Australian basketball is still on a high. The NBL (National Basketball League) gets its crowds, it's a national competition from Perth in Western Australia to Townsville in far north Queensland.
This year, the Illawarra Hawks (Wollongong) are faring well and as strange as it may seem, history shows that when Wollongong athletes do well, so does that sport nationally. The Illawarra is a particularly sporty part of Australia, from hockey to netball and all sports in between.
This is none more so than with basketball. The Wollongong Hawks this year are one win from the NBL grand final after their 87-68 semi-final thumping of Townsville in Wollongong last weekend.
Playing their first final since 2006 the Hawks made it 14 wins from 15 home games this season with a crushing victory in game one of the best-of-three series.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,26748424-23769,00.html
The NBL's inclusion of a New Zealand team, following Rugby League and Soccer has bought basketball into a larger 'field of endeavour'. One of the issues that the NBL, like Baseball experiences, is that anyone with that 'special talent' is inevitably snapped by the American professional teams.
http://www.nbl.com.au/
This affects the national selections for both the Olympics and World Cup squads as being one of the best Australians in the NBL does not necessarily mean you'll get selected as there are those Australians playing elsewhere are also in contention (as first up starters). Expanding the NBL to New Zealand was insightful.
Nonetheless, talk to the young basketballers at the Australian Institute of Sport, their initial aim is obviously to get a start in an NBL team, but their long term strategy is naturally to get into the American scene and why wouldn't they?
Well-Being Australia's 'Respite Ministry' at the Basil Sellers Moruya facility each January hosts the AIS basketball squad and this year was no different. Well-Being Australia's Matt Boyes spoke to the lads on 'Communication' which in providence was the keynote subject their coach had for their visit that week.
http://au.christiantoday.com/article/ais-mens-basketballers-lead-2010-respite/7584.htm