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Season 3 Episode 15: Once in a Lifetime with Mikko Von Lueders
52 Plays1 month ago
EGG NBL1 East Headlines of Rd 10
EGG GOTW: Penrith Panthers vs. Hornsby-Kuring Gai Spiders (W)
Interview with Mikko Von Lueders (Central Coast Crusaders Men's HC)
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:38
Speaker
Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of East Got Game, where we give you the X's, the O's, and the insights of the NBL1 East. Thanks for joining us um tonight live on YouTube and possibly Instagram, if it decides it wants to work, but so far, no. Just Instagram and Facebook.
00:00:58
Speaker
ah Remember, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Escott Game. Or you can continue to find our episodes on your preferred streaming platforms.
Round 10 Highlights
00:01:11
Speaker
On this week's episode, we'll be covering the headlines of round, is it nine or ten now, Lockie? I've lost count after a long weekend. I believe that it was round ten. Round ten.
00:01:23
Speaker
round ten Hard to keep track. We'll be covering the headlines of round 10. and We'll also cover our EGG game of the week between the Penrith Panthers and Hornsby Keringi Spiders women's teams.
00:01:39
Speaker
and we'll also have a very special guest interview to wrap it up. Lockie, how are you feeling after a lot having a break over that June long weekend?
00:01:51
Speaker
It was much needed. um ah went to ah went to a soccer game for the first time in many weeks, which was quite nice. I did that on the Saturday.
00:02:01
Speaker
but um yeah, it was just nice to have a week off. Actually, if you haven't noticed, I'm sitting in front of a different wall to what I was sitting in front of last week. Yeah, thought it looked a little bit different. What's going on there?
00:02:16
Speaker
Well, I spent the Friday of the long weekend completely rearranging my living room. And now the desk I sit at to record is to the right of where it was before. And how's that working out for you so far?
00:02:29
Speaker
Spectacularly. I love it, actually. oh that's good. So happy with your choice. I am very happy with my choice. Oh, good. Glad to hear it. Glad to hear it.
00:02:40
Speaker
um So what it must have been nice getting back into some soccer games as well, though. was. It was. It was good. ninety fifth minute winner, 1-0. That was nice. That was very exciting. not Not as much scoring as we get in the NBL one.
00:02:54
Speaker
No, definitely not. Definitely not. Or the NBL across Australia, for that matter. Correct. um But nice to flex some muscles in other areas.
00:03:05
Speaker
ah We always need a bit of a break from basketball. So we're hoping the rest of the NBL 1A's competition, whether you're a player, a coach, a manager, referee, statistician, score table, et cetera, that all make up the league, had a lovely restful weekend over the June 1
Player Additions and Social Media Interactions
00:03:22
Speaker
weekend. But we are back at it. Round 10, like you said, Lockie. It looks like the headlines just keep coming in the East.
00:03:30
Speaker
What have you got for us? Don't they just? Sutherland with the sneaky addition of Taylor Young from East Perth. which If he didn't play this weekend or the weekend just gone, he wouldn't have been able to play at all because um he wouldn't have been able to qualify for finals.
00:03:47
Speaker
He came straight in. Last year, he averaged 17 points, four assists and 5.6 rebounds for East Perth over in NBL 1 West. And came off the bench, played 20 minutes in the Sharkies win over Maitland and scored 13 points, shooting 5 of 10 from the field and 2 of 5 from 3-point range. And we all know if there's one thing the Sharks could use in the post-Callum Norris era, it's someone who can knock down a 3-ball regularly. So, ah very handy addition laid in the piece, but... ah
00:04:20
Speaker
Chola Dup had a few words on Instagram in the comments for Kawat Noi talking about reinforcements. Yeah, was that on the the Instagram reel that Love of the Game posted a little while ago? a yeah Like a reaction reel?
00:04:36
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Chola in the comments, just pointing out that Kawat had mentioned the Comets getting reinforcements and now the Sharks have gone out and done the same thing. Jeez, those two love stirring the pot and adding the spice.
00:04:52
Speaker
And they play each other 12 days from now. Oh, that's going to be good. That's going to be toasty. Are they playing at the Shark Tank this time? No, they'll be playing at the Home of Hoops, Alexandria Basketball Stadium. But I will still be calling the game.
00:05:09
Speaker
Oh, that would be great. That would be really good. But yeah, they I love the banter between those two. And I'm sure it is like, you know, half poking the bear and half in jest as well, because I don't think those guys have got any malice between them.
00:05:22
Speaker
But I just love so ah loved the little bit of drama. I love the little bit of spice in the league, especially in the comments section. ah just kind of, I don't brings a little bit more attention to the East in in whatever way we can get it.
00:05:36
Speaker
certainly does. and we long as it's all all in good fun and doesn't cross the line, we are we love it.
Rules and Qualifications for Finals
00:05:44
Speaker
So this new signing for Sutherland, ah yeah my understanding is that you can sign or add players to your roster as long as you don't have as any more than like 15, regardless of what time of the season it's in.
00:05:58
Speaker
But if you really want them to qualify for finals, they have to play at least seven games, right? ah Eight games. Eight games. It's but it's now four. It used to be, I think in Warratale League, it was one third of the season plus a game or one third of the season if it was divisible by three. But now it's actually 40% of the season. So eight games.
00:06:17
Speaker
And if you haven't played and your team has fewer than eight games left, then you you can't come in and play. you are If you can't qualify for finals and you haven't played, you cannot play.
00:06:32
Speaker
At all. No. So you can't. So if you're, you know, three games left in the season and, you know, someone, you know, you've got an NBL guy, you know, you know, you want to bring Jalen Adams in for a couple of games just to get you over the line for finals as an import. You can't do that.
00:06:49
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And that's why a lot of teams will have ah people on an injury list from the start of the season if they are injured or otherwise, because then that technically still means that they're waived from that rule and can qualify. We saw it in the WNBL a few seasons ago with the Melbourne Boomers RIP.
00:07:10
Speaker
They had someone on the injury list for a long time and then brought them in like at the end of the season. And then that kind of helped them get to the final. Yeah, because that was a very good player, as I remember correctly, and so it was the injury replacement.
00:07:24
Speaker
Yes, yeah, that's correct. Yeah. Yes. But, um yeah, so you have to you have to play, regardless of all your waivers and anything, you have to play at least four games, and then you can be, what in depending on when it happens, you can be waived for X amount of other games to go up to eight if need be.
00:07:44
Speaker
Yeah. Interesting. So timing is everything. Certainly is. And I guess on the women's side, Sutherland also have an addition who are was on the team sheet, but didn't get on the court.
00:07:57
Speaker
might be Might have been a week early. But I saw her warming up at about 11 a.m. m on Saturday morning as I was down setting up. And, of course, I'm talking about Lauren Nicholson. Back on the team sheet for the ah
Post-Pregnancy Performance of Female Athletes
00:08:14
Speaker
after giving birth to young Ari, who I have met.
00:08:20
Speaker
like Great kid. but a Great kid, all of what, three months old? I don't think it's even that, but... Yeah. we we We share a bond. We both wear noise-cancelling headphones at the game.
00:08:36
Speaker
Oh, that's good. There you go. yeah Your best is for life. yeah ah well so Hopefully, yeah. So, I mean, the Sharks are now four and nine. And they still have to play, I believe, Newcastle and Aubrey Wodonga.
00:08:51
Speaker
And those are not games you want to have to bank on winning. So, have Lauren Nicholson back to our hopefully run through the other five games and get to at least nine and see what happens in those other two.
00:09:06
Speaker
gives the Sharks much more of a chance at finals than they would otherwise have had, but they really could have done with a win against Maitland, which they did not get. They lost by 13 in a game they were down 12-0 at the first time out. That's a steep climb. That's a steep climb coming from down. Yes.
00:09:26
Speaker
yes Well, Loz Nicholson was also announced in the last couple of weeks that she will be returning to the Sydney Flames for the next WNBL season. So it is probably...
00:09:38
Speaker
in her best interest to get some reps up. And I'm sure that she's chomping at the bit to get some some time back on court. She was already in such great form before she took time off to have her first child.
00:09:52
Speaker
ah And there is a pretty consistent trend that mums coming back to pro sport perform like even remote like just as good, if not better. And it yeah, that's,
00:10:08
Speaker
Couldn't
International Representation and Player Movements
00:10:09
Speaker
have said better to myself. i mean, I think as, you know, especially women's sports got more professional over the years and, you know, people are, you know, I guess the S&C side and the sports science side has actually taken the time to learn and, you know, what it takes to help mothers get back to playing at their top form. it's It's no longer the, I guess,
00:10:38
Speaker
if it Even if it wasn't physically a career ender, in a lot of coaches' and clubs' minds, it was. And I don't think that that should never have been the case. And nowadays, it regularly is not the case.
00:10:51
Speaker
Yeah, you're right. Gone are the days where it's like, oh, you're having a baby. Oh, that means you're like an automatic assumption that a female athlete is going to retire. I remember on a another podcast a couple of years ago when Leilani Mitchell ah fell pregnant with gorgeous Elle, who I think recently turned three. um Yeah, this other podcaster who is run by two veterans of Australian basketball basically just counted her out and said, oh, well, she's having a baby. That's it. She's retired, which was surprising.
00:11:23
Speaker
so prehistoric and insulting. And look, she's she's back on court. Sure, she's chosen not to return to to Opals and things like that, but she returned to WNBL. She still had WNBA ah interest as well in those seasons.
00:11:39
Speaker
So being pregnant doesn't mean retirement anymore. Certainly does not, and it's a good thing for the Sharks and the Flames. Yeah, definitely, definitely. And Loz.
00:11:51
Speaker
And Loz, yes. A couple of more interesting headlines from the women's rounds as well. We've got some NBL One East staples representing us internationally.
00:12:03
Speaker
Yeah. So ah Kitty Henderson from Manly Warringah has been chosen to represent Great Britain at Eurobasket, which is absolutely massive because it's Yeah, Great Britain really come on in leaps and bounds. I think they're doing a very good job of finding eligible players internationally and perhaps finding ones that don't need to be naturalised, which I think is the it's probably the hardest thing.
00:12:32
Speaker
Because I think you you have to beat you have to be a citizen by your 16th birthday. So if you're like, oh, I'll just get my passport when I need it then you're a naturalised player.
00:12:45
Speaker
So... Yes, great to see Kitty playing Eurobasket. She's ah alongside Hannah Jump, American star, Stanford, and and b one former NBL One West star, Sam Ashby.
00:13:01
Speaker
So there's three three players. I think Hannah might actually be born in the UK, but definitely players not based in Great Britain that they've managed to scoop up.
00:13:12
Speaker
So great to see. Yeah, and with FIBA changing those rules as well about being able to switch to different you a different nationality or a different country
Game Analysis: Penrith Panthers vs Hornsby Keringai Spiders
00:13:24
Speaker
representation depending on your citizenship status. So we've even seen ah you know Kitty Henderson as an Australian jur junior can now play senior for GB.
00:13:35
Speaker
Kawat Noy, Aussie junior, now so like in was in the South Sudan squad for the Olympics. And also Talia Tupiah. also an Australian junior who has gone to the New Zealand squad.
00:13:50
Speaker
Talia even went on a senior Opals tour. Oh, yeah, of course. She went join on one of those China tours as a senior Opal.
00:14:00
Speaker
ah Yeah, so that all gets underway. Great Britain's first game is on the evening of the 19th, so it'll be very early more really early Friday morning Australian time, I'm pretty sure.
00:14:16
Speaker
Yeah, awesome. And then the the other big news, I guess, that's East related in the women's competition is that Hannah Chicken has left to go start her college career at Portland State University. So we wish her all the best.
00:14:29
Speaker
Yes. And the new new Bankstown recruit that was the missing piece to the women's program for 2025, Shiloh Hill, announced yesterday that she has signed with Geelong United slash Venom slash Force for the next WNBL season. And I say slash slash.
00:14:51
Speaker
Because if you follow them on Instagram, they recently put up a poll about what should Geelong's team name be for the new look WNBL. So the options are, so they're currently Geelong United, but the options are Force or Venom.
00:15:09
Speaker
Supercats. Supercats. Just keep it Supercats. Turn everything back to Supercats and be done with it. Like Newey have done with the Falcons in NBL1. Just call everything the Supercats.
00:15:20
Speaker
Supercats done I think if that was a third option I would definitely vote for Supercats
00:15:27
Speaker
ah so yeah some pretty exciting news across the league oh and then one more former NBL One East defensive player of the year Alex Higgins teacher has been announced in the 3x3 World Cup team that are going to be playing in Mongolia soon like Absolutely incredible to see.
00:15:48
Speaker
His rise to the NBL and now going to a World Cup for 3x3 in the green and gold, like absolutely amazing. So stoked for him.
00:15:59
Speaker
Same. I know he doesn't play in the East anymore, but he's made in the East. He's made in the East. That's right. Yeah. Yeah, so it's great. We've got so much local talent going on to do great things and hopefully they will return one back to the league. But for now, we're very proud that they're representing us.
00:16:18
Speaker
Very much so.
00:16:21
Speaker
oh Okie dokie. So that was the headlines. I should probably put the banners on the screen. That will probably help. ah And now it's time to get into the East Scott game, game of the week for round 10.
