SBL Shootaround

We've got to Episode 20 in Men's SBL Shootaround and it's our lucky last show of 2020 and what better way to finish things off than being joined by the father-son championship winning captain-coach duo from the Warwick Senators as we wrap up the West Coast Classic and the year that we've had here on the show. We open up Episode 20 of Men's SBL Shootaround as co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge provide a full rundown of the finals weekend in the West Coast Classic which ultimately saw the Warwick Senators bring the first banner since the inception of the SBL to Warwick Stadium. Continuing on from that discussion, we then chat with Mike and Cody Ellis about their championship triumph together with the Warwick Senators. We discuss what it means for the father and son to share in a championship together, and what it means to win for the Senators and also their thoughts on just how strong and successful the West Coast Classic has been in 2020. We also discuss with Mike where this success rates in his achievement during his 48-year involved with the Senators in a life in basketball that obviously also has him an all-time NBL great at the Perth Wildcats where he was a 302-game player and the inaugural championship winning captain. We also talk with Cody about his relationship with this group at the Senators and what it means to him as well as looking back on his strong 150-game NBL career that he put together and how he feels about things moving forward. We then continue on SBL Shootaround but continuing to look back on the season that was in the West Coast Coast with Ben Ettridge telling us where the finals teams are on the championship clock moving forward. We also discuss the now vacant head coaching position at the Willetton Tigers. Then it's time to wrap things up on SBL Shootaround for 2020 with a big thank you to our guests and listeners while Ben announces his Personality of the Year and then signs off for the season.

It's a bit sad that this is the last Women's SBL Shootaround episode of 2020 but we are going out with a bang with Makailah Dyer joining us as co-host, Sami Whitcomb joining us as a very special guest and then we wrap up the finals weekend of the West Coast Classic. It's a massive final episode of Women's SBL Shootaround this week with regular co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel joined in the studio by two-time SBL All-Star Five superstar guard and Her Hoops AU founder Makailah Dyer. We open up the show by breaking down what we saw in the finals weekend of the West Coast Classic that ultimately saw the Joondalup Wolves defeat the Perry Lakes in the Grand Final. It's then time to chat with the legend herself Sami Whitcomb and boy is there a lot of ground to cover. We chat to her about reaching another WNBA Finals with the Seattle Storm but now her decision to return home to Perth to be with pregnant wife Kate Malpass, and why she has to go through four weeks of quarantine just to get home! We then talk basketball and discuss her time in the WNBA at the Seattle Storm, reflect back on her joining the Rockingham Flames and why her brilliant SBL form saw her break down the door for a WNBL opportunity with the Perth Lynx. We also discuss why she's so excited to return to the Lynx for the upcoming WNBL season and then we talk motherhood, where home will be and just how competitive her and Kate's baby son will be. It's a fascinating discussion but then we continue on with SBL Shootaround to breakdown in more detail what we saw this season in the West Coast Classic in terms of our Wandering Distillery Player of the Week award winners, the Bassett-Scarfe Realty Player of the Year award winner, and then breakdown how we saw all 12 teams. It's then time to put Makailah Dyer under the microscope to discuss Her Hoops AU and her basketball journey before wrapping things up on SBL Shootaround for 2020.

It's finals time in the #WestCoastClassic and as a result we have crammed as much into one episode of #SBLShootaround as we can with a full season breakdown and finals preview, and have a special guest of a coach involved still and who played alongside Steve Nash for Canada at the Sydney Olympics.   We start this week on SBL Shootaround by breaking down the race to the finals which saw the Joondalup Wolves and Lakeside Lightning prevail in do-or-die last round match ups against the Willetton Tigers and Perth Redbacks to advance ahead of their direct opponents.   We also break down this prolific Warwick Senators team who has finished on top of the ladder and compare how they might perform against our list of star guests here on SBL Shootaround over the past 18 episodes.   We speak with two-time SBL Coach of the Year Dave Daniels about life at Lakeside, why he loves the life and basketball so much down under and his thoughts on #WestCoastClassic.   But we discuss so much more including playing for Canada at Sydney Olympics alongside Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash, coaching against the Joondalup Wolves and Ben Ettridge and so much more.   We aren't done with there either as it's time for two-time championship winning coach Ben Ettridge to run his rule over all the teams who didn't make the finals in the West Coast Classic.   We then provide our full preview and predictions for the finals this weekend and then sign off for the second last time in 2020!

This is a truly monster episode of SBL Shootaround as we provide a full rundown on the last round of the West Coast Classic, name our last Wandering Distillery Player of the Week, update the Bassett-Scarfe Realty Player of the Year, provide a full finals preview thanks to Her Hoops AU and our special guest is a triple MVP winning all-time great. The huge episode of SBL Shootaround begins with co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel wrapping up the race for the finals in the West Coast Classic with Perry Lakes Hawks booking in their spot alongside Warwick Senators, Joondalup Wolves and Rockingham Flames. We then run through our candidates for the Wandering Distillery Player of the Week and announce our winner who will receive a voucher in the mail as a result. We then update our leaderboard in the Bassett-Scarfe Realty Player of the Year award and we couldn't separate Stacy Barr and Ash Isenbarger meaning that our listeners will now vote this week to determine the winner. It's then time for a full rundown of the results in Round 9 of the West Coast Classic to wrap up the regular season We then turn our attention to our special guest and it doesn't get much better than the triple SBL MVP winning, Grand Final MVP and championship winner with the Lakeside Lightning, Ali Schwagmeyer-Belger. We obviously discuss her time in the SBL and how special of a place Lakeside will be to her for so many reasons for the platform it provided to break into the WNBL, her bond with coach Craig Mansfield and with her teammates and also the home it provided at the most challenging time in her life following the tragic loss of her sister. We also discuss Ali's journey into the WNBL firstly at the Perth Lynx and now with the Sydney Uni Flames, and how she still has goals to play in EuroLeague and the WNBA. We also get to know Ali on a more personal level and dig deep on what makes her tick and what things are most important to her, how she is so thankful to have Courtney Belger by her side and we even discuss with Ali what it was like to snatch an SBL championship away from Randy Miegel and the Mandurah Magic. It really is one of the most fascinating discussions we've had with a guest all season long on SBL Shootaround. We aren't done there, we come back and provide a full preview of this weekend's West Coast Classic finals as well thanks to Her Hoops AU. 

Business is picking up with one round remaining in the West Coast Classic and we are following suit here on SBL Shootaround with an in-depth look at all the finals potentials along with an update on our All-Star Game and two very special guests from two men heavily involved in the competition. First up on Men's SBL Shootaround this week and we take a look at some of the raging West Coast Classic questions with one round to go: Are the Senators the team to beat? Will Hawks beat Cougars to book in home final? Who are you backing in massive Saturday night contests featuring Lightning v Redbacks, Wolves v Tigers and Senators v Flames to determine final spots? We then further analyse our virtual SBL Shootaround All-Star Game coached by our co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge. We reveal the results from the votes given by our listeners and Ben also runs his rule over all the match ups. Then after taking a close look at all the results from Round 8 in the West Coast Classic, it's time to get to our two guests for this week. First up is five-time SBL Referee of the Year, along with WNBL and NBL official Steve Diconza. We have a tremendous chat about life as a referee, the challenges of 2020, the differences between SBL and WNBL/NBL, building rapport with players/coaches, sharing refereeing with his wife and brother, what refereeing Ben Ettridge was like, and much more. Then our second guest for Episode 18 is rising East Perth superstar Shaquille Maharaj. He has proved one of the best players in the West Coast Classic with the Eagles having returned from his college career in Canada at Camosun College. He's delivering 20.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game in the West Coast Classic with the 23-year-old keen to now embark on a professional career which he hopes does start in Perth as a Wildcats development player. We then have a full preview of Round 9 in the West Coast Classic and talk about who we expect to see in the finals and that's it all for another week of Men's SBL Shootaround!

