The Advocate

CLAUDIA WILLIAMS   THE ADVOCATE  The hunt is on for a name that captures the spirit of Tasmania for the state’s new NBL team. The NBL has launched a four-week campaign asking Tasmanians of all ages to nominate their team names ahead of Tasmania’s entry into the league in the 2021-22 […]

ALEX FAIR   THE ADVOCATE   Five key roles have been identified and advertised for Tasmania’s re-entry into the NBL in 2021-22. The positions of chief executive officer, commercial manager, head of operations, membership and community engagement manager and marketing coordinator mark the first major steps in establishing the team following the […]

ALEX FAIR   THE ADVOCATE   While the idea of NBL1 clubs being part of Basketball Tasmania’s state league competition is still very much on the table, the chances of the North-West Thunder being part of it seem very slim. Despite formal invitations not yet being issued, North-West Thunder chairman Tony […]

HAMISH GEALE   THE ADVOCATE   The Derwent Entertainment Centre upgrade has taken all the headlines as Tasmania prepares for re-entry to the NBL, but league owner Larry Kestelman is equally keen to get Launceston’s Silverdome complex up to standard. Tasmania was confirmed as the NBL’s 10th team on Thursday, nearly one year […]

BRAD COLE   THE ADVOCATE   For most of Ryan Williams’ teenage years, basketball was his passion. Not only did Williams love the sport, he was also talented at it, having played in championship-winning NWBU inter-town junior teams for Devonport and representing his state with distinction at underage level. In 2005 […]

BRAD COLE   THE ADVOCTE   Tasmania’s official re-entry into the national basketball landscape is seen as an exciting opportunity to help aspiring local stars access the game at the top level. Mark Radford and Mason Bragg have both tasted life in the NBL in previous years as an assistant coach and […]

ALEX FAIR   THE ADVOCATE   Tasmania’s re-entry into the NBL in 2021/2022 has been confirmed. The NBL and the state government’s agreement has been finalised, meaning the league will issue a licence for the state to participate in the 2021/2022 season. The agreement includes the state government providing $68.5 million for […]

JARRYD MCGUANE  THE ADVOCATE   The next generation of basketball stars will get the opportunity to develop their skills under the tutelage of Basketball Tasmania’s coaches during the school holidays. Basketball Tasmania will bring the BTAS Macca’s On Your Team basketball camps back to the North-West Coast for two days at […]

ANDREW MATHIESON   THE ADVOCATE   Settling a stadium deal overnight between the NBL and state government has ensured that Tasmania will enter the competition ahead of next year’s 2021-22 season. It has also allayed fears the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic that has stunted the state budget could have delayed […]

BRAD COLE   THE ADVOCATE   Basketball participants in Tasmania have received a bonus as they wait for their sport to re-open thanks to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions by the State Government earlier this week. From Friday afternoon, clubs and teams can resume training in a modified format with up to […]

HAMISH GEALE   THE ADVOCATE   Premier Peter Gutwein insists the state’s NBL dreams haven’t been blocked by the coronavirus outbreak.  Tasmania was awarded the league’s 10th licence in late February, signalling the end of a 25-year absence from the national competition. The deal with the NBL included a government-funded overhaul of the […]

ALEX FAIR   THE ADVOCATE   North-West Thunder chairman Tony Barker says his club would be willing to listen to any invitation to be part of a revamped state league competition in 2020, but not if it was damaging to NWBU clubs. With that in mind, he said this week he wasn’t […]

ALEX FAIR   THE ADVOCATE   The idea of NWBU clubs participating in a state league competition which could also feature NBL1 teams will be addressed at its board meeting on Wednesday might. Basketball Tasmania chief executive Chris McCoy revealed over the weekend the North-West Thunder, Hobart Chargers and Launceston Tornadoes would […]

JARRYD MCGUANE   THE ADVOCATE   Basketball Tasmania chief executive Chris McCoy says NBL1 clubs will not be allowed in state league if it is at the detriment of statewide associations. With the NBL1 and NWBU competitions abandoned for 2020 because of coronavirus, a revised Basketball Tasmania State League will be […]

JARRYD MCGUANE   THE ADVOCATE   Basketball Tasmania chief executive Chris McCoy is quietly confident that associations will be able to return to their stadiums soon. Premier Peter Gutwein announced the state’s three stage plan for recovery from the COVID-19 shutdown on Friday, with June 15 (stage two) the date that community […]

JARRYD MCGUANE   THE ADVOCATE   Basketball Tasmania chief executive Chris McCoy is thankful that some organisational financial stress has been eased by assistance from the state government. Seven sporting organisations have received assistance in the first wave of grants through the state’s support package for the recreational and sport sector to […]

ANDREW MATHIESON   THE ADVOCATE   First it was the Tasmanian government asking for a brief breather from negotiating its NBL team from scratch amid being gripped by the impacts of the COVID-19 virus. Now the Premier has put a halt to the refurbishment of the team’s hometown court.  The proposal to […]

ANDREW MATHIESON   THE ADVOCATE   Plans for a Tasmanian NBL team to debut ahead of the 2021-22 campaign could be held off “possibly” a further 12 months behind schedule. Basketball Tasmania chief executive Chris McCoy said a delay would not be the worst scenario to happen to escape the lingering impacts […]

BRAD COLE   THE ADVOCATE   The season for North-West Thunder recruit and Penguin premiership player Jacob Richards may be over on the local front, but it hasn’t stopped him from realising a dream move to America. The 18-year-old, who moved from Hobart to live on the Coast this year, has signed […]

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, […]

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 […]