Jackson to miss rest of WNBL season

Updated January 10, 2013 11:51:43

Basketball star Lauren Jackson is expected to make a full recovery from her hamstring injury after undergoing surgery in Melbourne, but will play no part in the 2012/13 WNBL season.

Since returning to Australia last month, Lauren has had to repeatedly postpone her return to the WNBL after undergoing a number of medical assessments over her injury, which she picked up while playing for Australia during the London 2012 Olympics.

The Canberra Capitals centre was released this morning after a successful surgery and will be rested for the next three weeks, before starting a light rehabilitation program.

"I'm very happy that I've now had this operation, and I'm delighted with the medical opinion that I should be able to make a full recovery," Jackson said in a statement.

Basketball ACTchief executive Tony Jackson said his first concern was ensuring the star was fit for future WNBL seasons.

"While we're obviously disappointed that we won't see Lauren back on the court this season, we're pleased this surgery has gone well and that we've got some clarity and positivity surrounding her injury," he said.

"Lauren adds tremendous value to the profile of the Canberra Capitals, and we're heartened to hear she'll make a full recovery so she can play for the team in future seasons."

Acting Basketball Australia chief executive Graeme Allen said Lauren Jackson's long-term career and welfare was top priority.

"We've said from the start that Lauren's long-term career sustainability and welfare are top priority here," he said.

"Basketball Australia will support Lauren in any way we can through her rehabilitation and we wish her a speedy recovery back to 100 per cent fitness."

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, canberra-2600, act, australia

First posted January 10, 2013 11:28:43

View the original article here

Taipans' Baynes set to sign for San Antonio

By Sam Davis

Updated January 10, 2013 13:40:59

Cairns Taipans academy graduate Aron Baynes is reportedly set to sign with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs this week.

The 208cm centre will join fellow Australian Patty Mills in Spurs' squad, after starring in the Euroleague with Slovenia's KK Union Olimpija following an impressive Olympics with the Boomers.

Former mentor and Cairns Taipans coach Aaron Fearne says the call up is fitting reward for the hard working Baynes.

He says several NBA scouts were looking at Baynes recently.

"All the credit goes to him. He's incredibly driven and passionate," Fearne says.

"He's temperamental but I like those guys. I think you can mould those guys into solid, aggressive players."

Baynes is the second far north Queensland player groomed by Fearne to be picked up by an NBA team.

Bamaga's Nathan Jawai was drafted in 2008 playing with the Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Fearne says such success is rare for a regional community.

"I was just saying to my wife last night, to have two guys from here and from the environments they've come from, to be in the NBA is pretty special," Fearne said.

"We're all pretty proud of that. I still remember the first day he walked through the door as a bottom-aged under-18s [player]. He was not real skilled.

"He was just this big kid, very gangly and not very coordinated, but he just worked."

Former Australian Boomers head coach Brett Brown is also an assistant with San Antonio.

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, cairns-4870, qld, australia, united-states

First posted January 10, 2013 13:40:59

View the original article here

Capitals kick-off centenary celebrations

Updated January 03, 2013 15:17:18

The Canberra Capitals will kick-off a series of top level sporting contests on Friday to mark Canberra's centenary celebrations.

The Capitals will take on the Dandenong Rangers in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) wearing a one-off centenary uniform.

The centenary sporting calendar includes a one day international cricket match later in January and a rugby league test match in April.

Capitals coach Carrie Graf says her team is proud to be part of the celebrations.

"I'd hope anything would spark us into a winning streak," she said.

"For us to be a part of the centenary celebrations... we've been an integral part of the city for a long time in terms of being part of the sporting landscape.

"We hope to continue to be that always and continue to represent Canberra with pride."

Sports Minister Andrew Barr says the new uniforms are an exciting way to start the centenary year.

"It's fantastic that our most successful sporting team in the history of national league teams in Canberra, the Capitals, will be the first team out on court tomorrow night," he said.

"We've certainly been working with the teams in the design of their particular outfits, the theme of course being yellow."

Fans are also asked to share in the centenary spirit by wearing yellow to the games.

Tags: states-and-territories, wnbl, act, canberra-2600

First posted January 03, 2013 15:16:04

View the original article here

South takes out NBL All-Star game

Updated December 22, 2012 17:34:33

South started with a bang and finished with a flourish to record a 134-114 victory over the North in an entertaining NBL All-Star game at Adelaide Arena on Saturday.

After Melbourne star Jonny Flynn provided the foundation, fellow Tiger Chris Goulding applied the finishing touches to be crowned MVP.

The athletic Goulding had 14 fourth-quarter points to finish with a game-high 24, along with five boards and four assists to cap a memorable day for Melbourne with Bennie Lewis winning the slam dunk contest.

Adelaide hometown favourite Daniel Johnson (21 points) and Tigers import Seth Scott (19) routinely got on the end of the superb work of Flynn (seven points, 10 assists) and New Zealand Breaker Cedric Jackson (12 points, 10 assists).

North's brave charge was led by Sydney import Darnell Lazare (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Wollongong pair Adris Deleon (18 points, nine assists) and Lance Hurdle (18 points).

South made a barnstorming start, leading 38-13 at the end of lop-side opening term.

Melbourne's ex-NBA guard Flynn wowed the crowd with some dazzling ball-handling skills, at one stage bringing the ball all the way down the floor with nothing but between-the-legs crossovers.

He had five assists for the term, including sensational alley-oop lobs to Jackson and Johnson to lead South's sizzling transition game.

Jackson had a crack at turning crowd-pleaser in the second period but narrowly missed two audacious windmill alley-oops from his own lob passes.

North fought back through the exploits of Deleon, who had 10 points at 100 per cent shooting and four assists for the term, but Flynn had the final say of the half.

