Hoops

It is one of the great shames of Australian sport that the NBL is not a raging success with a large public following and strong corporate support.

Basketball is an entertaining and compelling sport to watch, one that requires the participants possess speed, strength, intelligence and hardness or some combination thereof. It is a game that can be fast-paced and thrilling, brutal and methodical, flowing and fun, intense and dramatic. It is a sport that is tremendous live and perfect for television, a showcase of athleticism and smarts where momentum is king and drama is in-built. It is breathtaking to watch a long three from the top of the arc or a no-look pass from a sharp point guard. There is nothing like watching a big man post up a bigger man or seeing a high screen lead to the one drive through the paint. There is little in sport as dramatic as a three-pointer shot with the scores close and the clock reaching all zeroes. It is a brilliant spectator sport.

Yet the sport has never really established itself in Australia, at least in terms of a professional league with financial stability and wide-ranging popular appeal, save for a brief period in the early nineties when Michael Jordan was the most marketable commodity in the world and Australia first took an interest in popular American culture.

Basketball, of course, will never be as engrained in Australian sporting culture as rugby league or Australian rules or cricket. Nor has basketball been able to benefit from an old boys network like rugby or mass international success like tennis or the strength of individual personalities like golf. Even these three sports have struggled locally in recent times with rugby in severe decline, interest in tennis reserved exclusively for January and Australia’s major golf tournaments struggling to attract the names they once did.

That does not mean there isn’t a position for a strong domestic basketball league in Australia. There is. Surely. If the A-League can exist then so can the National Basketball League. In terms of a spectacle, basketball and soccer are incomparable. Basketball is interesting, fast, exciting, smart, full to the brim with scoring and big plays and heavy defence. Soccer is kicking a ball around for over ninety minutes where action is non-existent and there is a very real possibility that the scoreboard attendant will not be troubled.

In terms of sporting leagues in Australia, however, the A-League is the most comparable competition to the NBL. They are both niche team sports with a nationwide footprint. Both are not the elite league in the world and in regards to international competition, Australia is not a powerhouse in either. The two leagues are remarkably similar yet the inferior sport, relatively, is thriving as the superior sport struggles to survive.

On Saturday evening, after a week that had involved too much festive consumption, I opted to spend my evening ensconced in hoops action. The South Dragons were playing the Wollongong Hawks and I had received a sound tip for the unders and at any rate, Hisense Arena is just down the road and if I could get past the Corner Hotel without settling in for the evening it would be just the kind of relaxation needed; high-grade athletic competition played out in front of me with a significant wager riding and a cold beverage at the ready.

The night, however, did not start off well. Distracted by a telephone conversation with Louise, a charming girl with a penchant for neuroticism who was relaying in most humorous terms the horror of asking a Borders assistant of Asian descent for a copy of Stuff White People Like, I had lined up in the ticket collection line. It is hard to focus on details when you are being walked through a tale of Larry David-esque neuroticism that started with a simple request for a book and finished with a moment of crippling racial awkwardness.

By the time I had reached the front of the queue, I was less than impressed that I had waited ten minutes only to be told that I was in the wrong line. “I am a member of the working press” I stated, “And I am dealing with a very important matter here. Ben Cousins has been kidnapped and his abductors are demanding a very high ransom. It will be front page of every newspaper across the country tomorrow. They think it may have been organised by Andrew Demetriou. He has connections, you know? This is a very important story. Career-making. But I have decided to watch a game of basketball and I’ll be damned if those plans are getting changed now. All I need is a single-ticket, complimentary, of course, and suitable for a respected sportswriter.”

This was, of course, a lie but it was entirely necessary if I was to make tip-off from a decent vantage point.

“Yes sir, of course, I trust this seat will be to your liking” said the stunned ticket-master, obviously shaken by the news and wondering what kind of hell had rained itself on Melbourne.

I arrived midway through a special tribute to Dragons coach Brian Goorjian, who throughout the week had won his 500th NBL game. It was an amazing achievement for one of the finest coaches in the long and storied history of Australian sport. Goorjian is an icon of Australian basketball who has a deep understanding of the fundamentals of greatness: defence, positivity, team. He builds winning teams, gets the most out of his players and is a strict adherent to discipline and a team-first attitude. Few coaches have such a deep understanding of winning and it is doubtful any Australian sports figure would garner more respect. He is an ornament to basketball and Australian sport.