Things continue to go up a notch week after week here on SBL Shootaround and what a show this one is with the announcement of a new sponsor, naming of Wandering Distillery Player of the Week, update on Bassett-Scarfe Realty Player of the Year and we speak to a legend of West Australian basketball. This massive show begins with co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel providing an update on the status of the race to finals positions in the West Coast Classic with one round of the competition remaining and seven teams genuinely still in the hunt. We then take a look at all the candidates for the Round 8 Wandering Distillery Player of the Week award and we settle on Joondalup Wolves superstar Kayla Steindl after two massive performances for the top-of-the-table Lady Wolfpack. We then provide an update on the Bassett-Scarfe Realty Player of the Year award and announce the very special prize which is a Mandurah Getaway including a night for two at The Sebel, dinner for two at Catch 22 and also a Dolphin and Scenic Marin Cruise for two. We then rundown in more detail everything that took place in Round 8 of the West Coast Classic as the race for the finals heats up. It's then time for our special guest of this week and it's the legend herself from the Mandurah Magic, Casey Mihovilovich. We discuss why she settled on being known as Casey Milo early in life and then get to discussing her unbelievable playing career. She is a 13-time Mandurah Magic MVP, an SBL MVP winner, a five-time All-Star Five representative and has now played 490 SBL games to be second all-time having made her debut with the Magic as a 14-year-old. She has also played in the WNBL with the Perth Lynx/West Coast Waves, has reached six SBL Grand Finals and done it all while a mother of two and working full-time. We talk about what continues to drive her on, her plans to play on in 2021 and why there's so much more to her love of basketball than just what happens on the court. It's a fascinating chat and made all the more enjoyable given her relationship with Randy Miegel who coached her for five years with the pair reaching two Grand Finals together. We then announce our new partner and sponsor of our preview segment on SBL Shootaround, Her Hoops AU while giving our thoughts on the final round of the West Coast Classic with the final spots up for grabs.

Getting towards the business end now of the SBL replacement West Coast Classic and we are kicking it up a notch on SBL Shootaround by analysing it all along with announcing our All-Star Teams and speaking with a current player who is already an all-time great. We open up Episode 17 of SBL Shootaround by taking a look at a fascinating Round 7 in the West Coast Classic where the Warwick Senators and Perth Redbacks kept on winning while the Willetton Tigers and Lakeside Lightning suffered tough Friday night losses, and the Goldfields Giants took their winning form on the road. It was then time for our co-hosts to put on their coaching hats and select their All-Star Teams from the West Coast Classic. Chris Pike is coach of the South team and Ben Ettridge of the North so they picked their teams of 12 and we'll come back next week to determine a winner! We then have a chat with Cockburn Cougars captain and all-time great Gavin Field. He has now played 250 SBL games with the Cougars, has been part of two championships and is universally as one of the best pure scorers and all-round players to ever lace up a pair of boots in WA basketball. But we chat to him about plenty including what Cockburn means to he and his family, and what it always has, talk about the type of player he is and the NBA legend he might remind us of and also reflect back on the highs and lows of his career to date. We also chat about his college career at West Georgia and then turn our attention to his life as a husband, father and teacher along with plenty more. He even passed on something to Ben Ettridge he is going to use in his coaching moving forward. We then keep moving on SBL Shootaround by providing a full preview of Round 8 in the West Coast Classic.

We are planning a monster final month here on SBL Shootaround to close out 2020 to coincide with the end of the West Coast Classic, and that begins this week as the finals heats up as we announce Player of the Week, update Player of the Year and speak with the reigning MVP who is on fire. First up on SBL Shootaround for Episode 15 is a look at how the West Coast Classic is shaping up with just two rounds to go before the finals weekend and the Round 7 results and action that we saw on the weekend. It's then time to decide our Wandering Distillery Player of the Week and while our guest for this week might have been the obvious choice, she's already received a voucher this season so that meant our 2-vote getting was named the winner for Round 7. We then provide an update on the race to win the Bassett-Scarfe Realty Player of the Year award and we now have two players tied on 6 votes with two weeks remaining. It's then time to turn our focus to our guest for this week and it's the reigning SBL MVP winners, Warwick Senators superstar and the West Coast Classic's leading scorer, Stacey Barr. There's so much ground for us to cover with Stacey including her 49-point performance on Saturday and just how she feels when she gets in the zone like that. But we also discuss her remarkable career playing in the SBL, Big V and SEABL as well as her four years at the University of Idaho where she went on to become the schools' all-time three-point leader along with a host of other accomplishments. She's also had a stint in the WNBL with the Perth Lynx and we discuss her ambitions there along with having spent two years playing in the AFLW with the Fremantle Dockers as well as now moving into her teaching career full-time. SBL Shootaround then continues with a preview of Round 8 in the West Coast Classic before Randy Miegel finishes off with another story from his lifetime in basketball. 

We aren't taking our foot off the gas here at SBL Shootaround and we bring you another massive show this week as things heat up with just three weeks remaining in the West Coast Classic while we speak to a four-time NBL championship winning Perth Wildcats great who prefers to be known for the work he's now doing in the mental health space. It's a huge Episode 16 of Men's SBL Shootaround with co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge looking at everything going on in the West Coast Classic. In Round 6, that included a monster 45-point outburst from Jackson Hussey, a thrilling win for Mark Worthington's South West Slammers and the Goldfields Giants and Geraldton Buccaneers continuing to win at home. There was also a focus on the race for the top four spots with just three rounds remaining before the finals weekend and we run the knife over all the results from the Round 6 action. It's then time for this week's guest and it's none other than 243-game, four-time Perth Wildcats NBL championship winner Greg Hire. We also discuss his 198-game SBL career with the Joondalup Wolves and Rockingham Flames which includes the 2011 championship where he won the Grand Final, and also his 3x3 exploits representing Australia since retiring from the 'Cats. But this is a chat about much more than that as Greg reconnects with two co-hosts he has a long history with and the stories shared about his tough upbringing before he met Ben who would go on to become his high school Phys Ed teacher and ultimately his SBL coach are remarkable. However, what makes Greg such a remarkable figure and role model is the work he is now doing to raise awareness of mental health in the community and his willingness to back up his words by helping as many people as possible, and partnering up with as many organisations as possible to have an impact. There's every chance Greg's legacy in mental health awareness will trump anything he did as a basketball player and that's what makes this a fascinating discussion. But there's plenty of basketball goodness in there for you to enjoy too! It's then time to preview Round 7 upcoming in the West Coast Classic as we sign off for another week of SBL Shootaround.

A monster episode of SBL Shootaround this week as the action heats up in the West Coast Classic as we name our Wandering Distillery Player of the Week, update the Bassett-Scarfe Realty Player of the Year and talk to two very special guests. Episode 14 of SBL Shootaround sees co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel open up by taking a look at how the West Coast Classic is shaping up after the Round 6 action and then dissect the candidates for the Wandering Distillery Player of the Week. For Round 6 the debate landed with Rockingham Flames' Christina Boag while an update was provided on the race to win the Bassett-Scarfe Realty Player of the Year from the West Coast Classic. It was then time to dissect all the action in more detail from Round 6 in the West Coast Classic before moving on to our two guests for this week. First up was Kalamunda Eastern Suns star big Jessie Edwards. We talked about her outstanding West Coast Classic so far back at home with the Eastern Suns as well as signing a full WNBL contract with the Perth Lynx for the upcoming season and how much that means to her having already been a development player previously at the Lynx and Adelaide Lightning, and spending a season playing professionally in Europe. We also discuss her time at college at the University of Minnesota, if football was ever a calling with her father Craig a 200-game WAFL player at South Fremantle and East Perth, and a Sandover Medallist, and much more. Our second guest was then Lakeside Lightning star Ash Isenbarger. We discuss her championship win back in 2018 against Randy's Mandurah Magic along with what makes Lakeside so special to her and the fact that she met her husband Jack there as well only adds to that. We also talk about Ash's time so far in the WNBL at the Lynx and Melbourne Boomers, and her desire to earn another opportunity at the top level but also an overall look at her life and ambitions. All up, it's hard not to get caught up in the infectious energy and positivity she provides. Then next up on Episode 14 is a look at Round 7 in the West Coast Classic before Randy wraps up with another famous story from his days in basketball.

