SA Premier League basketball season preview: Ultimate guide to the 2019 season
Teams have beefed up their rosters in anticipation of one of the most competitive Premier League basketball seasons in years, following Mount Gambier Pioneers joining the competition. Here is a preview of the nine Adelaide-based clubs ahead of tip-off.
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Teams have beefed up their rosters in anticipation of one of the most competitive Premier League basketball seasons in years following Mount Gambier Pioneers joining the competition.
Messenger Community News has previewed the nine Adelaide-based clubs ahead of the campaign’s tip-off on Saturday night.
* Denotes import
CENTRAL DISTRICTS
Last season: ninth (men), ninth (women)
Coaches: Ricky Simpson (men), Kevin Brooks (women)
Key ins:Men – Jordan Riewer* (Czech Republic), DeVaughn Jones* (Spain)
Key outs: Men – Ricardo Martin* (Queensland), Keith Jumper* (Europe), Tyson Hoffman (work commitments)
CENTRAL Districts’ men will look to play at a fast pace this season after losing some experience.
The Lions will be looking to improve from their 3-15 record last season.
They start the season away to Woodville at St Clair on Saturday night.
“We are a lot younger than last year with a few of our 25-26 year olds leaving because of their work, but I think we are actually a better team than last year,” Central coach Ricky Simpson said.
“We are just going to have to play according to our strength and that is playing the game at a fast pace.
“We are young with young legs and we are athletic, which means we will be quicker than most.”
Central has two new US imports – point guard Jordan Riewer (BK NH Ostrava, Czech Republic National Basketball League) and forward/centre DeVaughn Jones (Baloncesto Venta de Banos, Spanish basketball fourth league).
They replace Ricardo Martin (Queensland) and Keith Jumper (Europe).
Last year’s rising star winner, 19-year-old Jimma Dau, is likely to play his final season with the Lions before heading off to college.
Adelaide 36ers great Kevin Brooks returns to coach Central’s women’s side, three years after a sour departure from the club.
When he left in 2015, Brooks slammed the club’s hierarchy, saying it tried to get him to quit as coach with five matches remaining that year.
Now he returns with no grudges and inherits a team that finished ninth with a 3-15 record last season.
Last month Brooks told Messenger Community News the club’s success was a long-term challenge and this coming season would not be dictated by the win/loss column.
“It’s about building culture,” the 36ers assistant and former Denver Nuggets NBA forward said.
FORESTVILLE
Last season: Runner-up (men), runner-up (women)
Coaches: Andy Simons (men), Monica Bello (women)
Key ins:Men – Majok Deng (returning), Jake Rios* (Eastern), Kane de Wit (Mount Gambier), Greg Mays* (Southern); Women – Oceana Hamilton* (Northwestern University)
Key outs: Men – Daniel Johnson, Adam Doyle, Jalen Richard*, Luke Phillips
FORESTVILLE has lost four members of its starting five from last season’s Premier League basketball grand finalists but recruited three stars to help its push to go one better this year.
Four-time Adelaide 36ers club MVP Daniel Johnson, NBL teammate Adam Doyle, import Jalen Richard and Luke Phillips have all departed since the Eagles’ six-point loss to Southern.
But Forestville junior turned 36er Majok Deng and ex-Eastern Mavericks sharpshooter Jake Rios rejoin the club, while import Greg Mays crosses from the Tigers.
Veteran Eagles coach Andy Simons was pleased with his squad but expected a massive challenge to make the playoffs this season, simply because of the improvement of rival clubs and the addition of ex-South East Australian Basketball League outfit Mount Gambier.
“There’s no point comparing how we were to last year because we’re a different group and the competition’s different,” Simons said.
“There’s going to be at least one or two teams that are not going to play the major round that will be decent, no question.
“I think anytime a team doesn’t quite get there in a grand final, they’re usually pretty hungry to get another shot at it and we’re no different.
“We’ve certainly got enough to get there (another grand final).
“The first objective is to try to get a top-three finish, which is our objective every year.”
Forestville has also signed point guard Kane de Wit, an Eagles junior who has won three championships with the Pioneers, and brought back 36er Brendan Teys for another season.
