It seems three really is a crowd in roster
Despite good intentions an influx of overseas athletes is suffocating Aussie talent
AS the NBL regular season reaches its dramatic final crescendo, I can’t help but feel a little deflated wondering what could have been this year.
But it’s not the underperforming Sydney Kings that have me gazing out the window, or the struggles of ubertalented Chris Goulding that get me staring at the ceiling fan whirling into the small hours of the morning. It’s much more philosophical than that.
I keep wondering if the league has too many imports.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the American, European and Latin American stars of today and yesteryear that have graced our courts as much as anyone. It just feels like there’s one too many at the moment.
After some hard lobbying from some clubs, the league was persuaded to introduce three imports in 2016/17, abandoning the old two-import policy that had stood for decades.
The arguments were that it would help domestic players improve their games and lift the standard of the competition with quality overseas talent coming in at a fair price for clubs.
To date, it has failed to deliver on its promise. Instead, top-level imports have suffocated Australian talent this season, with 13 of the top 14 scorers in the league imports.
Adelaide centre Daniel Johnson is the only Aussie to crack the top 10, with 16 points per game for the 36ers this year. Adelaide Josh Childress (11.3 ppg) Brisbane Stephen Holt (9 ppg) Cairns Nnanna Egwu (5.2 ppg) Illawarra Delvon Johnson (5.6 ppg) Melbourne Josh Boone 12.8 Perth Derek Cooke Jr (6.2 ppg) *New Zealand have just signed a third import while Sydney released American Jeremy Tyler this week
Meanwhile, the supplementary third overseas import has generally had little impact, serving as a role player and denying a roster spot to promising young Australian talent.
The NBL has done a terrific job in recent years introducing better pathways to help young talent make the transition into the national competition, with preseason tournaments and new talent identification programs put in place.
But the three-import policy means that many of the talented up-and-coming stars playing in state-level competitions or US colleges will never get a shot at the top level in Australia.
In fact, many promising players, left jobless after short stints in the NBL, have chased full-time gigs playing AFL.
The time has come for the NBL to reassess its three-import policy, or run the risk of losing future stars at a time when it is hoping to expand.