Rucker backs All-NBL Team change

NBL legend Derek Rucker has backed the 'positionless' approach to the naming of All-NBL teams in NBL24 and beyond.

On Tuesday, the league announced the best players in the Hungry Jack’s National Basketball League would have a greater chance of being appropriately recognised, after a significant change to the selection criteria for All-NBL Teams.

The All-NBL First Team and Second Team will become positionless, meaning any five players can be selected regardless of what position they play (i.e. guard, forward, centre). 

Rucker was named to the All-NBL First team three times and the All-NBL Second and Third teams once each over the course of his playing career with the Bullets, Falcons, Suns and Razorbacks, as well as being named the competition’s MVP and scoring champion in 1990.

He believes the advanced metrics that are available to everyone means different positions will not be favoured over others.

“I’ve seen some people complaining about it saying it’s going to disadvantage bigger players, but I disagree. I don’t think that’s going to happen at all,” Rucker said on NBL Now.

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“One of the main reasons is we have so much more information now statistically, visually, it’s not like 15 years ago where you had to write to a club to get video to watch the game back.

“We have access on your phone to any game this season, in fact over the last two or three seasons. There are advanced stats you have access to as a layman, you can go and sign up to NBL+ and get all the information there. 

“I don’t see in any form how things will be misrepresented as to who are the best five players this year. I don’t think a player like Jo Lual-Acuil Jr is going to be unfairly evaluated this season against a player like Bryce Cotton. Both of those players are great, they’re going to do their thing and I don’t see how anyone will not make an All-NBL team.”

Peter Hooley nominated his current All-NBL First Team on NBL Overtime on Tuesday night, but Rucker disagrees with the guard-heavy lineup pedaled by the 2018 NBL champion.

Hooley selected Chris Goulding, Bryce Cotton, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, alongside center Lual-Acuil Jr, however Tigers legend Lanard Copeland selected a twin tower pair of Lual-Acuil Jr and Alan Williams, alongside Goulding, Cotton, and Mitch Creek.

“I was going through it and projecting how guys are playing now, how their teams are performing,” Rucker said.

“I’ve probably got Jaylen Adams and Bryce Cotton as two of my guards, I’m thinking Alan Williams or JLA, I’m undecided there, and it could be both of those guys go on a run and get into that First Team.

“Then it gets difficult, if those two guys handle their business it means South East Melbourne is in the top four and Melbourne United are pretty much on top and I think guys that play for winning teams, that’s where the bias comes in and they deserve more recognition.

“I like that it opens it up like that because it opens up more possibilities and more fairness in voting.”

NBL action will return on Thursday night when New Zealand host Adelaide at Wolfbrook Arena at 5:30pm AEDT.