The Eagles’ women, who are also coming off a grand final loss to Southern, have signed import centre Oceana Hamilton from Illinois university Northwestern.
The club, under Monica Bello, lost last year’s title decider to North Adelaide by 18 points.
Forestville begins its campaign away to Eastern on Saturday night.
NORTH ADELAIDE
Last season: elimination final (men), champions (women)
Coaches: Nathan Hawkes (men), Jason Joynes (women)
Key ins: Men – Bijan Johnson (36ers), Tobias Dowdell* (West Adelaide), Jack McVeigh (36ers); Women – Opal Mader, Alicia Carline (Gold Coast), Mariah Seals* (Utah Valley)
Key outs: Women – Jo Hill, Kirsty Williams, Lauren Thornett (retired), Leah Metcalf*
JASON Joynes is a bit anxious about North Adelaide’s opening round match against Mount Gambier Pioneers this Saturday.
Not because it will be his first official match at the helm of the Rockets women’s side nor because Mount Gambier is the newcomer to the competition.
But because Joynes is a Pioneers great and life member.
He holds the club’s games record after lining up in 267 matches with the Pioneers across 10 years in the now-defunct South East Australian Basketball League.
The 48-year-old was also named in the SEABL’s All-Star Five in 1997 and played in the Pioneers’ 2003 championship.
“I’m a bit anxious – they haven’t had a women’s team before,” said Joynes, who replaced Brenton Johnston after the Rockets’ 2018 title win.
“It’s going to be a good thing but also an awkward thing, after I spent 10 years playing for them.
“They are very passionate supporters, so I reckon the banter will start as the game gets closer.”
The Rockets will have a new look to their starting five since last year’s grand final victory following the retirements of club legend Jo Hill, Kirsty Williams and Lauren Thornett.
North’s 2014 title-winning forward Opal Mader returns after playing with Gold Coast Rollers in the Queensland Basketball League last season.
Mader’s Gold Coast teammate, forward/centre Alicia Carline, also joins the side as well as US import Mariah Seals, a point guard from Utah Valley University.
Nathan Hawkes will again be at the helm of the Rockets’ men.
US import and two-time Woollacott Medallist Alex Starling is preparing for a third consecutive campaign with North, while 36er Jack McVeigh and Adelaide development player Bijan Johnson are other additions to the roster.
NORWOOD
Last season: Preliminary final (men), elimination final (women)
Coaches: Michael Rogers (men), Ryan Morris (women)
Key ins: Men – James Legan* (West Adelaide), Brian Moultrie* (returning), Brandon Brine (Southern); Women – Tess Bruffey* (Lubbock Christian University), Chey North* (Nashville), Taylor Prenzler (Sturt)
Key outs: Men – Luke Stanbridge (Woodville), Bryce McGriff*; Women – Jess Foley (work/Crows AFLW), Jess Good, Meg Pritchard (UK)
NEW Norwood women’s coach Ryan Morris is expecting a wide open competition this year but does not see his side missing the post-season.
Morris, an ex-Flames men’s assistant, replaces Mike McKay as coach and takes charge of a team that is coming off an elimination final exit.
Norwood has lost stars Jess Foley (work/Crows), Jess Good (UK) and Meg Pritchard (UK), and Marisa Stabile (ACL) is on the long-term injury list, but the coach remains confident he has enough talent to make a championship push.
He points to the arrival of imports Tess Bruffey and Chey North as being a big boost to the team, while the Flames have also signed Taylor Prenzler from Sturt.
Molly Coleman and Natalia Lalic will return mid-season from US colleges.
“What we’ve lost I think we’ve gained,” Morris said.
“I think anybody has got a chance this year but I don’t see us not playing post-season.
“We’ve got legit imports from winning cultures.
“That was a key for us – to bring over athletic players that know how to win.”
Coming off a preliminary final, Norwood’s men have recruited import James Legan from West Adelaide and brought back Brian Moultrie as its second American.
Moultrie played for the Flames in 2012.
Michael Rogers will coach the side again this year.
Norwood starts its campaign at home to Sturt on Saturday night.
