September 14th, 2009 by Dusty Rychart

A fellow Grand Rapids Thunderhawk Alum has signed a professional contract to play in Bulgaria this season. Eric graduated from Furman a few years ago and due to his dad’s illness he was faced with a difficult situation and stayed by his dad’s side. 2 years on and Eric making everyone proud from Grand Rapids. He is a hell of a player and should have a good professional career. The hardest part is over for him. Getting an opportunity is the hard part, now let the playing do the talking.

Follow Eric @ eurobasket.com
- Team – Varna, Bulgaria team is BC cherno more

September 14th, 2009 by Dusty Rychart

The preseason has ended for us with a tough loss to the Townsville Crocs. The game was ugly and we learned that we still have a long way to go before the season starts in New Zealand. My thoughts so far on the team this preseason are good. I was a little worried as to what kind of guys we had and it was proven that we have the right players and the right coach pushing forward. Yes we still make mistakes and have a lot to work on but we are making progress. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Team chemistry takes time and time isn’t a luxury for us at the minute because our first real game is creeping up. I think most people were looking at us as wooden spoon this year but that quickly changed when we headed to the blitz and showed that we work hard and don’t give up. The teams that i have been on that have been the most successful are the teams that gel together and really work for one another. No one is selfish and the team never quits. I think that Fearny is a big reason for our attitude because all good teams are lead from the top and he has established that he isn’t taking negative body language or any bull shit from anyone.

New Zealand is going to be tough and then we have Adelaide two days later at the snake pit. The first two games will test what we are made of but I’m confident that we will give 100%.

- What the hell is Kanye West thinking at the VMA’s today? This guy hates white people and keeps making a fool of himself and others on national tv. I hate him as much as I hate Speidi.
- Cam Triggger Tragardh has had a great pre-season and is doing what he does and that is torching the nets. The Hawks have surprised a lot of people and will be tough with new leadership and a hard working crew.
- Anstey out will hurt the Tigers and not sure if they can cover him. even when he gets healthy he might not be 100% in time for the playoffs.
- This season should be competitive and I’m looking forward to my first year up in Cairns and many more.

Follow me on Twitter @dusty_rychart

September 3rd, 2009 by Dusty Rychart

Today started off with a 730 am wake up call for 8 am breakfast then it was off to a promo coaching kids and teaching them the basketball basics. The clinic last about an hour and a half then it was onto practice from 1030-1200 then team lunch. Thinking we had the rest of the afternoon to prepare for the game situated in bed for my pregame nap then the phone rang and it was Coach Fearne informing us about a players association meeting at 115. BasicAlly the day has been full on. It’s preseason so you can expect it.

Game time was at 5pm vs Blaze. We were hoping to play a team other than the Tigers and Blaze since we had played them earlier this preseason. The game was very ugly and physical from start to finish. Lead changed hands 16 different times. Down the stretch we missed some shots that allowed GC to pull ahead. From my point of view the zone messed with us and the physicality and lack of calls got our minds focused on the refs. Once you start focusing on the refs and worrying about calls your focus is no longer on the game and becomes a real distraction and that’s what happened to us tonight. It’s only preseason and we must learn from this and build on it. Can’t sit and dwell on the past. We know what we have to work on and now we just need to put it into the game. Overall the guys played hard and stAyed together through tough patches which is encouraging. Knowing you’re out there with a bunch of guys that never quit is a good feeling.

Next up tomorrow is the Melbourne Tigers.

September 1st, 2009 by Dusty Rychart

We beat the tigers last night at the fish tank. It was a good test of
Character for us and proved that we can beat teams even when things aren’t always going our way. Tonight should be another tough test for us leading up to the top end challenge in Darwin at the end of this week.

At the top end challenge our first game is against the Gold Coast Blaze. Should be good times with everyone in the same area for a half a week.

More to come as the season begins.