Mike Helms played three seasons in the NBL for the Hunter Pirates and Singapore Slingers. He averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists over 95 games and led both the Pirates and the Slingers to the playoffs during his time in the NBL. Now back home in Detroit we catch up with him to find out what he is up to now and talk about some of the highlights and challenges he faced as an import both in Australia and overseas. Helms, who graduated from Oakland University would also play as a profession...
Mar 13, 2019•1 hr 19 min
Australian Basketball Hall of Famer, recipient of the Order of Australia, four-time Olympian, part of North Melbourne's 1989 NBL championship winning team and the first Australian to win the NBL MVP (1985)... and true-blue Ballarat boy Ray Borner joins the Aussie Hoopla podcast to talk about his NBL career, the 14 years he spent playing with the Australian Boomers and thoughts on the Australian basketball landscape. Hear Ray discuss all four of his Olympic experiences and review how the national...
Mar 02, 2019•1 hr 29 min
We take a look at every Aussie playing in the NBA this season. Review of Ben Simmons All-Star weekend performance and will he play for Australia? Jonah Bolden's hot January Joe Ingles shares an inspirational story about dealing with his son Jacob's autism. Patty Mills heats up Aron Baynes injury update Thon Maker settles in at the Pistons Utah Jazz refuse to trade Dante Exum for Memphis Grizzlies Mike Conley Ryan Broekhoff scores career high Deng Adel and Mitch Creek achieve their dream of playi...
Feb 19, 2019•40 min
NBL Hall of Famer, former head coach of the Newcastle Falcons, Canberra Cannons and Sydney Kings who also part of ownership groups at Canberra, Sydney and the Singapore Slingers also joins us on the show to discuss some of the important topics bubbling underneath the excitement that is the NBL Finals. While NBL awards are given out and Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane prepare for the post-season we talk about the growth of the game, rumours of financial issues at Illawarra, the possibility ...
Feb 17, 2019•55 min
We take a look at every Aussie playing in the NBA this season. Can Ben Simmons make the NBA All-Star game? Why Matthew Dellavedova is better than 90% of the guards in the NBA Jonah Bolden explodes for Philly Aron Baynes injury update Joe Ingles shooting at the worst clip since his rookie season Dante Exum getting more minutes Patty Mills continues to win in San Antonio Ryan Broekhoff fights for court time. Plus a quick round-up of former NBL imports doing well in the NBA. Get 20% off custom desi...
Dec 24, 2018•30 min
"The Birdman" Larry Abney played 122 NBL games with Townsville and Cairns where he averaged 17.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Born in Nyack, New York he attended Fresno State and played beside cult basketball figures Rafer "Skip To My Lou" of AND1 basketball fame and Chris Herren, as well as NBL star Willie Farley. He also played professionally in Korea, France, Venezuela, Cyprus, Netherlands, Argentina, Mexico, Ukraine, Kosovo and New Zealand. In 2017, Abney joined the staff o...
Dec 15, 2018•1 hr
Justin Hickey, chief executive of the Southern Huskies joins Aussie Hoopla podcast to talk about the team's decision to play in the New Zealand NBL in 2019 and what the next steps are for the team to join the Australian National Basketball League in 2020. Get 20% off custom designed uniforms with promo code HOOPLA20 from CA Sports Get 5% off NBA tickets with promo code HOOPLA5 from US Sports Tickets Sign up for Ian Stacker's All-Star Shooting Program Topics discussed on the podcast include; How ...
Dec 08, 2018•29 min
Steve Woodberry was born in Wichita, Kansas, attending Wichita South High School before playing for the University of Kansas where he was a part of two Final Four teams at Kansas in 1991 and 1993. In 1994 Woodberry won a championship in the Swiss league with Belinzona before signing a deal to play in Australia with the Gold Coast Rollers in 1995. In his first season in Australia, Woodberry averaged 24.5 points, 7.4 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game. Before suffering an injury at training, forcin...
Nov 30, 2018•56 min
We take a look at every Aussie playing in the NBA this season. How will Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler work in Philadelphia? Aron Baynes amazing three-point percentage Joe Ingles catches fire to start the season Has Dante Exum improved from last season? Patty Mills flies under the radar Matthew Dellavedova, Ryan Broekhoff and Jonah Bolden fight for minutes Plus a quick round-up of former NBL imports doing well in the NBA. Get 20% off custom designed uniforms with promo code HOOPLA20 from CA Sports...
Nov 17, 2018•31 min
Bill Tomlinson has been coaching in China for the past 10 years, first assisting with the Chinese Women's National team and now with Shantou University. In Australia Bill coached the Hobart Devils and Sydney Kings in the NBL as well winning a WNBL championship with the Sydney Flames in 1997. On the podcast Bill shares how coaching in China is different to Australia, how coaching women is different to coaching men in the pros and shares his memories of the Sydney Kings threepeat, including storie...
