One year in.

[Warpig]

So it's been one year, where do we see the NewNBL now?

In a better state, more teams coming in. New TV deal on mainstream too.

Crowds seem bigger..

Does anyone think the quality of the games has gone down with the loss of 8 minutes?

Are we going to continue to get quality imports?

is our league good enough the way it is? and if not what improvements does it need to have happen to make it to the next level.

Is the media coverage good enough?
Are teams utilizing the internet better now?
What about the NBL site?
Is it up to date?
Does it give us enough info?
Do we need more write ups on current players?

Just want to get another good discussion going.....i hope...

[WilloWildWaves]

I think we are moving foward. Sydney in this season and I'm sure more will follow in the next few years, though if Brissy come back in do Queensland really need 4 teams again ( maybe that had something to do with them pulling out in the first place)? I can really only coment on Perth but the crowd were great and I think the Cats got prety good media coverage. of cause the deal with OneHD was great news but wheather it will help the leage or not is yet to be seen. Obviously we notice the drop in minutes in a game but I didn't miss the other8, I've never been a big fan of having imports in the leage ( stating to come around now the Cats finaly got some good ones) but I don't think the quality of import will drop as the ones who want to play here will play here. Just a few thoughts from me cheers

[Daevo]

To get the negative out of the way, I thought that the standard of games last season was very ordinary but then I think it has been in decline for years now so the newNBL hasn't really made it worse. Until there is the money here to retain the best Australian talent & attract better imports, I don't see a great deal of imrovement possible in the overall standard. On the plus side, it was good to see teams at a similar level so games were rarely foregone conclusions but again, I don't know that this was an achievement of the newNBL so much as a redistribution of available talent with old contracts being nullified & less teams in the comp. To have a fairly budget community-funded team making the finals & being one win from a championship was good to see after years of being a matter of which of several big-spending, cap-cheating, stacked teams would win the title.

It's going to be good to have games back on FTA TV although I do have concerns that there just isn't the following for basketball in this country to get both TV ratings & decent attendance at games. When a 'good' crowd is only a few thousand people, it doesn't take many to decide to stay home & watch the game on TV instead to make it into a bad crowd. Sydney is especially notorious for this so if reports of a large number of Kings games being televised are true then it could mean the new team will continue the struggle past Sydney clubs have had getting bums on seats.

Something the ONE deal will hopefully bring is some added promotion of the league since there was sweet FA last season. After the drawn out saga of the newNBL development last year & surrounding controversy of not having teams in 2 major markets then the withdrawal of the Dragons, the NBL vanished from national media attention. At the very least, I'd hope to see ONE's NBL games cross-promoted on the TEN channels to attract interest in the same way they've done for NBA games.

[Cussy]

To get the negative out of the way, I thought that the standard of games last season was very ordinary but then I think it has been in decline for years now so the newNBL hasn't really made it worse. Until there is the money here to retain the best Australian talent & attract better imports, I don't see a great deal of imrovement possible in the overall standard. On the plus side, it was good to see teams at a similar level so games were rarely foregone conclusions but again, I don't know that this was an achievement of the newNBL so much as a redistribution of available talent with old contracts being nullified & less teams in the comp. To have a fairly budget community-funded team making the finals & being one win from a championship was good to see after years of being a matter of which of several big-spending, cap-cheating, stacked teams would win the title.



How many games did you actually see? Weren't you part of the "NBL is dead to me" brigade at one stage? While the league didn't have as many recognisable stars as previous years, the intensity of the games, the closeness and unpredictability of the results (as you alluded to), and the emergence of new and future stars (Goulding, Wagstaff, Tragardh) surely made the package better overall?

[paul]

I would say that if the standard was so much worse last year than the year before that New Zealand would have done a lot better, given they were as good as anyone when fully fit the previous year.

[Stumps]

How many games did you actually see? Weren't you part of the "NBL is dead to me" brigade at one stage? While the league didn't have as many recognisable stars as previous years, the intensity of the games, the closeness and unpredictability of the results (as you alluded to), and the emergence of new and future stars (Goulding, Wagstaff, Tragardh) surely made the package better overall?
Translation: My team won so I really enjoyed it.

[Cussy]

Yeah, thats it. I pretty much bagged the newNBL for the whole season but then when my team won the Asterisk Cup, I decided that it was the best season ever.