Isolated one-on-one against Townsville's Gary Ervin, Flynn faked a pass before drilling a second-chance buzzer-beating trey to make it 69-51 at the main interval.

Ervin caught fire in the third stanza with eight points at 100 per cent to slice the gap back to 82-79, and then Deleon continued the charge with five quickfire points of his own.

Three-point shoot-out winner Stephen Weigh duly responded with back-to-back triples to keep the South clear 96-84 three quarter-time advantage.

Ervin again in the fourth but the Southerners continued to draw further clear with Scott, Jackson and Johnson prolific and Goulding filling up with a couple of stirring double-handed jams.

The thrill-a-minute contest ended with Deleon alley-oop passes to Hurdle and Lazare, but the day would belong to the South.

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

First posted December 22, 2012 17:34:33

View the original article here

Lightning strike twice in Queensland

Updated October 21, 2012 19:08:29

Adelaide Lightning completed their Queensland road double in the WNBL despite losing star centre Suzy Batkovic to injury.

Batkovic sat out Sunday's 80-65 win over Townsville after she slipped and hurt her ankle while dominating on Friday night against Logan.

The two wins gave the Lightning a 4-1 start over the opening three rounds, just behind Bendigo's perfect 5-0 run.

Jennifer Screen scored 23 points and coach Peter Buckle praised the second half from Angela Marino, who finished with 18 points.

Nadeen Payne had 11 rebounds, while Shanavia Dowdell top-scored for the Fire with 16.

The loss left Townsville with a 2-2 record and Logan are on 1-3.

"Everybody knows the Queensland road trip is very tough," Buckle said.

"Friday night's game was as physical and as tough as it could be.

"Then we backed it up on Sunday - that was an outstanding team performance."

Adelaide was also without London Olympian Laura Hodges (ankle) for the Queensland trip, but Buckle is hopeful she and Batkovic will return for Saturday night's away clash with West Coast.

Lightning forward Molly Lewis was another casualty from the weekend with a calf muscle injury.

Also on Sunday, reigning champion Dandenong was too strong for West Coast at home, winning 103-71.

Jenna O'Hea led the Rangers' scoring with 22, while Kathleen MacLeod (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Carley Mijovic (17 and 12) were also prominent.

Deanna Smith was the standout for the Waves, shooting 20 points as they lost their two road games over the weekend.

The Rangers have two wins from three games and West Coast is 1-3.

AAP

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, townsville-4810, qld, adelaide-5000, sa, perth-6000, wa, dandenong-3175, vic, australia

First posted October 21, 2012 19:08:29

View the original article here

Brown walks away from Boomers

Updated October 29, 2012 16:12:36

Brett Brown has stepped down as coach of the Australian men's basketball team after a four-year stint which culminated in a seventh-placed finish at the London Olympics.

Brown will now focus on his position as assistant coach of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.

The decision to step away from the international game will also allow him to spend more time with his family in the United States.

"I inherited a strong Boomer culture moulded by many committed, outstanding coaches and players that have come before me," Brown said in a statement.

"My staff and I are confident that the current program is well placed to again be brought forward."

The coaches of Australia's national basketball teams are contracted for four-year terms ahead of every Olympic Games.

Basketball Australia (BA) will begin the search for a new men's coach once it completes a review of the program leading up the recent London Games.

Brown said it had been a privilege and a pleasure coaching the Boomers.

"I am especially proud of the commitment that Australia's best players made to the Boomer program during this term," he said.

"I leave with fond memories of a group of players who played with a spirit and toughness that earned the respect of the global basketball fraternity.

"I am proud to have been their coach.

"The basketball community should be excited to have our current group of core players and new talent emerging throughout the country."

BA chief executive Kristina Keneally said Brown would leave a lasting legacy.

"Brett's contribution to the men's national team program has been profound - it will last long after his departure," Keneally said.

"Under Brett's charge we've seen the Boomers surge forward in leaps and bounds - highlighted by the emergence of the likes of Joe Ingles, Matthew Dellavedova and Aron Baynes as star players in our run at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games."

Before joining San Antonio, Brown coached for nine years in the NBL, winning the title with the North Melbourne Giants in 1994.

He spent eight years as an Australian assistant from 1995-2003 and replaced Brian Goorjian as head coach after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

AAP

Tags: basketball, sport, australia, united-states

First posted October 29, 2012 16:12:36

View the original article here

Kings sweep Queensland road trip

Updated October 28, 2012 21:33:25

Sydney Kings overcame the loss of one co-captain and were sparked by another to notch a notable Queensland NBL road double.

A 92-87 win over Townsville (0-5) on Saturday was followed by a 71-69 victory at Cairns (2-3) on Sunday to lift Sydney (3-2) into the top four.

It is the first time the Kings have had a win-loss record above 50 per cent since winning their opening match on readmittance to the NBL for the 2010-11 season.

Co-captain Ben Madgen scored 23 points against Townsville, just behind the 25-point haul of Aaron Bruce.

He followed up with a team-leading 22 points against Cairns where Sydney came from eight points down in the last quarter.

Import Corin Henry produced a game-tilting steal and basket inside the last 20 seconds.

The Kings are currently without their other co-captain James Harvey, who is expected to be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks with a broken arm.

"Pressure was mounted and you can either get it done or suck your thumb and now the challenge is to maintain the level we've set," Kings coach Shane Heal said.

Wollongong (4-0) maintained its perfect start to the season with a 77-63 away win over Adelaide (2-2).

Guard Adris Deleon scored 16 of his 23 points in the last quarter, as the Hawks rallied from a 12-point, first-quarter deficit.

"We thought we probably should have been 15 or even more down at half-time, but we found a way to hang around," Wollongong coach Gordie McLeod said.

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, cairns-4870, qld, australia

First posted October 28, 2012 20:38:21

View the original article here