By the time tip-off came around, the 4,800 in attendance were abuzz. Fired up by an enthusiastic, if not somewhat irritating, announcer, fans rose to their feet and stomped and hollered and cheered. It was a great atmosphere and one with plenty of crowd involvement. When you go to a hoops game, you are on top of the action and you genuinely believe your voice plays a significant role in the outcome of the game. The only downside was the plethora of unpleasant mullet-headed kids who a gambling man could safely bet would turn out to be rapists, car thieves, appalling white hip-hop “artists” and/or Centrelink-frequenters.

The first quarter, while entertaining to most, infuriated me. I had bet the total points to finish under 189 and did not appreciate a near-60 point first term. Hawks star Glen Saville was draining everything, usually from an open spot on the corner. Joe Ingles, a player with astounding athleticism who will one day play in the NBA, was walking through the paint with little effort. And the officials had both teams in foul trouble early, leading to plenty of points while the clock was stopped. My urgings for defence went unheard and my suggestions that the referees let the boys play were not treated kindly.

The first quarter had been fast and showy and though the Dragons were behind, the crowd were clearly enjoying themselves. Deep down, I probably was as well. But I had bet the unders and was sick of all the action. “Slow it down” I would yell, much to the surprise of those around me. “I am a fan of the fundamentals” I whispered to the gentleman next to me, a partial lie to an obvious non-gambler. The unders are a nasty proposition to wager on when you are attending a live sporting event, particularly if you have paid to get in. Few in attendance will understand your need to see minimal scoring and even your conscience will turn against you.

That unders wager fought its way back, however, over the remaining three quarters and in between Joe Ingles hitting the floor hard and Matt Campbell getting tech-fouled for opening his mouth in contempt and Dusty Rhycart dogging it and Mark Worthington dominating, I quickly calculated where I stood. It was certainly more productive than paying any heed to the collection of cheap prostitutes and camp dance-school students in the hip hop troupe that stomped the senses during every time out.

By the final few minutes, the game had turned into a blowout. The Dragons were up by between 15 and 20 but the gamblers of the crowd hung tense with the Dragons giving 16 ½ points in handicap betting and less than 9 points needed in the last minute to hit the totals mark. Both teams kept on shooting in junk time, driving me to distraction. But it all worked out well in the end. The unders saluted, the action was good and the game was fun.

It was a fine way to spend a night, an evening that has inspired me to do everything in my power to save the National Basketball League.

There is no doubt that the sport is in trouble. The league lost three teams last year, including marquee franchises the Sydney Kings and the Brisbane Bullets, while two teams have gone into administration this season. There is very little coverage of the sport and it appears to be poorly run and poorly marketed. Despite its inherent appeal, basketball in Australia has been allowed to rot.

There is no doubt the NBL needs change. Reform is necessary. It does not need a complete overhaul, similar to soccer, however.

What the NBL needs is stability, coverage and support.

The NBL needs to be a 10-12 team league and they need to be the same 10-12 teams year in and year out. Teams like the Melbourne Tigers, the Perth Wildcats, the Adelaide 36ers and the Wollongong Hawks need to be protected while the Sydney Kings and the Brisbane Bullets need to be bought back. It is imperative that the NBL protects its franchise names so supporters can develop some attachment without the fear their team will be dead in the very near future.

The NBL needs greater coverage. The league needs to strike a deal with Fox Sports where every game is shown live. It becomes very difficult to follow a league when only one game is shown live per week. It does appear as if Fox Sports will show every game next season and this will be a major boon for the NBL. One would like to think that the NBL will also make better use of the week, scheduling a game for most nights. More sports fans would be inclined to watch a Monday night game than a Saturday night affair.

The NBL also needs to work on attracting more support. The NBL needs to get wise in attracting fans to games. Make tickets cheaper, stage double-headers in towns where two teams exist, promote star players more, scrap the boxes at courtside and sell the seats to the die-hards. It is also important that the NBL gets people involved in the league office with knowledge of government and business. The league needs to fight harder to get government funding, correctly arguing that the survival of the NBL is a better investment than funding some archer or kayaker for the Olympic Games. The league office also needs to get smarter in their organisation of the league and how they attract sponsorship and save clubs money. One example is travel. If travel costs are so burdensome, perhaps the league should be split up into two divisions. Another example is stadium deals. The NBL needs to support clubs in driving a tougher bargain with stadium bosses to ensure clubs aren’t losing money with home games.

It would be wonderful to see the NBL flourish again. It is a great spectacle that is an important facet in Australia’s sporting landscape. The game just needs some leadership, a better television deal and greater support from the public, business and government. Hopefully the reform that’s coming will elevate basketball back to its rightful position in Australian sport.

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