QBL Mens Previews - Bundaberg Bulls
2015 Season 2015 W/L: 2-15 (2014 W/L: 9-7) Missed Playoffs Coaching Staff Head Coach: Larry Daniel (2nd Year) Assistant Coach: Mick Catlin Roster Transactions In: Scheraun King, Daniel Sims, Jemoin Manns, Jah Soloai Out: Dwayne Radcliffe, Ricky James, Beau Bergen Projected Starters: Luke Iacobucci, Daniel Sims, Scheraun King, Willie Shacklefold, Jah Soloai Key Bench: Jemoin Manns, Campbell Duncan, CJ Kennedy
Key Gains
Scheraun King: 30-year-old guard out of Staten Island, NY, played for Albany State University in 2009. Competed in various minor leagues across the US and managed to get his first professional gig at Saudi Arabia this season. Similar feel to last year’s import Ricky James in selecting an import playing in an obscure Middle East league
Daniel Sims: Former NBL player Daniel Sims got signed by the Bulls and while his a talent and gifted athlete and Bundaberg could use all the talent they can get, Sims comes with enormous risk, with plenty of people questioning his attitude. If he can put it all together and that is a huge IF, Bundaberg have definitely an upgrade at guard, if not it could make for interesting reading down the road.
Key Losses Ricky James: Although James was Bundaberg top scorer in 2015 (23.1 points per game in 16 games), he struggled for consistency, was turnover prone and woeful from outside (10/41 from the three).
Position by Position Analysis
Guard: Daniel Sims enters the backcourt to support local guards Luke Iacobucci and Cam Duncan. Both locals struggled last year however Bundaberg fan are hopeful that one of them can have a breakout season. Jemoin Mann should provide some help off the bench Forward: Shackleford and King will spend the majority of the time at forward though Shack should see time at centre depending on the situation. Both should provide the majority of offense for team, while Shackleford is still amongst the top rebounder in the league.
Centre: Jah Soloai replaces Dwayne Radcliffe as Bundaberg centre. Soloai averaged 3.9 points and 2.3 in just over 10 minutes a game for Ipswich and if can continue his progression he should be an upgrade over the departing Radcliffe
Is Willie Shackleford game on the decline? It’s not that he is declining its more changing direction. While Shack is averaging 17.4 points and 17.2 rebounds a game in 2015 it’s a slight drop from his 2014 numbers. It’s seems his game has chance under Daniels direction, being more of an outside shooter than before (52 three point shots in 2015 to 28 in 2014). Ideally Shack is best suited in the post where he can be dominating not only with his scoring but with his offensive rebounding (league high 5.2) where he can have mismatches with opposing teams. If King and Sims are better shooters that James, you might see an end to the experiment. Should Larry Daniels be on the hot seat? Daniels is a FIBA Level 3 coach there wouldn’t be many if any in this league that are at that level. Yet his team last season was an utter catastrophe only winning two games (against Suncoast and South West). The team lacked offensive cohesion, 3 out of the 17 games the Bulls scored less than 60 points a game, when they did put it together (score more than 88 points) the team was 2-0. Bundaberg had the opportunity to build from the team that Darren Roche had in 14 into a strong playoff presence, yet they lost players and Dwayne Radcliffe regress to an immobile 205cm centre that only averaged 4 rebounds in 24 minutes a game. Whether u want to put the blame at Bundaberg management for providing a lack of talent or the coaching that is up for debate. But its year 2 of the Daniels era, he should have an idea how this league works, what sort of recruits’ ha has to bring at the end of the day he will need to answer whether he can cut it coaching wise in this league. What gets Bundaberg into the playoffs?
King turns out to be a gem of player (ala Breland Hogan). Sims puts it together and has a breakout season. Iacobucci and Duncan improve overall and became more dependable player. Soloai give more production than what Radcliffe did. Shackleford spend more time on the inside and continues his dominate presence inside. What gets Bundaberg out of the playoffs? King struggles to produce, is inconsistent, turnover prone and lacks an outside shot. Sims turns to be more a nuisance than a productive player. There is little or none improvement from their youngsters. Continue overall struggle of offensive production and three-point shooting.
