Talk is cheap.
Let your game speak (Michael Jordan)
Very well done.
[and notice the subtle emphasis on the youngsters who are the future of the game!]
Jul 19
The USSA team recently came back from Serbia where they didn’t fare really well, finishing last. We can be quick to point the blame on the coaches or players but I think that before we do that we should look at the planning that went into getting the team selected and ready to participate in this tournament. We don’t seem to learn from our mistakes and year in and year out we sent teams to international tournaments hoping that they will pull off miracles and win a game or two or even qualify in the case of qualifiers.
The young men and the coaches that went to represent South Africa at the World Student Games went there with the best intentions but with the wrong tools or not enough of them. It’s like going to play a basketball game and when you get there you realize that you didn’t bring any balls and the hoops are not available but there are two teams and all the officials are there. My point is that I feel that this team was set up to fail from the time they were selected at the USSA tournament at the University of Pretoria earlier in the year. The team didn’t have enough depth at the post position and if that says that we don’t have depth at our tertiary institutions then all I can say is that the game at senior level is as doomed as it is at junior level. As far as the coaches are concerned, I can guarantee that there is no coach that goes into a big tournament like this with the intention to lose or not do well, so before we criticize the coaches we should ask ourselves if they were given the right material to work with from the start… That my take on the World Student Games where South Africa came 25th out of 25 teams… Better planning from USSA next time might help the teams achieve better. Continue reading »
May 21
South Africa is a complex society with complex issues to resolve and basketball is no stranger as far as issues to resolve goes… Over the past few months we have had cries for referees to be brought to order and Mybasketball touched the surface as far as that is concerned…Now it’s time to discuss another important aspect of our game, the coaches…
Training our coaches…
Year in and year out, we have teams participating in different competitions all over the country whether it be at mini basketball, junior level or senior level and most of these teams are led by a coach, a caretaker or a teacher…
Some of these coaches have gained experience from books, DVDs, television and through the art of learning from someone else but most of them have no formal training and those are few and far in between. BSA has promised to address this void in development of coaches but until then it’s the Do It Yourself model that is the norm in the country. Continue reading »
Apr 23
For the past few years we have watched the game in South Africa lose a bit of value due to various reasons and recently the men in the middle have been the topic of conversation at numerous tournaments amongst the coaches, fans and organizers. The referees are an integral part of the game and they have so much to contribute to the growth and the quality of our game.
With certain sectors of the game making strides to take the game to the next level especially this year, the officials have unfortunately lagged behind. Maybe you can’t blame their stagnation because like for most of us basketball in this country has been like going to a surfing competition in Durban, year after year… By that I mean that we, as the basketball community, wait for the next big wave and then after riding that wave, we sit and wait for the next one without any reassurances or continuity whatsoever that there will be a next one or how big it will be. So why should the officials strive to improve their standard and professionalism towards the game. Continue reading »
Mar 07
Basketball South Africa is participating in the zonal competition in the women section. SA will be hosted by Zimbabwe to play two games on Saturday and Sunday the 7th and 8th of March 2009 respectively in a play-off game to qualify for the 2009 women’s African championship to be hosted in Madagascar. Mozambique and Angola have already qualified so its winner takes all between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The men’s team is camping for the second time at Mandeville Sports Center starting the 19th March 2009 until they depart for Mozambique. The team will arrive on Friday and they will be preparing for the zone 6 qualification games in Mozambique, where they will come face to face with Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Angola has already qualified for the African Nations Cup to be held in Libya.
Dec 13
Champion has over the years built an impressive sports heritage and more specifically basketball heritage, over nearly 90 years since being first established in 1919 in Rochester, New York, USA.
Our long term partnership with FIBA, basketball’s global controlling body which runs to 2016, is but just one sign of this commitment to basketball and sport in general. The other partnership is our ongoing, 20 year old representation as exclusive licensee of the NBA Authentic game wear. As part of helping kick-start the sport of basketball and leveraging our basketball connection, we have Champion Slam Time. Continue reading »
Dec 02
This letter serves to welcome all the clubs that have shown interest in playing in the GBL 2009 season and beyond. The letter also extends an invitation to all the other teams within and around Gauteng to register to play in what we believe will be the best league in the country. A list of teams that have shown interest in playing in the league is provided further down on this document. Please carefully check to see if your team has been listed, if not, please contact Emmanuel “Manny” Mabusa (our league administrator) urgently on the contacts provided at the end of this document.
Oct 29
This BSA board will be in office for the next four years. The Board was democratically elected in the Presence of the National Olympic and Sports Confederation of South Africa (SASCOC) and our national Government representatives.
The electors were all the nine Provincial Chairpersons and the Six Affiliated members of Basketball South Africa General Assembly.
The contact point for Basketball South Africa will be the President Mr Malesela Maleka and the National Administrator, Mr Tsepo Nyewe.
The BSA board members as elected on 26th October 2008 at Olympic House:
