Basketball and everything in between

One of the most pleasing things about the season so far has been the play of Russell Hinder I am the first to admit that I didn’t used to have a lot of love for this guy when he played for the Kings and thought that he really didn’t deserve to be in the Boomers squad.  He wasn’t even in the starting five and since we saw so many Kings games on Fox Sports, I was able to see a lot of him.  He seemed like a thug and I didn’t really enjoy watching him play.

But I was wrong.  I therefore would like to announce that Russell Hinder is an early favourite to take out the first annual ‘Basketball and Everything in Between Australian Acquisation of the Year player’ (that certainly is a mouthful!).  He seems to have fitted in really well for the Crocs and those guys seem to get along with each other.  In preperation for this article, I listened to the first ever episode of The OT with JR and DJ Rod where he was a special guest. It is fair to say that he was not the biggest fan of former Kings owner Tim Johstone and mentioned this article called Russell Hinder: I can’t pay my mortage!  In the article he basically outlines his scenario.  This is part of the article:

Today Hinder’s mortgage repayment is due and he has no way of covering it and fears if the Kings situation isn’t sorted out quickly he will lose the house he wants his children Oliver, 3, and Callie, nine months, to grow up in.

Hinder spent yesterday pleading his case to the bank.

With other bills mounting up, such as childcare and electricity, Hinder is hoping that the financial crisis doesn’t tear his family apart.

“It’s getting really hard on us,” Hinder said. “I love my family and I love playing for the Kings. We have a great team but like all of us I just want to get paid so I can play basketball and look after my family.

 This guy was extremely lucky that things panned out for him the way that they did.  When Ben Pepper left the Crocodies (does anybody know the exact reason for this?) an opening became avaliable and Hinder was signed to a contract.  He is a totally different player to Ben Pepper but I don’t think that many Crocs fans will be too disappointed with him.  I think that he will also be the winner of the first annual ‘Funniest Postgame Interview’ presented by Basketball and Everything in between It was absolutley hilarious. His interview with Andrew Gaze was one of the funniest things that I have ever seen.

As some of you may be aware Ozhoops runs a fantasy league each season and my team was able to acquire Russell Hinder with the 22nd Pick in the FNBL League 3 Draft. At the time I was a bit disappointed. I really wanted Luke Schenscher and was banking on Mr Black (who already had Chris Anstey) on passing on him and leaving him to me.  He took Schenscher and that left my next best option as Hinder.  I am extremely happy that he was still there for me.  He has been extremely productive for me.  (A side note: I was able to acquire Schenscher later through a trade deal with Mr Black.  I had to give up Shawn Redhage.  Only time will tell if it was a good move)

So why has he been successful?  Here are some reasons in my humble humble opinion:

1. He is getting it done at the offensive end.  During his time with BG at the Kings he was not able to showcase his skill set due to the gamestyle of the Kings.  He is a reasonable shooter from the three point line.  He has also had a number of assists which has proved valuable to my FNBL franchise.
2. He is getting it done defensively.  He consistenly blocks shots and gets steals.  There are not many big men around the league who can do that. 
3. He seems to be a perfect fit for this team.  He has good size (208cm) but is an athlete.  Whenever you have Corey Williams on your team you better be ready to play an uptempo game.  This game style really suits him.
4. There is not a lot of competion for minutes.  Lets be honest after Hinder, Ellis and Egan, there is not a lot else at the 4/5 spots for the Crocs.  This allows him to be on the floor for a great deal of time and showcase his game.

So there you go.  Other people who will be in consideration for this award will be Ben Knight (has been solid), Glen Saville (is putting up some shots), Luke Schenser (seems to be finding some form), Mark Worthington (yeah he has been awesome), CJ Bruton (yeah he is pretty good as well) and Luke Kendall (has not found his place in the rotation yet)  Bruton and Worthington may be ahead of him at the moment but I feel that Hinder is more valuable (at his position) for his team.  Without him the Crocs would be screwed.  The Breakers could sign an American PG and the Dragons have reasonable forward depth. 

Anyway – if you read this Rusty, how about an interview for this blog?  It would be awesome!