Hi All,

What a massive long weekend the last one was. Some tense action in men’s and women’s games then a fantastic All-Star Monday put on by BWA that raised money for a great cause.

The proceeds from the event went to Youth Focus, it totalled $65,000 which is certainly not an amount to be sneezed at. For those like me who weren’t that familiar with the organisation and what they do you can check out their website on the link below:

http://youthfocus.com.au/about/youth-focus/

The last few entries I’ve made for SBL Slam have been the letters to players and I thank everyone that has commented to me for the positive feedback. However, I wanted to dial it back a little bit this week so I’m going to go with my favourite (and lazy) method of dot pointing thoughts as they pop into my mind.

Thumbs Ups:

• Basketball WA and Adam Bowler. It was a massive event that would have taken a huge amount of organising. The social media presence and promotion was well done and it must have been such a dynamic event to organise with player changes right up until the day. Andy Stewart also deserves individual recognition for his assistance, speaking and presentations. An additional thanks to any other sponsor, volunteer, administrator, player, coach or support staff who supported the event.
• The All-Star game being at mid-season and on WA Day. Great timing for interest in the league and to maximise the number of players available for the game.
• Ryan “I’ve been playing footy and now I’ll just play SBL because I want to train every week and I’ll shoot it better than everybody else” Smith.
• 55 three point attempts by the North all-star men, with a very healthy 21 makes at 38.2%.
• The Rockingham Flames women. Tucker retires and they haven’t missed a beat outside of one surprise loss to Magic at home. Some tough road games to come but they must be very happy with progress so far.
• Season one of Daredevil. Season two of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Season five of The Walking Dead. Season six of Archer. Season six of Justified. I love not having game film to watch this year. And before you ask where Game of Thrones is on the list it isn’t, they kill too many characters I like on that show and I just can’t handle it.
• The Cockburn Cougars men. I asked Ceccy a few weeks ago on Buzzer Beaters if Matt Parsons is Coach of the Year, well I’m saying if they hold their current positioning and form then he should definitely get it. Also a great interview on the radio show, I was impressed with how openly he spoke instead of just using clichés. Fantastic imports that balance their line-up, entertaining and running style of basketball, as well as stellar season from Gavin Field.
• Joe-Alan Tupaea for the turnaround he has been able to effect with the Eagles men, even despite some tough fixtures over the first few weeks in charge.
• Is it just me or does the WSBL ladder look particularly close to my Power Rankings from six weeks ago? Wolves and Flames are the opposite way around at the top from where I picked them but from third to seventh it matches. I had the Cougars in 9^th but they are holding on to 8^th. Redbacks are the big anomaly from where I had them 6 weeks ago, I seeded 8^th but they are 10^th and four games back from that. The Senators sit 11^th which is currently right, the Eagles have surprised me somewhat and I think I need to accept that it is strictly a rebuilding year for the Lightning women.
• The post-game meal at Hawks, Cougars, Suns and Magic.

Thumbs Downs:

• Some teams having double headers on the weekend prior to the Monday All-Star game. Granted some country teams might actually want this to save on travel, but outside of that one game for every team on a Friday or Saturday night would be ideal leading into this event.
• I have no idea why on earth players would be complaining to referees during an All-Star game! It was especially noticeable to me with some of the women’s players. Firstly enjoy the game, but secondly the whole event was bigger than just you or one little play. It was a privilege for all the coaches, players and referees who were selected for the game so let’s make it a positive experience for all those involved. Most of the players were fantastic but there are a few who can’t help but think only about themselves.
• The Perth Redbacks for pulling Wagner and Turner out of the All-Star game IF they are healthy. Every Club hopes the league and fans support them and they can’t even hold up their end of the bargain. Injuries can occur at any time and their underachieving start to the season is the responsibility of nobody but themselves. Talk I’ve heard is about “focusing on making the finals” but as if it’s going to make a difference to focus if players get to enjoy the honour of an All-Star game. Thank goodness the other Clubs didn’t take the same philosophy.
• Blind on-ball screens in the back court during an All-Star game.
• The Stirling Senators women. As many imports as wins.
• The Kalamunda Eastern Suns men. The body language and effort doesn’t look right in recent weeks, especially the first three quarters against Cougars. They don’t spread the floor or use the corners at all and lack three point shooting (also why they struggle against zones). Not enough talent or depth to win now but I’m not sure who in the squad they are intending on developing through. On a positive note, Lien Phillips is a great player and his effort and demeanour always looks 100% professional.
• The post-game meal at Wolves (https://twitter.com/CMansfield34/status/592691456671883266) & Eagles.

That’s it from me for another week. You may or may not agree with my dot points but bad luck, these are my observations and they aren’t personal. Next week I will be doing a little analysis of all the players in WSBL and what club they started basketball at. It’ll be interesting to see what the division of players and minutes looks like and what line-ups I can create from them, I’m also having fun doing up a spreadsheet that includes all the players in the league with colours, formulas, tables and charts.

Some fantastic games this weekend, my suggestions are Tigers v Wolves women, Flames v Slammers men on Friday, Saturday go to Senators v Eagles women and men (mightn’t be pretty but all four teams need a win), and then finish off the weekend at Cougars v Buccs or 12:30pm at Wanneroo Suns v Wolves Under 16/1 Boys WABL.

Cheers,

CM

P.S. If you haven’t yet read Matt’s “Day Dream” Team article get onto it, quality stuff. My team is Prue, Cook, Swing, Lane and Hobbs.

craigmansfield@me.com

Follow me on Twitter @CMansfield34

SBL Slam’: Airing Monday Evenings 9-10 pm on 98five Sonshine FM

http://www.98five.com/shows/other-shows/sblslam/

Photo by Grant Lauterbach