The Australian men’s under-19 basketball team, the Emus, are currently engaged and excelling at the most prestigious youth basketball tournament on the planet. Yet, you’d hardly know.
Latvia is currently playing host to the FIBA under-19 world championships, a two-week tournament contested by 16 of the world’s strongest basketball nations and their most promising young talent.
Yet coverage of the tournament in Australia is virtually non-existent; no television coverage, very little print media, while even Basketball Australia’s own website isn’t too fussed about the team’s deeds.
This is unfortunate because the Emus are truly shaping up as one of the genuine contenders to win the competition, or at least bring home a medal – a feat rarely achieved in men’s basketball in this country.
By virtue of an increasingly healthy and consistent soccer media, Australian fans have been treated to significant coverage of major tournaments in recent times and know precisely what’s happening where both the national team and overseas based players are concerned.
Each of the Joeys’ under-17 World Cup matches in Mexico was shown live, as will the under 20’s exploits in Colombia early next month. The Matildas in Germany have received unprecedented exposure recently with all their games broadcast, in addition to a nightly highlights package of every other World Cup match.
In the coming weeks SBS will increase its live coverage to incorporate the final stages of each competition. For good measure they’ll also be screening the last phases of South America’s premier tournament, the Copa America, currently being staged in Argentina.
The broadcaster’s commitment is a key and profound element in aiding the development of the sport. With moving pictures of the best players in the world’s biggest competitions, the game will flourish. Without them, the sport runs the risk of stagnating, which is precisely what’s happening to basketball right now.
Its popularity in youth ranks is equal to soccer in Australia, yet Basketball Australia has been sitting on its hands for too long and now seriously runs the risk of missing out on a major opportunity for the game to grow in this country.
As Australian soccer success has produced a number of players talented enough to play overseas, so too has our appreciation and interest in the foreign leagues they inhabit and covet. The Australian audience is now much more proficient in its knowledge of international leagues and continental competitions, as well as the characters who contribute to them.
The popularity of basketball in Australia, at least at youth levels, isn’t too dissimilar to soccer, nor is the international achievements by its players. The US college system contains many of our players, as does the NBA, while the bulk of successful Australian basketballers ply their trade in Europe.
Yet TV or press coverage does little to illuminate the public’s understanding.
For the college game we can thank ESPN for showing us pictures. Ditto the NBA where the exploits of Andrew Bogut are concerned, yet we know very little of the countless Australian faces based in Europe. The leagues they play in and the teams they play for remain essentially anonymous. Without the internet, international basketball in Australia would be a virtual ghost sport.
If the Joeys or the young Socceroos achieved anything similar to what the Emu’s are doing in Latvia there’s no way whatsoever, and thankfully so, that they’d go unnoticed in the media. Furthermore you can be sure they’d be live on TV.
For a team like the Emu’s to be doing so well without any media attention is a real shame, and a golden opportunity missed to enhance and fortify the sport’s future in Australia.
At the world championships the Emu’s cruised through their first round of matches with strong wins over Argentina and Taiwan, squeezed in between a narrow loss to the hosts.
The second phase of the competition has proven even more successful for the Emu’s with a stirring come from behind win over Russia followed the next night by gritty six point defeat of Brazil. In the Emu’s final group game they triumphed over Poland by 20 points to seal top position in the group.
The Emu’s will now enter the quarter-final stage split from the US section of the draw, thus increasing the chances of a possible final against the world’s strongest basketball nation.
Unfortunately, Australian basketball fans will likely have to scrounge around for a result on the net or through box scores at FIBA’s website throughout the elimination process. Which is a shame, but one which Basketball Australia clearly isn’t too concerned about.
Basketball fans in this country should know that Anthony Drmic has lit the tournament up with 17 three point baskets and is second in scoring only behind the recent fifth pick in the NBA draft, Lithuania’s Jonas Valanciunas.
Fans should know about Jackson Aldridge from Ryde in Sydney who’s been running the point for the Emus all tournament and who’ll next year be playing for the Butler Bulldogs in the NCAA.
Bosnian-born Igor Hadziomerovic has provided a great second-scoring option to Drmic, while Adelaide 36s Mitchell Creek has arguably been Australia’s most important player. The Horsham born youngster is top of the pops for boards, assists and steals while he’s second only to Drimic where scoring is concerned.