SOUTH ADELAIDE
Last season: seventh (men), bottom (women)
Coaches: Jamie Petty (men), Richard Dickel (women)
Key ins: Men – Zach Allmon* (Vanguard University), Dakota Zinser* (Palm Beach Atlantic University), Andrew Barton (Southern Tigers); Women – Brianti Saunders* (Stetson University), Mollie McKendrick (Southern), Jordan Smith (returning), Anne Hatchard (Sturt/Crows AFLW), Erina Marafioti, Hannah Stewart (Sturt)
Key outs: Men – Eian Davis*, Ivory Young*; Women – Jadda Jeffries*, Charmaine Nelson*
NEW South Adelaide women’s coach Richard Dickel hopes a fresh, more experienced squad can lead the team from a winless 2018 to being competitive this season.
The Panthers lost each of their 18 games last year, including several by as many as 80 points, on their way to claiming the wooden spoon under mentor Chas McCormick.
During the off-season Dickel, a former Adelaide 36ers assistant and Lightning head coach, replaced McCormick and the Panthers brought Mollie McKendrick back to the club from Southern, and added Crows footballer Anne Hatchard, previously of Sturt, and Jordan Smith (returning from California State University, Northridge).
Import combo guard Brianti Saunders, from division one US college Stetson, also improves the team.
Dickel believed the roster, featuring only five players from 2018, had more talent than last year and he thought the team could win up to eight games.
“Obviously after last year’s results a few things had to change and we’ve been able to recruit some girls from other clubs,” Dickel said.
“We got the teams together earlier and we’ve been working with a trainer in the off-season.
“We’ll probably a little bit deeper talent-wise, not that it means anything until we’re on the court.
“Obviously we’d like to get some wins on the board but it’s just about being competitive for us.
“In a lot of the games last year we weren’t even competitive.
“If we have a five to eight win season, that’d be unbelievable, coming from nothing.”
South’s men also have a new mentor, Jamie Petty, who replaces NBL great Al Green.
Green was in the role for three seasons, leading the Panthers to mid-table finishes but never in the playoffs.
The team has signed two imports – big man Zach Allmon and combo guard Dakota Zinser.
South begins its campaign at home to Norwood on Sunday.
SOUTHERN TIGERS
Last season: Champions (men), preliminary final (women)
Coaches: Dean Nyberg (men), Tracy York (women)
Key ins: Men – Anthony Drmic (36ers), Max Calligeros (Sturt), Isaiah Omamogho (South Adelaide), James Spurritt (Norwood); Women – Ta’Rea Cunnigan* (returning), Isabella Stratford (Eastern), Zali Grosser (Norwood)
Key outs: Men – Greg Mays* (Forestville), Brandon Brine (Norwood), Jordan Dodman (retired), Andrew Barton (South Adelaide); Women – Stephanie Ratliff* (Eastern), Demi Skinner (Toowoomba), Mollie McKendrick (South Adelaide), Teresa Kinross, Rosie Williamson (Woodville)
SOUTHERN Tigers’ chances of winning back-to-back men’s Premier League basketball titles hinge on being able to replace key players and match their beefed-up rivals, coach Dean Nyberg says.
The Tigers claimed last year’s crown – their second in three seasons – after dominating teams with their athleticism and size, led by star imports CJ Turnage and Greg Mays.
Turnage, the reigning grand final MVP, returns to the team for 2019 but Mays, whose defence and length are major assets, has switched to Forestville.
Brandon Brine, who scored 21 points in the grand final while hitting 6/13 from deep, also departed during the off-season, joining Norwood, and veteran centre Jordan Dodman retired.
The Tigers have recruited Adelaide 36ers shooter Anthony Drmic, Sturt’s Max Calligeros and former Australian junior guard Isaiah Omamogho, previously of South Adelaide.
Southern coach Dean Nyberg said his side would not be as athletic or big this season, so would have to “make up for that in other areas” – such as improved outside shooting.
He expected the league to be “deeper and more competitive” than any season in recent history following the addition of Mount Gambier and other clubs compiling “stacked” rosters.
