Huskies ready to step up

THE demise of the Hobart Chargers could open the door for the Southern Huskies to provide a development league to its new New Zealand NBL team.

Huskies chief executive Justin Hickey said he was as shocked as anyone by the Chargers’ withdrawal from the SEABL’s replacement, the Victorian Elite League, for next season but was willing to talk to anyone about filling the void.

Basketball Tasmania and the Huskies had been in contact since the Chargers announcement.

“I will sit down with everyone and anyone,” Mr Hickey said.

“The NZNBL is the first step of an aspirational program statewide to lead to the Australian NBL.

“After it didn’t work out with the DEC, we have got plans to build a new stadium and that includes having the best training facility that everyone can take advantage of and building up as many juniors as we can.”

BT chief executive Chris McCoy welcomed the Huskies’ initial enthusiasm, but said the new entity was a private enterprise and they would have to come to an arrangement with BT to enter the Victorian competition under league regulations.

Mr McCoy said Basketball Victoria would love to see two teams — men’s and women’s — from Hobart in the new league. He said: “Our number one objective now is to sit down with the Huskies and see if we can make that work.”