00:16:36
Speaker
Initially, we did pick the game between the Inner West Bulls and the Sydney Comets women. However, there was no game to be watched. Well, the game happened.
00:16:47
Speaker
The game happened. There were stats, but there was no video or no recording uploaded. But that's okay. We found another great women's game that we can cover for two teams that we haven't covered so far in this season of East Scott game.
00:17:01
Speaker
It was between the Penrith Panthers and the Hornsby Keringai Spiders. Again, women's competition. Penrith going down at home 63 to 68. So Hornsby notching up another win.
00:17:16
Speaker
ah And, yeah, I'm glad that we reviewed this game, actually, Lockie. What were your initial impressions of this game ah just from just from the start before we get into the quarter-by-quarter breakdown?
00:17:30
Speaker
From the start, i when I first looked at it, I was like, well, this could be a trap game for Hornsby. I think that's dv that's not giving Penrith enough credit because i think Penrith was still – And four out in the scoreline.
00:17:46
Speaker
That Penrith, you know, sitting at five and nine was still an outside chance at making a run at the eight. um Tell you what, I know they they finally put them on sale, the Heritage jerseys.
00:18:00
Speaker
Oh, Penrith did? Yes. Oh, I am tempted to get one of them. They looked so good on court. So good. i I really, really like them. So whoever designed them at Penrith, well done.
00:18:15
Speaker
um Yeah. and Good to see number of teams, you know, doing heritage jerseys. I bid on so many Newcastle's heritage jerseys and didn't get any.
00:18:26
Speaker
Didn't get any. Parents. oh Oh, how dare you be so proud of your children that you buy their jerseys? know, right? um This game overall, it felt really interesting.
00:18:43
Speaker
um ah Perhaps the players I thought, apart from Jesse May Hall dropping 25, the players I thought might have a day out really didn't, and it kind of transpired all in a different way to what I thought it would, especially
00:19:02
Speaker
at the defensive end for Hornsby. um
00:19:07
Speaker
I think when Lucy Meade was subbed in early, I think that was something that really changed things changed the way of the game unfolded a little bit, and it made it a really interesting watch because...
00:19:20
Speaker
um
00:19:23
Speaker
of the makeup of Hornsby-Karingai's frontcourt, who they have. Hutchins, Bae, Odette, and then Meade kind of sliding in a bit taller than she actually is.
00:19:34
Speaker
It was really interesting, and it wasn't something I fully expected because, I mean, I basically picked this game because Comets and Bulls, yeah, that was a great shout, and I was just looking at close games not fe featuring teams we haven't done yet. i was like, ooh, depending with Hornsby.
00:19:50
Speaker
Yeah, let's have a crack at that. Yeah. And it just turned into, as the game went on and on, um it just turned into a really, really tight game. And it was, despite being low scoring and the three-point shooting not really being there, it was interesting for a lot of other reasons.
00:20:10
Speaker
Yeah, it ah for me, my first impressions were the retro jerseys that Penrith were wearing, 10 out of 10, but also got to give some love to the coaching staff of the Hornsby Keringai Spiders who were wearing those retro ah representative jackets with the white panel and that fabric where you know that is just amazing.
00:20:32
Speaker
completely synthetic fabric and if you were to get if that were to catch fire you would be in serious trouble like it's that real and harsh plastic not plasticky but like crepey material that was yeah so popular in the 90s and 2000s like I remember my Met North jacket probably being of that same material um And if you want to know, or Sydney North jacket, if you want to know what the Sydney North jackets looked like back in the day, go look at the new Perth Wildcats merchandise and look at their jackets because that is giving me Sydney North jacket vibes.
00:21:06
Speaker
So I really liked that in first impressions. um I wrote down A couple, i mean, between James and Garen when they commentate, they have so, they're on auto fire with so many of their references and puns and ah pop culture references particularly.
00:21:28
Speaker
It's hard to keep up with, but these are the ones that I managed to write down. ah with when someone did a spin move and James referred to it as Dizzy Gillespie. and And I was like, are you even old enough to know that reference? yeah And then he even he even said himself, oh, that's an old reference. And I was like, yeah. Anyway.
00:21:48
Speaker
old are you oh so also the dizzy gillespie thing and then him at admitting it was an old reference i thought was really funny uh and also um they were talking about something and then chicken wings and then nuggets and then garen says ben kieran nuggets uh go get your ben kieran's nuggets from the canteen Like Penrith has got to be paying Garen some royalties for coming up with that slogan. Like that's that's it that should be a thing.
00:22:17
Speaker
Given that Ben Kierens has been, you know, Penrith, he's like the Penrith guy, he needs to trademark Ben Kierens nuggets at the canteen and Garen needs to get royalties for coming up with that.
00:22:28
Speaker
I was like, that just cracked me up. And then the last one was... I think Hornsby got a couple of steals and they said more, ah James said more cookies than Subway. and then he's like, don't go to Subway. It's rubbish.
00:22:44
Speaker
like Like the pun and then very, very serious, but don't go to Subway. It's rubbish. Yeah. It's just like this running thoughts of references and then being very real with a chit-chat. I thought that was really, really funny too.
00:22:58
Speaker
ah But my biggest tick coming into this game was just seeing Teagan Edwards playing again. ah how good. Oh, my gosh. So formerly known as Teagan Burke, for those that can remember, as the boys said in the commentary, originally from Bathurst,
00:23:16
Speaker
then moved to the Central Coast for a period. And I think Teagan played most of her juniors ah at for Gosford City Rebels at the Central Coast.
00:23:27
Speaker
And then, yep, back to Penrith. I think she played a little bit of State League. And, yeah, I'm really, really glad she's playing again. i will say... Tegan Edwards, well, back then Burke, was the most underrated and underappreciated player in her age group.
00:23:45
Speaker
She was technically very good on offense and defense, great shooter, great passer, great teammate, just reads the game beautifully, like such a high iq and such a team player. She was so underappreciated, like how she wasn't making Aussie scores for that age group. She had to be close.
00:24:06
Speaker
But the thing is she does all the right. She very rarely makes a bad decision at either end of the court, but then she weirdly just doesn't stand out. It's almost like she set herself this really high bar that is like, oh, that's just how she plays. But then if you if that were anyone else, you'd be like, wow, they're playing such a great game. They're doing all these great things. But that's just like her norm. Yeah.
00:24:29
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I could be here all night talking about those the old school Bathurst teams, you know, Tegan, Rachel Murray, Lapeo.
00:24:40
Speaker
Yeah. um Actually, was talking to Malik Jenkins from this Pendleton team and she was saying that Tegan and Rachel were two of her clothes coaches growing up. Oh, wow. Yeah.
00:24:53
Speaker
Oh, that's very cool. Yeah. So I was really excited to see her um playing again and playing lots of minutes because unfortunately, Sirika Shillingsworth wasn't there. Yeah.
00:25:06
Speaker
Not sure why, unfortunately. The boys didn't mention on the call, I don't think, unless they did and it was sandwiched in between a chicken wing or chicken nugget reference. Yeah.
00:25:18
Speaker
But yeah, that was a ah big loss for Penrith. But let's go through this game quarter by quarter. So tell me your overall impressions, highlights and lowlights from the first quarter, Lachie.
00:25:30
Speaker
um The first two minutes,
00:25:36
Speaker
Tatiana Beaumont just finding Jordan Vasquez anywhere and anyhow she wanted to. And i think Vasquez had the first six points for Penrith. And it was 11-3 Penrith after a brilliant baseline out-of-bounds play where...
00:25:52
Speaker
Impreza just got to the corner and everyone was like, where's Jolene? And she just buried the three. um And they, so yeah, Penrith, they did that. They drew the Hutchins. Nicole Hutchins had one early offensive foul.
00:26:07
Speaker
And then, so they had two early fouls on Nicole Hutchins. And um I thought that was where... I thought that where Penrith might take over more.
00:26:20
Speaker
But it went the other way, and that was what – that frustrated me. Because, and like as I was mentioning, first couple of minutes, Beaumont just finding Vasquez in the paint, and she's just easy as you like. And then get that second foul on Hutchins, and then the next thing you see is Heidi and Vasquez out on the perimeter.
00:26:41
Speaker
I'm like, what? Why? Why? you know You can't both be out there when you just, you know, got the opposition's, you know, biggest, tallest player in foul trouble. You should be absolutely feasting down there.
00:26:56
Speaker
um And yeah, I just, i and that's what i said in my overall impression. I think that's where Lucy Meade came into the thing, into, into, um, into the reckoning when she subbed in, her just her, know, they traded a bit of speed for height and I think it really worked.
00:27:13
Speaker
um I mean, they were forced to trade a bit of speed, trade a bit of height for Lucy Meade's better speed, but I think that really, it worked out for them, for Hornsby. um But yeah, I think, yeah, definitely the highlight from Penrith was there their initial start and then the low is definitely what happened.
00:27:31
Speaker
It's like they overthought their advantage. is what it felt like. um Whereas for Hornsby, you know, I think Hornsby, obviously they finished the quarter really well. It was 17-9 with two minutes to play.
00:27:49
Speaker
And um Jessie May started being a bit more aggressive getting to the rack. She didn't have the best shooting night overall, but she looked better late in the first quarter. Yeah.
00:28:03
Speaker
And then Lucy Meade, again, that pick-off of that pass to end the first quarter. but She just jumped up and almost volleyball spiked the long pass as Penrith trying to get down court in the last few seconds to lay at home.
00:28:16
Speaker
It probably should have been 19-11 after a quarter. Instead, it was 17-13.
00:28:21
Speaker
Yeah, I really like that start from Penrith as well in this game. They kind of like were running in transition early. They were running together. Beaumont, like you said, did a really great job of getting either like either creating a play for Vasquez or just um just giving her some had really nice touches on her passes in her passing placement was really well done to put Vasquez in the perfect scoring position.
00:28:48
Speaker
I found that it got a bit too predictable too early. And I think this is a running theme throughout the whole game. Obvious that if you're having someone like Vasquez and Heidi inside that are just so good at that role, of course, use them as much as you can.
00:29:05
Speaker
But it became very predictable and Hornsby made a very good and very quick adjustment to try and make that more difficult. They started to get deflections. They started to wall up really well any time Heidi or Vasquez got a deep catch.
00:29:21
Speaker
I thought Ayana Bey did a really good job against Heidi just with her physicality. Sometimes Bey was a little bit... reactive on the catch, like she would take a while to like, you know, Heidi would catch it in the post or in the short corner and Bay would kind of approach only on the catch. But just in terms of being able to anticipate Heidi's change of direction,
00:29:45
Speaker
and using a bit more physicality, sometimes maybe getting a little bit too too much into Heidi's cylinder. ah But yeah, I think it really rocked Heidi a little bit. so um And I think she did, she did a really, really good job under there. It was great team defense on those deep catches from Hornsby against Penrith, but Yep.
00:30:06
Speaker
They just kept trying to throw it in there, throw it in there. Sometimes it worked, sometimes they didn't. um Sometimes they got really good points. You know, like you said, Vasquez had the first six points.
00:30:17
Speaker
But then as soon as Horn's be met, quick adjustment, Penrith have got to go to something else. And that followed into the second quarter for me too. Yeah, and it's funny you mentioned the deep catch because there was a period with about three minutes to play where Heidi just started kind of almost skulking around the free throw line and got two middies in the space of two possessions.
00:30:39
Speaker
She just managed to get a little bit of separation, just drift out to the free throw line and knock those down where the defenders are sort of thinking, you know, do do I follow her out there or not kind of thing.
00:30:51
Speaker
So, There were times when they were able to, but I don't think, as you mentioned, it was too predictable and they didn't do it often. They didn't go to something else often enough.
00:31:03
Speaker
Yeah, and even that old classic of inside, outside, change sides, like just because the ball goes in on the first touch doesn't mean it has to stay there. Like it can come back out again. And if it comes back out again, it doesn't mean it's not going to go back in, you know what I mean?
00:31:17
Speaker
It's kind of that that fear of like, oh but if I give it up, I'm not going to get it back. um Because I think there were a lot of times as well in the first quarter and particularly in the second where Tegan Edwards was wide open.
00:31:30
Speaker
wide open on the three, wide open on a weak side cut, wide open on the, you know, on on ah on some kind of receiver spot. And I was just like, give her the ball.
00:31:41
Speaker
Give it to her. She's such a good shooter um and she's such a good passer. Like she's going to give it back to you. Just give it to her. You don't have to force up shots with two defenders on you. Just give it to her.
00:31:54
Speaker
It's very frustrating. And then um i think the only other thing I'll say about Hornsby in the first quarter, perhaps actually both teams, as the as we kind of came into quarter time, both teams were just rushing a lot of shots.
00:32:09
Speaker
They still wanted to play with pace, but then they were kind of like going down one end and like thinking, oh, I have to put something up, i have to put something up, where they could have just done with a ah couple of extra passes or maybe pulling it out every so often, letting the ball do the work.
00:32:24
Speaker
think both teams rushed your shots at the end of that first quarter. Yeah, yeah, definitely. and I mean, it it bears out in the turnover numbers. For the entire game, really, how many of them were were rushed, but it definitely started in the first quarter.
00:32:41
Speaker
Yes, and ah so the second quarter for Penrith kind of kept trying to do the same thing. Like that they had a lot of soft turnovers in the second quarter.
