Hi from down-under! Last Friday I went to Game 3 of the FIBA-Oceania Championship Series. It's a best of three series and the winner qualifies for Beijing. when I bought the tickets I was excited to know that it will be the decisive game. The wierd thing is that when Friday arrived, the series already had been decided, with Australia winning the first two games. Nevertheless, the game was still to be played, both teams played their regulars and there were no signs of letting down. I guess playing for national honour against an archrival still matters in this part of the world. Newley was in the starting lineup. He is a very active player, stays in front of his man on defense, has good hands and swiped a few balls. He had a great block in the first quarter. Nevertheless, he was not really in the flow of the game, and was the first player to be taken out. He is active without the ball, but a lot of his movement is rather aimless. Newley's shot is fundamentally sound, however, his percentage was low. At this stage he is mostly confidence/streaky shooter, and on Friday his confidence in the shot was not there. Now, the interesting part came in the thrid quarter. The Boomers were trailing at the half, and then Newley really took over the game, turned it around and gave Australia the lead. It was all on drives to the basket. he showed very nice speed, change of direction and either finished at the hoop or got fouled. He scored 12 of the first 14 points for the Aussies and then all of a sudden got tired and took himself out of the game. After that he couldn't get it going again, and the Tall Blacks eventually won. (Australia was without Bogut.) Other interesting points: A player that will be talked about in NBA context in the next few years is Patrick Mills. He's a point guard, just turned 19, very quick, good court vision and a nice jumper. Reminds me of Aaron Brooks. He's the only aboriginal player on the team; I think he'll be playing NCAA next season. Former Nugget Darnell Mee played for Australia. He still showed some flashes at 36.
Great info, thanks. I really hope Newley can be successful in the NBA, whether it's with the Rockets or anybody else. He seems so genuinely excited on draft night.
he seems like a long long term project. hopefully he turns into decent player, when t-mac contract runs up. i don't want a long rebuilding session again. is his stamina not good at all?
Is there really a team named the Tall Blacks? I don't know if I should be outraged that there isn't such a team and you just called them that or I should be laughing my butt off that some organization actually found it within themselves to give that name to their team. OK I'm amused either way, but still...
Tall Blacks is an interesting name for a team. I had to check this out for myself. It's true. The New Zealand National Team is called the Tall Blacks. What's even stranger is the nickname came from a team called All Blacks or the Burger King Tall Blacks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_national_basketball_team
Excellent news! If you follow Newley's stats in the quite-underrated Australia leagues, you can tell he's going to be the next Steve Nash, unless some bull-headed coach gets in his way.
I fully agree that Newley is a long-term project.. he reminds me a lot of Nachbar; I was sure that Nacbar won't make it, yet he seems to have finally found a place in the league. Dug more info on Pat Mills: he is 6-1, going to St Mary, D1 NCAA next year. You should check this guy out in the States, he is much better prospect than Newley, IMO. For those of you interested in the Tall Blacks, I highly recommend their introductory dance, called HAKA. Hands down, the best pre-game huddle in sports. Check out this video against ARG. The look on Scola's face is priceless: Tall Blacks Haka
After further research, many consider the pre-game dance of Tonga to be better than the Haka. You be the judge: Haka vs Cipi Tao
well, they'll both be playing in Greece next season. I am sure their matchups will be pantheon material...
Former Channelview resident living in New Zealand chiming in here... The Tall Blacks are indeed derived from the All Blacks, the name of the national rugby team. All sports in New Zealand are influenced by rugby one way, or another. Rugby is *the* national sport of New Zealand the way that hockey is the national sport of Canada. The All Blacks got their name from the 1905 tour of Britain where they beat the crap out of everybody (the team scored 802 in matches against England, Scotland and Ireland and only gave up 22) and a journalist's typo stuck. The journalist tried to say that the team ran as fast as if they were "all backs"- but he put an "l" in it and it was printed as "all blacks." File this under: More That You Wanted to Know!
yeah - BMoney is on the money! The thing is that I don't even find it strange that they are called the 'Tall Blacks' (being from Aus and knowing the NZ Rugby Team as the 'All Blacks' - and yes, they wear black uniforms) The NZ cricket team is the 'Black Caps' and the list goes on...
Newley did look good in that third game. Mind you Patrick Mills is gonna be a baller, the kid gave the boomers the spark needed all through the series.
Damn, if some random fan living in Australia could spot the next steve nash in the far corner of the world, then Morey and crew better get scounting quick!
Perhaps, but mainly we must establish some new facts. Newley >> S. Marion (Suns) S. Marion >>>>> Any current Rockets Power Forward Ergo, Newley should start at power forward! Also, Newley = Nash (within 2 years), and Nash >>>> Any current Rocket's point guard Ergo, Newley should also start at point guard. Only Adelman's ignorance or anti-Australian attitudes can stand in the way of a Newley-led championship this year. 4-on-5, we will dominate!
