Crosscourt: Latest news and happenings out of Round 19 of the 2023-24 NBL season
Adelaide’s search for a new coach had already canvassed Trevor Gleeson and interim Scott Ninnis remains in the frame, but the spectre of Brian Goorjian just got a step closer to reality.
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Master coach Brian Goorjian has confirmed he met with Adelaide 36ers officials about the club’s coaching role.
Goorjian had always planned to listen to the 36ers’ pitch, as he weighs up his next move post steering the Boomers at this year’s Paris Olympics.
The NBL’s most successful coach has a host of coaching options, including Asia, but won’t rule out a job like Adelaide if he feels like it’s the best move.
It was believed Current 36ers interim Scott Ninnis was in the box seat to secure the head coaching role for next season, however Crosscourt understands some officials aren’t yet sold on the club legend moving forward.
This mindset has opened the door for the likes of Goorjian to swoop in at Adelaide, should the veteran coach accept an offer.
As also revealed by Crosscourt, former Perth coach Trevor Gleeson was close to signing with the 36ers before he accepted an NBA assistant role with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Gleeson’s contract with the Bucks ends in June, so it will be interesting to see if Adelaide officials have the patience to wait for another crack at the five-time championship-winner
SIXERS’ HUMPHRIES TALKS HIT A SNAG
Adelaide’s efforts to extend star centre Isaac Humphries’ stay in the City of Churches have hit a snag after talks on a new deal reached a stalemate.
Crosscourt has been told the Sydney-born big man and the 36ers were “miles apart” on money and Humphries broke off talks with the Sixers late last month.
He is now planning to test the free agency market.
Devastating in pick and roll and in the post, Humphries will have no shortage of NBL suitors in search of a starting centre who has the ability to dominate games, with the expectation he’ll seek a lucrative multi-year deal. It’s understood the former NBL Rookie of the Year has already attracted interest from teams in Japan and Spain.
Sydney has also emerged as a potential surprise bidder for Humphries’ services once free agency opens. Crosscourt has been told the Kings view the 26-year-old as an upgrade on both Jordi Hunter and Jonah Bolden, each of whom are off contract and no certainty to return to the Harbour City.
After the recent signing of scoring guard Dejan Vasiljevic to a new three-year deal, Adelaide was keen to bring back Humphries as a key building block next season.
Sixers boss Nic Barbato confirmed talks had stalled at Humphries’ request but the club hadn’t given up hope of keeping the former NBA man in Adelaide, with plans to return to the negotiating table at season’s end, with the club still to appoint a permanent coach.
National selectors have taken notice of Humphries’ sterling form, opening the door for a Paris audition. Crosscourt has confirmed Humphries has been picked for this month’s soon-to-be-announced Boomers’ squad, slated to play in a pair of Asia Cup qualifiers in Bendigo and Indonesia on February 22 and 25.
Humphries has enjoyed a career year in Adelaide, particularly thriving in the 14 games since interim coach Scott Ninnis was handed the reins following CJ Bruton’s departure. The 211cm giant keyed an unlikely Sixers’ revival that was ultimately fruitless, stamping his claim as one of the best centres in the NBL with averages of 18.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting 56 per cent from the field in that stretch.
Ahead of Friday night’s loss to Tasmania that effectively ended the Sixers’ hopes of sneaking into the play-in, veteran guard Jason Cadee, one of four Sixers players contracted for NBL25, urged the club to bring back both Humphries and emerging forward Kyrin Galloway.
“I’ve known Isaac a long time and I’ve spent a long time with a guy like Kyrin Galloway this year and they’re two guys I’d love to see back next year and have play alongside me,” Cadee said.
ALL NOT WELL IN CAIRNS
Speculation was rife, midweek, a rift had developed between Cairns star Tahjere McCall and coach Adam Forde after the American-born wing was shifted to the bench against Tasmania.
By the end of Saturday night’s remarkable fourth quarter meltdown at the hands of Perth, the once iron-clad bond between Forde and the man he trusted enough to coach his team during the pre-season NBL Blitz had clearly fractured.
It now appears the off-contract former one-game NBA wonder could be searching for a new club at season’s end.
For the first time in his 69 games across three seasons in Cairns, McCall played fewer than 10 minutes, finishing with 4 points in just 8 minutes off the pine, the club captain watching on as his team completely fell apart in the fourth against the Wildcats.