00:32:53
Speaker
I'd love it if the box scores, you know, similar to on game day when you're getting the box scores per quarter when you're commentating, you're able to track like how many turnovers per quarter or how many whatever per quarter um and then kind of see that reflected in something, a change that either team made.
00:33:11
Speaker
Would love to know how many turnovers they had in the second quarter because it just felt like 50% of Penrith's possessions were all these soft turnovers. And that's what lost them the lead. Yeah. Yeah, it it really did. It was just, yeah, passes.
00:33:25
Speaker
And like soft in that there was no defender around them. It was like just passes up court or passes across the arc or, yeah, not even entry. Off someone's foot.
00:33:39
Speaker
but Yeah. Yeah.
00:33:41
Speaker
ah like Against the team, you you've already got Jesse May Hall there averaging astronomical numbers of steals. I'm not sure exactly what the number is. You don't need to give Hornsby any more chances to turn the ball, get the ball off you.
00:33:57
Speaker
No, no. It was um some of the soft turnovers were things like those predictable passes on the inside and Hornsby able to get a deflection that ended up being in the hands of like deflected into the hands of another Hornsby player.
00:34:13
Speaker
Some of them were, i mean, and to be fair, Hornsby also threw a lot of turnovers in this quarter. Some of them were just like in transition, passing a little bit too far ahead, passing off someone's foot, um getting like going on a drive and getting stripped, like just those real little things that we need to start training out of our brain when we get to NBL1.
00:34:37
Speaker
Yeah, just like I literally wrote it down. Hornsby just passed it. Literally, I didn't catch who it was, but maybe because it happened multiple times, just literally passing it to a big's feet.
00:34:50
Speaker
Yeah. like that Yeah. They got a long way to bend down. We don't want it down there. Our hands are here. The basket is here. we want the ball here. Yeah. That's where we want the ball. we want it up here. I'm not getting down there.
00:35:04
Speaker
ah But going back, ah you mentioned Jessie May Hall's steal stats. She's averaging 5.82 steals a game. That is obscene.
00:35:18
Speaker
Yeah. ah there She only had four, so it dropped it dropped it dropped only had four, so the average went down little bit. yeah um yeah Yeah, just a casual four, just a casual for four. I'm pretty interested to see actually how she compares to the...
00:35:35
Speaker
to the whole NBL1 competition. So when it loads, I'll let you know. ah But also second quarter for me, each team trying out a bit of a zone. i was trying to pick. ah So Penrith went into a 2-3 zone in some occasions and I was trying to pick the timing.
00:35:53
Speaker
I think they were going into a zone on a score and then man on a miss, I think, because there was a couple of times where, There were some mismatches and Imprezo had to guard like Hutchins under the basket and things like that and they to make a switch.
00:36:08
Speaker
And then Hornsby as well ah went into the 1-3-1 zone about halfway through the second, which I thought looked pretty effective, especially when you've got... really quick guards with length like Jesse May Hall.
00:36:22
Speaker
Even if you put a Lucy Mead on that wing position or at the top of the 1-3-1, that could be really effective against some smaller guards. ah But, yeah, theyn Hornsby did really, really well to take the lead early in this second quarter.
00:36:38
Speaker
ah And it was started with that beautiful bounce pass from Kira Hudson into a rolling Iyana Bay. like within the first like one and a half minutes. I loved it.
00:36:50
Speaker
I love that play, not only for what it was, but also Jessie May, she hadn't really got her scoring going. So I just like that they went to something else, got someone else to put the ball in the basket, get things rolling rather than keep, you know, have Jessie May feel like she has to, you know,
00:37:11
Speaker
jumpstart all the offense kind of thing. So I really liked the timing of when they, because it really felt like they really set out to do that. It's like, this is what we're doing. And they went straight to and it worked. Yeah. Perfect execution. That pass as well that Kira threw was direct. It was assertive. It was purposeful, perfect placement, like clip that up, put that in a demonstration video of this is how you give a bounce pass. I loved it.
00:37:37
Speaker
Yeah. Very, very easy to half-volley you big in that situation. So very nice to see. Yeah, and I'm glad that Bay made the shot too because nothing would annoy you more as a guard of throwing that perfect dime and not getting the assist.
00:37:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:37:56
Speaker
The only other point that I have for the second quarter for Penrith, which was also shown early in the first, was that Tatiana Beaumont's dribble penetration and passing is elite.
00:38:08
Speaker
I haven't watched her play for a long time and I didn't realise how good she is at dribble penetration um given her size as well. And she's quick, but she's not like the quickest player on the court.
00:38:21
Speaker
But the way she uses that first step and the angle of her body to get around defenders and to cut them off is really, really good, really good. And she's that's how she's able to set herself up or set someone else up for scoring opportunities. But I'd kind of like her to be a little bit more selfish and put up a few more shots.
00:38:43
Speaker
Me too. ah It's funny. She was, you know, earlier in the season when I saw her, she was like, ah shut oh, shot 0-5. right that's why we Yeah, but you've won 55-46 and you know you're a much better player than that. so Keep shooting.
00:38:58
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. No sweat. I mean, I think ah James and Garin on the call were trying to build some hype around an all-star weekend. And I think James picked Beaumont to be the three-point shooter from Penrith.
00:39:15
Speaker
Shooter's going to shoot. Shooter's going to shoot. your shot. shoot you short And I think in this quarter as well, so Hornsby did a great job um getting that lead really early in the second quarter, just going back to basics and executing well, just getting two or three stops in a row and making new layups at the other end.
00:39:38
Speaker
So while Penrith were forcing, you know, throwing all those soft turnovers, Hornsby were able to punish that really early and that's how they got the lead. And to their credit, they were able to maintain it.
00:39:49
Speaker
They certainly were. and I mean, yeah, Penrith with 10 points for the quarter, that's i mean that's that's tough, you know, yeah holding a slender lead.
00:40:01
Speaker
But full credit to Hornsby-Karingai, really. I mean, Penrith, they looked a little stagnant. there were a couple of times where hate call her out for this because I love her. But Sophia Hunt kind of, she blew past the first defender, got to the second line and kind of just stopped dead still.
00:40:18
Speaker
um And one of those possessions did end in a turnover when she passed it. She actually had it stolen away. So, yeah. kind once you Once you get past that first defender, you kind of got to have the idea in your head as to what you but why you're doing this kind of thing.
00:40:37
Speaker
Yeah. You get past the first defender and go, am I kicking it to the to the corner? Am I going up? What am I doing? Kind of thing. But I mean, she's what, eight months out of high school. um Yeah, she got plenty of time to learn.
00:40:55
Speaker
She got time. She got time.
00:40:59
Speaker
um And this was also a quarter where we saw Jessie May Hall attack a lot in transusen transition. Wow, I'm really mincing my words today. In transition.
00:41:11
Speaker
And I noticed that she prefers to go right down the middle. yeah So typically players would go either side, you know, on their strong hand perhaps. And the advantage of going either side as well is that you kind of can drag the defense away and then that can help you with the decision-making. It can open up the court for a trail cut or something like that, you know, to make a two-on-one situation.
00:41:37
Speaker
She goes right down the middle and she's really good at going at pace downhill, doing that little inside-out step. Mm-hmm. and then just powering on through.
00:41:50
Speaker
And she's got that that little floater she loves in her arsenal as well. So going going straight going straight on is probably you know a help there as well. it probably actually It probably actually gives her more options in a situation where it would give most players fewer options.
00:42:08
Speaker
Yeah, that's really interesting actually. Yeah, for her, she's got the floater. She's got a very quick euro step. She's got a very quick counter move where I think she likes to go forward and will do like a fadeaway, like yeah spin spin back and do a little fadeaway under the basket.
00:42:24
Speaker
But obviously she's very quick. But what I really like in those one-on-one opportunities is that she stays low the whole time. And so that's something that you try and instill in young players that even when they grow old, even as players grow older, we still don't stay in a stance the whole time, offense, defense, otherwise. But she'll start sometimes even get lower, and then just use her quickness and I guess how low she is just to power them through. And that's why she can finish so well because she's got so much elevation strength
00:43:00
Speaker
left or power behind her left to elevate to make those shots like again just clip it up it up clip it up put put it in the the video of demonstration of how to do this properly it's just gonna be the the hornsby kareen guy spiders coaching clinic yeah
00:43:23
Speaker
they've got two clips so far and it's not even half time there we go What else did you see in the second quarter? um
00:43:35
Speaker
i
00:43:38
Speaker
I think we've covered just about everything that I've seen. um i mean, ah will give credit to both teams. put it know We've been talking about soft turnovers, but there were certainly were times where it was the defence stepping up, putting pressure on players and forcing those turnovers.
00:43:55
Speaker
I just... um And what I wrote down about Penrith's turnovers is Hornsby-Fringer only had 10 points from turnovers.
00:44:08
Speaker
But you can't keep having to chase a team back for 40 minutes and expect it to not get in your legs at the end of the game. And that's what I always think about turnovers and especially live ball turnovers is...
00:44:26
Speaker
if you keep turning the ball over and you've got to keep chasing back in transition to keep those points from turnovers low. We talk about it in cycling. You've only got so many matches you can burn. And if you've got to chase back, literally, if you've got to chase back to the pack in cycle, you burn matches.
00:44:40
Speaker
And it's the same when you've got to run back on defense 24 times or however many times 10 to turn the ball over. And, yeah, the points from turnovers might not have been big, but it's key. You keep giving teams enough opportunities and they will it will burn you in the air.
00:44:58
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And we were talking to our our guest that's going to be our interview guest this week. We were talking to him yesterday about some of the that we're not sure if this has changed or what is considered now a fast break point or a second chance point, but where but between the three of us, we were saying that we've noticed how it feels like there should be more fast break points on the analysis you know part of the stat sheet.
00:45:26
Speaker
But it's lots of games are really, really no low numbers. So I also wonder if in this game, let's have a look at second chance points for Hornsby. Nine all game.
00:45:38
Speaker
with seven of the nine coming in the third quarter. Fast break points, eight all game with four coming in that second quarter. I just feel like it was at least six in that second quarter.
00:45:49
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like as I actually went back and read the FIBA rules. I tried to find what the FIBA stats say, and the best description I could get was that fast break points comes before the defense is set.
00:46:05
Speaker
And it feels like it's it's so stringent, like a player has to be out by themselves one-on-one for it to be called a fast break is he is the only explanation I have.
00:46:17
Speaker
But not having the actual FIBA live stats or whatever whatever the official rules are for categorizing these points in front of me, maybe someone else has a bit off as an official as to...
00:46:30
Speaker
visual explanation is what what What constitutes fast break points?
00:46:37
Speaker
Yeah, because like anytime the defense isn't set. So if you are running in a two-on-one situation, that one defender hustles back and then gets in their position where they're able to see both and guard both from the key. Does that count as defense is set?
00:46:52
Speaker
ah No, i did it has to be has has to be all five people. I think, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Interesting. But perhaps a conversation for another day.
00:47:04
Speaker
Yes. ah Rolling into the third quarter, what were some of the things that you saw? did you see much change in either the team in the third quarter? Oh, it was definitely a better offensive quarter across the board. It was the highest scoring quarter of the game by a long way. You...
00:47:28
Speaker
you What I wrote about Penrith was you make it very hard to go inside out when you shoot 21% as a team from three-point range for the season.
00:47:43
Speaker
but For the season, yes. Yeah. And it was what obviously it was worse on this particular game. but Yeah. Hornsby went scouting based on what happened in the first two quarters of the game. That was scouting based on the season.
00:47:56
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, fair. Hornsby... hors hornsby you
00:48:02
Speaker
As the game progressed, I saw more and more double and even triple teams on anything remotely close to a deep catch. And why not?
00:48:14
Speaker
ah is on Penrith's catches and Hornsby's. Yeah. um And I mean, Penrith managed to score 17 points in the quarter, but They don't make it easy for themselves getting in that situation when they don't have ah they don't have shooters that the opposition has to respect.
00:48:39
Speaker
You don't need Leilani Mitchell, Diana Taurasi out there. Honestly, I would prefer to have two serviceable shooters than one good shooter and everyone else on the perimeter not being a factor.
00:48:58
Speaker
and give the defense more to think about. Of course, depending on the shooting percentages of each player. ah But ah as ah as it went on, this this was later, Zoe Jackson catching it a little bit higher.
00:49:18
Speaker
They didn't seem as Hornsby didn't seem as ready to double Jackson. I don't know if that was just the position of the catcher. It was a personnel decision, but there was one particular play where it was so well done by it both Penrith players. Jackson caught it.
00:49:40
Speaker
was kind of high post and she was garish She had the mismatch with Hudson. And she just waited and waited. Ayana Bay dropped off the double.
00:49:52
Speaker
Taron Marnie turned her head. Jordan Vazquez saw it and took off. And Jackson just gone, there you go, Jordan. That's exactly the one that I wrote down too.
00:50:04
Speaker
yeah It was just so well done because it Jordan doesn't recognize Taron Marnie turning her head for a split second, that play doesn't happen. ah And, yeah, I think that that was probably one of Penrith's best plays of the day. And i i certainly I certainly think they look better catching it a little higher than they did getting deeper and being... Just having swarms of Hornsby-Karingai defenders around them. um
00:50:39
Speaker
I mean, Hornsby... ah You know, they they were better offensively as well, slightly better offensively. um i think I feel like at times they went a little bit more in-out than they had and pre in the previous two quarters. I it was i think it was one of the first possessions that Taron Marnie checked in for Ayana Bay at one.