“I would hope we’re competitive and in the mix for finals … and if things go our way, we can hopefully be right at the pointy end,” Nyberg said.
“But we won’t have the advantages of last year with size and athleticism, we’ll have to do it another way.
“Greg was such a dominant force around the rim, I thought it allowed us to make some mistakes guarding on the perimeter and he’d clean up for us.
“I think we’ll have to defend smarter.”
The Tigers’ women have tweaked their line-up as they seek to improve on their preliminary final exit.
Their key outs include 2018 team MVP Demi Skinner (Toowoomba) and centre Mollie McKendrick (South Adelaide), while emerging juniors Isabella Stratford (Eastern) and Zali Grosser (Norwood), and returning 2016 US import Ta’Rea Cunnigan headline the recruits.
York was excited about her team’s blend of youth and experience.
“Isabella’s only 17 but she’s got a really good scoring mindset and is a natural athlete,” Southern coach Tracy York said.
“Ta’Rea is so great as a person and we like the way she plays.
“She’s currently playing in Sweden and will miss the first few weeks, and then we’ll work out if we go with another import or not.
“We obviously want to be up there again.”
Southern has a bye in the opening round this weekend and starts its campaign away to West Adelaide the following Friday night.
STURT
Last season: Sixth (men), semi-final (women)
Coaches: Tony Casella (men), Marcus Wong (women)
Key ins: Men – CJ Rivers* (Drake University); Women – Elissa Brett (Centre of Excellence)
Key outs: Men – Jan Warbout, Tim Klaosen (work commitments), Mark Bauer (retired), Max Calligeros (Southern), Harry Reemst (ACL); Women – Chelsea Brook (Victoria), Hannah Stewart (South Adelaide), Jordan Hunter (West Adelaide), Erina Marafioti (South Adelaide)
STURT will rely on young, local talent to spearhead both its men’s and women’s Premier League basketball teams this season.
The teams are likely to field just one import between them – the men have signed combo guard CJ Rivers – and they have lost some of their best players during the off-season.
Both 2018 men’s co-captains, Jan Warbout and Tim Klaosen, have departed because of work commitments, Max Calligeros has moved to reigning champion Southern, while Harry Reemst has sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Sturt’s women have lost Halls medallist Chelsea Brook to Victoria, as well as Hannah Stewart (South Adelaide) and Jordan Hunter (West Adelaide).
Sabres men’s coach Tony Casella said his team, coming off a sixth-placed finish in 2018, signed Rivers to help fill the void.
“We generally don’t (sign imports) but have just because the outs that we’ve got and some of the other clubs have loaded up big time with imports, 36ers players and Boomers players,” Casella said.
“We’re obviously playing with our homegrown talent, which is great, but we’ve got to compete and want to have a fighter’s chance against some of these big-budget teams.”
Casella hoped Tom Goodall, Nik DeSantis and Nic Fassos could step up this season.
He believed Rivers, from Iowa’s Drake University, would add leadership and toughness.
“He’ll be a massive addition,” Casella said.
Sabres women’s coach Marcus Wong said his side would have its work cut out to replicate or better its run to last year’s semi-final but was confident it still had the talent to make the playoffs.
Wong said Australian under-19 sharpshooter Ruby Porter and Women’s Centre of Excellence guard Elissa Brett would get plenty of opportunities, and more small ball would be on the cards after Brook’s departure.
“We were contemplating getting an import in the five spot to help replace Chelsea but it hasn’t really panned out,” Wong said.
“We’ll definitely look at playing small and trying to be quick.
“We realise we’re probably taking a step backwards to some degree to where we were last year but I still think on our day, if we play our best basketball, we’ll be competitive.”
WEST ADELAIDE
Last season: semi-final (men), sixth (women)
Coaches: Corey Maclean (men), Boti Nagy (women)
Key ins: Men – Bryan Jefferson* (University of Mary), Shane Heyward* (Mexico); Women – Ashleigh Spencer (Ballarat), Jordan Hunter (Sturt)
Key outs: Men – Tobias Dowdell* (North Adelaide), James Legan* (Norwood); Women – Ieva Nagy (ACL)
WEST Adelaide coach Corey Maclean says a defence-first game plan is the key to recapturing the form that helped the Bearcats claim the 2017 men’s Premier League basketball title.