Then there’s Will Sinclair. The 206cm centre form Lilydale who’s getting more minutes as the tournament progresses and who will be crucial to the team’s success in the final stages.
The Emu with the most potential however is Hugh Greenwood. The Tasmanian represented Australia at the last World Championships when he was just 17. He’s since grown into a more mature, well rounded basketballer and was recently signed by to the New Mexico Lobos NCAA team. In the Emu’s most recent win over Brazil, he top scored with 17.
It’s been an amazing tournament for the Emu’s which from an Australian audience perspective would have been all the more wonderful with the some pictures or at least some enthusiasm from Basketball Australia and the relevant media networks.
Instead the tournament continues, as does the scrounging around for box scores on the internet.
Luc
Guest
Well said. It said a lot for the high standard at the tournament that our boys finished with a 6-3 record and that was only good enough for 6th place. The boys distinguished themselves with genuine class and won many fans with their tough play and high skill level. Hugh Greenwood's selection to the All-Star 5 team was a major achievement. Totally agree about BA's poor coverage of the team. The BA website is comedic in its inadequacy and clunkiness. If they are trying to cut corners with their online presence, it definitely shows. Wake up BA! Well done boys!!
mushi
Roar Guru
Look I love basketball and try to cram as much NBA in my life as possible but I think the only purpose getting irate at the media coverage for the junior team is going to serve is put you in a early grave. We are saturated with sport here and it is just going to be very tough to engage with a third or fourth tier league when we have so much local sporting content. Soccer seems to get by because of the chip on the shoulder of the “football” fan where as that just isn’t the case for B-Ball. To put it in perspective though the US has hardly been showering it in media attention either.
Johnno
Guest
I no the demise of the NBL and basketball interest in Aust is one of australias national sporting tragedies. A few opinions why NBL has demised from 2000 onwards. I loved the NBL during halcyon days like lots of fans. I used to go to lots of games and loved it more even than going to rugby league matches,i used to go to matches out of sydney to watch sydney Kings away gems to i loved to so much like the snake pit in wollongong, newcastle falcons and a few times went to canberra and the hobart devil home ground to i loved it you were so close to the match not a long way back and at full time you could run on to the court and get the players autographs and get on tv jumping around they were so tall to lol, loved it like so many other kids and i used to begin a basketball to school and wore basketball clothes then all that died interest wise when MJ left the league and form Sydney 2000 olympics after, only now watch the NBA grand final and olympic basketball, but have great sadness and love of the NBL was great comp. Bad basketball managemnt in AUST by BA and NBL, apparently they have merged or had a strategic review about 2 years ago and restructures so hopefully next 10 years basketball will be healthy or improve. ALso wages have gone up massively in Euro leagues and they are getting the best of the rest imports now not Aust before, it used to be 50/50. We used to have arguably the 2nd best National Basketball league in the world, sadly those days feel a long time ago 1 generation 10 years ago. I think major eason is euro leagues more money, like in soccer , or increasingly now in rugby to with euro and japan more money than in Aust. but apparently andrew gaze said about 5 years ago junior numbers wise basketball is popular but just form senior onwards it loses momentum. Basketballis a world sport like soccer, and china NBA is huge basketball is big rin china than soccer or just as big. Example of Euro league they get the dwayne mclains, Doug Overton's, rob roses, scott fisher, and ricky graces of this world now, and also they get NBA players trying o rebuild there career the ALna iverosn's of this world a former NBA MVO, he apparanelty wanted to come to Australia but we could not get enough 3rd party sponsorship for him, he would of been awesome coup for the NBL.
Aware
Guest
Not only that but they had a high quality national league and let it go to ruin. They let Victoria's clubs rot and then they lost the Brisbane Bullets- very poor management. The NBL used to have sell-out crowds in the 80s and 90s up to 2000 and that just vanished under really bad management and it still isn't clear how that happened. Eventually, they were being beaten out of world championship qualification by New Zealand, who had only one professional team.