00:51:09
Speaker
That really changed things up. But Taramani will compete with anyone defensively. So, i mean, doesn't have the size that Ayana does, but she certainly can compete and will, you know, she can take a hit from just about anyone. So, and I think her the first possession she came in, she actually got a three off some good ball movement that started from the ball going in and coming back out and going around and finding Marnie. Yeah.
00:51:38
Speaker
ah Yeah, i i I do think it was a lot. I i think the ah ah halftime chat was the best thing that could have happened for both teams, to be entirely honest, after a second quarter where I don't think either coach would have been particularly enamored with how it transpired.
00:51:54
Speaker
No, no, definitely not. No, it's it was one of those games where there was so many positive signs from both teams in terms of style of play, decision making, execution.
00:52:10
Speaker
But there just wasn't enough. ah Like there were lots of great incidences, lots of great glimpses, and then just so many silly things happening, so many soft turnovers, so many predictability, so many, you know, yeah, dribbling a ball off a foot, um all that kind of stuff where I was like this has so much potential to be a really great game but all of these all these bad habits are creeping in, all the kind of rush shots were creeping in.
00:52:36
Speaker
ah so we've got to try and train that game kind of out of people. it's And I think it primarily comes down to decision-making, particularly in the first half.
00:52:48
Speaker
And then in the second half, just putting in shots. Yeah. Second half, I felt like the decision-making was much better. people A lot more people were being involved to try and be scorers.
00:52:59
Speaker
Just couldn't get the ball in the hole. No. I mean... The shooting percentage was low this game.
00:53:09
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, especially like um especially the three-point shooting. I mean, Penrith hit their only three of the game in the first quarter, and then went one of 17 for the entire game.
00:53:21
Speaker
But yeah yeah, like I said, if you if you can't hit a three, it takes away so much from what you are able to force the defense to do.
00:53:32
Speaker
And some of those threes were shots that had to be made because they were in at risk of a shot clock violation. And some of them were still on target. You know, I'm not saying that a lot of these missed shots were couldn't hit the side of a barn.
00:53:48
Speaker
A lot of them were still on target. They were just kind of just popping out or just short. ah Yeah, but we've got to just got to make some shots and lots of shots on the inside as well for both teams.
00:53:59
Speaker
um Having said that, you know, Half of the points for each team did come from inside the paint. um Surprisingly, Penrith's points in the paint got better as the game went on, given that there was so much attention on Vasquez and Heidi in the first half.
00:54:19
Speaker
And then ah Hornsby's points in the paint were really strong in the second and third quarter. And they're the two quarters where they scored their most points. Yeah.
00:54:32
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, the two-point percentage, it's it's not like 43% and 47% for Penrith and Hawes, respectively. is it's it's not It's not bad. i mean, but, I mean, as we keep saying, yeah, the three the three-point percentage ah more than offsets it, unfortunately.
00:54:53
Speaker
Yeah, it certainly does, yeah. ah Now, truth be told, I ran out of time to watch the fourth quarter, so I'm going to be relying on on your observations for the fourth.
00:55:05
Speaker
ah My observations for the fourth. ah
00:55:10
Speaker
I actually...
00:55:13
Speaker
that This was the mark the the most obvious of Hornsby triple-teaming Penriths was at the start of the fourth because... It was almost right at the start of the fourth that Heidi got a catch 10 foot from the basket and immediately three Pornsby players crowded her, immediately stripped the ball.
00:55:33
Speaker
um But... One, I mean, that's one turnover, but it was again, the soft turnovers without pressure that really that really hurt Penrith in the early stages, but fair play to them. They kept in it.
00:55:48
Speaker
And, um you know, it was a one point game with two minutes to play. um It felt like um Jesse May,
00:56:04
Speaker
what I mean, she's not 7 of 23, but she always felt like a, especially down stretch, she often felt like a threat, which she always does, which is part of what makes her so good that even if she's having not the best day, she'll still find a way to make an impact and she still attracts defenders, and which you've got to have her out there.
00:56:26
Speaker
But...
00:56:31
Speaker
but
00:56:33
Speaker
ah um As much as Penrith had soft turnovers early in the final quarter, Hornsby-Karingai are probably fortunate to have had a one-point lead heading into the final minute because they turned the ball over.
00:56:48
Speaker
so People you know putting it on the floor in close quarters with defenders all around them, ah which is something that really irks me.
00:57:00
Speaker
as As someone who is not tall by basketball standards, especially on the men's side, when I see bigs who I know if they just put the ball up like this, even with my like vertical leap, I would not be able to touch the ball.
00:57:16
Speaker
And I see them put it on the floor where these little people can just like start smacking it around. don't like it. No, don't take it to the little people. Leave the little people down there.
00:57:27
Speaker
You take the ball back up here. Yeah, exactly. Don't take it down there to them. No. But I'll go back to Jessie May because I think just it was it was sixty two sixty one with a minute 52 to play.
00:57:43
Speaker
And just the play recognition from Jessie May. She got the ball on the left wing. Mia Heidi came out and closed out for the three and she just put her on the floor and went off.
00:57:56
Speaker
Got to the basket, floated off and won. No, not in that one. Got the floater, took the lead. It was just just exactly what Hornsby Keringa needed at the time. Just watch the opposition player come out for the closeout and just see you later.
00:58:13
Speaker
I mean, I think if Mia had tried to like get out there and like stop and try to guard Desi May taking off, it probably would have ended just as badly because... She just wouldn't have been – her momentum would have just been sending it the wrong way.
00:58:27
Speaker
She was called caught between a rock and a hard place on a slightly late closeout.
00:58:34
Speaker
And, I mean, Penrith had a chance to win it or to at least take the lead. um Just – Jackson just – she was trailing and just bowled the ball and, know, it ended in another turnover. and It's just a – you know, it was just one of those things where –
00:58:55
Speaker
You know, you had so many turnovers all day and this was just the one at the worst possible moment.
00:59:04
Speaker
But, I mean, i yeah, Zoe had that that one, um had that turnover. it wasn't even considered a turnover her in the end. I think she might have got a hand on it and then someone else grabbed it. But it the play did end in turnover.
00:59:23
Speaker
But, I actually, ah yeah, to be fair to Zoe Jackson, I thought she was good. thought she was good ah facilitating when she was getting those catches um in the high post.
00:59:36
Speaker
um She took some really good shots, made some really good decisions. Yeah.
00:59:46
Speaker
played, she had seven points, four rebounds. She had four assists in 19 minutes, which I think for a big who's still a teenager, I think that's pretty impressive.
00:59:58
Speaker
You know, put together four four assists in 19 minutes. ah But it, I mean, it clo it finished off... um
01:00:08
Speaker
and It was sixty four sixty three Penrith had to foul. They did. And then they were down sixty they were down three and Iana Bay tipped away the inbound pass and got fouled on the break for two in possession. So bit of a tough way for it to end. For a game that was 64-63 in the final 30 seconds, for it to end on a, ah you know, tipped inbound pass, unsportsmanlike foul.
01:00:33
Speaker
It was very close to being in a very exciting end. i was When I thought it was 66-63, I was actually really interested to see what Penrith's inbound play was going to be, given the fact that they were one of 17 from three-point range at the time.
01:00:49
Speaker
you know who Who do you turn to in that situation? yeah know but Tegan Edwards. what Tegan Edwards, there you go. Yeah. um Yeah, so I think, yeah. ah Who was Jolene? joline Oh, yeah, Jolene hit that corner three in the first quarter after baseline inbound play.
01:01:09
Speaker
That was their only three of the game. ah yeah But, yeah. I think Tegan had a three. No, she had a long two because i remember um remember looking I remember the one you're thinking of.
01:01:22
Speaker
I was actually looking at the referee to see if it was a long two or three. Oh, it was kind of as a long two. Devo. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
01:01:33
Speaker
Um, but I mean, for Penrith, I mean, it was just, it could be six and nine instead of five and 10 and they're really looking at, yeah.
01:01:44
Speaker
I mean, to to call this a potential trap game for Hornsby, as I said, was, yeah, not giving Penrith enough credit and they, they showed it. Uh, But more power to Hornsby. They sit 6-6 now. And, you know, sometimes you just got to get it done. And they did in the final minutes because they were very close to not.
01:02:05
Speaker
ah I mean, they were up 56-50. was then so...
01:02:08
Speaker
it was then sixty four sixty three so
01:02:13
Speaker
Yeah, it really could have gone either way, this game. really could have gone either way. But like I said before, both teams just showing so many great moments and glimpses of how good they are, but just not enough.
01:02:28
Speaker
Probably more ah whether it's rushing, under pressure. But like you said, lots of turnovers that were weren't under any kind of pressure. Lots of predictable kind of play.
01:02:39
Speaker
um Especially, you know, Hornsby made that really good adjustment of still double teaming, triple teaming, you know, Vasquez and Heidi. ah And you feel like with the scout with Jessie May, given that Hornsby, she hadn't hit a three all game.
01:02:55
Speaker
knowing that she wants to penetrate and how good she is just taking that step off her and inviting it to three she'll still shoot it yeah but mean she hadn't hit one so just keep inviting her to shoot it inviting her to shoot it get that long rebound um And it was just unfortunate on that last play where they closed out too far and Jesse May was able to penetrate to get that last basket.
01:03:21
Speaker
But that's just what happens in the heat of the moment. You're scrambling. ah the The game's on the line. You're not running out thinking all the time, thinking, oh, the scout is, hey, maybe I should make a shoot it.
01:03:35
Speaker
You're just that running out with that desperation because of the the pressure of the game at the time. But, yeah, I am going to have a look at some of the outstanding stats for this game. So we've already touched on a couple.
01:03:50
Speaker
particularly the three-point shooting. So, yeah, like you said, Penrith were one from 17 all game. ah Hornsby, Keringai were bo from twenty four from 24. um Interestingly, each team took 68 shots the whole game.
01:04:06
Speaker
Penrith made 23. Hornsby made 25. So that was unusually super close. um Turnover count, 24 to 20.
01:04:18
Speaker
Penrith to Hornsby. So obviously big areas of improvement there. thought the game was really well officiated as well. 17 fouls to 18 fouls for Penrith and Hornsby respectively. um And rebound count.
01:04:38
Speaker
ah Penrith actually won the rebound count with 49 to Hornsby's 45. ah forty five So that's kind of interesting. Same number of shots.
01:04:50
Speaker
Very close in the rebound count, but Penrith winning. I guess it just comes down to turnovers. Hornby capitalizing on those turnovers at the right time and just being able to make a couple extra shots. throw line, Penrith was from five.
01:05:07
Speaker
ah missing five Hornsby were 14 from 18, so missing only four. So those little things start to kind of add up, I think, in the in a five-point ballgame.
01:05:20
Speaker
Oh, definitely, yeah. And, I mean, you say 68 shots apiece, but then you immediately talk about the four of 24 compared to the one of 17 from three-point range. And, you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a little bit of the other, and that's how it pans out.
01:05:36
Speaker
Yeah. ah But so the main leaders in the stats for Penrith this game, Jordan Vasquez had 16 and 16 and including two assists and two steals.
01:05:50
Speaker
Not her best in game for shooting. She was eight from eight from the free throw line, um but just four from 13 from the field because she was obviously very heavily defended. Yeah.
01:06:01
Speaker
Then Jolene Imprezo had 15 points and six rebounds in her 29 minutes in the game. She shot a great clip, shooting at 62.5% overall. And Mia Heidi had 11 points and seven rebounds and five steals, so almost a sneaky triple-double with steals.
01:06:22
Speaker
I mean, five steals a lot, 10 steals is outrageous, so probably a bit of a big ask. ah But also shooting... 5 from 17 from the field at 29.41%.
01:06:36
Speaker
And for Hornsby Keringai, we had Jessie May Hall with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals and a block. Not her best shooting day either. 8 from 23, including 1 from 10 from the 3-point line.
01:06:51
Speaker
But 8 from 10 from the free throw line, so that's pretty good. Ayana Bay was went 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists. And then Lucy Meade had 11 points, 3 rebounds, that was kind of the outstanding team stats and individual stats. Let's have a look now what each team plays next.
01:07:16
Speaker
Is there a chance that these teams will meet again, Lockie? ah You're making me hark back to all the graphics I've built. I don't think they do.
01:07:27
Speaker
No, no, I know because Penrith have an absolute murderer's run to finish the season. Oh, that's such a shame. They have, so Penrith have Newcastle,
01:07:42
Speaker
Comets, Bankstown, Aubrey-Wodonga and North to finish the season. Oh, that's rough. That's rough. That is rough.
01:07:54
Speaker
And to finish the season, Hornsby have Centre of Excellence and Hills Hornets in a doubleheader at home in round 11.
01:08:05
Speaker
Then they've got Aubrey Wodonga away in round 12. They've got Norse Bears and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in doubleheader for round 13, one away and one home respectively. They've got Inner West Bulls and Illawarra, double another doubleheader,
01:08:24
Speaker
both away in round 14 and to finish off in round 15, they play Aubrey again at home. So probably not as much of a treacherous run as the Penrith Panthers have to finish the season.
