Club-By-Club: Hooyah & Harden Up (Round 7, NBL25)

Author disclaimer: To all the players, coaches and administrators, the following opinions are mine and mine alone. It’s ALWAYS business – and NEVER personal. So, if I name you, shame you, offend you or slap you on the back and put your name up in lights, just accept it for what it is and move on.

By Damon Lowery.

Defeated by New Zealand.

HOOYAH – Big Trez, Montrezl Harrell put up a casual 25 points & 6 rebounds on a night they’d all rather forget.

HARDEN UP – Isaac Humphries, you had 1 more rebound than me. 1 rebound in 14 minutes?! It’s mystifying to me how that can happen.

Defeated Cairns.

HOOYAH – Tyrell Harrison was at his monstrous best again on the glass with 20 rebounds to go with 14 points in 30 minutes.

HARDEN UP – I need to see more from a 3x champion of this League, Casey Prather. Averaging 12 points on a struggling team ain’t enough and against the Taipans, 8 points in 25 minutes is well below what’s expected of you. We all know you still got it, but we need to see more.

Defeated by Brisbane.

HOOYAH – This is the essence of a HOOYAH! A development player, who’s forced to start because three starters are out injured and you drop an 11 point, 11 rebound double-double! We need a nickname for Alex Higgins-Titsha immediately.

HARDEN UP – Kyrin Galloway came into this game shooting more than 50% from the field and the 3-point line. In 21 minutes, he went 0 for Saturday. Chin up KG, it be like that sometimes.

Defeated by Perth.

HOOYAH – The praise keeps coming for new Australian Boomer Will ‘Davo’ Hickey. With 20 points at 71%, Davo is a shining example of never losing belief in yourself!

HARDEN UP – The constant bickering and questioning the referees was excessive, Justin Tatum. The war wasn’t with the refs, it was with Perth and the 113 pts they put on you. Your sideline behavior became infectious and your bench got a warning for carrying on. Even mild-mannered Tyler Harvey got a tech. It’s time to reel it in my man.

Defeated Sydney, defeated by New Zealand.

HOOYAH – Jack ‘Walter’ White is quietly Breaking Bad. 14 points and 11 rebounds including two massive clutch 3’s late in the game to seal the deal against Sydney.

HARDEN UP – It can happen to the best of us. Matthew Dellavedova against New Zealand could only manage 2 points and 2 assists in 22 min, and that 2 points happened in the first 3 minutes of the game. Normally a defensive juggernaut, but Parker Jackson-Cartwright turned you and the rest of your teammates into traffic cones.

Defeated Adelaide & Melbourne.

HOOYAH – His defensive prowess was on full display - Freddie ‘G’ Gillespie -  the ‘G’ stands for “Get that S#@T outta here!”. 5 huge blocks to go with 13 points and 7 rebounds was a huge effort.

HARDEN UP – Can someone please explain what’s going on with Tacko Fall? I know he’s injured and rehabbing in Auckland, but why is he here? Why is he on the bench in a Breakers warm up shirt, doing in game interviews and then joining the handshake line? May I remind you - HE’S NOT ON THE TEAM!

Defeated Illawarra, defeated by South East Melbourne.

HOOYAH – We were losing our collective minds in commentary watching you open up a whole can on Illawarra, Ben ‘10’ Henshall. 21 first half points set the tone for the night and you finished with 26 points and 6 dimes.

HARDEN UP – The sideline tantrums and frequent outbursts towards the referees gotta stop, John Rillie. I’m all for the passion but it’s starting to overshadow your team’s performances. I did giggle though when a call didn’t go your way, and you looked like you were being electrocuted. 

Defeated Tasmania & Perth.

HOOYAH – Imagine this ... one minute you’re coaching in Turkey, then you get a phone call with an offer to coach a 2-6 team in Australia to coach. You hop on a plane, have a few training sessions, go to Tasmania for your 1st game and win by 2, then fly back to Melbourne and beat Perth! Hooyah Josh King!

HARDEN UP – Recognised as one of the best bigs in the League, Jordi Hunter had more fouls (4) than shot attempts (3) against Tasmania. With that you can make your way to the H.U line.

Defeated by Melbourne, defeated Tasmania.

HOOYAH – Cam Oliver has been under the microscope and against Melbourne he delivered 18 points and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds. Then he backed that up with another double-double against Tasmania. I advise us all to get used to this level of productivity if his minutes stay consistent.

HARDEN UP – Kouat Noi, a pathological scorer and captain of the ‘Ridiculous Self Confident Team’ had a donut against the Melbourne but deserves full credit for an unbelievable bounce back game against Tasmania with 26 points. No more donuts – unless they’re Daniel’s Donuts.

Defeated by South East Melbourne & Sydney.

HOOYAH – Is Scott Roth playing defence on Will Magnay? He had 19 points at 72 per cent, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block in 21 min, but only had 2 fouls! Maybe he was sore or something because otherwise he had to play more.

HARDEN UP – For the love of all that’s Holy, can you please find a way to score? You’ve hit 70’s in 6 out of your 10 games and scored a historic low of 60 against Sydney. Do we need to change your name to the Tasmania MissedJumpers?

HOOYAH – The indigenous round jerseys look great and the stories behind them all are fantastic. I truly love seeing all the designs and the effort that goes into recognising the first peoples and their heritage.

HARDEN UP - To the Referees, I truly appreciate the job you all do and we obviously couldn’t play without you. But, it’s time to Harden Up and put a stop to this constant moaning and groaning from the coaches. I like civil conversations but when they make it uncivil, give them a warning, then tech their asses! If you want to see how it’s done, watch an international 3x3 game.