The objective is to get the Brisbane Bullets back into the National Basketball League for the 2011-12 season. And club legend, Leroy Loggins is the man driving the bid.

A founding member of the NBL, the Bullets stood the test of 29 years before collapsing under the disaster that was then-owner Eddy Groves' financial difficulties. Basketball in Brisbane has the history and supporter base to theoretically be once again a force in the NBL, but can Leapin' Leroy lead them back into the competition?

Ricky Grace, a legend of the Perth Wildcats and a former Australian Boomer, will be inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame.

Basketball Australia has released invitations for the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame & World Championships Dinner, to be held on Wednesday 18 August, 2010 in Melbourne. If you're interested in celebrating the likes of Ricky Grace being inducted into the Hall, along with the other 2010 inductees, as well as sending off the Boomers and Opals to the World Championships in style, then click on the invite below to enlarge.

Australian basketball is attempting to go through a renewal phase -- a return to glory. Basketball Australia and the NBL have put numerous plans in place to bring the fans back and re-create those amazing 1990s. Quite a few of the NBL's member teams are doing their best to follow suit. In terms of online content, the Wollongong Hawks certainly have to be right at the top of the heap.

This week the Hawks have launched a Hawks History website. The site houses a remarkable collection of photos, videos and news archives and encourages fans to contribute their own pieces of Hawks history.

There is a whole stack of people behind the contributions to this site, not the least being Joel Armstrong and Mili Simic, both of whom do a great job with keeping the good times rolling at the Hawks' main website.

Make sure you check out Hawks History and add any relics of your own.

(image credit: Roy C Arneman)

The Australian Institute of Sport has just named Ian Stacker as the Head Coach of their Men's program. He come into the role as a highly respected nurturer of young basketball talent, with well-regarded technical skills.

Stacker has been known to rub some people in the Australian basketball fraternity the wrong way, but clearly politics did not get in the way in this instance.

One area in particular that Stacker can no doubt help young Aussie players with is career progression. Clearly in recent years, the decisions of promising young Australian basketballers have been varied and questionable. The decision-making process on whether to attend College in the States, play in Europe or the NBL and when to nominate for the NBA Draft has been a contentious one for many. Some young Boomers have been successful in their progression to the NBA, whilst the timing of others' choices could be second-guessed with 20-20 hindsight.

The Eagle has landed. Former Winthrop Eagle, Taj McCullough, that is.

(As corny headlines go, that would be a great one for the papers to run with -- you can have that one for free, guys.)

Today the Sydney Kings introduced 24-year old forward McCullough to the Sydney media. He does not enter the country as a total stranger, having played in Israel with fellow new King, Julian Khazzouh.

The pair, forming a front-line with import Rod Grizzard, will likely be the most productive segment in the Kings' lineup. And McCullough had plenty of good things to say about the move, as persuaded by his big man, Khazzouh:

An off-season update from the Perth Wildcats, with particular emphasis on Shawn Redhage and his need to bulk up with some muscle.

Leading up to the FIBA World Championships of Basketball in Turkey this year, the Australian Boomers have gotten a boost with the announcement by Patty Mills that he indeed will be available to play with the team in the upcoming warmup series against international powerhouse Argentina in Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne.

The series will be played from 25-29 June and Mills will be with the Boomers in camp on 20 June in Perth. Argentina is the perfect preparation for the Boomers (sponsored by Golden Star), as they boast a host of international experience and are traditionally one of the favourites to take out any international tournament. Whilst star Argentine and San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has had to withdraw from this Summer's commitments due to ongoing injury woes, in his absence, coach Sergio Hernandez will rely on his veteran players like Luis Scola, Fabrico Oberto, Carlos Delfino, Andres Nocioni, and Pablo Prigioni -- all of which carry huge kudos at the international level.

Today the Sydney Kings announced through media release that they have signed guard Damien Ryan to their "resurrected" roster for 2010/11. The Australian Boomers squad member brings fire-power from the perimeter as well as valuable experience gained during the past six years played in Italy.

This from the just-published NBL press release:

Basketball Australia has released the schedule for the 2010/11 National Basketball League season, with the Sydney Kings scheduled to make their highly-anticipated return to the NBL on the same day the competition begins play on Friday 15 October.

The Kings, who will return to the NBL after a two-year absence, will face long-time rivals the Melbourne Tigers on the road in a classic Sydney-Melbourne confrontation on Opening Night at the State Netball Hockey  Centre (AKA ‘The Cage’).