Team-By-Team: Hooyah & Harden Up (Round 20, NBL26)

By Damon Lowery.

Author’s note – “HOOYAH” is the battle cry of the Navy Seals and is given out to celebrate great efforts & achievements.

A “HARDEN UP” is given out when a performance has not been at the expected level.

This is STRICTLY about basketball – it is NEVER personal.

Defeated by Illawarra, defeated Melbourne

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT

HOOYAH – Nick Rakocevic: That was an unbelievable game against Melbourne. You came off the bench and wreaked havoc going 8/9FG to finish with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks - you even knocked down two triples to show you can be a threat everywhere on the floor.

HOOYAH – Zylan Cheatham: Thought I was gonna witness the second triple-double of the season. Against the Hawks you were 3 dimes short, finishing with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists. I didn’t forget about the 2 steals and 2 blocks as well. Great all-around game – as usual.

HARDEN UP – Turnovers: How did you blow a 16-point lead late in the third quarter against the Hawks? Yeah you gave up too many threes late, but 16 turnovers was the main reason. Clean that up!

Defeated by Tasmania and Cairns

HOOYAH – Terry Taylor: You’re a completely different player when you’re aggressive. You attacked the hoop and finished with 25 points and 9 boards.

HARDEN UP – Poor shooting: To quote my mate and new Boomers’ coach, Adam Caporn, you couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a frozen chicken. Shooting 3/24 from the 3 is hard to do - but you made it look easy.

Defeated by Perth, defeated Brisbane

HOOYAH – Andrew Andrews: You’ve found the balance between facilitating and scoring and your team is functioning better as a result. 25 points, 6 rebounds & 7 assists provided a massive chance get the win against Perth. You followed that with a 10 assist game against the Bullets.

HARDEN UP – Kody Stattman: The young “veteran” - you started against Perth and went scoreless in 12 minutes. You’ve left me no choice.

Defeated Adelaide, defeated by New Zealand

HOOYAH – Will Hickey: You were everywhere against Adelaide creating chaos, and orchestrated a magnificent come from behind win with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists.

HARDEN UP – QJ Peterson: Tough night in New Zealand for you with 5 points. You fouled out, stormed off the floor and bashed a door open which almost knocked out a staff member. When it swung back, it clipped you in the head so you came back to the bench with blood on your face. Lesson here is … don’t fight with doors.

Defeated by Adelaide

HOOYAH – Milton Doyle: I asked you take better care of the ball and you did that with only 1 turnover in 25 minutes. 17 points off the bench helped keep your team in the game.

HARDEN UP - Scoring: Almost 11,000 people in the house and you could only score 76? Now your offence is the problem … you guys have me so confused.

Defeated by South East Melbourne, defeated Hawks

HOOYAH – Tai Webster: I can’t believe you weren’t on a roster at the start of the season. You look right at home with the Breakers with your 17 points.

HARDEN UP – Parker Jackson-Cartwright: With Karim Lopez ruled out early, your team was severely compromised. It was imperative you had a big game against the Phoenix. Although the result was already decided, but you didn’t have to get ejected with 6 minutes left after getting back to back techs.

Defeated South East Melbourne and Illawarra

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT

HOOYAH – Jo Lual-Acuil Jr: A dominant performance, Cairns had no answers for you inside. 27 points at 70 per cent field goal is an ominous sign.

HOOYAH – Kristian Doolittle: You controlled the game with your scoring, playmaking and defence on Jack McVeigh. 29 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists was big time.

HARDEN UP – Elijah Pepper: I’m not doubting your scoring ability for a second, but it deserted you against Cairns. 3 points on 1/6 FG in 33 minutes deserves an immediate bounce back - and I know it’s coming.

Defeated New Zealand, defeated by Sydney

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT

HOOYAH – Jordi Hunter: I’m quick to make a scene when your rebounding numbers are low. So that was a great bounce back against the Breakers. You only took 21 minutes to notch up a double-double,10 points and 10 rebounds. Now that’s “Wassup”!

HOOYAH – Malique Lewis: You turned in a performance that NBA bigwigs would have liked. Falling 4 assists shy of a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Keep it going,my man.

HARDEN UP – Poor defence: You’re supposed to be a tough team defensively, but the Kings came to town and totally disrespected you to the tune of 114 points. I get the feeling you will see them again when it really matters.

Defeated South East Melbourne

HOOYAH – Kendric Davis: You ain’t messing around, my man. You’ve been on an ass-kickin’ tour lately. This time you took your show on the road and gave the Phoenix the business with 30 points, 9 dimes and 2 steals.

HARDEN UP – Brian Goorjian: This is for your potty-mouth outburst at Owen Foxwell. Yeah, he was being cheeky and probably a little disrespectful, but you dropped three consecutive F-bombs. I totally understand where you’re coming from and you’re fighter’s fighter, but that was a little too much.

Defeated by Brisbane

HOOYAH – Nick Marshall: That shooting performance against the Bullets was one of the best I’ve ever seen. 5 made triples in a row – and in the first quarter is outrageous. You scored a point a minute and only missed 1 shot for the game, finishing with a career-high 31, plus 6 rebounds.

HARDEN UP – Pass.

HOOYAH – Owners meeting: Despite all the noise and misinformation, I’ve asked the question and have been told there will not be any “Owner’s Charter” created to stop owners from speaking freely. That’s the right call.

HARDEN UP – Andrew Bogut: Throwing hand grenades over the fence at the opposition is ok, but as you know - you’ve gotta back it up when the time comes to play. Bogut, I know you’re a tweet-a-saurus, but the Peter Griffin tweet was disrespectful.