Let’s go full court press for NBL and snare 36ers
THE new and improved National Basketball League has to have a presence in the Territory.
With the story breaking last week about the Adelaide 36ers being keen to play a home match away from Brett Maher Court, the NT has to act.
For too long, basketball — which dominated the airwaves in the mid ’90s — has been described as boring and lacking the thrill of the contest.
But this is the perfect opportunity to bring another national sporting competition to the Northern Territory, and in a winwin, increase the popularity of the sport.
There are always arguments on how to get children involved with a sport and what is popular at the time always wins out.
The generation of young basketballers, me included, from the ’90s has dropped away and there has been no Generation Y hoops fans to come through and continue the sports growth.
Attracting national sporting codes to the Territory is the key to grow participation, and now basketball has the ball well and truly in their court.
For decades now the Territory has been the laughing stock of the country at national championship level. That needs to change, but it’s not a quick fix.
Basketball struggles in the NT without a national sporting team to look up to or strive to play for.
Footballers have NT Thunder, netball players have Territory Storm, cricketers have NT Strike and hockey players have the Stingers and Pearls. What does basketball have?
Sure, club competition is great, but the attraction of making the national stage in a senior competition will drive children to other sporting fields.
The NT Government currently is one year into a three- year agreement with Women’s National Basketball League club West Coast Waves, who play one regular season home match in Alice Springs.
This venture, from the outside, has been deemed a success, but a lot more promotion is possible.
NBL fans have had to wait too long to see stars up close and personal following the disaster of the Top End Challenge in 2010.
Attracting national sporting codes to the Territory is the key to grow participation
Players, coaches and teams complained about the facilities at the Marrara Complex, something that needs to be resolved if there is any hope of attracting the NBL back to Darwin.
Maybe Alice Springs is the place for hoops in the Territory? But, ideally both centres should host at least one major basketball event every year.
The Red Centre had the perfect opportunity to promote the game and the NBL for the past two years with Sydney Kings swingman Ben Madgen having a close relationship with the community of Santa Teresa.
Madgen’s mum, Deb, who was a school teacher in the community, introduced the children to the game — and succeeded with flying colours.
So much so, three junior teams travelled in each week to play in the local competition.
Madgen visited the community twice in the past two years and the Kings were very keen to organise a pre-season camp in Alice Springs, but the idea was put in the too-hard basket.
Imagine what a week- long camp by an NBL team would do for a starved town?
School, community and hospital visits, not too mention the clinics that could be run and of course, the chance to watch a professional basketball team train right in front of you.
An internal trial match could be played on the last night of the camp, with patrons making a gold coin donation.
Sounds like common sense, so it will never happen.
And yet the sports administrators keep complaining at the lack of participation and success of the game.
How about spend some money to make money?
Invest in the future of the dying game to save it.