Few things before we get to the next team in my Top 5
countdown.
Try and get out to training tomorrow – I would like 25 guys
at least. I would like to run 5 on 5’s with a mix of players from different
teams playing together. Run 2 courts – 4 teams playing with 1 sitting off. I
think we should mix up who we play with every week – I’m not averse to running
with our Saturday teams some trainings but not every training.
After training (at 7.30pm) we have the AGM in the RED Centre
– please come along.
Before I write about the next team – I want to say that in
my 2008 Saturday’s A report I might have downplayed the role of the guys in the
2005, 2006 and 2007 teams. They were very good teams – the 2007 maybe had the
most talent that we have ever had in any single team in the club. I was
applying “assumed knowledge” about that time when I wrote the report – the guys
in the team knew what they needed to do to play as a team but the nature of the
way the ball was being shared might not have been conducive to team basketball.
Guys like Manners and Liam and A tried their hardest to impart the message of
chemistry, team basketball, the willingness to be unselfish … but the
exuberance of youth, as it is, made it a difficult message to impart at times. I
was not trying to downplay the guys in those teams at the time, they are/were
as important as anyone in the current run that we are on and I am sure that all
of them could have helped the 2008 and onwards teams to victory – it is just
how the cards fell at the time. It is all part of the learning process that the
club had to go through to get where we are now.
So to Number 4!
Palky’s Top 5
Favourite Old Red’s Saturday Teams – Number 4 – 2007 Saturday E’s
In 2006 we didn’t have an E’s team because we didn’t quite have enough players. In 2007 we thought we had just enough – we had Udit, Macca, Jay, Spangles, BB, Hanzolo and a young fella called Elliott. Lenny said that he would help out the team if they were short.
Two things became very apparent very quickly – Jay was just a touch too good to be in the E’s and the E’s were going to struggle for numbers every week. Elliott left the team after 2 games, Zolo left the team after 5. That left them with 5 guys, with Lenny they had 6. Then Palky stole Jay when they were 2 wins and 5 losses.
Sam Will had left the C’s – he was the C’s leading scorer and the C’s needed someone to come in and fill the void. Palky saw the opportunity to put Jay up into the C’s – this then left the E’s with 5. As you can see below – every week they were scratching around to find fill-ins but they needed a more permanent solution.
Palky put out an impassioned email to the club – explaining the team’s predicament. They had 5 players and unless they got at least 2 more players they would need to dissolve the E’s team – something that had only ever happened one other time.Then Mark “Hendo/Hondo” Henderson took up the call to arms. Hendo emailed me (I have flipped from referring to myself in the 3rd person) and said that he works with a guy who is ok and he has a mate that was ok too – they would be keen to play. All I had was two names – Brown and Yates*.
So I sent two uniforms out with Udit to Hillcrest and the
E’s once again had a team. They were 2 wins and 6 losses when these two random
dudes joined the club. Spangles also bought out a mate called Tom Murdoch.
Spangles said he was a big guy and would be able to help out on the boards.
As I wasn’t able to get out to games I was just getting photos of the scoresheets from Udit and verbal reports (this was pre weekly email reports). Udit was telling me Brown and Yates were really good. Yates was a ball handler – was super quick, could get the basket and play pretty decent D. He said that Brown was a scorer and a rebounder.
As I wasn’t able to get out to games I was just getting photos of the scoresheets from Udit and verbal reports (this was pre weekly email reports). Udit was telling me Brown and Yates were really good. Yates was a ball handler – was super quick, could get the basket and play pretty decent D. He said that Brown was a scorer and a rebounder.
Then the wins started chalking up – they were bottom of the ladder, then 7th, then 6th, then 5th … they went 5 and 2 in the last 7 games and somehow snuck into 4th spot … they made the finals by winning the last game of the regular season to get into 4th.
I remember going out and watching the Elimination Final – it was the first time I met “Yates”. Seemed like a pretty good dude, funny, good sense of humour … seemed like the kind of guy that I really wanted to hang shit on … so I did … and he laughed … and 7 years on I have hung shit on him on an almost daily basis. They won the Elimination Final easily, they won the Prelim Final easily – they were in the Grand Final.
