NBL22: Footage exposes Craig Randall II’s issues during Adelaide 36ers stint

New footage of axed Adelaide import Craig Randall II clashing with his coaches and teammates has exposed the import problem which threatened to rip the club apart.

More claims about the negative influence sacked import Craig Randall II had on the Adelaide 36ers has been revealed, coach CJ Bruton branding the wildly talented import’s time in the City of Churches a “debacle”.

Randall was axed after just six games, amid a series of arguments and blow ups with Bruton, assistant coaches and teammates and a refusal to fit in with the game plan.

On the eve of new import Ian Clark’s mooted Adelaide debut, an explosive documentary lifts the lid on the turmoil Randall brought to the Sixers’ locker room.

An honest Bruton confirms News Corp’s reports Randall’s “selfishness” was evident in pre-season and snowballed during the Sixers’ embarrassing season-opening loss to Tasmania.

Stunning footage from the game shows Randall taking issue with being subbed out, arguing with teammates during time-outs and whining to Bruton and assistant coach Jamie Pearlman.

Randall is even worried about being yelled at by a teammate during the game and, after an argument with Bruton, storms off.

Craig Randall (left) had a controversial stint in Adelaide.

“I don’t want to play with (inaudible) he keep yelling at me,” he whines at Bruton in the latest episode of NBL Unrivalled.

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“You’re not understanding, that’s not fair to me. You want me to stay calm?

“I’m a grown ass man, you know that.”

At one point, an exasperated Bruton, trying to get his team back into the season-opener, has to ward off Randall, who is insistent on talking about his issues, rather than focusing on the game.

“Right now I want to focus on the game, can we play the game of basketball?” Bruton pleads with Randall, who continues to attempt to get his point across.

Craig Randall clashed with teammates at the 36ers.

“We can talk later, let’s talk later, this is about the game we’ll deal with the game.

“We’ll talk about it after the game.”

A brilliant shooter, the 26-year-old took over 15 attempts per game — nearly 10 of those threes — and, at one point, is urged to move the ball by gun import Robert Franks, but complains teammates are standing still.

A frustrated Franks, in the locker room following another early-season loss, gives an insight into the team’s troubles.

“The vibe of this team is not where it’s supposed to be, we’re fooling ourselves,” Franks said.

“Championship teams aren’t this separated.

Randall was a divisive figure during his time in Adelaide.

“For us to be a championship team, we’re going to have to all rise together.

“We’re fooling ourselves.”

The Sixers tried to integrate Randall into their set up but, after six games, enough was enough for Bruton.

“Craig’s an amazing player, one of the best scorers to come out to Australia and play,” Bruton laments.

“But where we are right now, I feel we need to make a change that will help our group to continue our journey to reach our goals.”

When contacted by News Corp, Randall declined to answer questions.“I’m not doing no interviews or anything with anybody in Australia, not right now,” Randall said.

Clark, an NBA champion with Golden State and NBL title-winner with Sydney, has been hailed as Randall’s polar opposite — a high character guy who will fit in with the team.

The Sixers will get their first glimpse of the versatile wing’s talents on Christmas Eve against South East Melbourne.

NBL Unrivalled airs Friday night on Foxtel and Kayo. 6.30pm ACDT, 7PM AEDT.

ADELAIDE 36ERS FINALLY CONFIRM STAR’S SIGNING

After days of denials, Adelaide has finally confirmed Golden State Warriors NBA champion Ian Clark as its new import.

Clark, 31, was officially announced on Tuesday morning as sacked import Craig Randall II’s replacement.

Clark joined Sydney last season and helped the Kings win the NBL title.

The talented wing is set to debut in Saturday’s Christmas Eve blockbuster against South East Melbourne.

The saga around basketball’s worst-kept secret rolled on for another day, with Adelaide again forced to remain tight-lipped on the signing of new import Ian Clark.

Two night’s after coach CJ Bruton denied the club had signed anyone and following the Sixers’ Monday 93-82 win over Tasmania, he again warded off questions about the imminent arrival of the Golden State Warriors’ NBA champion.

But News Corp has learned the NBL has effectively gagged the club, with league semantics around rostering preventing officials from speaking about the former Sydney King.

The Sixers cannot officially announce Clark because they have no free spots on their 11-man roster after development player Nick Marshall was elevated in the wake of problematic import Craig Randall II’s axing.

Ian Clark’s impending arrival in Adelaide is still yet to be confirmed by the club. Picture: Getty Images)

The deal with Clark, who has already contacted several former Kings teammates to let them know, has been a fait accompli for days but the league — which, on Monday, tweeted, then deleted, a tweet mentioning the American’s arrival — has left the Sixers’ privately frustrated at how they’ve had to address the issue publicly.

The contract paperwork is with the league, but a roster spot had yet to be freed up on Monday because Marshall could not be shifted back to a development player contract until after the game.

The official announcement of Clark’s arrival is expected as soon as Tuesday, with the 31-year-old set to play in a massive Christmas Eve clash with South East Melbourne.

Asked if the new man would be unveiled Tuesday, Bruton held strong: “That would be nice, if you get that done, I’m super-pumped.”

“I like to think that we’re not far away from announcing something but I don’t have any confirmation that anything’s done yet.

“Excited if he’s the guy that we get.”

The night’s star, Antonius Cleveland, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win, was more open in his response to a question about what Clark would bring to the team.

“Winning, winning mindset, stretch the floor, score, high IQ, but most importantly a good character guy and a great teammate,” Cleveland said.

Originally published as NBL22: Footage exposes Craig Randall II’s issues during Adelaide 36ers stint