Club-By-Club: Hooyah & Harden Up (Round 2)

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

By Damon Lowery.

After my first instalment of Hooyah & Harden UP! last week, I received a lot of feedback good and bad, directly and indirectly. To those who reached out, called, texted, DM’ed me and offered advice – I thank you, sincerely. To those who threw shade my way on social media and claimed I was a fraud or tryna be someone else, I also thank you because you truly inspire me. Like everyone out there, I love a nice compliment, but unlike most people, criticism bounces off me.

As I’ve said a hundred times before, I call it as I see it and it’s NEVER personal.

Round 2: Here we go!

Defeated by Cairns.

HOOYAH: Just two games in, and there’s genuine hype around Montrezl Harrell. Off the bench you came in like a wrecking ball (Miley Cyrus voice) and dunked everything on your way to 20 points – oh, and throw in that 3ball from long-range too. We just have to figure out these rotations and get you on the court more because half a game (21 minutes) is just LUDICROUS!

HARDEN UP: Isaac Humphries has had a bad start to the season, but it ain’t all on him. There’s something wrong with the priorities in this team, for someone like “Ice” to have just 10 field goal attempts in the past two games. Why won’t you pass him the ball? Why? He sets 50 screens a game, and gets others open but you won’t return the favour? (I’m actually gonna count his screens next game). Help him out please! He averaged 15 and 7 last season, so we know he can get it done.

Defeated by Illawarra.

HOOYAH: The spotlight was on you after a poor Round 1 game but Tyrell Harrison, you hit back and notched a nice double-double with 16 points and 10 boards.

HARDEN UP: What are we doing with young Rocco Zikarsky? He had just 7 minutes in Round 1 and only 11 minutes against the Hawks (most of it in junk time) and he managed 10 points and 3 rebounds. The dude is 7 foot 3 and this is the last year you’ll coach him before he jets off to the NBA. So to Justin Schueller: play the man and play him close to the basket - and I don’t mean 22 feet close!

Defeated Adelaide.

HOOYAH: The Taipans showed some true grit to notch their first win behind a 31-point game from Rob Edwards (from the great state of Michigan). A message to opposition teams: do not come to Cairns with an attitude problem, or you will leave with a L.

HARDEN UP: Tanner Groves, I pumped you up last week but 2 points and 3 rebounds in 7 minutes leaves me scratching my head. I love your game! I know you got into foul trouble early, and your talent is not up for debate, but don’t make me give you another one of these. At least you got the W.

Defeated Brisbane & Sydney.

HOOYAH: A 30 piece in 30 minutes deserves praise and this one is for Trey Kell III. It was a career-high for you on Friday night in the Sand Pit. You backed that up on Sunday against Sydney with another 20. 

HARDEN UP: To whoever allowed Lachlan Olbrich to wear that white, long-sleeved ‘thingy’ on Sunday – what the hell? All he needed was the mask and he would’ve been Frozone from The Incredibles. Long sleeve, Lachie? Yeah, nah. Someone needed to stop him at the locker room door and send him back in.

Defeated South East Melbourne, lost to Tasmania.

HOOYAH: In my best Ice Cube voice: “Get Matthew Dellavedova on the court because he’s trouble, almost messed around and got a triple double’. 18 points, 5 rebounds and 10 dimes, with a +21 rating in 29 minutes against the Phoenix.

HARDEN UP: When CG43 is starting to cook leave him in the kitchen, Dean Vickerman! Just as he started to catch fire in the second quarter against the Phoenix with back-to-back threes, you subbed him out with more than six minutes left and he didn’t return for the rest of the half! C’mon Deano, we wanna see the superstars do their thing. I’ll give you a pass if you tell me there was a fitness issue or you had to manage his minutes. I felt he was on the way to a 30-piece but we’ll never know.

Defeated South East Melbourne.

HOOYAH: Many experts had you at the bottom of the ladder, but you head to the USA for your NBA games undefeated, with two hard-nosed wins. No team does it tougher and that’s why your “unbreakable” motto fits like a glove. I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day.

HARDEN UP: Two games in a row, you guys have tried to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. These late game capitulations are gonna bite you in the ass sooner or later. You fell over the line against Brisbane last week, and almost gave Phoenix the win on Sunday when you had full control of the game late. Quit playing around.

Defeated by Sydney.

HOOYAH: You came in as a scorer from the NBA but have another string to your bow. Dylan Windler, you put up 14 points and collected a staggering 16 rebounds after pulling in 10 boards in Round 1. That’s Wassup!

HARDEN UP: 1 point, 1 rebound and 4 turnovers – Keanu Pinder, the elevator is ready to take you from the Hooyah floor, down to the Harden Up level. After last week’s brilliant performance, I’m flabbergasted. You can’t be dominant sometimes and invisible sometimes - don’t be sometimey! You’re way too good for that.

Lost to Melbourne & Brisbane.

HOOYAH: You don’t know what it feels like to win yet but Matthew Hurt, you know how it feels to contribute. You’ve had a great start in the NBL following 16 points & 12 boards last week, 18 points & 7 boards against United and 20 points & 4 boards against the Breakers. 

HARDEN UP: It ain’t much of a rivalry if you can’t win. Thursday’s loss to United makes it six straight losing Throwdowns and an overall record of seven wins and 18 losses. I’m calling this series the “BeatDown” until you get a W.

Defeated Perth, lost to Illawarra.

HOOYAH: Jaylen Adams was on fire against Perth with 27 points at 53%, 6 dimes and 6 steals! 

HARDEN UP: 9/39 as a team from three-point territory against the Hawks? One of them days huh? Well that ain’t gonna cut it.

Defeated Melbourne.

HOOYAH: They were five of the nastiest, meanest, cruellest blocks you’ll ever see – especially that one on your old teammate, Marcus Lee. Will Magnay, you threw a block party and everyone was invited. You’re protecting the rim like Heimdall protected the bridge in Asgard (Thor movie reference), and it saved the day on a big night for your club.

HARDEN UP: I know it’s tighter than seven beers in a six-pack in My State Bank Arena, but whoever decided to place the championship banner against a wall like a random painting in the lobby of a doctor’s office get this Harden Up. That better not be its permanent home!

HOOYAH: I had the pleasure of commentating on Sunday with New Zealand Breakers’ living legend, Tom Abercrombie. It was Tom’s first time on a broadcast and he was a natural. I think he will add plenty for the fans this season and we are lucky to have him join the “dark side”. PS: I would have made the rookie fetch me a drink, but he was in another country.

HARDEN UP: To the referees in the review centre who upgraded the Joe Wieskamp charge on Chris Goulding on Thursday night to an unsportsmanlike foul. We all know CG43 could have won numerous Best Actor awards at the Oscars and now, he might be nominated again after looking like he was shot out of a cannon when he collided with Joe. Yeah, it was a foul, but I’ve seen harder hits on the blackjack table at the casino.