The team failed to defend its championship after a disappointing knockout semi-final exit last season.
But West’s new tactics will not be on show until March 8 because it has the bye in the competition’s opening round, which tips off this Saturday.
“We didn’t feel like we ended up being a very good team last year,” Maclean said.
“We will have a more engaged mindset defensively, that’s been a really big emphasis for us. We’ve been trying to increase deflections and ball pressure and denying lanes.
“We want to try and win games from the defensive ends.”
Veterans Blake Truslove and Anthony Spadavecchia are continuing, while American duo Bryan Jefferson and Shane Heyward replace Tobias Dowdell (North Adelaide) and James Legan (Norwood) in the import slots.
Jefferson is an athletic, 201cm forward, while Heyward is a 200cm power forward.
“We sort of went down a different path this year with our imports.
“We’ve gone for a bit more size in our import stocks and we will play some of our younger guys through the guard spots.
“We’ve never had that retirement conversation with Blake or ‘Spud’ and I know they did a lot of work in the off-season and both of those guys are looking fit and ready to go.”
Mount Gambier was added to the men’s and women’s top tier competitions after the South East Australian Basketball League was disbanded and the country club was denied a place in the new Victorian senior elite competition.
West Adelaide plays reigning premier Southern Tigers at home in their season-opener on March 8.
Boti Nagy has replaced Tim Brenton as the Bearcats’ women’s coach and will look to help the side improve on its sixth-place finish in 2018.
West has lost Ieva Nagy to an anterior cruciate ligament injury but signed ex-Southern Tiger Ashleigh Spencer (Ballarat) and Jordan Hunter from Sturt.
Import Alexis Eckles is also back.
WOODVILLE
Last season: eighth (men), eighth (women)
Coaches: Scott Whitmore (men), Mike Osborne (women)
Key ins: Men – Josh Clippinger* (Messiah College), Luke Stanbridge (Norwood); Women – Sherrie Session* (Switzerland), Teige Morrell* (University of Nevada), Teresa Kinross, Rosie Williamson (Southern Tigers)
Key outs: Men – Adam Miller (retirement); Women – Nyre Harris*, Miriam Zabinsky*
NEW Woodville coach Mike Osborne hopes improving players’ skills and fitness levels will help the side be more competitive this season.
Osborne, who was Adelaide 36ers’ inaugural coach, replaced former mentor Scott Herriman in November.
He said players were keen to finally open their 2019 season
– against Central Districts at home this Saturday – after a gruelling, four-month pre-season.
Osborne, 70, said players had responded well to his training demands and wanted to improve from their 4-14 record and eighth-place finish last season.
“We’ve done a lot of skill work, a lot of conditioning and just trying to get the team to work the team together,” Osborne said.
“They’ve done a lot of training, so they are really excited for the games to start.
“Our first game is at the new St Clair centre, so we are hoping for a big crowd.”
The Warriors have replaced last year’s US imports Nyre Harris and Miriam Zabinsky with Sherrie Session and Teige Morrell.
Session, a 28-year-old guard, arrives from Pully in the Swiss Basketball League, while centre/forward Morrell is an alumna of the University of Nevada, Reno.
Osborne also lured Teresa Kinross and Rosie Williamson from Southern Tigers to the Warriors and said the pair would improve depth.
Scott Whitmore is at the helm of Woodville’s men’s side for the third consecutive campaign.
Former club MVP Luke Stanbridge returns after spending a season with Norwood, while US import Jonathon Perry is also back after 13 games in 2018.
The Warriors have added Josh Clippinger from Messiah College in Pennsylvania, US to their roster.
PREMIER LEAGUE BASKETBALL — ROUND ONE
Saturday, March 2
North Adelaide v Mount Gambier at Hillcrest
Eastern v Forestville at St Francis De Sales
Woodville v Central Districts at St Clair
Norwood v Sturt at The ARC
Sunday, March 3
South Adelaide v Norwood at Marion
Sturt v Mount Gambier at Pasadena
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