[Stumps]

http://eternallycool.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/asterix.jpg

Look, he's even wearing Wildcats shorts.

[Cussy]

I’m more concerned about the diminishing standard of Stumps’ humour than I am of the newNBL.

[Daevo]

How many games did you actually see? Weren't you part of the "NBL is dead to me" brigade at one stage? While the league didn't have as many recognisable stars as previous years, the intensity of the games, the closeness and unpredictability of the results (as you alluded to), and the emergence of new and future stars (Goulding, Wagstaff, Tragardh) surely made the package better overall?

I probably watched 5 or 6 games plus snippets of a similar number where I got bored & switched channels back & forth. I don't disagree that games were close & unpredictable & stated as much in my post but you can get that in U12 club games too yet the standard of play is still not the greatest.

As I posted, this isn't a newNBL thing since I've felt the standard of play in NBL games has been declining for quite a few years.

[Cussy]

U12 games dont get scores of 99-97 with full court D played the whole game.

Sorry dude, 5 or 6 games isn't enough to claim the standard declined*.

*edit - sorry, should have said "standard was ordinary"

[Dunkin' Dan]

The "standard of play" argument is a valid one. I don't think it's a big problem - but more a perception issue that would only take a few quality imports to fix.
If only we had a few owners willing to throw around large amounts of money to make it happen ;)

Seriously though, I think we're on the right track. A couple of stars would be great, but overall I am really liking the way that the points & salary restrictions have tightened up the league into most tightly contested it has ever been. I'd love that to continue. Unless the whole league picks up financially I don't think we can have the best of both worlds.

As for the state of the NBL overall - it's too soon to tell IMO.
Last season was a regrouping of sorts, and was great in some ways but poor in others. With Sydney returning and free-to-air coverage starting up, two of the main poor areas are being addressed. There still seem to be some shaky foundations though, with crowds probably not where they should be, and some franchises that still appear to be one bad season away from serious trouble.

Huge season coming up in terms of where NBL basketball is heading.

[Mr T]

I'd can't wait to see what OneHD are going to do Ad wise for the NBL. The netball ones are pretty cool and I've found myself sitting at home thinking, maybe I should go watch some netball!

Also, those NBA ad's where they use Pierce, Kobe and Dwight in interviews and press conferences in a rap are awesome.

It's all about never giving up! That's what great players do, make big plays!

[angel]

Media coverage in Sydney was basically non existent last year unless 10 did anything and I don't always see 10 sports news. There were a few scores shown during what I took to be place-off time but that was it.

I'm glad OneHD will show games on FTA as I don't have fox so I saw nothing last season. Hopefully once the season starts some radio stations and the papers will jump on the new Kings bandwagon and get some publicity going.

I'm looking forward to seeing some games again.

[DDFan]

Viewing a game where your team isn't represented can be less enthralling to some & I accept that, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw of last season. That being, a handful of LMSC live streams (thanks a million guys, love your work) & 1 live game at the Brett Maher Court.
Sure the live streams were Wildcats centric, but from what I saw their fans have every right to be pleased with their team. Like Cuss says, they hustled every second & every millimetre of the court, played team ball & it came across to me that they relished each other's contributions. That's exactly the type of game that I want to see & it's not something that I've see on a consistent basis throughout my basketball fix since '85.
The situation with the Dragons folding was unfortunate, as I believe that they put a lot of funds & effort into bringing in a winning formula. What puzzles me (could be a memory fizz), is that they & the Tigs fought for last season to be a money no object season, yet when the Tigs went along with the NBL, the Dragons were broke. Can someone explain that to me?
Another thing, the Tigs floundering last season seems to have sparked some Karma bliss around the boards, but a fraction of their injury woes would've crippled any other team, so I don't go along with all the gloating. They tinkered with an all Aussie team & signed a significant number of development players which I thought was outside of what had been done before by any team & should be commended. It came unstuck, but I don't think that the idea was all that bad, just a ridiculous run of bad luck.
To fuel some debate, Perthies didn't expect Daniel Johnson to get court time, but through the Tigs' dour run of injuries, he not only got court time, but did enough to be snapped up by the 36ers & presumably as a starting centre. That's a damned good fall of the cards for a young NBLer, in the * season.
The Breakers have gotten a mention in this thread, so I'll bring up another issue for debate. At last season start, they were tagged as a potential title winning team, did any of you guys've realistically rank the Tigs with their signings, to snatch it from them? Neither team delivered & yet they're both back to face the music next season. That's got to be a plus.
I think that the NBL's on the right track & confident that they know that they have more to do. I'm encouraged that the Kings are back & that they haven't fallen for the razzle dazzle, big bucks, live on the past BS & are out to win over a from scratch audience. Massive kudos.