Johnno
Guest
I watched that game other than cathy freeman and equal to Ian thorpes swimming events that was the biggest moment in the sydney 2000 olympics, I was so pumped up i would of paid $500 to watch the final if australia had made it wouldof been awesome ot say i watched the aussie svs the dream team in a home olympic final. Oh well wasn't meant to be. but i remember watching that game as was so annoyed and form memory they changed there tactics late in 2nd haf when all to late. Im so surprised the aussie team the senior players did not stand up to barry barnes, andrew Gaze, Luke longely, Shane heal, bradtke, Vlahov, RIcky grace, Mckinnon, anstey what a team but they seemingly accepted the coach plans , they had enough experience to know that this tactic was pathetic and if they didn't stand up to the coaching staff namely just one barrack barnes he was going to cost them a silver medal, i NEVER SAW brian Gorjian adopt the shuffle offense stupid outdated tactics. ANdother times they have been inconsistent, they had a decent team in spain in 92 at didn't play well either, did good at atlanta and if luke longely had been fit we may of pinched bronze form lithuania who had big 7'3 NBA centre Sabonis, fellow NBA MJ'sBulls Luke longley 7'2 could of matched up to him, bradke at top level is only a power forwad or off the bench centre 6'10 not your starting centre.
Aware
Guest
The Sydney Olympics is a good example. I'm glad you brought that up. You can point to bad tactics but the players knew their game and Andrew Gaze especially could have influenced the coach to play the right game. People walking out and booing was not a good look when they were thrashed by an unheralded French team. Even in the recent world champs, they thrashed good teams one day and then fell over the next time against equal or lesser teams. That inconsistency has hurt their brand for a long time.
Johnno
Guest
We should of sneaked in for silver at the sydney olympics 2000 we easily couldof beaten France we had the talent, but Barry Barnes lousy tactics, playing the shuffle offence was pathetic with the big team we had. That would of been huge for Aussie basketball mens final vs dream team usa 2000 in sydney would of been huge oh wlel was not meant to be. It's funny though the opals have performed well at olympic level and the WNBA is filled with quality aussie talent but we never hear about the aussie woman's junior teams funny observation i have noticed.
Aware
Guest
May I play the devil's advocate here? I think if the senior mens' teams had not been such underacheivers down the years, these admirable youngsters would have had more coverage. It's good that Andrew Bogut is touting their cause but he is one who has consistently let us down in senior olympic competitions- not the only one to let us down, but someone with the highest of credentials; Andrew has been inconsistent in major competitions to say the least. In contrast, our senior women have punched well above their weight on the international scene, and even won a world championship, and have only struggled against the US alone, which is perfectly understandable.
Johnno
Guest
The matildas girls soccer team, and the joeys under 17 mens teams are getting a lot of interest and attention courtesy of the soccer's qualifying for the last 2 world cup thus creating an inters tin soccer on all level sin australai bar the aleague which has dropped off. The olyroos in many ways because of there great success in the early 90's in many ways are a total independent brand separated from the socceroos cultural wise and just perception as a team. The hockeyroos girls team are defiantly seen as an independent team totally different to the kookaburras mens team, and the davis cup and fed cup team have enough bran separation. if the matildas get to the semi finals of this womans world cup in germany they to will have that cultural independent speration i feel form the soccer's. Boomers were huge during NBA jordan hype of 90's halcyon days of the NBL in 90's to. I remember quite well now watching Shane Heal smoke the dream team in pre Olympic warm up for Atlanta 96 olympics, and remember at school in australia in 1996 we got the school period off to watch Dream team USA 96 version, take on Australia Boomers in quarter final so the hype was defiantly there for basketball and there is a passionate underground basketball community out there in australia still it would be good to get it mainstream again, and part of that problem lies with past BA mismanagement of the NBL which was quality comp that attracted so many imp[orts with NBA experience, also Euro league sofa remora money now so that has seriously cut the NBLS ability to attract top imports and keep the best of aussie talent that can't make the NBA.
