We finally have it officially confirmed today that Sydney Flames head coach Shane Heal has been accused of bullying by several Flames players and has been suspended from the role, pending the outcome of an external investigation into the allegations. Heal has launched a court action to prevent the Flames from making any decisions on his employment. It's a mess especially with Shyla Heal's departure from the club likely due to this (which is ridiculous IMO but anyway)
Heal's coaching behaviour has been questioned in previous MNBL and WNBL coaching roles. He's generally a bit of a controversial figure in the Australian basketball community.
The Sydney Flames have been a bit of a mess since an ownership change several years ago. The previous coach was sacked and Shane Heal put in place, reportedly because he is friends with one of the owners. Shyla Heal was signed after Shane was appointed and reportedly for a contract much bigger than WNBL *imports* would get. It doesn't surprise me that there was a lack of professionalism in this kind of environment. I hope the Flames' relatively new owners have learned their lesson from this and treat the team more seriously now.
hoopsmom We promise not to tell anyone if you have anything juicy!
I do know a lot of what went on, and I can tell you that there were valid reasons for him to be fired. It involved several players, allegedly current and former players. Look at his record over the past several years with how far into the season he has been able to keep his imports. That’s a good place for you to start.
Last Edit: Feb 14, 2023 14:00:31 GMT -5 by hoopsmom
Second triple double of the 2022-23 WNBL season today with Jade Melbourne putting up 19 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists in a 78-72 Canberra loss to Adelaide. Before this season, the last WNBL triple double was in 2012. Very entertaining performance from Jade and maybe she is ready for the WNBA challenge now.
Second triple double of the 2022-23 WNBL season today with Jade Melbourne putting up 19 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists in a 78-72 Canberra loss to Adelaide. Before this season, the last WNBL triple double was in 2012. Very entertaining performance from Jade and maybe she is ready for the WNBA challenge now.
Great development to learn about. I’d love to see her sign and at least be in training camp.
Who got the season’s first triple-double? out of curiosity.
Last Edit: Feb 18, 2023 17:52:23 GMT -5 by Deleted
Suzy Batkovic Medal (League MVP): Cayla George (Deakin Melbourne Boomers) Coach of the Year: Shannon Seebohm (Townsville Fire) Betty Watson Breakout Player of the Year (this award is kinda a cross between Youth Player of the Year and Most Improved): Isobel Borlase (Adelaide Lightning) Sixth Woman of the Year: Isobel Borlase (Adelaide Lightning) Robyn Maher Defensive Player of the Year: Stephanie Talbot (Adelaide Lightning) Community Award: Stephanie Reid (Townsville Fire)
My commentary on the awards - I think all the individual awards are pretty spot on. You could argue Kayla Thornton deserved DPOTY over Talbot but Talbot is still a worthy winner. For the all-WNBL teams, I would have switched Tiff Mitchell and Kristy Wallace on the first and second teams (Mitchell was the WNBL's leading scorer!) and I would have had Keely Froling of the Sydney Flames instead of Lauren Nicholson on the second team because Nicholson missed 25% of the season due to injury. You could argue Steph Reid over Jade Melbourne as the second team point guard but I am biased towards Melbourne so no complaints here.
I don't know whether Steph Reid has an interest playing in the WNBA but I see her international potential being limited by 1) her size, and more importantly 2) her utter lack of an outside shot. Reid is great in a pick and roll but top level teams are going to be constantly daring her to shoot from the outside and she's proven that she can brick a lot of good outside looks.
Tiffany Mitchell's 36 point performance was the most exciting thing out of the Game 1 of the semis. If she can shoot threes in the WNBA like she has been in the WNBL this season (46%), she is going to have a career WNBA season.