We are up to Episode 15 on Men's SBL Shootaround and we aren't slowing down as we bring you all the latest on the West Coast Classic while talking to one of Australia's greatest ever basketball players. It's Episode 15 of SBL Shootaround with Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge opening up with a look at three teams putting together some particularly exciting form right now in the West Coast Classic - the Willetton Tigers, Warwick Senators and Goldfields Giants. We then take a look at the key players across a host of teams and discuss whether we will see any more of them in the West Coast Classic over the next month or not. It's then time for a full breakdown on the Round 5 action in the West Coast Classic as we take a look at the results, the standout performers and how the finals race is shaping up. It's then on to our guest for this week and it doesn't get any better than Mark Worthington. We discuss plenty about his glittering playing career that included playing 335 games in the NBL along with winning a championship as he did in Germany and indeed back before his college days with the South West Slammers in the SBL. He's also a dual Olympian and now has made his move into coaching and is back home in Bunbury and ready to put in the hard work to build up the South West Slammers from a youthful group right now hopefully into the powerhouse they were back in the 1990s. Wortho shares with us plenty of thoughts about his coaching philosophies along with some fascinating stories reflecting on his playing days including a 60-point SBL game, why it was only Trevor Gleeson that stopped him playing at the Perth Wildcats and so much more as he was tremendously generous with his time for us on SBL Shootaround. There's also a discussion about why he is so happy with life in Bunbury thanks to his new partner - who just happens to be her own sporting star! And then we wrap things up on SBL Shootaround with a preview of this weekend's action in the West Coast Classic.

Another exciting episode of SBL Shootaround this week as we provide all the latest on the West Coast Classic, announce the latest Wandering Distillery Player of the Week, update the Bassett-Scarfe Realty Player of the Year and have two very special guests. Firstly on Episode 13 of Women's SBL Shootaround, Chris Pike and Randy Miegel have a look at the standout performances from Round 5 in the West Coast Classic and announce the winner of the Wandering Distillery Player of the Week. We then go in depth on all the results and ramifications from the results in Round 5 before turning our attention to this week's guests. First up is one of the greatest competitors the SBL has ever seen as we speak to 358-game veteran Jodee Sontay. We talk about her career that has seen her play with the Joondalup Wolves, East Perth Eagles, Warwick Senators and now the Cockburn Cougars. We have a fascinating discussion about her favourite coaches and teammates, how she's been able to compete at such a high level for such a long time, changes in the game over the past 20 years, what she is most proud of in her career and so much more. We then have a chat with the youngest championship winning coach in SBL history, Keegan Crawford. He took the Rockingham Flames to the 2019 SBL championship so we discuss that as well as his bond with Darcee Garbin and Ryan Petrik, and how he was ready as a 23-year-old to already take over as coach at the Flames. We talk about what Keegan has already achieved, what he wants to achieve in the future and how much basketball he is currently juggling as a Perth Lynx assistant, Coach Development Manager at Basketball WA, coaching state teams and of course, coaching Rockingham in the West Coast Classic. We then wrap up this week's show with our previews and tips for Round 6 in the West Coast Classic.

This is another edition of SBL Shootaround you just don't want to miss as we look at the winners and losers in Round 4 of the West Coast Classic, name all of our mid-season award winners and have a chat with one of most loyal and consistent import turned local in the league. This week's Men's SBL Shootaround gets underway with a look at some of the thrillers of the weekend and the tight contests that the Willetton Tigers, Perth Redbacks and Goldfields Giants have been involved in over the opening four weeks. Co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge then announce their mid-season West Coast Classic award winners including who they believe will win the Championship, MVP, Most Improved, Coach of the Year and be named in the All-Star Five and Next Gen Five teams. The Personality of the Year predictions might really grab your attention as Ben's selection is the very same supporter that got behind every team his Joondalup Wolves were playing in last year's SBL finals in pretty vocal and out there style. We then take a look at all the results in Round 4 of the West Coast Classic and give an update on the standings with five rounds remaining. It's then time for our special guest for this week and that is 289-game SBL veteran Corey Easley. Following his college career at the University of Montana and stints in Europe, he found his way to the Cockburn Cougars thanks to CJ Jackson in 2008. Aside from a year in Queensland and despite requiring a knee reconstruction that first year, he's called Perth virtually ever since. He has forged a fine professional career with stints at the Kalamunda Eastern Suns, East Perth Eagles, Willetton Tigers, South West Slammers, Perry Lakes Hawks  and then back to East Perth and now Kalamunda, and wherever he's gone he has been a true professional and delivered big time. He has also made a family for himself down under, still keeps a close eye on American Football from here and has plenty of fascinating stories to share that you just have to tune in to listen to. We then take a look at Round 5 upcoming in the West Coast Classic and sign off on SBL Shootaround for another week.  

We continue our momentum this week here on SBL Shootaround with all the latest in the West Coast Classic, we name another Wandering Distillery Player of the Week and are joined by a very special championship winning player and coach as our special guest. Co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel open up Episode 12 of Women's SBL Shootaround by taking a look at all the latest in the 2020 SBL replacement West Coast Classic. We then name our Wandering Distillery Player of the Week with the candidates including Tayah Burrows (Rockingham Flames), Maddie Allen (Perth Redbacks) and Jessie Edwards (Kalamunda Eastern Suns) - all members of the Perth Lynx squad for the upcoming WNBL squad. We then run through all the results in Round 4 of the West Coast Classic and give an update on the standings. It's then time for our special guest, Deanna 'Doccy' Black. With a glittering career that saw her win championships wherever she played whether it be the WNBL, in Europe or across the country in state leagues, for a 20-year stretch she was one of the finest basketballers in the country. She has now gone on to begin forging her coaching career as a championship winner in 2017 in the SBL with the Perry Lakes Hawks and she has now been appointed an assistant coach at the Perth Lynx. She also runs the basketball program at Willetton Senior High School, she is married to another former great Stephen Black and is currently pregnant with the couple's first child. We discuss all of that on this week's SBL Shootaround before then looking ahead to Round 5 in the West Coast Classic.

Episode 13 of Men's SBL Shootaround is another jam packed show as we bring you all the latest from the West Coast Classic and we speak to another very special guest, this time a 422-game NBL championship winning star. SBL Shootaround co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge dissect all the action in Round 3 of the West Coast Classic from the weekend that saw some buzzer-beaters decide some cracking contests while we are no longer left with any undefeated sides after losses for the Joondalup Wolves, Rockingham Flames and Lakeside Lightning nor do we have any winless teams after victories for the Kalamunda Eastern Suns and Cockburn Cougars. It's then time for our special guest this week and it's former 422-game NBL star Aaron Trahair. We reflect on his outstanding career that started off winning a championship with the Perth Wildcats before stints at the Sydney Kings, Cairns Taipans, West Sydney Razorbacks, Hunter Pirates, Singapore Slingers and ultimately the Wollongong Hawks. He discusses some of the highs of his career but also the one great disappointment along with the coaches he got the most out of especially Brett Brown and Gordie McLeod. Trahair is also currently coaching the Mandurah Magic and is in his fourth year in charge there so we discuss his coaching in the SBL and ambitions for the future, his experience with the likes of Mark Utley and Ben Ettridge, life as a father and so much more in what is a tremendous discussion. Also on SBL Shootaround, we want our listeners to come back to us for next week's show with their mid-season predictions from the West Coast Classic on their champions, MVP, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, All-Star Five and Next Gen Five. We then do a full preview with predictions of Round 4 in the West Coast Classic and sign off for another week.