B-Rock
Roar Guru
I think investing in the boomers has a massive trickle down effect for the likes of the Emus - even junior teams in rugby union and league get attention off the back of the professional teams. Unfortunately a junior team will never get media attention in their own right, it is wrapped up in the promotion of the sport as a whole. The sucess of the NRL U20s comp and the coverage the Junior Wallabies got in the recent junior WCs prove that fans are interested in seeing the next generation coming through. College sport in the US is evidence enough of this. I think your comments on point 2 are correct - all you need is one tech savvy person travelling with the team and some people connected to media outlets back in Oz to increase the profile of the junior teams. My broader point was that the issue is bigger than the Emus - it cannot be solved in isolation - its about the promotion of the sport as a whole. This is a great opportunity with the NBA having a real revival to piggy back off these stars, develop and market local talent and reform the management of the game. BA got the sport into this mess, it is their job to sort it out.
Travis Reid
Roar Rookie
Bev - Thanks for your message. I may be one of the rare few, but I can assure you that outside of my family, my true passion is the success of our national basketball teams. Whilst I can't have a major influence on this at the moment, I take most opportunities to do what I can, and try to get the message out there. The guys are elite athletes and have worked so hard to get to this level where they can wear the green and gold. They deserve to be seen and heard, and have their achievements promoted to the wider sporting public. B-Rock - All I can say is 'hear, hear'. You've touched on so many valid points, I don't know where to start! I'll just run with responses to your numbered items; 1. I agree, the profile of the Boomers is poor. Its a bit of a double edged sword. Would a higher profile for the Boomers indirectly bring more attention to the Emus? Or could better promotion of the Emus and their players then bring more attention to the Boomers as the players such as Greenwood step up and make Boomers camps and teams? 2. Yes, its not entirely the medias fault, but in this internet age its quite easy to get an article up online, even if it doesnt go into a print edition. But you are quite right about Basketball Australia. They have a media and communications staff, but quite often I'm left wondering what they actually do. On the three BA controlled twitter accounts I follow, there has not been one mention of the Emus. There should be a media representative travelling with the teams, making themselves available for radio and TV interviews, posting articles online, recording video interviews with players and coaches and posting them to youtube along with game highlights. If BA arent prepared to invest in telling the story, then we cant blame the media for not wanting to - why should they?
B-Rock
Roar Guru
Great article - A couple of points I would add: 1. This is not an issue specific to the junior national teams. The media profile of the NBL and the Boomers is equally as poor. 2. The current state of Australian basketball is due to poor management by BA. You cant blame the media, they only report what the punters demand, and basketball is not even on the radar any more. Maybe I am biased having played basketball for most of my life but there is no reason why basketball should be in this state - the NBL is a high quality league, participation levels remain high, our national teams are consistently in the top 5-8 in the world, we have plenty of exciting players, the NBA is having a resurgence (lockout notwithstanding) etc. In the 90's basketball was knocking on the door of the traditional English sports and AFL - we have to ask, why was this and what do we need to do to get back there? - Like it or not we need better imports in the NBL, clearly this requires greater funding from BA/Govt/etc as the clubs are struggling. Oz talent is much better than what it was 20yrs ago when the NBL was at its peak - this is not the issue. Fans came to see Dwayne McClain, Leon Trimmingham and Isaac Burton, not Damien Keogh and Mark Dalton. Imports do not need to be NBA level talent but they do need to be super athletic. Dunks fill arenas, the NBL should be targeting young athletes which dont get drafted and are building their careers - highlight the strong AUD, lifestyle benefits of Oz vs. Lithuania/Russia etc. It cannot be that hard to organise a cap exemption for each team to pay $500K+ for one quality import, subsidised by the NBL. - The teams connected with the community much better than in recent years - while some teams do this better than others, it needs to be a full on attack on schools in order to get juniors to drag parents along to the games - Get rid of cheerleaders - they are outdated and dont appeal to the family market the NBL is targeting. You dont pay money to go to games to watch cheerleaders - my wife hates basketball largely due to cheerleaders. Is it just me or is it awkward if you are sitting wilth your daughter/wife/gf/mum/whoever when they start gyrating. If you insist on keeping them, turn it around to US college style cheerleaders/gymnastic routines. At least they have some credibility this way. - Scrap games not on Friday or Saturday night - no one even wants to go to rugby league on a week night, so they will certainly not go to the NBL on a Wednesday. TV coverage benefits are not large enough to offset the lower crowds on these nights (as they are in the NRL). Scrap Sunday arvo/night games too - the NBL plays indoors - the benefit of Sunday games, particularly if played in the summer, is to be out in the sun - doesnt have the same ring to it in a basketball stadium. - Utilise the net and social media in particular - basketball is a youth sport, target the youth at their level - when the extent of your marketing effort is an ameteurish add on One HD you are not promoting the sport. Hire some gun internet marketers, get on Twitter, blogs, facebook, viral marketing strategies, develop some decent apps and ramp up the communication effort. The BA website is a joke - as you mention, it barely even mentions the junior teams in the world champs. Complete overhaul needed. This is not overly expensive stuff - the democratisation of the internet rewards intelligent strategies, not expensive ads in broadsheet papers and during the 6pm news. - Promote the successful Aussie players in the US and Europe (as you highlight above) - other than Bogut, these guys have virtually no profile. Patty Mills was playing significant minutes in the playoffs for POR but there was no coverage. We bother to build the brands of Matt Nielsen, Brad Newley, etc, lose them to Europe then never hear about them again - its crazy stuff - keep the marketing effort on these guys going - they could come back to the NBL or will at least play for the boomers. A question also - with the restructure of One HD will the NBL still be shown this season? If its not that is a disaster Apologies for the excessively long post - there is just so much to address. Any other thoughts/ideas or am I just dreaming?
