's largely local roster and will play alongside NBL Next Star Josh Giddey and Sunday Dech in the backcourt. During his NBA career, he averaged 5 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 218 games. Topics include; Thoughts on Adelaide 36ers team coming into the 2020-21 season (2:00) Playing alongside LaMarcus Aldridge during his high school years (7:00) Is Sloan hoping to use the NBL as a platform to return to the NBA (8:30) Facing Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love in the NCAA Tournament (10:30) How it felt not hearing his name called at the 2010 NBA draft (13:30) Signing his first NBA deal with the Atlanta Hawks (17:30) Backing up Kyrie Irving in Cleveland (22:00) Exploding onto the NBA scene in 2013 with the Indiana Pacers (23:30) Funny stories from playing alongside Lance Stephenson (30:00) The most important thing he's learnt

Nunawading Basketball was established in 1969. In 1979, a Nunawading Spectres men's team entered the National Basketball League for its inaugural season. Barry Barnes would coach the team during every NBL season until the team decided to move into the CBD to facilitate more fans and in doing so were renamed the Eastside Melbourne Spectres. The Nunawading Spectres would narrowly miss out on an NBL Grand Final appearance due to countback in 1979 and then were runners-up in 1981 to Launceston City Casino. The Spectres' opening-night roster included Bill Palmer, Fox, Brendan Joyce, Alan Black, Dean Templeton and Barry Barnes as coach. Six men who were to play significant roles in shaping the NBL during it's for 20 seasons. Palmer became general manager of the league in the mid-90s and took the game to new heights. Fox, Joyce, Black and Templeton became NBL head coaches with a combined 565-499 win-loss record and four NBL Coach of the Year awards (two each for Black and Joyce). Among other players who wore the