01:08:37
Speaker
ah That game against Inner West, so I think that is very big. you
01:08:43
Speaker
Inner West are six and seven, Hornsby-Kareen guy six and six. It could be the game that puts the difference between them almost. Yeah, yeah, because as it stands, Maitland are in that sixth position and Hornsby are in seventh.
01:09:00
Speaker
ah So Hornsby are sixth and sixth, as you mentioned. Sydney Comets are in eighth position with sixth and seventh. Inner West in ninth position, sixth and seventh. Bankstown in tenth and Canberra in eleventh, both on sixth and eighth.
01:09:16
Speaker
So it's getting muddy in the middle again, just like the men's competition. It certainly is. And, I mean, I think we have to, at this point, say that you need to be aiming for seventh because that Bankstown team is going to roll and probably finish a lot higher than they are.
01:09:32
Speaker
So you want to be aiming for seventh on the current table, not eighth, because Bankstown are very likely to bump someone else.
01:09:42
Speaker
Yes. Yeah, definitely. They are, like you said, steamrolling ahead all the way to that sixth spot. Yes.
01:09:51
Speaker
ah Any final thoughts, feelings, news to wrap up before we play our interview? ah Thoughts and feelings. I mean, I know we talked a lot about turnovers, but these teams are both very young. A lot of these players are very young and as skilled as some of them are, they're still young. They're still going to make decisions. they're going to have off days, off quarters, off minutes.
01:10:19
Speaker
So, yeah.
01:10:22
Speaker
I don't think we can. I think we, you know, can't, you know, you can't play kids and then, you know, destroy them if they have a few turnovers. So, yes, the turnover count was high, but I still think plenty to be positive about for both teams.
01:10:43
Speaker
Yeah.
01:10:46
Speaker
Shout out to Caleb from Basketball New South Wales for coming down and commentating Sutherland v Maitland with Jake and myself. That was very fun. We had the highlight of Kuat Noi fixing the rim.
01:10:57
Speaker
That was quite good. Go check that out on NBL1 East Instagram Reels if you haven't already. It's one of the highlights of my commentary career. But um I think that's that's about everything. I think we should get into the interview because it is a great one.
01:11:14
Speaker
Definitely a great interview. Without exaggeration, probably one of my favourite interviews of all time with East Got Game. ah It left us feeling enlightened, hopeful.
01:11:28
Speaker
I felt a bit of personal growth just listening to this person speak. um And I'm hoping that the listeners get the same feeling.
Interview with Miko Von Ludus
01:11:41
Speaker
All right, so without further ado, we did record this yesterday so we'll add this to the stage and enjoy our very special guest this week is a true globetrotter when it comes to basketball and in all shapes and forms and in all different roles of the game they are someone who has had a very colorful history with basketball and now are sharing their talents with the good people on the central coast as the central central coast crusaders head men's head coach for mbo1
01:12:15
Speaker
It is none other than Miko Von Ludus. Hi Miko! Skuen, hi Lockie, what an intro, thank you. Yeah, thanks. ah How are you going down there on the Senni Coast?
01:12:32
Speaker
Depends on any given Sunday, right? Or any given Saturday. ah Look, I think we we are the epitome of this roller coaster ride that is that is the central part of the NBL 1 East ladder.
01:12:45
Speaker
So given this last one was a good one for us, I'm feeling fantastic. ah That's good. That's very good to hear. it sounds like we have timed our interview with you very well then.
01:12:57
Speaker
ah But here on East Got Game, we always like to start and end our interviews with the same questions. We bookend the interviews with the same. ah So the first question that we like to start with is, where did your basketball journey begin? Or how did your basketball journey begin?
01:13:17
Speaker
It's a good question, and I'll try not to bore you with the the extensive nature of the answer because it is a big one. um I am i was someone who grew up moving around a lot.
01:13:28
Speaker
My dad was an airline executive. um So every four or five years, I moved to a new place. So my parents are actually from Sweden and Finland, respectively. But those are both countries I never lived in growing up. So those are grandparent visits only. ah so I don't...
01:13:44
Speaker
I don't really know where I belong. I've been in Australia for 23 years. this This definitely feels like home. But the home, the spiritual home ah that I really kept close to my heart growing up was Los Angeles. That's where I grew up. um And I moved there in 1986 as a 10-year-old, right around the time that someone named Magic Johnson was kind of a big deal.
01:14:08
Speaker
So ah my basketball journey started... with Lakers fandom ah playing on the playgrounds and trying to explain to two European parents why this game had any value whatsoever. They never got it.
01:14:22
Speaker
I don't think they still get it. um But they've they've accepted that this is my lifelong love and passion. So it started it started with that.
01:14:33
Speaker
and three kids later uh i'm embarrassed to say my my eldest son's legal middle name is magic so the uh the tragic nature of my fandom runs really deep so were you you out on the playground saying i'm magic johnson and trying all these moves I'm guilty. um I may or may not have had tragic Johnson given to me once or twice as trash talk when I throw something out of bounds that really could have been a chess pass would have sufficed, but an errant elbow pass felt like the good idea at the time. um Yeah, guilty, Lachie.
01:15:16
Speaker
And when you say the playground, do you literally mean the school playground? And did that ever transfer then to be playing like a street ball or regular scrimmages on outdoor courts in LA?
01:15:27
Speaker
Absolutely. And I think, you you know, you're kind of leading the witness, you know, you know, ah where this story will go, but yeah, look, I, I started playing. I was American culture of basketball is very playground oriented.
01:15:43
Speaker
ah it's It's a debate I've had with the kind of higher uppers at Basketball Australia ah for for many years now. What is it that differentiates an Aussie player to an American player?
01:15:55
Speaker
And even when you look at our recruitment classes here, how we're always trying to fill foreign talent, why is it that we go to the American player I think that the American player is playground based and certainly I grew up that way.
01:16:09
Speaker
ah And you play a lot, one on one, two on two, three on three. And the structure that we are so expert at here in Australia ah is a very foreign concept, probably until you get to either a very well established high school or until you get to the college game. And even then, those programs are so short lived that you don't get the continuity of what a BNSW offers ah to to kids from the age of 8, 9, 10 growing up. So ah think the dichotomy of the two actually makes for a perfect marriage, which is why you see so many Australians having success in the and NBA or the WNBA.
01:16:48
Speaker
They're always these plug-and-play elite thinkers of the game, whereas the feel for the game played in sort of that fluid...
01:16:58
Speaker
um
01:17:01
Speaker
American style, it's it's a very big difference. So I grew up there playing that style. And obviously I played for high schools. But then again, we played for schools and not for clubs, right? So it's a very different thing there too.
01:17:16
Speaker
um And then and actually I was 17 when my parents got transferred back to Europe. So I spent two years playing in the club-based ah ah format of Denmark, where we ended up winning. ah My team ended up winning a Danish championship, but it was a rude awakening to see the same level of structure in Scandinavia as you do see in Australia. So think that's why a lot of our sort of import players, they need ah they need a minute or two to get adjusted to how we play down here.
01:17:51
Speaker
It's not the same.
01:17:54
Speaker
feel I feel like that that happens across sports, that the level of structure compared to the field in Australia. like You look at soccer, where you know you players are funneled in. You don't hear about, compared to South America or continental Europe, where players are out.
01:18:11
Speaker
ah You hear about kids playing in the streets in in South America, and it's it's very different here, where you're coached from day one almost.
01:18:21
Speaker
It's true. I mean, I had this debate with my assistant coach group actually last night. We were discussing our beloved NBL 1 team here and and the ups and downs that we've had.
01:18:33
Speaker
And, you know, I'll be very forthcoming. You guys can ask me anything you like. We'll be very honest with with our responses because i think we've had some success and we've had some failure. and And the failures have come through some of the things you're talking about. It's it's ah bringing in ah foreign players, even if...
01:18:51
Speaker
our imports have had some time here in Australia, they're still adjusting to the differences. And obviously our homegrown talent that we've seen, especially on and in a club like the Central Coast, some of those kids have been with us forever.
01:19:05
Speaker
um they struggle maybe with the pace or the freewheeling nature of what the imports bring. So, you know, it is a thing. um But I think Australians generally, and one of the reasons I'm so proud to call this my adopted home,
01:19:21
Speaker
ah you know, ah people assume I'm a foreigner every day, which I am, of course, but I've spent almost half my life here. So for me, this is very much home. But, you know, it's you look at soccer, for example, Aussies don't throw themselves on the ground and roll around trying to get penalties. they They're hard workers. ah Obviously, I grew up in Los Angeles. there's an un There's an unparalleled amount of Aussies in Hollywood.
01:19:47
Speaker
And I've had people say it's because Aussies pull their, roll their, roll their sleeves up and get to work. They don't mess around with any of the nonsense. And I think that's true for every aspect of Australian culture.
01:20:00
Speaker
And I think it's one of the reasons why Australian basketball players are so successful.
01:20:09
Speaker
And you, know, you talk about, you know, your experiences all over the world because, Rumour has it you were almost an author. So tell us about your book that wasn't published because I hear it had something to do with your globe trotting and basketball.
01:20:28
Speaker
Nice lead in, Lockie. Yeah, that's a good alley-oop toss and I'll see if I can try not to fumble this one at the rim. um Look, i I'm a failed player.
01:20:40
Speaker
I'm a failed player insofar as I went to Europe. I... was in the BBL, which is the British Basketball League as a development player. um In fact, the team that Nick Nurse of and NBA lore ah owned in the in the south of England.
01:20:56
Speaker
And I just didn't know that my ankles were made out of glass. So I kept ah i kept destroying my body and and my career kind of ended before it began.
01:21:07
Speaker
and it was very depressing. To be honest, I went into a deep hole because that was very much a huge part of my identity. And what dragged me out of that hole, I was in a Borders bookshop in London reading all the slam magazines. You know, this is pre-internet. You know, you had to get all of your basketball news on delay, ah sometimes published a month in advance.
01:21:27
Speaker
And I'd kind of cleared out every magazine I could read. And then I kind of thought, well, I wonder what kind of basketball books there are. So I walked down the aisles and there wasn't a whole lot. And so it kind of ah planted a seed for me. And then ended up pitching some publishers over the course of the next few months.
01:21:45
Speaker
And I ended up getting some funding. And I spent three years traveling the world with a book project, following Streetball, and ended up hitting 85 countries and really playing in and amongst or playing, observing, taking notes ah in and amongst some of the best. i I had some time with Yao Ming in Shanghai. i I lived and hung out with the And One mixtape guys in the ah and the peak of their heyday. um i was
01:22:20
Speaker
ah was actually in Canada when nine eleven happened. And while everybody was trying to get out of New York, I actually flew to New York and i ended up volunteering with some people and helping firefighters dig through the rubble ah in the World Trade Center.
01:22:35
Speaker
um in the mornings and then the evenings I was either at Rucker Park or Soul on the Hole in Brooklyn and just watching some of the best basketball that gets played at street level all throughout Europe and that's the trip that took me to Australia the first time and I spent three months here playing pick up ball the good old KGV down in the rocks in Sydney was my spot and and Then I happened to be at Uluru ah when Adidas unveiled a court in their local community there, which which was cool to be part of. was that a
01:23:16
Speaker
ah was at a celebrity game in Las Vegas back when Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears were a couple. They were playing in it. um and And the highlight, the absolute highlight ah was...
01:23:27
Speaker
like I snuck into a gym in in Los Angeles. I'd heard a rumor that Magic Johnson had a private pickup game there. ah snuck in. ah sat in the bleachers. They had 14 guys. They needed a fifth.
01:23:40
Speaker
I had my shoes on. i get stepped on the court. I was chasing my man around a screen. I got leveled. I looked up. Magic Johnson had just put me on my ass and I've never been so happy in my life. So, yeah, there's there's there's a few stories there, Lucky. Good times were had.
01:24:01
Speaker
So what what happened to the book? a good question. ah You give a 20-year-old, 23-year-old, that's what I was by the end of it, a lot of money to go out and and follow his dreams.
01:24:16
Speaker
And then you ask him to be responsible with the return on investment. ah Yeah, I was young and dumb, and and I hadn't really understood that when someone pays for a project like this, they actually own it.
01:24:28
Speaker
So ah I ended up... Feeling like it would be better off if I took out a loan and I ended up paying that money back and then I was going to self-publish.
01:24:39
Speaker
And I guess it sits in thousands of Word document files on my laptop, never to have been actualized. So... you know I guess I dropped the ball during COVID. I guess that was the time to sit down and actually pump this thing out. But you know instead, I had my tripod set up and I was doing one-on-one sessions with some youth players bouncing the ball in my driveway.
01:25:04
Speaker
ah Look, it'll come out one day, I'm sure. But now it lives on as as as conversations like this one.
01:25:13
Speaker
and Do you still have any photos or any kind of graphic or illustration that can complement the words in your book just to make it like a a complete almost coffee table book about scrimmaging around the world or pick up basketball around the world?
01:25:29
Speaker
It's funny because 1999 to which is what this was, ah i had a backpack. I had a couple pairs of shoes in there. I had clothes. I had two deflated basketballs because that was the only way I could could move with them um on planes and and et cetera, just for space.
01:25:49
Speaker
There was no camera equipment. There were no mobile phones. There was none of that that that, you know, it's pre pre that era. So, you know, I got mugged a handful of times. I had guns pulled on me. i had one put in my mouth when I showed up in a neighborhood that I shouldn't have been in.
