BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE Trying to bring back the majority of this year’s squad will be the priority for North-West Thunder coach Sam Armstrong in the aftermath of the 2020 NBL1 season being called off. Following an 8-12 campaign last year which saw them finish 15th in the 18-team competition, […]
The Advocate
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BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE The 2020 NBL1 campaign for the North-West Thunder is over before it even began following the cancellation of the season across all three conferences on Tuesday afternoon. Rosters had already been put back to a proposed May 15 start date by the league in […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE The basketball careers of Tre Armstrong, Kobe Jackson and Shelby Rayner have all been affected following the coronavirus outbreak in Australia and in the US. With their US colleges shut down, Armstrong and Jackson are among a number of Tasmanian players who have returned […]
JARRYD MCGUANE THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder chairman Tony Barker believes the chances of the NBL1 season going ahead are fading. The NBL1 announced on Wednesday that the South, Central and North conferences seasons will not begin until May 15 at the earliest, which led to the Thunder holding […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE After originally stating that the roster would continue on Monday morning, NWBU officials have decided to opt for caution and immediately suspend the 2020 season due to the coronavirus outbreak. In an email sent out at 3.45pm on Monday afternoon, NWBU president Kim Robinson […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE A NBL team with the ability to play regular-season games in all three regions of the state is the next step for Basketball Tasmania CEO Chris McCoy after Friday’s red-letter day for the sport. League owner Larry Kestelman made the announcement that Tasmania would […]
JARRYD MCGUANE THE ADVOCATE The stalemate between the NWBU and North-West Thunder over the availability of Sejr Deans for the NBL1 season has come an end after the junior star signed on with Wynyard. The Thunder announced on Thursday that Deans will link up with import Samajae Haynes-Jones […]
JARRYD MCGUANE THE ADVOCATE Another North-West Coast basketball product was been swept up in the allure of national tutelage with Reyne Smith joining the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence program. The Penguin and North-West Thunder guard left the North-West Coast on Thursday for Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE Tasmanian basketball continues to “overachieve” on the national stage according to men’s under 20 coach Mark Radford after he guided his team to a bronze medal at last week’s national championships in Canberra. Following a 2-2 win-loss record during the pool stage, the Tasmanians came good […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE While football politics still reign supreme in this region in terms of interest, basketball in Tasmania is making a solid charge up the leaderboard. Here’s my take on a few of the issues currently bouncing around:Player eligibility The situation surrounding talented Launceston teenager Sejr Deans not […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder chairman Tony Barker says it is unlikely at this stage that emerging star Sejr Deans will be at the club in 2020 following Basketball Tasmania’s adjudication last week. The board of the state’s governing basketball body dismissed an appeal by the Thunder to have […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE Throughout a lot of his junior career, so-called experts told Samajae Haynes-Jones that he couldn’t make it because he was too small. But by taking inspiration from two of his NBA idols that were also undersized, Haynes-Jones is continuing to show that his mantra of heart […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE The North-West Thunder’s playing stocks have received an unexpected boost ahead of the 2020 NBL1 season, with Joe Chilcott coming back to the fold. Chilcott, who captained the side last year, was believed to be focusing his weekend commitments on football this year, but […]
JARRYD MCGUANE THE ADVOCATE Basketball Tasmania may be forced to step into the dispute between the North-West Thunder and the NWBU over the availability of Tasmanian young-gun Sejr Deans. The sport’s governing body will soon sit down to discuss the rule, and could intervene, in what is the […]
JARRYD MCGUANE THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder chairman Tony Barker is excited for what expansion will bring to the NBL1 competition in 2020. In a landmark agreement, the NBL1 competition will be expanded to include former Queensland Basketball League to create a two-conference system. The 13 teams who formerly competed in […]