Nov 11, 2018•1 hr
Taipans new head coach Mike Kelly joins Dan Boyce on the podcast to talk about the hiring process for he went through to win the Cairns coaching job, he breaks down his recruitment process for this season and gives his thoughts on how the squad have started the season. Mike goes in depth into the decision making process in rebuilding the team into a much faster-paced unit and the recruiting process for this season's current batch of imports. Get 20% off custom designed uniforms with promo code H...
Nov 06, 2018•45 min
3x time NBL champion and 3x NBL MVP Leroy Loggins joins the show to talk about his pro basketball journey which included escaping the mean streets of Baltimore, being drafted into the NBA, playing in the 1980s NBL and representing Australia at the 1992 Olympics. Find information on Leroy Loggins community work at Leroy Loggins Community Organisation . Get 20% off custom designed uniforms with promo code HOOPLA20 from CA Sports Get 5% off NBA tickets with promo code HOOPLA5 from US Sports Tickets...
Oct 22, 2018•1 hr 10 min
With 11 days left before the 2018-19 NBL season tips off, we take a look at each teams off-season moves, form during the NBL Blitz and preview their rosters for the coming season. Joining the show to provide insights and expertise is 1992 NBL Champion Bruce Bolden. Get 20% off custom designed uniforms with promo code HOOPLA20 from casports.com.au Topics discussed on the podcast include; Reflections on the NBL Blitz (2:00) Adelaide 36ers: Does winning the NBL Blitz mean anything and the continued...
Sep 29, 2018•1 hr 29 min
We provide a full recap of the NBL Blitz pre-season tournament complete with insights and interviews from the league's players and coaches. Topics discussed on the podcast include; The biggest takeaways we saw for each NBL team (2:00) New Zealand Breakers on the start of their season with Kevin Braswell, Corey Webster and new import Shawn Long (23:00) Sam MacKinnon on the Brisbane Bullets roster and why the development of the Flow offence (41:00) NBL Legends Leroy Loggins and Cal Bruton talk abo...
Sep 23, 2018•1 hr 27 min
The South East Melbourne will be returning to the NBL, so who better to talk about it than the MVP of the Magic's 1992 Championship team Bruce Bolden. Bruce played 480 games for Eastside Melbourne, Westside Melbourne, South East Melbourne, Sydney and West Sydney across 17 NBL seasons. Bolden finished fourth in all-time rebounds (4,351) and has career averages of 18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal per game. With his son Jonah joining the Philadelphia 76ers we also talk about the tricky ...
Sep 09, 2018•59 min
Ken Cole, who coached the Sixers to the 1986 championship — with the team earning the moniker “The Invincibles” because of their unprecedented 24-2 win/loss record was named president of the Adelaide 36ers this week and is ready to help the team reach new heights. The 75-year-old plans who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma seven years ago (and given two years to live at the time) plans on instilling the same warrior spirit into the club which has allowed him to keep cancer at bay. Topics discu...
Sep 04, 2018•1 hr 42 min
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Geelong Supercats we chat with a legend from the club's time in the NBL (1982-1996) Daren Rowe, the only man to record a quadruple-double in NBL history. Rowe averaged 19.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.1 blocks during three NBL seasons. Hear him talk about how the Supercats had the Geelong Arena rocking in the 1990's, playing alongside legends like Shane Heal, Bobby Locke and John Dorge and the night he went off 25 points, 17 rebou...
Aug 26, 2018•56 min
Sydney Kings GM Jeff Van Groningen joins the show to talk about lessons learnt from last season, this seasons recruitment moves, signing NBA prospect Brian Bowen II and the NBL Next Stars program. Topics discussed on the podcast include; Moments before the interview kicked off Melbourne United announced it had signed import pair Josh Boone and Casper Ware for the season we get Jeff's view on Melbourne's roster for and if they will be the Kings toughest opponent for 2018-19 (2:00) The methodology...
Aug 15, 2018•1 hr 3 min
There's been a lot of buzz since the consortium behind the Southern Huskies released marketing material for their proposed NBL team which featured team branding, uniforms and plans for the expansion and update of the Derwent Entertainment Center. The team still has a number of things it needs to tick off before officially gaining an NBL licence so we reached out to the two men behind the Southern Huskies, David Bartlett, the 43rd premier of Tasmania and current president of the Hobart Chargers b...
Jul 22, 2018•41 min
The NBL announced this week that it will be expanding to nine teams with part-owner of the NZ Breakers Romie Chaudhari purchasing an NBL licence. With Jeremy Loeliger hinted at the NBL looking to start the 2019-20 season with a "minimum" of nine teams and a consortium in Tasmania likely to announce their intentions to enter the NBL in the next few weeks the competition looks set to grow beyond eight teams since the demise of the Gold Coast Blaze in 2012. Australian Basketball Hall of Famer and f...
