Hooley names All-NBL locks

As the end of the NBL24 regular season approaches one eye will inevitably move towards Finals, while the other remains focused on the rest of the home and away campaign at hand – especially in such a tightly contested season as this one.

There is, however, plenty of room for discussion around which individuals are going to take out the end of season awards, and no title is going to be as hotly contested as the All-NBL First Team nominees.

Last season the side consisted of Bryce Cotton, Mitch Creek, Milton Doyle, Xavier Cooks and Derrick Walton Jr, however the way in which the team is voted has changed for the new campaign.

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Whereas there used to be ‘front court’ and ‘back court’ selections, the team is now positionless, and while Peter Hooley thinks a pair of bigs are near locks to be included, there could also be room for a true center in NBL24.

“Technically Anthony Lamb and Mitch Creek are big men,” Hooley said on NBL Now.

“If you’re talking about a true center, I lost confidence after the last couple of weeks, but I still think the way the captains and coaches vote, they’re going to reward that.

“They’re looking at a sheet of paper and they’re going to say ‘OK, who are the elite big men?’. Isaac Humphries has been terrific, he’ll attract some votes, Sam Froling is the other one, because for a while there Alan Williams was a lock before getting hurt.

“I think Isaac Humphries or Sam Froling should get a look in, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re sitting at the Gazeys and those big men positions are filled by Anthony Lamb and Mitch Creek. If that’s the way it is then so be it, because I think they’ve been that good over the course of the entire season.

“I’ve got three locks, I’m going down the path of Bryce Cotton, Anthony Lamb and Chris Goulding, so there are two spots up for grabs. A lot of people deserve to be in those two spots – Pat Miller’s been incredible as well, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Jaylen Adams, the names don’t stop as to who will be unlucky to miss out.”

Round 18 of NBL24 begins tonight when Tasmania take on Cairns, live on ESPN via Kayo from 7:30pm AEDT.