This crazy ragtag bunch had made the final against Beaumont. Beaumont were a crew of 8 teenage kids – they had a couple of feisty chucker guards, a big goofy redhead kid from Saints and a blonde haired kid who looked like a version of me. The redhead kid was Nic Heim (we called him Big Red A) and the blonde kid was his best mate (we called him Albino Palk).
The E’s had Spangles at the point, BB at the 2, Yates at the 3, Brownie at the 4 and Murdoch at the 5 and Udit and Macca off the bench. That was an interesting line-up that would be quick but how would they guard Big Red A. At the start, Beaumont jumped out in a man and Brownie was killing them scoring in the post (he hit a crazy up and under when he was under the hoop), pull up jumpers and hitting 3’s. Spangles was getting to the basket with ease and the Reds pulled out to a massive lead. Problem was they were racking up the fouls. Brownie had 4 by half time.
In the 2nd half Brownie fouled out and the E’s main avenue to the basket was shut off – they had a 12 point lead and they were just going to need to hang on. Yates (all 5 foot 9 ¾’s of him) was matched up on 6’5’ Big Red A and he was struggling to keep him off the glass. Beaumont started to come back – the little guard for them started bombing the most ridiculous 3’s you have ever seen. Beaumont’s coach was in a suit and had a clipboard. I remember that this supplied the Reds supporters no end of enjoyment. Their coach used both his timeouts in both halves to draw up plays – we would yell things puerile things like “better watch out … he’s got a clipboard”- very childish/hilarious.
Beaumont got the lead with about 3 minutes to go and then got up 5. Macca hit a tough baseline jumper late. Yates hit BB with a pass down low and he finished and the foul. BB then stole the ball at half court and Yates scored on a layup. Beaumont hit a 3 and went up 1 with 30 seconds to go. E’s went down and missed and Beaumont dribbled the ball up – the E’s went for the steal and the clock got down to 10 so they had to foul.
The kids from Beaumont erupted like they won the game. They were jumping all over the place – they were up 1 and they were going to the line – but for some reason they had thought it was in the bag. Beaumont went to the line … missed the first … missed the second. The rebound was up for grabs. Yates was boxing out Big Red A. Heimy put his hands in Yates back and shoved him – Yates flopped and got the foul. Thing was … Beaumont were in the penalty and Yates had 2 free throws to win it.
Yates walks to the line like the cool/cocky character he is … SWISH! SWISH! E’s up 1!
Beaumont had 10 seconds to get a good shot but they launched a shot from 30 feet. It missed – Spangles was fouled. They called an intentional. Spangles missed them both but it didn’t matter - Spangles got the sideline inbound and dribbled out the time. E’s win!
I said in my early “Honourable Mention” report that the 2004 B’s were the only team to finish 4th and win the title but I forgot that the 2007 E’s did it too. I think that the 2007 E’s final is one of my 3 favourite games ever (the 1996 C’s Elimination Final and the 2011 A’s Prelim Final). We were winning so comfortably and then the wheels fell off – for us to then make 4 clutch plays down the stretch, ending with Yates drawing the foul and making those free throws.
I remember that final – watching Murdoch be an absolute crazy man in D and getting blocks all over the place, BB getting the And 1 and doing a sweet fist pump, Macca’s clutch jumper – this was back when Macca’s enthusiasm and athleticism didn’t match his shooting prowess (he improved later on), BB/Yates the steal and layup, Spangles crazy jumper in the first half when he went to pass it and had to throw it up to the rim and it went in.
I don’t want to forget Udit’s efforts in running this team and Lenny for helping the team out when they were struggling for numbers.
This was a great team because they should not have won – they were faced with hurdles all year (like me stealing their best player), they just scrapped into the finals and then won in the most dramatic fashion … and not least of all it is how I met a guy I now consider one of my best mate … too cheesy?
