Basketball boss wants overseas players home

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This was published 13 years ago

Basketball boss wants overseas players home

By Stathi Paxinos

BASKETBALL Australia chief executive Larry Sengstock yesterday said the governing body would look to entice Australia's best players back to the local league before the London Olympics after the Opals' disappointing fifth place at the recent world championships.

The Opals, who went into the world championships as defending title-holders, had little time together as a team, with the likes of superstar Lauren Jackson arriving just days before the tournament started.

Opals coach Carrie Graf this week called on American-based players such as Jackson and Penny Taylor to skip the WNBA season that will precede the next Olympic Games so that the team would have a better preparation to reclaim its lofty ranking.

That would require a massive commitment by the players and hefty financial compensation by Basketball Australia.

However, Sengstock, at yesterday's launch of the WNBL season, which begins tomorrow, said it was a strategy the sport was considering. ''That to us would be a fantastic thing to actually give the girls the opportunity to work together as a team and to freshen up and to really just focus on that one tournament,'' Sengstock said. ''Whether it's practical or not we've still got to work through that.''

Sengstock believed the players would be willing to miss a WNBA season despite the risk to their careers and earning capacity. ''Coming out of this tournament I think the girls would because they're committed to saying that's not where we wanted to finish, we want to do better than that and they'll do what it takes,'' he said.

''But again you've got to work through it. The girls are on short tenures as far as their professional careers are concerned.''

Bulleen player Jenna O'Hea, who returned from the world titles on Tuesday night, agreed the Opals had been affected by the players' limited time together. ''It would be good if we could get some more time together,'' O'Hea said.

Meanwhile, Sengstock predicted the upcoming WNBL season would be one of the closest in recent years. Defending champion Canberra kicks off its bid for a third consecutive title in a rematch of last year's championship clash with Bulleen in Melbourne on Saturday.

Although, the Capitals will be without Jackson and several others of their starting line-up, captain Jess Bibby is convinced they will remain a threat.

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