JARRYD MCGUANE THE ADVOCATE Cracks in the so-called strengthened relationship between the North-West Thunder and the NWBU are already appearing after young Tasmanian star Sejr Deans was blocked from playing for the NBL1 side. The Thunder wanted NWBU clubs to allow the Launceston’s Deans to represent them without playing in […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE A crowd favourite and an exciting prospect from a Division 1 college in the US look set to provide North-West Thunder fans with plenty of highlights during the 2020 NBL1 season. After a season away trying his hand in the New Zealand NBL, point […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder coach Sam Armstrong looks set to have plenty of options in his big man department for the 2020 NBL1 season after the announcement that former captain Brad Simpson has returned to the club. Simpson played with the Thunder from 2014-2017 before concentrating […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE One of the key pieces in the restructure of basketball in the region has been finalised with the appointment of Ben Richmond as the new full-time North-West general manager. Richmond joins the Basketball Tasmania ranks after a stint with Cricket Tasmania as its North-West […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE The North-West Thunder’s pre-season recruiting drive has netted them one of Tasmania’s emerging big men. Hobart’s Jacob Richards has signed on and will line up for the team for the 2020 NBL1 season as the club starts locking away its contingent of local players. […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE The next significant step in Basketball Tasmania’s restructure will take place at the board table on Saturday. The governing body’s board meeting in Launceston, which will be held around the State League finals which will be taking place in that city, will involve tabling […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE A combined 1056 games worth of experience and some brotherly love will be guiding the North-West Thunder for the 2020 NBL1 season after the club finalised its coaching panel under re-signed coach Sam Armstrong. Assisting Armstrong again on the sidelines will be club games […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE Tucked away in a Devonport physiotherapy practice is a man who has had plenty of responsibility in his hands this year. His name is Ryan Carroll, and to the casual basketball fan, he may be recognisable as the North-West Thunder’s go-to guy for various […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder chairman Tony Barker can only see positives for his club out of Basketball Tasmania’s proposed restructure of the game in the state. Speaking after his club held their own discussions on the matter as well as sitting down with NWBU and Basketball […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder chairman Tony Barker has welcomed the introduction of Mount Gambier to the NBL1 competition ahead of the 2020 season. One of the powerhouses of the old SEABL in recent years, the Pioneers failed to gain a licence when the NBL1 took over […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder chairman Tony Barker believes Basketball Tasmania is showing strong leadership with the structural changes announced on Thursday, but there’s still hard work to be done to ensure the job is done right. The governing body is going towards a “three association model” […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE Basketball Tasmania chief executive Chris McCoy says the structure change being put in place in the sport in Tasmania is “for the good of the game”. The governing body will move toward a “three association model” for next season (one in each region of […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE There’s a big, big sound from the west of the town. No, I’m not talking about Saturday’s AFL grand final and the possibility of Greater Western Sydney turning the city of Melbourne into something very desolate if they get up. I’m rewinding a week […]
ROB SHAW THE ADVOCATE Before it gets to tuck into an NBL feast, Tasmania is being offered an entree this weekend when the league’s pre-season competition envelopes the state. The NBL Blitz features Australia’s best home-based players including Tasmanian internationals Adam Gibson, Chris Goulding and Lucas Walker. With […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder captain Joe Chilcott has helped lead the NBL1 All-Stars to the championship at the World Basketball Invitation Tournament in Thailand on Wednesday night. Up against local team Hi-Tech Bangkok City in the final, Chilcott finished with nine points as the Australian’s ran […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE Lucas Walker says he is feeling comfortable in his new NBL home as he enters preparation mode for a return to his home state for next week’s NBL Blitz. Walker, a member of Australia’s 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medal winning team, last week signed with the […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE The North-West Thunder will again have some NBL1 All-Stars representation this year following the selection of the squad to tour Thialand next month. Thunder captain Joe Chilcott has been included in the squad, and will be one of two Tasmanian based players making the […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE North-West Coast players Reyne Smith, Taran Armstrong and coach Mark Radford have collected a gold medal for Australia at the FIBA Under 17 Oceania Championships in New Caledonia on Saturday