Melbourne United rookie Jack White had just begun a fantastic rookie season when he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against the Cairns Taipans in April. Jack now faces 12 months of rehabilitation to get back onto the court and in uniform for United. We spoke to Jack about his take on his own rookie season prior to the injury, get an update on his injury and rehab as well as take look at why he chose to sign with United for his debut season as a professional, memories of playing at Duke ...
Apr 23, 2021•42 min
Mark Leader joined the Devonport Warriors NBL team in 1983 after graduating from Western Oregon University. A 6 month holiday in Australia that turned into a 12-year NBL playing career that included championships in 1989 and 1994 with the North Melbourne Giants. Leader, who is the only Giants player to be a part of the two title runs, he also captained the squad from 1993 to 1995. After his career Leader turned his hand to coaching, first with the Giants NBL program as an assistant under Brett B...
Apr 11, 2021•54 min
Dejan Vasiljevic played his junior basketball with the Melbourne Tigers program before accepting a scholarship to attend Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence and shortly after the University of Miami. Vasiljevic graduated in 2020 band declared for the NBA Draft but with COVID-19 cancelling any opportunity for NBA teams to see players work out prior to the draft his stock plummeted. Dejan returned home to Australia and after considering a number of European offers decided to play his first...
Mar 28, 2021•39 min
Earlier this month the Adelaide 36ers signed former San Antonio Spurs swingman Brandon Paul as a replacement for Donald Sloan. He's set to debut with the 36ers after spending two weeks in quarantine and he joined us on the Aussie Hoopla podcast to share stories of playing overseas, his time with the Spurs and plans for his time in Australia and the Adelaide 36ers. Brandon's quarantine routine (2:00) Thoughts on the Adelaide 36ers (8:00) What he thinks he can bring to the 36ers line-up (9:00) Gro...
Mar 13, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Luke Nevill grew up playing basketball for the Stirling Senators in Western Australia. After struggling to get noticed by elite coaches in Australia he moved to the United States to play high school basketball with Kell High School in Marietta, Georgia. It didn't take long to be noticed by the University of Utah and accepted a scholarship in 2004. He decided to redshirt his first year as a Utah Ute and developed his skills during training sessions against fellow big man Andrew Bogut. With NBA in...
Mar 02, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Doc Adkins is largely unknown to most current NBL fans but is truly an unsung hero of the league and responsible for much of the NBL's success since it was started in 1979. He helped recruit players such as Cal Bruton, Leroy Loggins, James Crawford, Steve Carfino, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Chuck Harmison and many other NBL Hall Of Famers who would go on to develop the league to the standard it is today. He is a true pioneer of Australian basketball and worthy of being included in the Australian...
Feb 14, 2021•1 hr 24 min
Adam Caporn is the current head coach of Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence and an assistant coach with the Australian Boomers. Caporn was Australia's first player recruited to Saint Mary's College of California which lead to an influx of Aussie talent through the doors of Saint Mary's that included NBL and NBA stars like Daniel Kickert, Patrick Mills, Matthew Dellavedova and Jock Landale all play for the Gaels. Caporn returned to Australia after two seasons in California to play three ...
Jan 23, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Luke Schenscher went from playing domestic basketball in Canberra to become the first high school student to play for the Australian Boomers in three years. His rapid development earnt him a scholarship to Georgia Tech University and then played two NBA seasons, one with the Chicago Bulls and the other with the Portland Trailblazers. Unable to secure a long-term NBA deal he returned to Australia where he would play 211 NBL games over 8 seasons with the Adelaide 36ers, Perth Wildcats and the Town...
Jan 16, 2021•1 hr 19 min
The Adelaide 36ers signed former EuroLeague star Tony Crocker as their second import and final roster signing for the 2020-21 NBL season. The Oklahoma native carved out an impressive college career, playing alongside Blake Griffin at Oklahoma University, reaching the NCAA Elite Eight in 2009. Tony's decade-long pro-career has included significant stints in the Basketball Super League in Turkey and the EuroLeague. The 33-year-old forward most recently played with Pinar Karsiyaka in the Turkish Su...
Dec 09, 2020•32 min
With the recent passing of Stormin' Norman Taylor, Aussie Hoopla host Dan Boyce and Norman's Illawarra teammate Greg Hubbard remember the player and the man who was the most effective scoring in NBL history. Taylor holds the Illawarra club record for most points in a game with 54, against new Hawks coach Brian Goorjian's Eastside Spectres in 1990. He finished with three MVP awards, scoring 1855 in just 67 games, as well as an average of 27.69 points at the phenomenal shooting percentage of 65, p...