This is an episode of Women's SBL Shootaround you really don't want to miss as not only do we dissect everything related to the West Coast Classic, but we are joined for the entire show by a remarkable father-daughter SBL Championship winning combo. Regular co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel are back for another SBL Shootaround but this time it's a four-person panel to host the show and it's hard to get better than the pair we are honoured to be joined by. Desiree Kelley is the current captain of the Willetton Tigers, is an SBL championship winner from 2016 and last year's All-Star Game MVP, but she also just happens to be the daughter of a legend. Vince Kelley won a national championship while attending Inglewood High School in California, he spent four years at the University of Colorado and then made a remarkable start to his professional career in the NBL averaging almost 30 points over three seasons in Sydney. He then spent two years in Portugal before arriving in Perth, Western Australia, where he has remained ever since. Over remarkable 351 game career in the SBL, he was named 1992 MVP, was championship winning player-coach in 1993 and went on to be the league's all-time leading scorer. As you can imagine, there is so much to talk to both about their individual lives in basketball, but also about their father-daughter relationship and so much more as they join us for the entire show. We also announce the Wandering Distillery Player of the Week, provide a full breakdown of all the West Coast Classic Round 3 action and preview Round 4 of the competition in a show we hope you enjoy listening to as much as we did recording it.

Now this is the episode of SBL Shootaround that is 12 weeks in the making as co-host Ben Ettridge gets to speak with his dream guest as we also dissect everything happening in the West Coast Classic two rounds in. From the very start of SBL Shootaround, former 200-plus SBL game player and dual championship winning coach Ben Ettridge has made it clear that four-time MVP winner Jeff Anderson was his dream guest, and this week it all comes true. We speak with the Willetton Tigers legend about his life in basketball that saw him grow up in Greensboro, North Carolina around the same time as James Worthy and Michael Jordan before coming out to Australia, loving it so much he left college early to return, then met the woman that would become his wife and nearly 40 years later, and the rest is history. Anderson is the only man to be an SBL MVP winner and win a Coach of the Year award while he started working at Willetton Basketball Stadium back in the late 1980s and has been there ever since, seeing the eventual transformation into the new stadium now and seeing so many stars coming through of who he rates Adelaide 36ers superstar Daniel Johnson the pick of the bunch. The four-time MVP winner shares so many basketball and life stories in what is a truly fascinating discussion that you don't want to miss including the night he put up 46 points on the road in Geraldton but his opponent still scored 36 more than him before hitting the NBA! Jeff Anderson is the star of the show, but there's plenty more on this week's SBL Shootaround as we discuss everything happening in the West Coast Classic including the horror injury to Liam Hunt, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns going 0-3 and Ben Ettridge's return this Friday night to Joondalup. Also we look at the results of the West Coast Classic, all the standout performers and give our predictions for Round 3 this weekend.

We are up to Episode 10 on SBL Shootaround and to celebrate getting to double-figures, this could very well be the most excited we have been to release a show - and we hope you feel the same listening to it! First up co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel take a look at Round 2 in the SBL replacement West Coast Classic, and announce the winner of the Wandering Distiller Player of Round 2. The winner receives a voucher to The Shoe Bar. It's then time to have a detailed look at the results and starring performances from Round 2 in the West Coast Classic before turning attention to our remarkably special guest. We were honoured on Women's SBL Shootaround to be joined by the legendary Tully Bevilaqua live from her home in Indiana. The triple SBL championship winner, triple WNBL title winner and WNBA championship winner with the Seattle Storm joined us for a fascinating discussion about life, basketball and everything in between. Of course we discussed her basketball career where she played 150 games in the SBL, almost 500 in the WNBA and almost 300 in the WNBL while racking up the championships and defensive awards, but that only just scratched the surface. We talked about life growing up in Merredin, her move to Perth and ultimately playing basketball around the world and then now settling in Indiana with her wife Lindsay and their two children. We discussed being the wife of a police officer in the current environment, her life as a mother and TV commentator for the Indiana Fever, and so much more. You just have to listen for everything we discussed! We are then back to preview Round 3 of the West Coast Classic and announce our two special guests who will join us in the studio next week!

Well here we are, the West Coast Classic is underway and we review and preview all of the action on SBL Shootaround on top of concluding our conversation with the legendary Andrew Vlahov.   But to begin Episode 11 of Men's SBL Shootaround, co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge go back to our NCAA Tournament to crown the Ultimate SBL Championship team. The winner was announced back in Episode 10, but this week thanks to Brad French and SBL Online, we were able to simulate a three-game series between the Perth Redbacks and Swan City Mustangs which we discuss here.   We then dissect all the action in Round 1 of the West Coast Classic and talk about the big winners and losers, the standout performers and what we learned from the first weekend of the SBL replacement competition.   It's then time to finish our tremendous interview with three-time Perth Wildcats championship winning, 349-game NBL legend Andrew Vlahov who also represented Australia at four Olympic Games, is a Hall of Famer and has now been tremendously successful beyond basketball too.   We talk with the legendary figure about why the Perth Wildcats mean so much to him, who should have their singlet next hung in the rafters, the toughest opponents he come up against, seeing his son Ethan now playing under CJ Jackson in the SBL at the Perth Redbacks, and then his life outside of basketball and the successful life he has had, and continues to have.   Coming off that remarkable high, we take a look at all the matches to come in Round 2 of the West Coast Classic and we hope you all enjoy another massive episode of SBL Shootaround that we are tremendously proud to bring you.

What an exciting episode of SBL Shootaround we have to bring you to coincide with the opening round action of the West Coast Classic as the replacement for the SBL season in 2020 here in Western Australia.   It has taken until Episode 9 of Women's SBL Shootaround but co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel now have some real basketball to dissect and review following Round 1 of the West Coast Classic.   Not only that, but we are delighted to announce the first winner of the Wandering Distillary Player of the Round. The inaugural winner is Stacey Barr of the Warwick Senators and she receives a voucher to The Shoe Bar as a reward.   It's then time for our very special guest of this week and it doesn't get much much better than Tanya Fisher. In 141 games in the WNBL, she was a championship winner and Grand Final MVP for the Perth Breakers while also playing 222 games in the SBL including being named MVP when at the Perth Redbacks in 1995.   She now has daughters Eryn and Bree following in her footsteps, she was recently coach of the East Perth Eagles the last two years and still remains heavily involved in basketball today, and is never afraid to express her thoughts on a whole lot of topics on how basketball in WA can still improve.   And if that's not enough for this week's show, we then provide a full preview of Round 2 in the West Coast Classic and then announce our guest for Episode 10, which just happens to be SBL, WNBL, WNBA and Australian Opals legend Tully Bevilaqua.   All made possible thanks to Bassett-Scarfe Realty (www.bassettscarfe.com.au) and Wandering Distillery (www.wanderingdistillery.com.au).