01:26:06
Speaker
um It wasn't a time where you, or it wasn't a project that was well thought out in terms of safety and security.
01:26:17
Speaker
Anytime I went into neighborhoods I had no business being in, um i would bring no valuables of any kind. So the answer to your question is no. And I think there was reasoning for it that made sense to me at the time.
01:26:30
Speaker
But of course, you're kicking yourself. i mean I spent time in North Africa. That would have been some really cool photos. ah playing Playing three on three on islands of Greece. ah going going all through through southeast asia spending time in singapore and learning that the reason australians and Americans have a bond in basketball is because during World War II, prisoner of war camps were held in Singapore where Japanese captors actually played Aussies, caught Australian ah soldiers against American, ah caught soldiers against one another and would take bets on it. You know, like crazy stuff that I that i really should have done a better job of
01:27:16
Speaker
of sort of capturing for eternity and yet it just lives in this soon to be senile brain of mine. So yeah, I feel guilty. I'm letting you down, Squinn.
01:27:28
Speaker
no harry no not at all not at all a letdown it all still sounds super exciting and like so rich with story that uh i don't think anyone else could replicate so i really hope that at least the story is shared one way or another someday and uh it kind of reminds me of our mutual good friend nick lawrence that we actually both met at sunday scrimmage at Terry Google Stadium. here He's a portrait ah photographer, very well established and successful portrait photographer and probably the nice one of the nicest guy, if not the nicest guy you'll ever meet.
01:28:06
Speaker
um And deadly from the short corner on his strong hand. Absolutely. He's got the his project called pickuppeople.co slash hoops where he's got a couple of portraits up and a couple of hoops up that all have a story about where they are and ah the people that play pick up. So, yeah, it's funny how pick up basketball can be so important like that in so many different ways.
01:28:32
Speaker
But your stories are just you can't match those stories, Miko. They're incredible. Oh, look, I had the time of my life and and, you know, like I'm proud of a lot of things. We had this conversation recently as as a Crusaders group about following your dreams. You know, we have these young men who are in our charge for a season, sometimes longer. And, you know, they're living their current version of a dream and us old farts who have been there before. And ah think the most important thing is to not live life with regret.
01:29:06
Speaker
And i don't plan to topple over sometime soon, but if I did, i can firm ah you know i can firmly say that I've really chased every dream and and not left anything on the floor.
01:29:23
Speaker
um And, you know, the thing, the premise of the of the book or the project, I guess, was If you look at the globalization of everything, i mean, movies, music, that stuff has been globalized forever.
01:29:39
Speaker
But sport is the other one. And, you know, I'm lucky to speak some languages, ah but I often say basketball is my absolute favorite language that I speak ah because no other language I have been speaking.
01:29:56
Speaker
in touch with teachers life lessons as well as our sport does. So and that's universal.
01:30:04
Speaker
Yeah, I totally agree. I completely agree. It can be a vehicle for so many important things in life that people don't realize. ah um i guess sometimes until it's pointed out or when it comes naturally to someone in their everyday life.
01:30:21
Speaker
um But yes, speaking on No, sorry, i was just going to say, speaking of your Crusaders men's team, what was the main objective when you were recruiting for this season?
01:30:33
Speaker
Well, as you know, Squin, I'd spent most of my time on the women's side of the game um over the course of the last few years. And, you know, the Crusaders program was we struggled on the women's side. You know, we really tried to bring it back to life ah from from probably your era of playing. And it it it took a lot of work. And then obviously, we'll probably get to this later, but I have a special needs son and my wife really asked me to take some time off hoops last year to be more present at home, you know, weekends,
01:31:14
Speaker
but The basketball widows really struggle, whether they be girlfriends or wives or husbands or or boyfriends, whatever it is. You know, it's a lot of time away in the evenings and weekends.
01:31:24
Speaker
So I took last season off. So I think my biggest concern when I got the call from the front office at Crew ah asking me to take over the men's program was I just didn't feel I had the capacity to recruit effectively on that side.
01:31:43
Speaker
of the gender gap. So I think that insecurity led to me picking up a phone and calling just about everyone I know. And then we started to really build our roster. So I think the short answer, which I never gave, so apologies, but the short answer to your question is i I felt we needed a lot of balance and certainly there was a deficiency in our size. ah The Crusaders program on the men's side you know has a rich history, but a lot of those guys were aging out and and looking at retirement.
01:32:20
Speaker
and Our youth league teams that have also always been very successful on the men's side, which was also my last cup of coffee with the men's program, was our 2020, our covid COVID season of youth league.
01:32:36
Speaker
ah We're strong on that wing and we're strong we're strong on the ball, but we're not strong in the paint. you know with the kids that were coming up. So we needed size, we needed athleticism, ah and we wanted to add some depth because as you two know better than anyone, being the ah quintessential experts on all things NBL One East,
01:33:00
Speaker
This league is no joke. It is deep. It's talented. ah There were games, even as as recent as last year, you could call a layup. There are no more layups in this league.
01:33:11
Speaker
Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. And I think the importance for us was rounding out the size and having the depth around what we've already built in-house.
01:33:26
Speaker
And speaking of recruiting You recruited Garrick Young out of Warratah Men. Has that league improved as NBL 1 has improved?
NBL1 as a Proving Ground for Talent
01:33:37
Speaker
is Is it now like a proving ground that if you are good enough in Warratah Men, you can make it in NBL 1?
01:33:44
Speaker
It's a great question, and I don't want to demean anyone because I think anyone who brings their all to this sport is is worthy of of attention and acclaim.
01:33:55
Speaker
But I wouldn't go as far as to say that we as NBL1 coaches are you know sending scouts to the Wartaw League and watching every game. I think that would be an an overstatement.
01:34:07
Speaker
And by the way, scouts is actually ourselves. um but and But in terms of... ah In terms of the obvious talent on each team, I think that's worth looking at.
01:34:20
Speaker
And when you have teams like Tamworth investing heavily into bringing talent to their team, it gives us almost a free look at someone like a Garrick Young or or his running mate Maxwell colt Clark, who, but you know, are now both having a successful ah time here in the NBL One East. So I do think it's something that we'll start looking at, but I don't think...
01:34:49
Speaker
I don't think it's at the level yet where it's a foregone conclusion that talent will just make that jump. Because I think it's also a commitment thing. You know, ah we have guys even here that are...
01:35:03
Speaker
part of our Crusaders family, like a time again who went to play some Waratah league this year. And it's just, it's balancing life. Everybody's got those different challenges. So I think people will find their way to the NBL one if that's what they really want.
01:35:19
Speaker
And Waratah will still be a legitimate place to play if there are limitations that lead you that way. I hope that answers your question. I think and you hit the nail on the head with the balancing because that's basically what Sutherland's Waratah men's team is. If you look at it, you wonder, the like, I mean, Callum Norris is, you know, going off the 30 a game. He could still play NBL one, but life gets in the way of these things sometimes.
01:35:47
Speaker
Correct. I mean, kids, family, jobs, you know, it's, and these are all legitimate reasons why you may not be playing. Um,
01:35:58
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Especially for the, I could say, the majority of players in NBL 1 in any conference has probably grown up playing a high level of basketball and has already dedicated at least half of their life to basketball and playing competitively by the time they get to NBL 1.
01:36:18
Speaker
ah Something's got to give sometimes, like, and I give full credit to those who are able to play, you know, like your William Bates, your Wombats and your Bronte Moores of the world who are able to play competitive,
01:36:31
Speaker
basketball season since they were, you know, for 20 consecutive years without exaggeration. ah Got to give credit to those people because it can become a grind, like especially when you get a taste of the other side of life outside of basketball.
01:36:46
Speaker
And losing is a part of that too, Squint. Like if you if you're consistently losing, the grind is is significant. I mean, you know, I alluded to my my so my time with the with the women. um Obviously, when I was coaching as an assistant with Jared Scoynes and you were part of that roster and and we had a nice run to the finals, that was but was phenomenal.
01:37:06
Speaker
And then there was a there was a steep drop-off after that. And I was part of that. And it was a grind. um Having said that, With my year off, it took, what, two, three weeks? And I was miserable.
01:37:18
Speaker
So, you know, we are all addicts of the same ah the same beautiful game. And so nobody wants to step away from this. Nobody wants to voluntarily step away from competing at this highest of high levels.
01:37:32
Speaker
It's only if something legitimate steps in your way. And that can be injury. It can be life. It can be work. It can be could be a number of things. And just just to be clear as well for the record, I was part of that team, but I pulled out before you made finals, so I can't take any credit of of getting to finals in that 2020 season.
01:37:53
Speaker
Well, as an assistant coach, i should I think I should take all the credit and I'm happy to share it with you. know i think I think you ah you absolutely deserve to share the credit. Look, this is one of those things as well. You look at any player who has a season-ending injury.
01:38:09
Speaker
You look at anyone who contributes, whether it be a manager, whether it be a parent who is who is there every week making those players feel better. supported there is no way that you can take credit for success within a playing group of only 10 people it is it goes so much deeper the family that contributes to club basketball in australia it's it's really something else and obviously you get to places like i've heard there are towns and in in
01:38:43
Speaker
Tasmania where this is the only show on the road or even when you go down to Olbury and you have a ah nice ah Saturday night in Olbury and everybody in the whole town feels like they're in that Lauren Jackson Stadium supporting it.
01:38:56
Speaker
Like these are big deals and I think everyone who touches it deserves some credit. So, you know, let's give you a number. I say 12.3% that finals run was was yours.
01:39:10
Speaker
That's great. I'll take that. That's ah more minutes than I played all season. So I'll take that 12.7%. Thanks.
01:39:19
Speaker
oh but So what ah what have been some of your biggest surprises and challenges you've had this season?
Financial Challenges in NBL1 East
01:39:29
Speaker
I think it's interesting. I went out to WA a w a ah ah few years ago for nationals and I spent some time driving around to the various clubs and meeting meeting front office people, meeting presidents of clubs and and talking talking money predominantly.
01:39:51
Speaker
um And realizing how much money is spent on basketball in club land in WA blew my mind.
01:40:02
Speaker
And I think the biggest surprise this year for me is that that same approach is now upon us here in the NBL One East. It is now a full-fledged arms race.
01:40:15
Speaker
We have teams who are spending, you know, we see Sutherland not this coming weekend, but we see them soon enough. And ah that's an expensive roster. and that's a big deal and i think it does a few things it it on the positive side it legitimizes our uh division of nbl1 it uh it raises the stakes it shows it shows nbl1 sorry it shows nbl talent that nbl1 is a legitimate place for them to go and spend their time and uh
01:40:49
Speaker
keep their skill level up in their off-season as opposed to automatically assuming they have to to take off to Europe or or other leagues. um But I think on the negative side, it scares the life out of regions like ours uh and you know coaches are definitely going to their clubs and saying look the stakes are much higher and in order for us to maintain or hopefully climb ah it's gonna cost some money so i think that's a massive surprise but it's a positive one because as i said it you know tides lift all boats and um
01:41:33
Speaker
we all have We all have new targets. And and I think it's so i think it's ah it's a good surprise. But, you know, it's when you're sitting there and scouting for upcoming games and you're looking at the level of talent and you're trying to game plan for it, you can't help but but b but be wowed by some of the guys who are stepping on court.
01:41:59
Speaker
So that sounds like a the kind of increase in demand for strong finances and sustainable finances as well, I think, not only for NBL1 East clubs but any club that has an NBL1 team. I mean, up here in North we've seen two teams have to withdraw in the last 12 months because of unsustainable finances. It's a you know it's an expensive comp to to be a part of.
01:42:26
Speaker
um So it sounds like that was equally a surprise and a challenge for you for you this season. It is. and But I have to say, you know, again, view it as a positive. If you think about how many unsolicited emails, Instagram DMs I get from player agents, um from globally, ah it shows that we are now legitimate.
01:42:52
Speaker
And it shows that... If you're an agent somewhere in Europe, we've had agents from North Africa. We've had several you know several agents from the States, which is not a surprise. But people who are who are kind of sliding in and saying, hey, I'm such and such.
01:43:07
Speaker
Are you interested in players? And then you even have agents who are reaching out at the sort of mid-season mark saying, you've come to the half halfway point. Are you looking to bolster your roster in any shape or form?
01:43:22
Speaker
I think that's... a phenomenal thing because it means we're officially on the map and it's the global map so uh we are now i think legitimate and i can't see us going backwards and i feel for those clubs that you've just mentioned that can't sustain it uh it will take community investment but it's also going to take some high level sponsor investment for clubs to be successful and even in our in our beloved uh nbl1 east you know, I'm not going to say any names, but there's definitely some clubs you look at and you think, what are their challenges and how will they be able to keep up?
01:44:00
Speaker
um Because it's not going to be easy. um And with the agents approaching you, I'm sure on the outside that might look like a great luxury to have. Does it actually make your job as head coach easier when you're recruiting or does it just kind of muddy the water sometimes?
01:44:20
Speaker
Look, I mean, these aren't agents offering me shampoo deals, right? Like they are trying really hard to ah to to sell me on their players. And some of these salaries that they are expecting are completely unrealistic for what what we have to spend.