[Cussy]

Like Cuss says, they hustled every second & every millimetre of the court, played team ball & it came across to me that they relished each other's contributions.

I actually meant every team, for a majority of the season, played with intensity and chemistry that hadn't been seen for a while, therefore, I consider it an improvement. But of course, translation, Perth FTW!!!1!! lol

[DDFan]

I actually meant every team, for a majority of the season, played with intensity and chemistry that hadn't been seen for a whileI can't qualify that your point of every team's hustle & effort factor last season, because I clearly didn't see many games at all, but you're right, I truly enjoyed that small snapshot of the season.
therefore, I consider it an improvement.Agree.
But of course, translation, Perth FTW!!!1!! lolThe best team won, & on my part, an enjoyable season. I'm happy with that & so should all ball fans.

[Warpig]

I actually thought the quality of game play was very good.

Score still reached triple figures so to me that was a bonus.
Gold Coast were fun to watch, Goulding was at time very good and with Wright coaching the team was always going to be in it.

Met the Gong boys in a pre season game and grabbed a bit of a feel for the team so I liked to watch them, McKee was ultra good and had skill worth any die hard fan to watch..

I guess for me, the league had enough players with some great skill to keep me really interested to watch any game I could..

I think the teams now utilizing the internet, and any other media they can to get promotion is the way to go..and as more players become familiar with the social media type's we will see more players on there and gain great following...I can see them staying away from FB, but Twitter can be a good way for them to have an outlet as well as gain a big following..

Free TV will be the best thing for the game this year. Main stream will have access again and I think it will get the ratings it needs. The game IMO really needs a high profile person to lift it again, but they are special ppl not just made up..

Look forward to NewNBL Version II.

[Haydenob]

I know this is an oldish threat, but wanted to weigh in.

I think one year on the League is in a far superior position than before. Cudos to NBL headquaters. I admit I was skeptical about how much they could achieve and whether they were the right people to lead the League and while there is still so much to be done, I must say they has exceeded my expectations.

The One HD deal is a huge leap forward. 2 games a week is a good start, and I think will be subject to change with ratings. If ratings are good ( by One HD standard) which i think is very achievable we may see more games on each week in the first year of the deal, none the less the league made the right long term decision of exposure over money. Free to Air television can help with media perceptions regardless of crowds. Look at the ANZ Championship. Many of the clubs average far smaller crowds than NBL teams, but achieve far more media attention. Lets hope we can replicate that.

Overall, despite some talent going overseas the product is better. Games are closer and there are less blowouts. Team rosters are put together on budget which is obviously good for the long term sustainability of the league.

I agree with the above poster that the League and other clubs venture into social media is a huge plus. Both the AFL, NRL and many other sporting leagues fail to effectively use it. If we can interact and make supporters feel they are apart of the club, something the Dragons, but more recently Adelaide seem to be doing effectively. Credit to Bob Turner too. It is a very impressive step for him to answer questions and interact with the fans on facebook.

The schedule is also a positive step in the right direction. Less mid week games and one game a week fits in with Australian sporting culture. I believe that it will enable more families and individuals to attend a higher percentage of games. While Wednesdays were good for tv viewing, crowds were usually small and this affected gate takings and clubs profit.

Overal, sponsors is the next thing to be addressed and membership levels amongst a range of others. But from the difficult place they were put into, if the NBL can achieve the return of the Dragons (or second Melbourne team) and the Bullets, it will leave the league in a great position.

[mball]

I would imagine advertising needs to be closely looked at also. Last season's NBL ads were nothing short of boring; players talking and not much action, not much colour. Let's make them exciting with lots of action the way the NBA does them.

Apart from this I am really happy with the new NBL.