Snaring Scoochie a Smart move: rival
SHAKA Smart and Scoochie Smith are used to crossing paths at the University of Dayton Arena or the Stuart C. Siegel Centre in the United States.
The pair would not have imagined in their wildest dreams their paths would cross at the Fish Tank in Far North Queensland.
Smart, who coaches the University of Texas after leading Virginia Commonwealth University, knows exactly what the new Taipans floor general can bring to the table.
Smith did not play against the Longhorns on Friday night, sitting out with a sore ankle, and Smart was happy to see his former college counterpart on the sidelines.
“I am glad you did not play tonight,” Smart said with a chuckle towards Smith as he walked past following the Longhorns victory.
Smart had a front-row seat to the Snakes point guard’s four-year career, as he played in a school-record 138 consecutive games, was a first-team All-Atlantic 10 guard, and was part of the winningest class in school history and four NCAA tournament appearances.
Smart, who earns $3 million a season and has a contract through to 2022-23, can see Smith lighting it up for the Taipans in the 2017-18 NBL season.
“We played against Scoochie a lot when I was at VCU and he was at Dayton, we are very familiar with him,” Smart said.
“He is going to be a terrific piece for this team.
“The fans are really going to like him here, he is a very good player but he also has a flair to his game that the fans will enjoy.”
The Longhorns coach also likes Venezuelan forward Michael Carrera, who led the Snakes’ scoring with 17 points on Friday night.
“I have always loved Carrera, he is a terrific pick-up for them,” Smart said.
Smart said their Australia tour would prove crucial in their NCAA bid.
“We need to take a big jump from last season, we have got guys that are coming back that are hungry,” Smart said.
“This tour is really good for us to put our new guys and old guys together. Meanwhile, Jamie Pearlman is expected to be upgraded to the Taipans lead assistant coach, with an announcement likely in the coming weeks.
Good day for Milan
AC Milan and Inter Milan, both determined to put last season’s mediocre efforts behind them, made flying starts to the new campaign on Sunday with easy 3-0 wins. AC Milan fielded seven new signings in their starting line-up as they won at Crotone, scoring all their goals in the opening halfhour. Mauro Icardi scored twice in the first 15 minutes to lead Inter to a win at home to Fiorentina and give the visitors’ coach Stefano Pioli, fired by Inter last season, an unhappy return to the San Siro. AS Roma’s new signing Aleksandar Kolarov scored with a crafty free kick rolled under the wall to give last season’s runnersup a 1-0 win at Atalanta. Valter Birsa scored with a spectacular dipping shot from 25m as Chievo won 2-1 at Udinese and Sampdoria beat Serie A debutants Benevento 2-1 with two goals from Fabio Quagliarella. SPAL held out for a goalless draw at Lazio.
Gabba curator quits
GABBA curator Kevin Mitchell Jr will retire after preparing the Brisbane ground for his final Ashes Test in November, ending a 27-year tenure. He is the second long-serving head groundsman of a major Australian venue to quit this year, with the SCG’s Tom Parker to depart at the AFL season’s end. Mitchell’s time at the Woolloongabba stadium began in 1984 when he took the job of assistant curator under his father, Kevin Sr, before taking over as manager six years later. He is known for preparing hard, bouncy pitches, which the Australian cricket team has dominated on in recent years. The last time Australia lost a Gabba Test was against the West Indies in 1988.
Fight bid dealt blow
BRISBANE City Council has for now withdrawn its financial support for a rematch between Australian WBO welterweight world champion Jeff Horn and Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao. The man who holds the purse strings, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, says he wants confirmation from promoters that Pacquiao has signed on for the fight before he commits to marketing it. “The Battle of Brisbane only happened with the strong financial support of Brisbane City Council,” he said. “I’m not going to shadow box the fight promoters – I want some straight answers to the question of is Manny in the boxing ring in Brisbane in November or is he in retirement.”