We are incredibly exciting to bring you this edition of Men's SBL Shootaround and we have no doubt it's our best and biggest show yet!   This is as full a show as you can imagine as we preview Round 1 of the West Coast Classic, we announce and decide the winner of our NCAA Tournament to crown the Ultimate SBL Championship team, and we have two of the most remarkable guests in WA basketball you could ever hope to hear from.   Co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge open up the show with an introduction and discussion of all that is to come before we get to our first guest, who makes quite a strong case for the Perth Redbacks of 1990 to win our NCAA Tournament.   Andrew Vlahov was the dominant figure of that 1990 championship team and he has no doubt they deserve to win this tournament. But to think that's all we have to talk to him about would be the world's biggest understatement.   This doubles as the chance for Ben to speak with his idol as well and the four-time Olympian, three-time NBL championship winner, Grand Final MVP, Australian Basketball Hall of Famer and all-round Perth Wildcats legend is incredibly generous with his time and has some remarkable stories that he shares with us.   But that's far from all on this show. It's then time for Glenn Ellis to make case for the 1991 Swan City Mustangs championship team he was part of. He makes a strong case too but again, that's far from all we spoke with him about.   Not only did Ellis play 140 SBL games after being a district competition star, but was an inaugural Perth Wildcats guard where he played 116 games and now he has gone on to win three Women's SBL championships as a coach, and be named Coach of the Year five times. He has a special story recollection of Bret Campbell too!   You might think that's all but it's then time for Chris, Ben and Kalamunda Eastern Suns coach Mark Utley to decide the winner out of the Perth Redbacks and Swan City Mustangs of the Ultimate SBL Championship team.   And we are still not done! It's then a full preview of Round 1 of the West Coast Classic, and then we wrap things up on a hell of a show!

We are really excited to bring you this episode of SBL Shootaround which includes a full preview of Round 1 of the West Coast Classic and a very special guest who will be taking part and has been a stalwart of the league with a great story to share.   First up on the latest SBL Shootaround, co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel have a chat about the latest basketball news and also have a discussion about what it's like coaching your children and dealing with good and bad parents as a coach.   It's then time for our special guest and it's 165-game SBL veteran Amber Land. We talk about starting her career in WA with the Warwick Senators, the move to the Joondalup Wolves and why Perth is now home for her after a basketball journey that saw her play all round the world before arriving at the Senators.   We don't just discuss her SBL journey though. We talk about Amber growing up in Kulm, North Dakota and then attending Eastern Michigan University and also about the Land Performance Centre that she has now helped make a reality this year in Balcatta.   Randy also discusses with Amber the time he tried to recruit her to the Mandurah Magic, and they share journeys of their teams doing battle over the years as she reflects on a career in the SBL where she has been a remarkably consistent big averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds a game.   We then provide a full preview of the Round 1 fixtures in the West Coast Classic getting under way on Friday night.   All made possible thanks to the support of Bassett-Scarfe Realty (www.bassettscarfe.com.au).

Things are now really getting exciting on SBL Shootaround with the West Coast Classic getting underway this weekend and we are down to the final four teams in our Ultimate SBL Championship Tournament.   That all means that Episode 9 of the SBL Shootaround is another fully loaded episode not only for those reasons, but we have a very special guest to look forward to talking to as well.   First up on this week's show is talk about preparations for the West Coast Classic this weekend and also an update on the Elite 8 results of our NCAA Tournament to crown the Ultimate SBL Champions and a look at the Final 4 match ups.   One of those teams left is the Goldfields Giants of 2007 who were coached by Stephen Charlton who is our special guest on this episode of SBL Shootaround. With a remarkable life in basketball to talk about including 307 games as a player, three SBL championships as a coach and now his involvement in wheelchair basketball both with the Western Stars and national teams including the Gliders, there is no shortage of topics to talk to Charlie about.   We talk about his playing days, coaching days and everything in between including the success he experienced in a pressure-filled environment at the Goldfields Giants, coming back to Perth for success at the Cockburn Cougars and now life coaching wheelchair basketball too.   It's a conversation that easily could have gone on, but we tried to cover as much as possible with one of WA basketball's great servants.   Then before we wrap up this show, Ben Ettridge and Mark Utley are back to offer their thoughts on the Final 4 match ups in the NCAA Tournament to crown the Ultimate SBL Champions as we look ahead to our Championship episode which will double as a Round 1 West Coast Classic preview later this week.

Another week, another cracking episode of SBL Shootaround that we bring to you with two very special guests, talk about the upcoming West Coast Classic, our NCAA Tournament for Ultimate SBL Champions heats up further and one of our co-hosts has also been in the wars. The latest episode of SBL Shootaround begins with the news that co-host Ben Ettridge has likely seen his basketball playing days come to an end having snapped his patella tendon, and since having undergone surgery leaving him grounded for some time. Fellow co-host Chris Pike then puts Ben under the pump to choose his favourite teammate, coach to play under, player to coach and assistant coach before we turn our attention to our special guests for this episode. First up is Lakeside Lightning legend Jarrad Prue. With three SBL championships and 384 games under his belt, and being the league's all-time leading rebounder by a mile, he has already built a tremendous legacy and it was our pleasure to have him join us to reflect back on his career. Jarrad opens up about what basketball means to him and what his plans for the future are while reflecting back on his career and discussing the tremendous work he's put in to ensure he has always been in outstanding physical condition. We also reflect on the favourite teams he's been part of, his coaches and the teammates who have earned his everlasting respect. We also discuss life beyond basketball with the husband and father of two, and partner in the BDO accounting firm. And that's just the beginning in a fascinating interview that we hope you all enjoy. We then have a chat with inaugural Perth Wildcats NBL player and Wanneroo Wolves SBL player Bryn Jones who has both had a remarkable basketball and law enforcement journey for us to dissect. We chat about Bryn's memories of his playing days from being an MVP and championship winner from the Districts Competition to playing in the first three NBL seasons for the Perth Wildcats, being part of the early days of the SBL and also representing Australia. We also discuss Bryn's memories with the Swan City Mustangs as they advance in our NCAA Tournament and talk about family for Bryn which includes now being brother-in-law of Mark Utley.  Episode 8 of SBL Shootaround then continues as we move into looking at the Sweet 16 results of our NCAA Tournament before Ben Ettridge and Mark Utley predict their winners in the Elite 8 match ups. We hope you all enjoy another jam packed show!

Episode 7 of SBL Shootaround is another that we are tremendously proud to bring you as the West Coast Classic approaches, we discuss the latest WNBL free agency news, delve into some coaching philosophies and then bring to you two very special guests with two people with an involvement in the SBL for over 30 years. Episode 7 of SBL Shootaround begins with co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel introducing the show which will feature a former teammate of Randy's at the Goldfields Giants, Calvin 'Doc' Earl and current Perth Redbacks head coach and inaugural Geraldton Buccaneers player, Craig Allen. Before we get to the guests, we do have a discussion over some of Randy's coaching principles and beliefs in a conversation recommended for any aspiring coaches. It's then time to get to our guests and first up is the legendary Doc Earl. Having grown up in Richmond, California and then attended college in Oregon, he brought his talents to Kalgoorlie and never looked back. He would go on to play 273 games with the Goldfields Giants including most of those seasons in the 1990s with Randy as his point guard and then two seasons with him as coach. The all-time SBL steals leader talks about how he would get 30 steals in games in the SBL today as he reflects on his remarkable career which featured some dunks that he sure hasn't forgotten. Discussion also surrounds what brought him to Kalgoorlie and why he has stayed ever since, why he wanted to go home after two weeks but after four years he knew it was home, and even reveals to us where the nickname Doc came from! We then turn our attention to current Perth Redbacks head coach Craig Allen, and talk about what 2020 has been like for him preparing a team for the SBL season, having that taken away and now getting a group ready again for the West Coast Classic. We also discuss his long involvement in basketball that started in Geraldton in 1989 and has seen him move into coaching roles in the WABL, at state level and as an SBL assistant at the Willetton Tigers before getting the Redbacks role as head coach in 2019. We also discuss Craig's career as a physiotherapist, his life as a husband and father of five, and plenty more. Randy and Chris then close the show with some talk about the West Coast Classic and sign off for another week. All made possible thanks to Bassett-Scarfe Realty (www.bassettscarfe.com.au).