Down by just two with seven minutes in the game, the Taipans had a chance to breathe a little life into their slim top-six hopes.
Instead, they surrendered a 16-2 run in the next three minutes which ballooned to 33-6 by the buzzer. The Taipans missed 14 of their last 16 field goals in the 117-88 defeat — the second-most points conceded in a single game this season.
While Forde, in his post game comments, did not mention a rift with McCall, he conceded his team had blown its opportunity to have a say in the postseason when they were thrashed by state rival Brisbane in Round 16 and he had “one eye on the future to see how you want to build this thing out”.
“We’re just sort of just managing that expectation side of things and trying to use him as a bit of scoring punch off the bench,” he said, when asked why McCall was used so sparingly, post-game.
“Different types of line-ups weren’t really working in our favour so we wanted to ride with Pat’s (Miller) momentum. Sam (Waardenburg), again, until we subbed him out, he was rolling. So there was a lot of guys momentum that we wanted to roll with.”
Pressed on McCall, Forde added: “Yeah, I mean it’s just, again, just expectations for playing time, you know, opportunities that we wanted to look at for some of these younger guys that we got, it’s a great opportunity for them in such a great environment to see, again, what, you know, the capabilities of like AK (Akoldah Gak) and Lachie (Anderson), and guys like that.”
Gak, 20, played 10 minutes against the Wildcats — down on his 13 minutes per game on the season. and Anderson played 4.
McCall is top five in the league at 31 minutes per game. The 29-year-old is far from perfect — he’s a questionable decision maker who leads the league in turnovers at 3.1 per game and he’s a poor outside shooter (32 per cent). But, prior to Saturday night, he led the league in steals at 1.9 per game and was third in assists at 5.2, while averaging 17.3 points and 4.8 rebounds.
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KAY JETS IN FROM JAPAN FOR BOOMERS
Tokyo Olympic hero Nick Kay will be the senior statesman in the Boomers side for next week’s Asia Cup qualifiers against Korea and Indonesia.
Kay, 31, rarely misses a chance to don the green and gold, so it was a no-brainer for Australian coach Brian Goorjian to include him in his squad.
The boy from Tamworth, who won bronze for Australia at the 2021 Tokyo Games, will jet in from Japan where he has been playing domestically for the Shimane Susanoo Magic.
Kay is averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds for a Magic side that sits third in its Western Conference this season.
Adelaide 36ers veteran guard Mitch McCarron is also in line to play for the Boomers in the Asia Cup qualifiers.
Like Kay, McCarron is another experienced campaigner who regularly puts his hand up in Australia’s time of need.
The championship-winning guard is coming off the bench for Adelaide – and hasn’t had his strongest NBL season – but he always excels for the Boomers.
This was on show at the 2022 Asia Cup when he led the Australians to the title, averaging 8.8 points, 4 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
Fellow Adelaide players Isaac Humphries and Dejan Vasiljevic will join McCarron in the Boomers side for the two Asia Cup qualifiers.
SENSATIONAL SOBEY THE KEY FOR BULLETS
Olympic bronze medallist Nathan Sobey most likely won’t don Australia’s green and gold again, but he remains one of the country’s premier offensive exponents.
Sobey has made the decision not to put his hand up for the Boomers in international tournaments to focus on his NBL commitments, meaning he won’t play in next week’s Asia Cup qualifiers.
Crosscourt has been told the Bullets sharpshooter understands where he sits in the pecking order of a full-strength Australian side – and would prefer to focus his energy on the domestic front.
Sobey is nailing his brief – producing a dominant season as Brisbane’s leading scoring threat, averaging 20.3 points.
He exploded in the Bullets’ dominant win over Adelaide on Friday, dropping a career-high 37 points, including an impressive six-of-eight from beyond the arc.
Sobey will need to continue his red hot form if Brisbane is to continue its charge and reach the Finals under first-year coach Justin Schueller.
The Bullets face the Breakers in New Zealand in their final regular season game on Friday – and must win to secure a top six finish.
A finals berth would be a remarkable achievement for a Bullets side that finished second last in the 2022/2023 NBL campaign, with a forgettable 8-20 record.
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Originally published as Crosscourt: Latest news and happenings out of Round 19 of the 2023-24 NBL season
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