01:44:36
Speaker
So I think... you're not youre you're deflecting quite a few of them right ah off the bat because it's just not it's not realistic. ah The second thing is I would say 80% of who is being peddled my way is a one or a two. you know And if we're if we're saying that the the overall... So we go to Canberra this weekend, for example, and obviously when we play the Gunners, you know these are some big boys, right?
01:45:06
Speaker
and And we... We've of course gone and signed ourselves a seven-footer Lockie referenced Garrick who has got pogo sticks for legs. You know, we have...
01:45:17
Speaker
We have athleticism, but we don't have that same size. And that's not being on offer ah to to us, at least not this season. um But I think it just changes the game. you know You're trying to filter through what their agenda is.
01:45:32
Speaker
You're trying to filter through what their financial expectations are. And you know we spent our budget, ah and there isn't any sort of slush fund waiting for us halfway through the season. ah We've got to make this work.
01:45:44
Speaker
um I mean, but then you look at at at what just happened with Sutherland last week, you know, and and you look at you look at these sort of midseason signings and a transfer from first. I mean, this is this is new stuff. So we're all just trying to figure it out ah as as we move through it.
01:46:04
Speaker
I think. um more than a lot of sports at the state league level, know, the NBL one side is the, c is meant to be the culmination of your entire pathway for an entire season.
01:46:16
Speaker
local area like yes soccer has NPL clubs that you know you come up through the pathway but that's very it's far less of a commute local community thing um how do you think that you know the increase in money ties with the I guess the the mission of the local association to bring players through so that the NBL one team it's a real danger it's a real danger to that especially if you're talking about uh country
Team Culture and Talent Integration
01:46:44
Speaker
towns etc i mean i think this has been the cross-pollination of player movement has been happening in metro areas already uh whether they be just moving from one metro club to another ah that hasn't felt like it's as dramatic but certainly in in country towns where
01:47:03
Speaker
you know a Maitland kid is a Maitland kid uh Central Coast kid is a Central Coast kid an Illawarra kid you know it it's louder when one of those guys moves and so when you're bringing in talent there's obviously a cultural fit you know we've been lucky in that we've had enough shall we say cultural leadership from our established crusaders that The guys who have come in have become us. We haven't had to become them.
01:47:36
Speaker
But I'm sure that's a balance that's not simple to to have, especially if the talent coming in is signaling that we don't have that talent in-house already. That's, of course, going to ruffle feathers and make people feel sensitive.
01:47:50
Speaker
um I think we've been trying to message that as we're trying to support what we have and And again, add to that depth that I referred to earlier, ah rather than replace.
01:48:04
Speaker
But if you're coming out of a youth league team, where you've been a star and you genuinely see the writing on the wall is it's my turn next and then your coach brings in somebody in that position i think that's going to be a tough pill to swallow and i think that's going to happen more and more and more so either it becomes no problem at all lucky because we are all constructed this way and and we we don't have the homegrown pipeline anymore.
01:48:33
Speaker
i don't think that's likely, but that's one theoretical evolution of all of this. And the other one is that we as coaches simply have to find the balance of introducing talent when we do and making it fit our core values that are already bought into from our established ah community.
01:48:53
Speaker
And then it's supplementary or complementary um I know that our guys, for example, have been very, very engaged with our community. They spend time in our club.
01:49:03
Speaker
People really appreciate them being around and they've made themselves locals. And i think that goes a long way. um So we'll see.
01:49:15
Speaker
I think for us, I can only speak to really what's happening in-house here. It's worked well, but I can see there can be pitfalls for sure.
01:49:25
Speaker
I think that's a really, really excellent point that you make, Miko, about having ah yeah your homegrown talent set the culture of your team and your club and represent the club's values and having the new people fit that versus the other way around. Because traditionally, you know you bring imports in, you bring NBL, WNBL talent in, and all of a sudden, the homegrown talent heroes have to evolve around someone else who's possibly only going to be there one season and may have their own ulterior motives as to why they're there that season and it's not necessarily to win a championship for who they're playing for.
01:50:04
Speaker
Because I think that way, we to be frank, that's what I saw in the Crusaders men's team last year. and there were so many times we'd watch that team loaded roster coach with great experience just not transferring into the results and i couldn't figure out why but i think you've just hit the nail on the head with what you said about having that perspective around your existing club culture your existing homegrown heroes and making everything fit around that because ultimately if you don't have the locals to fill a team you do not have a team that's what happened at crusaders with the women's program you know for a decade when they were playing waratah and championship and aba they didn't have a team for eight nine years until we we restarted it i think in 20
01:50:55
Speaker
what, 17, 2018? Yep. yeah um Because there was no talent coming in. There was no team for that talent to stay and the likes of Danica and Jazz Forkidia had to go elsewhere.
01:51:08
Speaker
And, you know, this is the thing. And obviously I have some perspective in that I sat on the sideline last year and I watched what you watched and I saw what you saw and I don't disagree with what you what you have to say. And neither do many of the players that are in my locker room.
01:51:22
Speaker
um It was a conundrum, you know, but sometimes basketball is not just one plus one equals two. you need You need for it to be... one plus one equals five because there is this exponential benefit to having the chemistry and the chemistry is not just snap your fingers and ask them to do it it has to be bought into and to locky's question earlier about recruiting someone like garrick young that was very much a conversation i had with the tamworth community what kind of human is this guy and he had
01:51:55
Speaker
very well established himself there. And he was a very, very beloved person there. And that made our decision making when we were speaking to him very easy. And, you know, everyone that we brought in, we did a lot of due diligence on. We called, you know, Lino Manholm was playing in in Central. ah Had I ever really honestly had a good look at any of the Adelaide teams? Absolutely not. But I got on the phone and I started making ah making inquests into what kind of a player was he.
01:52:25
Speaker
And then you know you have someone like Elijah Washington who had a cup of coffee with Bankstown and then with Comets. you know Obviously that's closer to home. I was able to make those phone calls. And
01:52:40
Speaker
Of course they're going to have their own agendas. They're not born and bred on the on the Central Coast. They are here to further their careers as they should be doing. But we have our obligation to them to do our best to incorporate them into what we want and what we expect. And as long as you've, as long as you express that requirement in advance and they willingly sign up for it, knowing that's what's going to be expected.
01:53:08
Speaker
ah think you can have a certain measure of success, but ultimately if you don't have the player group to then demand it day in and day out, it,
Playoff Race and Strategic Planning
01:53:18
Speaker
it may be a difficult, maybe a difficult thing. So,
01:53:22
Speaker
you know one ball, five guys. It's not simple. Even when they're all brothers, you know, it's it's complicated.
01:53:30
Speaker
And I think with the ah the free throw shooting this season, one plus one never equals two. That's across the league. It equals, if you're on the if you're on the Crusaders team, it equals 60% success.
01:53:44
Speaker
Don't get me started. but but I can't lose any more hair, Lachie. I'm not far behind, don't worry.
01:53:53
Speaker
But the team is currently 6-7 and, as you said earlier, had a few ups and downs. um Do you feel you're far away from putting together a consistent run that might, in the end, get you into finals?
01:54:07
Speaker
So, this is where the honesty is going to kick in. ah I'm going to just say it as it is. I've had two moments this season where I thought mathematically we had... giving ourselves an end of season scenario.
01:54:22
Speaker
And each and every time we've not completed the mission and won games that we should have won, every team that we needed to lose has gone and lost and kept our hopes alive.
01:54:34
Speaker
So if you look at the last three weeks, you now have effectively seed six through 13 are effectively tied.
01:54:45
Speaker
You know, there's there's some nuance to that where somebody might not have played the same amount of games, et cetera, et cetera. But effectively, we are all tied and we will, for example, play four of those teams.
01:54:56
Speaker
as we finish out our season. So the truth is we are going to have to go down and and do do fairly well this weekend in Canberra, which is no no ah small task.
01:55:10
Speaker
And then we're going to have to play our absolute best against Norths. to have to do our best against Newey. We're going to have to do our best against Bankstown and Maitland. All teams who are sitting with us at that tier.
01:55:23
Speaker
I think one through five is locked in. And I think there's going to be a bloodbath for who gets that sixth seed. So how do we do it? I don't know. We've just lost Klaaris Amir.
01:55:35
Speaker
oh um Klaaris Amir, who obviously, ah those who know, Sydney King's development player, The wild world of the NCAA, they have actually given him permission and he has now gone to start a college career.
01:55:53
Speaker
So how on earth that is permissible? Yes, exactly right. ah the The new structure of the NCAA and the NIL and all of the nuance that comes with it. um And we celebrate what he brought to us.
01:56:09
Speaker
And we're very grateful for the time we had with him. But I do actually think this is what's going to be best for the kid. And so we send him on his way with our best wishes. um We simply, you know, we didn't have him this weekend and we and we found that some of our homegrown had to step up and and and bring it a little bit more. And so I think we have every opportunity, but I think every other team I just listed in that sort of six through 13 has to be thinking exactly the same way. So I think it's going to be a race.
01:56:40
Speaker
It's funny you mention that because I had Caleb from Maitland on commentary with me on Saturday night. And as the game went down and it was obvious Sutherland men were going to win, he's saying Maitland men, they could be as low as 10th by the end of the weekend. You wake up on Monday morning, they're still in six, which is where they were before they lost the game.
01:57:01
Speaker
They have a healthy point differential. It's serving them well. I really do. her And just for the listeners, we'll recap ah the ladder positions just for extra context. So it's COE at one, Hawks at two, Comets at three, Gunners at four, Sharks at five. So, yeah, agree.
01:57:22
Speaker
Locked in top five. Then you've got Maitland at six, Newcastle seven, Crusaders eight, Manly ninths, North tenths. You are all on a win-loss record of six and seven.
01:57:37
Speaker
And correct at the at the start of every season of East Scott game, we always refer back to this dreaded three-way tie from two seasons ago that, you know, kind stressed us out way too much. This is just ridiculous.
01:57:50
Speaker
Because 11th place, Bankstown are six and eight because they've played one extra game. So, I mean, even then you can put them, I guess, in the mix. Yeah, and even even Hills, who who we just beat on the weekend, you know they're 5-8, but i mean we were tied going into that game.
01:58:07
Speaker
Every single one of these things matters. And if you take ah take Hornsby, i mean they're chasing it as well. So it's it's really it's it's a tight race. And this is this is fantastic for basketball, but it's hyper stressful for coaches.
01:58:26
Speaker
Yeah, and it's really fun for us as fans and content creators. Love it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. what So, you know, it all matters. What college did Clarius Amir go to in the end? Are you allowed to say? It's going to a college called Campbell ah in one of the Carolinas. I should know.
01:58:44
Speaker
North or South, I cannot remember. but It's in Bowies Creek, North Carolina. I know that because it's where it's where Audrey Fuller from Queensland yeah but was at. think she just graduated.
01:58:56
Speaker
Yes, she's back. She's back in a Caps jersey. Yes, she is. so I was able to throw you the alley-oop this time and you were able to dunk it. Thank you, Lockie.
01:59:08
Speaker
I got you. yeah Yeah, so... but First basket of my career. and But, you know, this is this is an interesting sort of side conversation, and that is when these conversations started, and Claris let me know this was part of his thinking...
01:59:31
Speaker
I was dumbfounded. ah Even as recently as two years ago, I was writing letters to the NCAA trying to get them to be less stringent with some of our players who are having some challenges with their their sort of universities questioning the NBL 1 being a professional league.
01:59:53
Speaker
And now, If this is how it's going to go, it could open up a massive, massive scenario where the free flowing movement from NCAA to NBL one, you know, and and the restrictions that we previously seen there, if those are fully lifted, I mean, that's, that's yet another nuance to what craziness could ensue.
02:00:18
Speaker
And another, Campbell is also where Anthony Delorso went before he transferred to Arizona. So it was a fairly good ah springboard for him.
02:00:29
Speaker
let's Let's hope the kid gets gets what he wants out of this. he's He's a good one. So I would love for Claris to have success.
02:00:38
Speaker
And you did refer to this a little bit earlier on in when we were speaking about another topic of conversation.
Transition to Commentary and Personal Insights
02:00:47
Speaker
ah You did have a year off from coaching last year for various reasons and you filled the gap by being a commentator for the Central Coast Crusaders with our beloved Hamish Salzberg.
02:00:59
Speaker
ah How was this experience for you as a commentator and would you do it again? Well, I didn't fill the gap. Someone named Squin filled the gap because she put me in that position. um it ah forgot that bit. I generally forgot that bit.
02:01:17
Speaker
It was a phone call from you to me and It was a saving grace because as I alluded to earlier, I was really missing basketball and it let me be in touch with it. But I was quite intimidated by the whole thing. I mean, i I'm happy to yap with anybody about basketball. it's It's obviously my favorite thing, but I didn't really think that it would be an easy seat to fill. And I'm not just kissing your butt, but I felt like you and Hamish in particular had a really lovely cadence to how you bounced off of each other. And you complimented each other very well. Obviously, I listened to every one of those games as I went back to ah to see what I'd done well or not done well, etc. etc but
02:02:09
Speaker
the It was an intimidating thing. And then within five five minutes of having the headphones on, I was in love. It was fantastic. um I did find, you know, someone like Hamish who is... i would just I'm so sad for him that he's not doing it this year because he is so phenomenal at what he does.