Once again this week's Men's SBL Shootaround was too big to be contained to one episode and we are pleased to bring you this very special bonus release as a result. SBL Shootaround co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge already brought you a packed show this week where we discussed the latest West Coast Classic news, talked about the next stage of our NCAA Tournament to crown the Ultimate SBL Champions and spoke with Goldfields Giants head coach and the all-time SBL blocked shots leader Wayne Creek. But now we are delighted to release this bonus episode where we have a very special chat with dual Perry Lakes Hawks championship winning point guard Ryan Gardiner. Of course, we discuss that playing career with Ryan and also playing under the legendary coaching of his father, John, but that's just the beginning of where this bonus episode takes us. Ryan talks about the special era that he played in at the Perry Lakes Hawks which included time with teammates like CJ Bruton, Matt Burston, Pete Hansen, Andy Uphoff, Dion Dagostino, Scott Harkess, Chris Carroll and so many more. But Ryan's career has been a remarkable one beyond his playing days as well and don't forget, he was also a Perth Wildcats NBL Championship winner in 1995. Ryan has done a wide array of things since including remaining involved in basketball with work at Basketball WA, running events in conjunction with Basketball Australia, FIBA and the NBL, working at the Perth Wildcats, being general manager at the South Dragons, and now working on the installation side of the Boomering business. There's so much more to the Ryan Gardiner story than we can share here, but it's a fascinating discussion about everything to do with basketball and life, and we urge you to check it out!

Once again our latest episode of SBL Shootaround couldn't be contained to one show so on top of this packed release that includes all the latest on our Ultimate SBL Champions tournament and a chat with Goldfields Giants legend Wayne Creek, we'll be releasing a special bonus episode too. With just three weeks now until the beginning of the West Coast Classic which will replace the SBL for 2020, the fixtures have been released and we discuss the Round 1 match ups to open up SBL Shootaround for this week with co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge. We then move into a discussion over the future coaching goals of Ettridge and what he might still want to achieve in his career considering everything he's already done at the Joondalup Wolves and with the Australian Rollers. It's then time for our special guest for this episode and it's current Goldfields Giants coach and the SBL's all-time blocked shots leader, Wayne Creek. Growing up in Kalgoorlie, starting as a development player and then retiring after the Grand Final triumph of 2007, it was a remarkable playing journey over 312 games that he had with the Giants. Since he has continued to give back to the club and is entering his second season in his second stint as head coach. We discuss all of that but it's the fascinating stories he shares along the way and the views on basketball he expresses that truly make this a must-listen to discussion. It's then time to focus on our NCAA Tournament to crown the Ultimate SBL Championship team. We discuss the Round of 32 results as decided by the votes of our listeners and Ben Ettridge is joined by Kalamunda Eastern Suns head coach Mark Utley to offer their predictions for the eight match ups in the Sweet 16 round. And don't forget as well as this packed episode, we'll be releasing a bonus show this week featuring our chat with two-time Perry Lakes Hawks championship, 1995 Perth Wildcats champion and someone who has continued to be heavily involved in basketball beyond his playing days, Ryan Gardiner.

With just three weeks until official basketball action returns with the West Coast Classic, things are heating up on SBL Shootaround with another packed show with a special interview with a superstar from perhaps Western Australia's greatest sporting family. Basketball Writer Chris Pike and Goldfields Giants legend and two-time SBL Coach of the Year Randy Miegel are back for another episode of SBL Shootaround and we begin by looking back on last week's show where we were joined by Craig Mansfield. We then discuss the latest free agency news in the WNBL including Maddie Allen and Alex Ciabattoni signing at the Perth Lynx along with Ali Schwagmeyer joining the Sydney Uni Flames. We then take a look at the players currently in the SBL or set to play in the West Coast Classic who deserve a look in at WNBL level. It's then time for our very special guest for this episode, Melissa Marsh. We look back on her outstanding basketball career which included 266 WNBL games where she remains the all-time leader with 243 for Perth Lynx/West Coast Waves along with 267 SBL games at the Willetton Tigers. She also won four championships with Willetton which is the club closest to her heart as she discusses. Now a mother of two, Min (she explains that nickname too) talks about her desire to get back involved in basketball as a coach while also reflecting with some fascinating stories about her playing career that lasted 15 years and even saw her play a season with the Adelaide Fellas! She also discusses her famous family with her father Geoff and brothers Mitch and Shaun having played cricket for Australia, so there's that and so much more in a discussion we hope you all enjoy listening to as much as we did recording it. We finish the show by looking at the release of the West Coast Classic fixtures, talk about a potential Goldfields Giants women's team and more. All made possible thanks to Bassett-Scarfe Realty (www.bassettscarfe.com.au).

Things were too much to contain to one episode of SBL Shootaround this week and as a result here is a very special bonus episode where we catch up with 1992 Cockburn Cougars championship winning guard Michael Farrell. This week's Men's SBL Shootaround saw co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge catch up with Geraldton Buccaneers championship winning father-son duo Dan and Liam Hunt along with running through the Round of 32 predictions in our NCAA Tournament to crown the Ultimate SBL Championship winning team. But we were just getting warmed up when we crossed to Michael Farrell in Shanghai, China, and now we have decided to release that as a special bonus episode which is available here. We start off the chat by discussing Mike's SBL career which saw him amass 229 games between 1990-2002 with stints at the Cockburn Cougars, Willetton Tigers, Perth Redbacks and Geraldton Buccaneers in between stints in the United States at college and also appeared in the NBL at the Perth Wildcats in 1993. There are plenty more fascinating stories that Mike shares from his playing days and also from the last 15 years that has taken him from Singapore to Japan to China as part of the international teaching circuit while retaining some involvement in basketball. But Mike's passion and knowledge of the SBL remains remarkable and as a basketball historian, analyst and commentator, there are few better. We go into an in-depth discussion about our tournament to crown the Ultimate SBL Champions and Mike fills us in on the top five most efficient players from those 32 title winning teams along with which of the teams stand out to him. As someone who won a championship with Cockburn in 1992, played in Grand Finals in 1998 and 2001 and has remained a keen student of the game ever since, his insights are remarkable and this is a special bonus episode well worth tuning in for!

This was such a big episode of SBL Shootaround that it couldn't be contained to one episode and we will be releasing a special bonus episode as well this week as a result! Momentum is really building nicely now as we release Episode 6 of SBL Shootaround co-hosted by basketball writer Chris Pike and two-time SBL championship-winning coach Ben Ettridge. As we build up to the West Coast Classic that will be replacing the 2020 SBL season, we have unveiled an NCAA Tournament to crown the Ultimate SBL Championship winning team, and this episode was all about the Round of 32 match ups that includes Dan Hunt's East Perth Eagles of 1988 going up against his son Liam's Geraldton Buccaneers team of 2019. To celebrate that we are honoured on SBL Shootaround to have both Dan and Liam Hunt join us on the show together live from Geraldton. In a fascinating discussion, they both share their thoughts on how the match up would go both between their teams and individually, and run down the reasons they think their respective teams would win. But we also chat to Liam Hunt about following his father's footsteps in Geraldton, the emotion of winning last year's championship, how excited he is to be playing West Coast Classic with brother Jesse, signing a contract to play the upcoming season in Germany and his NBL ambitions. Dan Hunt also reflects on his remarkable 382-game SBL career with the Buccs on the back of his time at East Perth when he first came down under as an import. He talked about the nerves but pride he gets from watching his sons play, talks about the great teams and players he was part of, and even talks about Ben Ettridge being good for the game and league! Then it's time to run down our predictions for the 16 Round of 32 match ups between all SBL championship winning teams and to do that, one of the league's great stalwarts and minds, Mark Utley chimes in as he and Ben give their predictions. If that's not enough for this week, we'll also be releasing a very special bonus episode with an interview with Cockburn Cougars 1992 championship winning guard Michael Farrell as he dissects the championship winning teams, and shares his personal story that needed its own episode!

