Basketball on the move

After clean sweeping both the A-Grade and Reserve Grade basketball titles for the Darling Downs region last year, the Warwick Wildcats have officially been accepted into the 2012 QBL Development League, and local coach Jeff Clark has been announced as the coach for the team’s first season.
“Warwick’s representative basketball program has been building for the last few years, and finally it has culminated in regional titles for us,” Clark said.
“Last year I spent nine months as an assistant coach with the Queensland Basketball League’s Toowoomba Mountaineers team, and I had the opportunity to see quite a few Development League teams play, and I’ve got to say that I believe that our boys are ready for the next level,” he said.
“Just like in the regional competition last year, I am focusing on having a few experienced import players coming into our squad along with a good balance of local youth and experience.
“I was asked to continue my role with the Toowoomba Mountaineers again this year, but I think that now is the right time for Warwick to move ahead in basketball.
“It was a hard decision to leave the Mountaineers this season, as I am learning a lot from coaching at that level, and will miss the training with players the calibre of James Legan and co. Pop Dickerson has also taught me a lot over the past year. But in the end, Warwick is my home town, and it is an honour to coach the Wildcats in their first season in the D-League.”
There are 15 teams in the league this year, and many are expecting the Wildcats to finish in the bottom four in the table – that is except for Coach Clark.
This league will give our local boys a chance to play against teams from the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Redlands, Gold Coast, Ipswich and Toowoomba on a regular basis.
The Warwick team will play a total of 11 home games and 11 away games during their first campaign. They are starting off with a pre-season game against Clark’s old club the Toowoomba Mountaineers QBL team in Warwick on Saturday at 7pm at the Warwick Indoor Recreation and Aquatic Centre (WIRAC).
“If you’ve never really watched basketball before, this is the game to watch,” Clark said.
“This will be a fast paced high scoring game that should have a great atmosphere. We are expecting in excess of 200 spectators at this first up game.”
The official season starts on the weekend of May 12.