Ended up well for Jay too – he scored 20 in the C’s GF and
we won the title too!
I asked for Yates and Brownie’s take on the season.
Yates: “I remember Udit being hungry for shots, Macca was just starting to get the hang of playing but still couldn’t control his energy in the right directions yet and BB hustling on D as always. I remember Maccas whole family coming to every single game, and only cheering when he touched the ball. I also remember for the Grand Final, they brought out a coach in a suit. I made a joke about this to the crowd and Lenny lectured me that I should focus on the game. Good times”.
Brownie: “Udit was hungry back then. Palk, we came to the club after Hendo noticed at work that I was interested in the NBA and asked if I played. I said I'd played a little, and was looking for another run on the weekend. I asked Yates to tag along with me. I recall a great team mentality, with some raw and enthusiastic guys who could all contribute. Mostly I remember Maccas intense but absurd attack on the rim. Later in the season, his shots started to fall. It was the introduction to the most inclusive and well run club I've been involved with, and the springboard for the 2008 A's title (for me anyway). It was a really fun year - something that the club should and does pay attention to”.
Saturday E's
|
|||||||||||
Player
|
Games
|
Points
|
Pts Avg
|
FTA
|
FTM
|
FT%
|
3's
|
Fouls
|
FO
|
Hi
|
|
Brown
|
9
|
114
|
12.7
|
16
|
10
|
62.5%
|
14
|
22
|
2
|
22
|
|
Yates
|
10
|
107
|
10.7
|
28
|
16
|
57.1%
|
1
|
10
|
0
|
22
|
|
Lakra
|
16
|
102
|
6.4
|
8
|
4
|
50.0%
|
0
|
11
|
0
|
16
|
|
Nguyen
|
7
|
92
|
13.1
|
21
|
11
|
52.4%
|
7
|
8
|
0
|
26
|
|
Spangler
|
14
|
72
|
5.1
|
38
|
20
|
52.6%
|
0
|
24
|
0
|
10
|
|
Wong T.
|
8
|
61
|
7.6
|
27
|
9
|
33.3%
|
1
|
18
|
1
|
16
|
|
Murdoch
|
10
|
50
|
5.0
|
24
|
11
|
45.8%
|
3
|
37
|
1
|
11
|
|
McKinnon
|
18
|
49
|
2.7
|
8
|
1
|
12.5%
|
0
|
43
|
2
|
10
|
|
Hanzalik
|
5
|
20
|
4.0
|
15
|
8
|
53.3%
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
8
|
|
Watts
|
2
|
13
|
6.5
|
6
|
2
|
33.3%
|
1
|
5
|
0
|
8
|
|
Trim M.
|
1
|
12
|
12.0
|
0
|
0
|
~
|
4
|
2
|
0
|
12
|
|
Griffiths
|
1
|
7
|
7.0
|
4
|
3
|
75.0%
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
7
|
|
Williams
R.
|
1
|
6
|
6.0
|
0
|
0
|
~
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
6
|
|
Hill
|
1
|
5
|
5.0
|
4
|
1
|
25.0%
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
|
Will M.
|
1
|
1
|
1.0
|
2
|
1
|
50.0%
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
|
Waters
|
8
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
~
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
|
Totals
|
18
|
711
|
39.5
|
201
|
97
|
48.3%
|
31
|
201
|
6
|
77
|
20
|
Opposition
|
558
|
31.0
|
45
|
9
|
|||||||
First Half
|
Avg
|
Second Half
|
Avg
|
||||||||
PAOCBC
|
354
|
19.7
|
349
|
19.4
|
Minor Round
|
Playoffs
|
|||||
Opposition
|
274
|
15.2
|
286
|
15.9
|
4th
|
Champions
|
|||||
Total
|
Streak
|
||||||||||
Wins
|
10
|
3
|
|||||||||
Loss
|
8
|
3
|
|||||||||
*Sounds like a law firm or a sassy 80’s TV cop duo
**I have this final on DVD somewhere – I am going to upload
it to youtube.
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