We continue to try to raise our game every episode here of SBL Shootaround and this time around, we are joined by a very special guest for the entire show in studio. Basketball Writer Chris Pike and two-time SBL Coach of the Year Randy Miegel have the honour of being joined by one of WA basketball's greatest coaching minds this century, Craig Mansfield and it takes on an added degree of fascination considering Randy and Craig went to battle as coach of Mandurah and Lakeside respectively in the semi finals of 2017 and Grand Final of 2018. We begin the show with some discussion around some current basketball news including Darcee Garbin being confirmed to join Sami Whitcomb and Ryan Petrik at the Perth Lynx in the WNBL along with getting Craig's thoughts on the SBL season cancelled, replaced by West Coast Classic, his decision to stand down from Lakeside Lightning for 2020 and plenty more. It's then time for our conclusion to our month long preview of how the SBL season would have panned out without the interference of COVID-19. Chris and Randy predict their playoff teams, Grand Finalists, Champions, Wooden Spooners and individual award winners in a discussion heavily dissected by Craig Mansfield. It's then time to reflect on the remarkable career journey of Craig Mansfield that saw him take the Lakeside Lightning to a Grand Final aged 24 and since go on to coach the Swan City Mustangs, Kalamunda Eastern Suns and again the Lightning more recently in between a two-year stint at the University of North Dakota. It's a candid discussion about coaching philosophies, maturing from a coach he admits he was too young to be to how he sees things now, why he felt he needed to step away at the end of 2014, his marriage to Courtney Mansfield (nee Byrnes), close bond with Ali Schwagmeyer and so much more. It's all made possible thanks to Bassett-Scarfe Realty (www.bassettscarfe.com.au).

We are back with Episode 5 of SBL Shootaround with plenty to discuss including our NCAA Tournament to crown the Ultimate SBL Championship team, our predictions for how the SBL season 2020 would have played out and a special basketball and musical guest in the form of Wayne Simmons. Basketball writer Chris Pike and two-time SBL Championship winning coach Ben Ettridge are back with you for another episode of SBL Shootaround and again it's a fully packed show that we hope you all find enjoyable. The opening segment is made up of the co-hosts running through how they expected the 2020 SBL season would have played out prior to being cancelled. They predict their top 8, Grand Finalists, Champions, Grand Final MVP, All-Star Five, wooden spooners and individual award winners MVP, Most Improved and Coach of the Year. It's then time to chat with this week's guests and what a lot of fun we had speaking with former SBL import Wayne Simmons. He came out to Australia on a whim, is still here in Perth 30-plus years later and has a long history in basketball, had a fascinating and successful musical journey and more recently has been doing incredible community work that's seen him earn a Pride of Australia Award. He has some stories that you just have to hear to believe! We are only just warming up too as we then move on to discussing the Round of 32 of our Ultimate SBL Championship Team NCAA Tournament. We've pitted 32 championship winning teams against one another, we'll be putting it out to vote to our listeners to advance as well so stay tuned to social media to get involved! We also discuss Ben Ettridge joining the Kalamunda Eastern Suns as an assistant coach, the upcoming West Coast Classic and plenty more in a fully loaded episode of SBL Shootaround.

We are back with another episode of Women's SBL Shootaround and with so much to talk about along with two very special guests, it's a show well worth tuning in for. Episode 4 of SBL Shootaround gets underway with co-hosts Chris Pike and Randy Miegel talking about the exciting news with the Perth Lynx signing former Rockingham Flames superstar Sami Whitcomb to make her return to the WNBL. Attention then turns to a painstaking look back for Randy on the 2018 Grand Final loss for his Mandurah Magic against the Lakeside Lightning, where his team led 74-64 with 5:30 remaining only to fail to score again and concede the game's final 21 points in his last game at the helm. It's then time for our first guest on Episode 4 and it's brand new Perth Lynx WNBL and two-time Rockingham Flames Women's SBL championship winning coach Ryan Petrik. He chats about getting the job as Lynx coach, the signing of Whitcomb, potentially Darcee Garbin and others, and also reflects on his 10-year stint in the Women's SBL coaching at the Flames, his 2019 season coaching the Rockingham men and plenty more including the West Coast Classic, life at home with championship winning captain Chelsea, his rivalry with Randy Miegel's Mandurah Magic. It doesn't stop there, we then chat to inspirational Mandurah Magic captain and 304-game SBL veteran Rachel Halleen. We discuss her knee injury and decision to avoid surgery on her ruptured ACL and how pumped she is to return to the court in 2020. We also reflect on her court, the remarkable players she's earned a reputation guarding, her time with Randy as coach of the Magic and plenty more. We then finish our discussion on looking at how the teams were shaping up for the 2020 SBL season with a focus on the Rockingham Flames, South West Slammers, Warwick Senators and Willetton Tigers. It's all made possible thanks to Bassett-Scarfe Realty (www.bassettscarfe.com.au).

We are back with the fourth episode of Men's SBL Shootaround and once again it's a jam packed show with talk about the West Coast Classic to replace the SBL, dissecting five more teams, naming some of the best one-off Australians to come west, the announcement of a new competition and then a very special interview. Co-hosts Chris Pike and Ben Ettridge opened Episode 4 of SBL Shootaround by reflecting on last week where we spoke to Mark Utley and Seb Salinas along with continuing the discussion over the superstars of the 1990s you would pay to go and watch. Discussion then turns to some players who come west to spend a short time in the SBL and take the league by storm. It generated into a comparison over Perth Wildcats legends Shawn Redhage and James Crawford. It's then time for this week's special interview and it's a man who has had an impact on the SBL and basketball in Western Australia like no other over the past 30 years since coming out from Moreno Valley, California.  Whether as a championship-winning player who had a game remarkably similar in style and output to his idol Magic Johnson, then as a player-coach where he was named 1999 Coach of the Year and then continuing on in roles ranging from coach to General Manager of the SBL, CJ Jackson has had an impact like no other. Still involved today as coach of the Perth Redbacks, he has endless stories to share including how he even taught Reggie and Cheryl Miller to trash talk and why he is so keen on instilling confident in his players now after what he went through at the start of his college career. It's quite simply an interview that will have you mesmerised and you might like to listen to over and over. The action on SBL Shootaround doesn't end there. We then have a close look at how the Perth Redbacks, Rockingham Flames, South West Slammers, Warwick Senators and Willetton Tigers were shaping up for the 2020 SBL season, and now are looking for the replacement West Coast Classic. There's then an announcement about a special competition to crown the ultimate SBL champions and Ben Ettridge signs off with a very special message from the heart during the challenging times we are now dealing with as a society.