Nov 21, 2020•1 hr 16 min
Donald Whiteside played for the Hobart Devils from 1992-1993 after graduating from Northern Illinois University. After leaving the Devils he played in Latvia, Czech Republic and Spain before signing an NBA deal with the Toronto Raptors in 1996, six years after graduating from college. Topics include; Thoughts on the US election (2:00) Being one of the very first players to jump from the NBL to the NBA and his start with the Kalgoorlie Goldminers (8:00) Playing college basketball at Northern Illi...
Nov 14, 2020•1 hr 24 min
1990 marked the beginning of the most exciting era in Wildcats history after businessman Kerry Stokes purchased the franchise and moved the team into the iconic 8,000-seat Perth Entertainment Centre. The season was a turbulent one to say the least with the first controversy coming when coach Alan Black was fired and replaced by Bruton only two games into the season. The team then limped into the playoffs in 5th place and a 17-9 record. After knocking out the North Melbourne Giants in the Semi-Fi...
Nov 01, 2020•1 hr 56 min
"Jumping" Joe Hurst played his college ball with Northwest Missouri State University, before starting his professional career for the Hobart Devils in the NBL. During his debut season, he averaged 32 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block and captured league MVP in the process. Strangely, he was left off the All-NBL First team that season and become the only MVP in NBL history to not make the All NBL First team in the same season. Hurst played a second season with the Devils in 1...
Oct 23, 2020•1 hr 31 min
Bruce has over 30 years experience in basketball from his days playing in Melbourne to becoming one of the seven winningest coaches in NBL history. The colourful American began his career playing with the Coburg Giants in the NBL before transitioning to an impressive coaching career which included NBL coach of the year honours in 1988 and the NBL championship in 1989. Palmer's NBL coaching resume includes the North Melbourne Giants (1987-1992), Brisbane Bullets (1993-1995) and the Hunter Pirates...
Oct 14, 2020•1 hr 59 min
The JackJumpers were unveiled as the league’s 10th team this week and despite not entering the NBL until the 2021/22 season, they will soon begin formulating their playing roster. Tasmania JackJumpers CEO Simon Brookhouse joined Dan Boyce on the podcast to talk about their plans for signing a coach, a playing roster and what fans should expect on game day. Topics include; The impact the JackJumpers have already made in Tasmania (2:00) Why the deciding against returning the former "Devils" brandi...
Oct 04, 2020•35 min
Donald Sloan has signed to play with the Adelaide 36ers for season 2020-21. Coming off a stint with Baskets Bonn in the Basketball Bundesliga, and will be the only import on Conner Henry's largely local roster and will play alongside NBL Next Star Josh Giddey and Sunday Dech in the backcourt. During his NBA career, he averaged 5 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 218 games. Topics include; Thoughts on Adelaide 36ers team coming into the 2020-21 season (2:00) Playing alongside LaMarcus Aldridge ...
Sep 13, 2020•42 min
Nunawading Basketball was established in 1969. In 1979, a Nunawading Spectres men's team entered the National Basketball League for its inaugural season. Barry Barnes would coach the team during every NBL season until the team decided to move into the CBD to facilitate more fans and in doing so were renamed the Eastside Melbourne Spectres. The Nunawading Spectres would narrowly miss out on an NBL Grand Final appearance due to countback in 1979 and then were runners-up in 1981 to Launceston City ...
Aug 30, 2020•1 hr 17 min
Barry Barnes is arguably the most successful Boomers coach ever. With a record of 119 wins and 53 losses as head coach, an outstanding 69% win percentage, and having led the national team to two fourth-place finishes (1996 and 2000) his resume is hard to beat. Barry became a Boomers assistant coach under coach Adrian Hurley in 1985, joining the team at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic games before being elevated to head coach in 1993 where he would become the program's first full-time head coach. Barne...
Aug 20, 2020•1 hr 13 min
Andrew Parkinson played 10 seasons in the NBL debuting with the Geelong Supercats (1988–1990) before relocating to Melbourne where he would win the league's Most Improved Player award in 1991 with the Southern Melbourne Saints after averaging 21 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game. In 1992 the Saints merged with cross-town rivals the Eastside Spectres and formed the South East Melbourne Magic where "Parky" played from 1992 to 1998, winning NBL championships in 1992 and 1996. In September 2...
Aug 01, 2020•1 hr 29 min
Newly appointed Adelaide 36ers coach Conner Henry joins the podcast to talk about how the team is coming together during the off-season and what he likes about new recruits Isaac Humphries, Keanu Pinder, Sunday Dech and Josh Giddey. Henry also enjoyed an NBA career prior to coaching which saw him drafted to the Houston Rockets before playing for the Boston Celtics as the went head to head with the LA Lakers in the 1987 NBA Finals. Henry takes the time to share some memories from sharing the cour...