night. Up against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in the final, the Crocs prevailed 85-56 […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE Stability and a growth in professionalism were the key factors for the North-West Thunder when reappointing coach Sam Armstrong. Armstrong has been locked in for another two seasons for the NBL1 club, which will take his tenure to five years, and will be provided […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE Despite a lack of representation from the region, the North-West Coast will still have a voice on the NBL’s Tasmania Advisory Board says Basketball Tasmania chief executive Chris McCoy. Eyebrows were raised on Friday with the announcement of the board that was made […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE The four days between September 19-22 shapes as a judgment period for not only the sport of basketball in Tasmania, but maybe sport in general. A sporting public that cries out for top-level Australian sporting teams to visit our shores will get its wish […]
ANDREW MATHIESON THE EXAMINER Launceston will have a say on the next NBL team set to land on Tasmanian shores. The recent push has been ramped up further since a visit from Larry Kestelman to Launceston earlier in the month that sowed the seeds for the creation of […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder coach Sam Armstrong says the opportunity to be a NBL1 All Stars assistant coach will be a big step forward in his own coaching journey. Armstrong on Wednesday was announced as part of a coaching group that includes Hobart Huskies’ Mark Chivers […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE Reyne Smith will be “living the dream” in September by being on the same court as NBL players in his home state. The 16-year-old Penguin shooting guard from Ulverstone on Wednesday was named as part of a strong North-West Coast contingent in the NBL1 […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE There is a significant North-West Coast feel to the NBL1 All-Stars team that will feature in NBL Blitz in Tasmania in September. The representative team was announced on Wednesday, with North-West Thunder’s Reyne Smith and former Thunder and Sydney Kings development player Lachie Barker included. […]
The NBL Blitz’s Tasmanian venture has lost a little bit of its star power, with the Sydney Kings confirming that Andrew Bogut will not be taking part in the pre-season tournament. The Kings on Tuesday said that due to commitments with the Boomers, he would miss the Blitz to ensure […]
ANDREW MATHIESON THE EXAMINER Basketball Tasmania has placed the blame squarely on debt levels and not the working relationship for the failure of Southern Huskies to forge ahead into a second New Zealand NBL season. The Tasmanian club that was seeking to join the NBL said its dealings […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder chairman Tony Barker hopes basketball in the south of the state can rebound quickly after the shock withdrawal of the Southern Huskies and Hobart Huskies from the New Zealand NBL and NBL1 competitions. In a statement released on Friday afternoon by chief […]
JARRYD MCGUANE THE ADVOCATE Kobe Jackson will fulfill a life-long dream next week when he leaves the country to start his journey as a college basketball player. The North-West Thunder and Wynyard point guard will move on campus at North Dakota’s Minot State University and will play basketball at NCAA […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE The NBL1 All-Star team which will feature in Tasmania during the NBL Blitz will be announced next week, and at this stage it is “expected to include Tasmanian players and coaches”, the league confirmed on Wednesday. The team will play the Brisbane Bullets on night one […]
ALEX FAIR THE ADVOCATE Ulverstone and Devonport stadiums have been confirmed as host venues for NBL Blitz pre-season contests next month, with three of the 10 matches that will be staged in Tasmania in this region. Ulverstone will host a double-header to open the four day visit from the national […]
ANDREW MATHIESON THE EXAMINER The worst kept secret in Australian basketball can be revealed: Tasmania will be named the home of the 10th NBL club, earmarked for as early as the 2020-21 season. “We are on that path and we hope by the end of this year we can announce […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE North-West Thunder forward Nick Banyard has been rewarded for a consistent second half of the season by being named in the top 20 nominees for the NBL1 most valuable player award. Banyard led the Thunder in points (17.8) and rebounds (9.2) per game and was second […]
JARRYD MCGUANE THE ADVOCATE It has been a whirlwind two months since Wynyard’s Tre Armstrong left the North-West Coast for the start of his college journey at Califoria Baptist University and he says he is enjoying the challenge. The sharpshooter is back in the country this week for the Lancers’ […]
BRAD COLE THE ADVOCATE Import Jordan Bowling has taken out the North-West Thunder’s most valuable player award after a thrilling count at Ulverstone on Friday night. With a number of players in contention, Bowling took out the award on 45 votes, just one clear of fellow import Nick Banyard on […]