02:02:32
Speaker
So sitting next to someone like him made it very easy. um It was a real enjoyment, but I have to say the things that I struggled with the most was not, obviously I was there to think and talk like a coach,
02:02:50
Speaker
But also to speak like a coach and the criticism that we feel comfortable delivering had to be changed into the correct context.
02:03:01
Speaker
and And you had to be conscious of who your audience was. So you know you're speaking to a listener, you're not speaking to a player. or you're not speaking to an assistant coach, you're not speaking to a team manager, you're not actually involved in trying to affect performance in any shape or form.
02:03:18
Speaker
You're pure purely commenting on it and appreciating it. um And Hamish would ask me questions. You know, we had a player last year who I suppose to be somewhat diplomatic, didn't like passing the ball very much.
02:03:35
Speaker
And I remember the very first game, I sat there and I just couldn't believe the shot selection I was watching. And the coach in me was going insane. um And then i had Hamish ask me a question and I believe my call was...
02:03:49
Speaker
Well, he's not here to get the assist record this season. And I realized I'm going to have to figure out a way to pretty up my language when I see things that were driving me crazy. um So, yeah, it it was it was fun, though. To answer your question, it was it was a blast. And I would absolutely do it again.
02:04:09
Speaker
ah But I'm not running to get off the sideline anytime soon. I will say that all three of us have called games, or I've called one game with Hamish. And Hamish, he makes it easy to be the co-commentator.
02:04:25
Speaker
There are some play-by-play commentators that you're like, you don't, he bounces off everyone really well. He does. And I also realized, you know, you asked me if I would ever commentate again.
02:04:37
Speaker
Absolutely. i Color commentating, fantastic. There is no chance in the universe I could do play by play. Zero, none. That is a talent and an ability that is second. Like, that's, it really impressed me.
02:04:54
Speaker
And I've been watching basketball since, well, since before most people in our league were even alive. And, know, I never thought about it. I just appreciated it. But I never thought about what it goes, you know, what it takes to go into that sort of rapid fire observation.
02:05:13
Speaker
And watching him do it and thinking to myself, there's just no chance. it My appreciation grew for all play-by-play guys and gals.
02:05:24
Speaker
Well, yeah, it's really interesting because a lot of play by play commentators I've worked with, some of them can like I did a game on the weekend. And when we do game of the week up here, there's three of us. There's a play by play and usually a color commentator would focus more on one team or the other.
02:05:41
Speaker
Sometimes I've worked with play by play commentators, though, who would do their bit, but then do that bit extra where it is color. And then I'm like, well, I've got no space to talk kind of thing.
02:05:53
Speaker
um And Hamish has that perfect balance of doing his job getting you to do your but job at its best as well and just bounce off each other um so nicely but i will say as well that i think like hamish and like uh we've got a friend in wa eric who's also a great play-by-play commentator uh you you were either play-by-play or you're a color Very rarely can people do both and each of them have an appreciation for the other because we're both like me as color. I'm like, I know what I'm doing. Heads in the game.
02:06:29
Speaker
If I need to do play by play, I can, but it will sound very ordinary. So that's why we we're like, oh, play-by-play is all over it. And usually play-by-play is like, oh, I don't know how you do colour. Like it's just you' either one or the other, I feel like.
02:06:43
Speaker
And you're you're perfect at colour because, like you said, you had so much experience with the game, watching it for so long. Having that coach's lens, though, is certainly to your advantage. But you'll start to create ways of how to phrase things so it sounds a little bit more neutral or diplomatic or or positive. Not positive ending because you're not like a a negative Nancy by way.
02:07:04
Speaker
No. But yeah, just finding that phrasing comes with time. it and it And it came but eventually, and and I did enjoy it. And I think you can be you can be critical without being demeaning, um obviously. ah So there is a balance. But you know with someone like Hamish,
02:07:22
Speaker
he's asking you a question and you're answering it. ah He is, he is, as Lockie said, he's making it very easy ah for you. and And I think that's, that's a talent. You know, and I know we have a lot of wonderful fans who are really into our game, but I think they're into the game and And the commentating crew is its own game.
02:07:44
Speaker
And I think I would challenge people who are watching our games to actually think about what goes into doing that. Because when it's done well, it can turn an average game into an excellent game.
02:07:56
Speaker
And vice versa. ah really good game into a boring game. Because I've definitely watched some professional games on TV. I'm like, this is actually a very exciting game to watch.
02:08:08
Speaker
but I am not feeling any excitement or any emotion or anything from the commentators right now. I don't think people realize that ah commentators hold that responsibility as well. It's not just turning up and talking.
02:08:23
Speaker
Well, to that point. ah
02:08:27
Speaker
Well, in its simplest form, yes, if you don't want to overthink it, but also no. Well, to that point, I grew up and Lakers games when they were playing ah would often be past my bedtime when I was a kid. So I would go to bed and then I had ah i had a radio.
02:08:45
Speaker
And in Los Angeles, there was a commentator by the name of Chick Hearn, who is it was sort of famous for being, you know, the the goat of commentators. And certainly he's one of my, I have one of his jerseys, ah special commemorative jersey of his on on my wall here.
02:09:01
Speaker
um and I grew up going to bed, having my parents turn the lights out and then sneaking a radio and listen to what they called a simulcast. So Chick Hearn would call the games live on film, but also on the radio.
02:09:17
Speaker
And so he would really bring an entire basketball game to life in my mind as I was... listening in my bed. So I think the ability to talk about a sport and inspire love with your voice, you know, great coaches can do it.
02:09:37
Speaker
Great captains or leaders can do it. ah Commentators can do it. um It takes a special person, but that's the beautiful thing about our game is that you can appreciate it on so many different fronts.
02:09:51
Speaker
Well, Waratah finals, they've always got they're always looking for volunteers.
02:09:58
Speaker
you put yeah but yeah it's not the It's not the first person in this EastGOT game crew ah to kind of put that plant a seed with me, so we'll see.
02:10:11
Speaker
But I honestly completely forgot... um that we had that conversation and now I think about it, ah I also wanted to make sure that the person replacing me was of a particular standard because I feel like Hamish and I had established something really good at that club with our commentary ah for the two years. So I was like, okay, I'm going to be really up myself here and be like, I want to be part of who's taking my spot.
02:10:39
Speaker
Well, there is no greater compliment. The only problem with that is everybody sitting in the audience, all they could see was these two bald heads on on the other side of the court. wait We gave up a little bit of of ah attractiveness by removing you and putting me in, but that's okay.
02:10:55
Speaker
Now, that's why don't see us on camera. You just hear our voices. Like, that's it's perfect how how they say faces for radio. It's true. Perfect. Perfect.
02:11:11
Speaker
We do, as we mentioned earlier, we bookend our interviews or conversations with the same two questions. so So final question of the evening. Who is Miko off the court?
02:11:25
Speaker
It's good question. um Basketball is so integral to my life, but i think I think I guess it starts with I'm a father and I'm a husband. um I've got three kids aged 18, 13 and eight.
02:11:40
Speaker
ah my eighteen year old is is about to head over to Europe and spend some time there. My 13-year-old is absolutely mad for basketball.
02:11:51
Speaker
um Both of those ah young men live in Victoria with their mother. um So I spend school holidays with them. um they' big They're big fans of the Crusaders. ah Then my eight year old, he is he is autistic. So I guess a big part of my life is is the autism were world and and the steep learning curve of being a special needs father.
02:12:18
Speaker
And um so my wife and I navigate that on ah on a day to day basis. um And I think You know, just like you can learn a lot from your passions, some lessons are force fed to you. And I think having a special needs kid has opened up my my eyes to what really matters and things like that. So I think that's a big part sort of who I am off the court.
02:12:45
Speaker
um You know, life is unpredictable. You don't know where you're going to end up or or how it's going to look. um And I think a lot of people hear things like this ah and it makes them a little bit nervous or it makes them ah reticent to ask follow-up questions because it's, you know, I guess it on the surface looks like a very sensitive topic.
02:13:08
Speaker
But I would challenge it to be the opposite. I think I'm very proud to be the father of of a special needs kid. And I ah think that these little treasures have a lot that they teach us about how to see the world.
02:13:23
Speaker
And so, you know, if spending most of my time with 20 year olds doesn't keep me young, then seeing the world through the through the eyes of someone who sees the world in a very, very different way certainly will keep me young. and you know We're here for a good time, not a long time. So you got to make the most out of this life and follow your dreams and your passions and and and really, really love the opportunity we all have. you know It's kind of like if you're that bench warmer and you don't think you're ever going to get into the game and then somebody calls your name and you get to go in for those 90 seconds.
02:14:04
Speaker
You've got to give that 90 seconds absolutely every ounce of passion that you've got. And I think all three of my kids have given me an opportunity to do that with boring stuff like making breakfast or you know, walking on the beach or whatever it may be.
02:14:26
Speaker
so There's your somewhat cheesy but genuinely honest answer. um And yeah, that's me.
02:14:40
Speaker
So you're not a gamer like everyone else in the interview. I have to admit. can i Can I tell you, ah um I'm raising three gamers who who and they are so punished by my absolute disdain for all things video game.
02:14:56
Speaker
i am so old school when it comes to things like that. You know, i always tell the joke, yeah, we had video games when we were young. It's called being outside. Okay, dad.
02:15:07
Speaker
like i said yeah True, true dad logic and dad humor there. um No, look, I like my music. I like my movies. ah i am i am really hardcore about hiking and and running. um i am This is the beginning of what's going to be my Everest beard because in November, I'm going to do one of the world's most difficult treks. My wife won't let me climb Everest because she'd for some reason like me to come back home.
02:15:40
Speaker
She seems that it's too risky, but I'm doing a three week 250 kilometer hike where I'm getting to just sub 6000 meters five times.
02:15:50
Speaker
um So I'm in training for that. So I will grow this beard to be nice and warm for myself when I get there. And um so I think that's the kind of stuff, you know, my glass ankles won't let me get on court and do anything spectacular. So endurance stuff is kind of what I've got left to pursue. So I guess that's ah that's my video game.
02:16:17
Speaker
Endurance, I like that. We've got that in common. that's That's my medal up there from an an event that I i ran. or Yes. So what, do you scale five different mountains to base camp or something like that?
02:16:33
Speaker
Correct. So, you know, obviously Everest is 8,800. eight
02:16:39
Speaker
8848 is the height. So 6,000 or just sub-6,000 isn't actually that big of a deal by the standards of mountaineers and and climbers. But it's certainly enough to where altitude will play a serious role in in in the struggles.
02:16:59
Speaker
interesting Interesting story as I trained for this because it's of course very difficult to get high altitude training and in Australia. um When we played Albury, I drove down the night before and on the game day of Albury, I went and climbed ah Mount Bogong, which is the highest peak in Victoria.
02:17:20
Speaker
uh made my way to the game was a little bit tired not as tired as the rest of the guys were unfortunately when we when we blew that one but um and then the next morning uh rather than drive back to the central coast i drove to mount kosiosko and climbed that the very next day so that was uh that was my vehicle for doing some pre-everest training um But yeah, 2000 something like Mount Kosciuszko is the same elevation as as the start of my trek when I get to Nepal. So it's it's not the same thing.
02:17:54
Speaker
i hope i wish you the best of luck with that trip especially because it sounds certainly once in a lifetime and gee whiz if if we had to well we can potentially call this episode once in a lifetime with Miko because a lot of the stories you've shared are certainly once in a lifetime.
02:18:12
Speaker
And I'm also going to be that annoying friend to plant this seed in your head when you go climbing that I hope you get the climb by Miley Cyrus stuck in your head while you're climbing. So think of me when you're climbing.
02:18:28
Speaker
That's so rude. Think of the climb. Maybe I'll just send you a little bit of advice.
02:18:37
Speaker
yeah it's That's all I'm going to hear. Can I tell you, as long as I'm not listening to children's music, I'm golden. It'll be great. yeah How do you go with the ah the locker room music? do yeah Do you enjoy what the players listen to?
02:18:54
Speaker
we have We have an eclectic style ah in our locker room, though I have to say they've probably... They've probably corrected this in themselves as they're always wearing their headphones because their styles are so different to one another that we don't have any one DJ who plays for the whole group. I don't think they'd all appreciate it. So it's it's relatively quiet for us as coaches because they're listening to their stuff until we get them to...
02:19:22
Speaker
take them off. But um sometimes they'll come and go, hey, coach, what do you think of this? In fact, the Elijah Washington put his headphones on my head the other day, and it was like full-blown 90s R&B. And I'm like, oh, this is taking me back to school dances.
02:19:36
Speaker
Why are you listening to this stuff? So there's always a surprise.
02:19:44
Speaker
What was I going to ask you about that? ah Oh, yeah, i was going to say, you know, you're a parent when your Spotify wrapped is, you know, the Wiggles and Paw Patrol and Coco Mello and whatever else.
02:19:58
Speaker
It's so bad. It's so Look, there's there's a few reasons why I promote the holding off on parenthood until you've lived some life. That's definitely one of them. Enjoy your music while you still have control of of the DJ rights in the car.
02:20:16
Speaker
ah Well, Miko, you've been a fantastic guest. Certainly didn't disappoint. Probably one of my favourite episodes over the three seasons of East Got Game. ah You've certainly shared a lot of wisdom ah throughout this episode that I'm going to take away with me. But there's just one phrase that we would like you to take from us today. And what is that, Lockie?
02:20:37
Speaker
Don't sleep on the East.