The Sydney Kings are back.
But then again, you already knew that. The biggest story in the lead-up to the 2010/11 National Basketball League season has been the return of the team from Australia’s biggest city. Everything has been said about basketball in Sydney — it is vital to the success of the league… it will never work… it needs to have star players… the franchise enjoys favouritism from the league office…
The reality is, the veracity of all of those assertions will not be proven until the team gets out on the court. That return to the court is all that really matters right now, refueling a fan base that has been without their team for far too long.
The 2010/11 NBL season tipoff is just around the corner, with the Kings resuming their rivalry with the Melbourne Tigers on opening night — 15 October, 2010 in Melbourne. Rising from the ashes of the recent failings of the Kings’ franchise, a set of old hands (led by Bob Turner) have returned to the fold to bring back the glory days of Sydney Kings basketball at the Kingdome.
In an attempt to revive the good times, many lessons have been learnt and much of history has been brought back into play. The stadium is the same (the Sydney Entertainment Centre), the approach to marketing the team is much the same (a focus on the grassroots and providing an entertainment experience on game night) and a few of the old players are the same (the likes of Luke Martin, Ben Knight and Graeme Dann all have a history in Kings’ colours).
Tuesday night saw another example of the Kings’ focus on the community, as “the Kingdome” hosted a Members’ Night. The event featured a short intra-squad scrimmage by the players, a series of training drills and a meet’n’greet session at the end, with players happily mingling with the public, signing autographs and posing for photos. This is what the Kings were once about and thankfully Bob Turner and co have brought the good times back.
The night also saw the unveiling of the team’s brand new court surface and high-tech scoreboard. Check out this footage of the crew laying the surface (which doubles as a fine example of how the Kings have successfully embraced social media usage in connecting with their fan base):
The players gladly talked to the fans, in a fantastic show of how connecting with the community has been emphasised as an important factor in the team’s return to prominence in the packed Sydney entertainment market. The team’s management clearly understands that the Sydney market is a particularly tough nut to crack, as entertainment options abound and Sydneysiders have a reputation as being fickle when it comes to supporting their teams (the Sydney Swans say “hi!”).
Captain Ben Knight talked of his keenness to return to action, especially in returning to Sydney after so many years with other teams (including overseas in Singapore). He may not be active in this weekend’s games against the Tigers and New Zealand Breakers, rather looking to fully rest his injuries before returning to the court — missing these games would then give him a significant rest until October 30 when the Kings play in Townsville.
Coach Moose Robilliard reinforced how important hard work is in his team philosophy. No doubt this will resonate well with fans, who will enjoy seeing a team that “leaves it all on the floor” every night, regardless of their comparative reputations to their opponents.
Luke Martin, whilst on crutches, was as friendly as any other player. His point guard partner, Luke Cooper, sat out the session as a precaution with bruised ribs (the result of an over-zealous teammate’s elbows in training) but looked forward to running out against the Tigers on Friday night.
Imports Rod Grizzard and Taj McCullough were clear drawcards with the fans and both were affable and appeared more than happy to mix it up. Grizz tweaked an ankle during the training scrimmage, but that won’t hold him back from leading the Kings out this weekend.
The team has reportedly sold over 7,000 seats for their home opener, but would obviously like to see all 10,500 seats of the Ent Cent heaving with activity as the purple and gold returns to action on Saturday 16 October against the New Zealand Breakers. So, get your friends and family motivated and get on down to Chinatown.