Jul 14, 2018•37 min
24 hours after the basketbrawl between Australia and the Philippines, Aussie Hoopla host Dan Boyce picks up the phone and calls Australian Boomers legend Andrew Gaze and 2-time NBL champion Rhys Carter to talk about arguably the most disgraceful set of events seen in FIBA international competition. Topics discussed on the podcast include; A breakdown of the events which led up to the melee and social media impact since (2:00) Why did the game continue after the brawl? (6:00) Basketball Australia...
Jul 03, 2018•51 min
Jerome Randle joins the podcast to talk to Dan Boyce about the highlights and challenges of his NBL career so far. Topics discussed on the podcast include; Jerome shares what his off-season preparation looks like (2:00) This month Jerome became a father to a baby girl, he talks about how fatherhood has changed him (6:00) Call of Duty, UNO Sequence and other battles that regularly occur within the Randle home (10:00) Expectations for the Sydney Kings this season (11:00) Thoughts on matching up ag...
Jul 01, 2018•42 min
2x NBL Defensive Player of the Year and 2x NBL champion with the South East Melbourne Magic Darren Lucas joins the podcast to talk about his career, the glory days of the NBL and the unforgotten Tigers V Magic rivalry that drew 45,000 people over three games in 1996. Topics discussed on the podcast include; We catch up with Darren and learn about what he's doing with life after basketball (2:00) Spending time at the AIS with Luc Longley, Mark Dalton, Shane Froling (5:00) Thoughts on how the leag...
Jun 24, 2018•59 min
Aussie Hoopla host Dan Boyce sits down with Andrew Price, Analytics nerd for the New Zealand Breakers and Australian Boomers to look at how analytics and advanced statistics are impacting the NBL today. Topics include; How are the NBL using analytics today and are they in the dark ages compared to the NBA? (2:00) What types of questions are NBL coaches asking for data on? (10:30) How does someone become a basketball analytics advisor for an NBL team? (11:30) How are NBL teams using statistical d...
Jun 04, 2018•55 min
We review every Aussie who played in the NBA this season, what was their best game, how they've improved from last year, review their current NBA contracts and discuss where they could end up during the off-season. All of this and a whole lot more... Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball, head to Aussiehoopla.com. Check out previous podcasts featuring; Current NBL Stars - Kevin Lisch, AJ Ogilvy, Damian Martin, Daniel Kickert, Thomas Abercrombie, Jason ...
Jun 03, 2018•39 min
Cairns Taipans star Alex Loughton joins the show to discuss this seasons squad and what to expect with new coach Mike Kelly. Topics discussed on the podcast include; The Sydney Kings sign former NBA player David Wear (2:00) A quick look at recent NBL signings (5:00) Alex Loughton joins the show to talk about the NBL's All-Australian team's upcoming tour of China (10:00) What type of imports are Cairns likely to sign for this season (18:00) His take on losing coach Aaron Fearne and how new coach ...
May 27, 2018•1 hr 6 min
After speaking to Adelaide coach Joey Wright on our last episode about his plans for the 36ers this season which include young rookies Jack McVeigh and Harry Froling we decided to get them both on the show. We talk to both about their goals for their rookie season, memories from playing college basketball and what they can bring to the 36ers in 2018-19. We also talk about the wheelings and dealings of the NBL off-season so far and what a likely NBL Free to Air TV deal looks like this year. Other...
May 06, 2018•1 hr
NBL Championship winning coach and three-time coach of the year Joey Wright joins the Aussie Hoopla podcast to talk about his plans to improve the Adelaide 36ers' roster for this season, Despite losing star player Josh Childress in Game 2 of the NBL Finals, the Sixers still pushed eventual champions Melbourne to a decisive Game 5 and now the team hope to go one step further in 2018-19. The 36ers roster last season featured a core group of impressive home gown talent which Joey has developed over...
May 04, 2018•47 min
Bob Turner was coach and marketing guru for the Sydney Kings during their successful run in the 1990's where 10,000 people were attending every game, the team was making $1 million in profit each year and players like Dwayne McClain were getting their own shoes from Reebok. Andrew Bogut agreeing to play with the Kings gives the team the best chance of returning (or eclipsing) the kings to their former glory. Bob has 20 years of experience playing, coaching, marketing and running NBL teams. He jo...
Apr 25, 2018•56 min
Cairns Taipans shooting guard Kuany Kuany is just starting his professional basketball but his NBL future is bright. He played limited minutes in the NBL his rookie season but is set to play a big part of Mike Kelly's new look Cairns Taipans squad with only himself and Nate Jawai set to return next season. Kuany is one of the many Sudanese Australian basketball stars making noise in the NBL, Europe and the NBA. We talk to Kuany about NBA stars Thon Maker and Mangok Mathiang and current NBL stars...
Apr 17, 2018•43 min