Jul 27, 2020•43 min
Matthew 'Bubble' Shanahan played 17 seasons in the NBL, playing for eight NBL teams, which is the second most in NBL history behind Ben Knight who played for nine teams. At 6 foot 5 inches tall, Shanahan was a versatile player who could play any perimeter position, he also led the NBL in three-point percentage in 1999. Topics include; Entering the NBL and winning two championships in his first two seasons (2:00) A stint at the AIS, playing with Sam MacKinnon, Aaron Trahair, Simon Dwight and the ...
Jul 19, 2020•56 min
David Patrick, a former NBL player for the Canberra Cannons has since gone on to become Australia's best coach in the NCAA and easily the most successful recruiter of Aussie basketball talent for the past 15 years. Topics include. Accepting a coaching role at Arkansas University (2:00) Coaching and recruiting during a pandemic (7:30) How is the NCAA going to fare when it returns to after COVID-19 (11:00) Playing for Syracuse and playing in the 1996 NCAA championship (13:00) Playing with the Canb...
Jul 09, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Adonis Jordan joins the Aussie Hoopla podcast to talk about his basketball career which includes reaching two NCAA Final Fours with Kansas University, two NBA stints with the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks as well as 76 NBL games played with the South East Melbourne Magic, Townsville Crocodiles and the Victoria Giants. All of this and a whole lot more... Topics include. Growing up in New York... with the name "Adonis"(2:00) Adonis Jordan's connections to Mary J Bligh, Aerosmith and Greek God...
Jun 26, 2020•1 hr 26 min
Anthony Drmic had a career year in Adelaide this season, averaging 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game, earning him a spot in the 36ers starting lineup. After being told by Adelaide he would not be re-signed for the 2020-21 season he is now a free agent and in discussions with a number of NBL teams. On this episode of Aussie Hoopla, Dan Boyce talks with Anthony about being a free agent, the current market for players, how COVID-19 has impacted player salaries and opportunities and how h...
Jun 05, 2020•33 min
Mal Speed was named the chairman of the NBL after the conclusion of the league's debut season in 1980. Speed had a key role in developing the sport of basketball both nationally and internationally and his guidance over the 1980s and 1990s saw basketball boom during the early 90s down under. On this episode of Aussie Hoopla host, Dan Boyce dives into the growth of the NBL in the 1990s and why it was so successful, the league's rapid decline in the late 1990s and what changed as well as the decis...
Jun 01, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Former owner of the South Dragons Mark Cowan joins Dan Boyce on the podcast to talk about how the team began, the stars who made their way through the program like Mark Price, Shane Heal, Joe Ingles and finally the ultimate achievement that was winning the 2009 NBL championship. Mark Cowan discussed this and more on the latest episode of Aussie Hoopla. All of this and a whole lot more... Topics include. How the idea of the South Dragons became a reality (2:00) Bringing in NBA Hall of Famer as th...
May 10, 2020•1 hr 19 min
Will Weaver in his first season as head coach of the Sydney Kings delivered what could be described as the best debut season ever by an NBL head coach but it was unable to end in victory or defeat, COVID-19 instead forced the team to withdraw from the NBL Grand Final. He joined Dan Boyce to discuss the season that was and look at how the team is rebuilding for next season. Topics include... Dealing with the realities of COVID-19 (2:00) How the opportunity to coach the Sydney Kings came about (7:...
May 01, 2020•54 min
Doug Overton, the first player to make the jump from playing in the NBL to the NBA joins the Aussie Hoopla podcast to tell stories from his time playing for the Illawarra Hawks, stories from over a decade of playing in the NBA and what he's doing now as a basketball coach at Lincoln University. Doug was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1991 but wasn't able to make the roster as a rookie when he found himself playing his first professional gig in Australia for the Hawks in 1992. An All-NBL First...
Apr 19, 2020•1 hr 26 min
South East Melbourne Phoenix head coach Simon Mitchell joins Dan Boyce on the Aussie Hoopla podcast to provide a recap on the team's first year in the league. From looking at how the team was put together in the club's first few months to the process the team followed with signing talent and the highs and lows of the 2019-20 season. Coach Simon Mitchell also provides his in-depth thoughts on what the team did well and what it did poorly at this season and how they will change that for the upcomi...
Apr 07, 2020•48 min
Perth Wildcats head coach Trevor Gleeson joins Dan Boyce to recap the Wildcats 10th NBL championship and discuss the unique events that led to the Perth being crowned champions. Topics include... How has the coronavirus impacted the Perth Wildcats operations (2:00) The unusual end to the NBL Grand Final and has Trevor's views that situation now it's all in the rearview mirror (6:00) How the Perth Wildcats celebrated their 10th NBL championship under unusual circumstances (8:00) How offseason cha...
Apr 03, 2020•47 min
