Basketball: Ex-Crocodile slips into frame

Tall Black coach Tab Baldwin

The player transfer market has been busy in the Aussie NBL, with one player Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis is familiar with coming into the free-agent frame unexpectedly.

A mix-up between the Townsville Crocodiles' American forward, Rob Brown, and his agent left Brown out in the cold after the club got the impression that he wanted to leave.

It turns out Brown didn't want to change teams. Now, after renewing his visa for Australia, the 198cm forward finds himself without a home.

Meanwhile, other teams have been snapping up the Boomers and star imports on the free-agent list and some franchises are so over-committed that they could not afford a player of Brown's calibre.

The Breakers are not one of them and it's sure some negotiations will ensue despite the departure for a China tour on Tuesday of Lemanis and squad.

Brown averaged 17 points and six rebounds for the Crocodiles last season, the sort of consistency the Breakers have been missing.

The Breakers apparently chased Melbourne Tigers forward Stephen Hoare but he changed his mind at the last minute and rejected a big offer to cross the Tasman.

It was too late for him to join the Tigers trip to the same tournament the Breakers are playing in. And when the Tigers squad returns, an announcement is expected about the future of long-serving coach Lindsay Gaze and son Andrew, both tipped to set a retirement date.

The Breakers will also want to start moving quickly on their roster. Centre Ben Pepper's commitment is still to be announced officially, about a month after details were said to be settled. Once he's in, the rest will follow quickly.

Nelson Giants import Jacob Holmes has signed with the Adelaide 36ers, who have also confirmed the re-signing of long-term coach Phil Smyth. But forward Martin Cattallini has gone to Cairns with their new coach, Alan Black, who returns to the NBL after leaving Perth in 2003.

Another former Giants player, Darnell Mee, shifts to Cairns. Glen Saville has re-signed with Wollongong for three seasons. But Cameron Rigby is shifting from the Hawks to the Wests Sydney Razors.

The Hunter Pirates have had a cash injection from Sydney businessman Bill Carallis, saving them from a sale back to Canberra interests.

Turkish delight, defeat

On a weekend when New Zealand celebrated its historic ties with Turkey through Anzac Day, two of our modern-day basketball warriors tasted both triumph and defeat on Turkish soil.

Tall Black coach Tab Baldwin successfully saved his Banvitspor club from relegation in the Turkish Basketball League, rallying them from 17 points down after the first quarter to a nail-biting 71-69 win over Galatasaray in the final round of the regular season.

When Baldwin accepted the coaching position at Banvit in February, the newly promoted team had a 3-10 record, sitting bottom-equal in the 14-team first division and facing relegation.

They needed to beat Galatasaray to seal a top-12 finish and a place in next year's top division.

Banvit also qualified for the Europe Cup semifinals under Baldwin's watch.

Meanwhile, Tall Black point guard Mark Dickel could not promote his Erdemir club into the eight-team TBL playoffs, falling at the final hurdle with an 85-100 loss to Tekelspor.

Erdemir entered the final round with a tenuous grip on the last playoff spot, but needing a win over Tekel to cement their involvement in the post-season.

Dickel had 19 points (7/12 FG, 4/7 3pt, 1/2 FT) and five assists, but fouled out after 33 minutes as his team slipped out of contention.

Tekel earned the eighth quarterfinal berth on a countback.

Luck of the Irish

Irish forward Sue Moran dominated her first weekend in the Women's NBL, averaging 32.0 points (72.2 per cent FG, 85.7 per cent FT), 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 4.5 steals as her Canterbury Wildcats overran both Otago Breakers and Wellington Swish.

Moran has played in the WNBA for the New York Liberty and attended the same American college - St Josephs University in Philadelphia - as Tall Fern and former Canterbury guard Megan Compain.

She has played for the Irish national team and in the Spanish national league, and is an assistant coach with St Josephs.

Harbour Breeze appear to pose the biggest threat to the defending champions after accounting for Waikato Lady Titans 79-66 in Hamilton.

Guard Noni Wharemate, returning from her scholarship at the University of Texas El Paso, led the Breeze with 18 points.

Penney earns mention

Tall Black Kirk Penney capped his season in the NBA development league with an honorary mention in the competition's awards list and a share of the league title.
Penney's Asheville Altitude became the first team to repeat as champions, defeating regular season winners Columbus Riverdragons 90-67 in the league final.

Adrian soars to new heights

Reigning league MVP Adrian Majstrovich was NBL Player of the Week as his Bay Hawks began their move towards a semifinal berth last weekend.

The Kiwi-born Australian, classified as a non-restricted player, produced his best performance of the season in a 94-78 win over Taranaki Mountain Airs, scoring 25 points (10/15 FG, 5/7 FT), grabbing 18 rebounds and passing off for four assists.

The Hawks then survived an 88-82 overtime thriller against Nelson Giants on Anzac Day, their third straight win after a 1-3 start to the season. They now lurk just outside the league's top four, trailing fourth-placed Harbour Heat on a countback.