Bev
Guest
To James and Travis Congratulations to you both on your interest and enthusiasm for the Emu's. As a parent of one of the boys, it has been extremely disappointing to say the least to see such a lack of coverage for a World Championship sporting event. This team won the Albert Schwitzer Tournament last year in Germany, considered to be the unofficial Under 18 championships for the first time ever! They now have a real chance of winning the World Championship. For those of us who were not able to travel to Latvia to support them, Its wonderful and encouraging to find there are such dedicated people willing to publicly support these amazing young men. Lets go Emu's!!
Fivehole
Guest
A couple of relevant articles. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/luke_winn/07/06/FIBA.U19.Aussies/index.html http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/luke_winn/07/07/FIBA.U19.prospects/index.html
Travis Reid
Roar Rookie
Hi James, Fantastic article mate. Really great stuff. The lack of coverage for the Emus has been appalling. They currently sit with a 5-1 win-loss record, the only other team with that record is the USA. As you mentioned in your article, if the Joeys were achieving a similar feat in the under-17 World Cup it would probably be splashed all across the back sports pages of the major daily newspapers. But this is the problem with basketball in this country at the moment - lack of media coverage, and a lack of creativity by the major basketball organisations to connect with their fan base. I'm a regular twitter user, and I can’t say that I've seen one tweet on any of the accounts of theirs that I follow. This is just not good enough! So congrats to you for going out there and making a difference mate by writing this article. It’s the same motivation that prompted me to call SEN sports radio here in Melbourne yesterday morning, just to get the Emus a mention. I've been listening to them speak about the Joeys and Matildas for the best part of a couple of weeks (which I don’t have a problem with, they should be promoting ALL Aussie national teams), so I thought it was time the Emus got some love too. People have short memories, as it was only back in 2003 that we won the u-19 world championships, with a team that featured current Australian basketball superstars such as Andrew Bogut, Aleks Maric, Brad Newley and Damian Martin, all guys who are now regular members of our senior national team, the Boomers, and whom will likely be leading Australia's charge to a medal at the Olympics in London next year. Whilst the current crop of Emus may not reach the heights of the players mentioned, the likes of Greenwood, Drmic, Hadziomerovic and Mitch Creek will push for senior national selection for the best part of the next 10-15 years. This is a chance for all hoops fans to see them at the infancy of their careers. A recent criticism of basketball in this country has been the number of players plying their trades overseas, making them 'inaccessible' to basketball fans. Well, Hugh Greenwood has been filling in time between his AIS and college careers by plying his trade in the SEABL for his hometown Hobart Chargers. I watched him play out at Kilsyth a couple of weeks ago, he'll be back in Melbourne on July 16th against Dandenong. Mitch Creek plays in the NBL at the moment for the Adelaide 36ers, so be sure to catch him at a game while you can! All in all, the future for basketball in this country is very bright, we just need more people like you James who are prepared to take them to the fans and tell their story! Well done mate. Keep up the great work. Thanks for supporting the great game of basketball.