We are back with the third episode of Women's SBL Shootaround and we have a very special guest in the form of an SBL, WNBL and Australian Opals superstar along with further discussion of how the SBL season was looking, the West Coast Classic, the new Perth Lynx coach and plenty more. First up on Episode 3 of SBL Shootaround with Chris Pike and Randy Miegel is a discussion about two-time Rockingham Flames championship-winning coach Ryan Petrik being appointed new head coach of the WNBL's Perth Lynx. Randy reflects on his year's coaching against him, talk about how good it is for an SBL coach to get this opportunity and plenty more. It's then time for this week's special guest and it is three-time SBL championship-winner and dual WNBL championship-winning superstar Darcee Garbin. In a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion, Darcee opens up about her time with the Flames in the SBL and with Ryan Petrik as her coach along with what her plans were for this 2020 off-season and what her plans now are. Darcee also discusses being a free agent in the WNBL ahead of the 2020/21 season and what she is weighing up in choosing where she'll continue to play her basketball with an eye to continuing opportunities with the Australian Opals with the ultimate goal of next year's Tokyo Olympics. There's plenty more discussed including her bond and rivalry with netball superstar sister Sophie, dreams she is working towards and plenty more. Chris and Randy then come back to have a look at how the Lakeside Lightning, Mandurah Magic, Perry Lakes Hawks and Perth Redbacks were looking for the 2020 SBL season, and now for the replacement West Coast Classic. We also welcome on board our first ever sponsor on SBL Shootaround - big thank you to Bassett-Scarfe Realty (www.bassettscarfe.com.au).

Massive third episode of Men's SBL Shootaround with two very special guests who are both all-time greats of basketball in Western Australia on top of discussion around how the 2020 season is looking, how teams were shaping up and plenty more. SBL writer Chris Pike and dual championship winning coach Ben Ettridge are back again as co-hosts of SBL Shootaround and things continue to heat up as action begins to get closer to hitting the basketball court in 2020. Things open up on the third episode with a lookback on Episode 2 starring James Fitch along with a discussion over how the 2020 season is looking like still having some sort of competition while Ben Ettridge provides his top five players he used to idolise watching play in the SBL during the 1990s. It's then time for the first guest and it is 289-game player and now veteran coach Mark Utley who drops by. He discusses how his current team at the Kalamunda Eastern Suns has handled COVID-19 and how they are now looking, and were looking along with a reflection on his first season at the club in 2019. But there's plenty more to discuss including Ben and Mark reflecting on their long history as opponents, teammates and coaching rivals as they share some stories you just have to hear to believe. The former SBL Personality of the Year doesn't fail to deliver. Then it's time for Ben Ettridge to reconnect with his long-time Joondalup Wolves captain Seb Salinas. Now with 449 games in the SBL under his belt including winning two championships, playing in seven Grand Final in a remarkable career that is still showing no signs of slowing down. Then Chris and Ben are back to look at how five more teams were shaping up for the 2020 season - the Joondalup Wolves, Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Lakeside Lightning, Mandurah Magic and Perry Lakes Hawks. All that and much more in another episode of SBL Shootaround that you just don't want to miss!

We are back with the second episode of Women's SBL Shootaround and there's once again plenty to talk about in the world of basketball in Western Australia. We have our very first special guest while dissecting four SBL teams for 2020, talking about what looks likely to still happen this year and plenty more. SBL writer Chris Pike and Goldfields Giants legend and two-time SBL Coach of the Year Randy Miegel team up once again to bring you the second ever episode of SBL Shootaround as basketball action begins to get closer to happening in 2020. First up the co-hosts reflect on the first episode, talk about the possibilities of what might still happen on the basketball court in 2020 and then get ready to speak to this week's guest, a former teammate of Randy's at the Giants along with being a dual championship player at the Perry Lakes Hawks, Dion Dagostino. Dagostino is now also a three-time SBL Grand Final coach and took the Warwick Senators to last year's decider in his first season in charge of the Women's SBL club. That's only the tip of the iceberg of where the discussion goes and it includes looking back on his playing career, the pain of being let go as coach by Perry Lakes, what brought him back to the SBL and also he reveals exclusive details on the 2020 season he and his Senators are still preparing for. Chris and Randy then dissect how the Cockburn Cougars, East Perth Eagles, Joondalup Wolves and Kalamunda Eastern Suns were shaping up for the 2020 season with predictions on how they were destined to perform. It's then time to wrap up this episode and look ahead to Episode 3 which will include a very special interview with Rockingham Flames, Townsville Fire and Australian Opals superstar Darcee Garbin.

We are back with our second episode of Men's SBL Shootaround and we had so much to discuss it's hard to imagine how we would have found time to cover the on-court action should there have been any! SBL writer Chris Pike and six-time Grand Final, two-time championship winning coach Ben Ettridge teamed up once more to take a look at what the 2020 SBL season might still hold while then having our very first guest which was a fascinating interview with James Fitch before analysing how four teams were looking coming into the season and then having a discussion of our favourite basketball movies of all-time. The James Fitch interview is one you don't want to miss. Coming out of the University of Idaho, he joined the South West Slammers in 1990 and never left, retiring in 2001. Along the way he played 315 games, won four championships and was named Grand Final MVP on three occasions. He discusses all of that but also goes in-depth about why he still calls Bunbury home, talks about how he'd fare in today's game, how he is back involved at the Slammers with Mark Worthington and recalls some stories from during his career that simply must be heard to be believed. He and Ben Ettridge also recall some of their old battle stories for good measure. On top of that, talk then turns to how the Cockburn Cougars, East Perth Eagles, Geraldton Buccaneers and Goldfields Giants were looking ahead of the 2020 SBL season. The show then concludes with a discussion surrounding the favourite movies of all-time relating to basketball from both our listeners and co-hosts, and that's a discussion that can't be contained to just the one show!

We are excited to release the first episode of Women's SBL Shootaround with a look at the impact of COVID-19, the cancellation of the 2020 season, what might pop up in its place and in-depth look at the basketball journey of the co-host. SBL writer Chris Pike and Goldfields Giants 20-year Anniversary Team captain Randy Miegel have teamed up to bring you Women's SBL Shootaround for 2020 - and while there might not be an official season, that doesn't mean there isn't plenty to talk about. First up the discussion surrounds the impact COVID-19 has had on forcing the cancellation of the 2020 SBL season. As a two-time Women's SBL Coach of the Year, Randy offers his unique insight into his thoughts on the decision, what it means for the competition and players overall, and what might still possibly happen this year in place. He also comes from the perspective as the father of a current player. It's then time for an in-depth chat with Randy about his remarkable basketball journey that began at Murray Bridge in South Australia before he headed to the Sunshine Coast and then came to Kalgoorlie where he was a player and coach at the Goldfields Giants. He resurfaced to coach the Mandurah Magic for five years in the Women's SBL up until the end of 2018 taking them to two Grand Finals which they were heartbreakingly close to winning. There's all of that and much more as we begin this journey on Women's SBL Shootaround.

Welcome to the first ever episode of Men's SBL Shootaround. There might not be an SBL season officially going ahead in 2020, but that doesn't mean there isn't still plenty to talk about and that's what we are here to do. SBL Writer Chris Pike and a man with a remarkable legacy in the SBL as a player and coach, Ben Ettridge, have teamed up initially to dissect everything that happened in the 2020 SBL season. But now instead we will look to help fill the void of not having a competition at all thanks to COVID-19! The first episode of Men's SBL Shootaround begins with a discussion about the show and how it came about, and what we will look to bring to our listeners and West Australian basketball fans throughout 2020. We then discuss The Last Dance documentary and all aspects of that before taking an in-depth look at the decision to cancel the SBL season and the ramifications of that, and whether or not it was the right call in our eyes. Rather than a special guest for this first episode, it's then time for a look back on the basketball journey of Ben Ettridge from growing up the son of a coach to his own playing career with the Cockburn Cougars, Willetton Tigers, Mandurah Magic and Perth Redbacks. We talk about his great success coaching wheelchair basketball too and look at his incredible performance with the Joondalup Wolves where he coached for seven seasons for six Grand Final appearances, two championships and almost an 80 per cent winning record. He left the Wolfpack at the end of 2019 and we discuss what was behind that and also why things didn't work out at the East Perth Eagles for 2020. All that and plenty more plus a call out for your top five basketball movies which we'll discuss on our second episode!