THE brains and benefactors behind the sport in Newcastle will cast a cautious but still curious eye when the new National Basketball League season tips off in New Zealand tonight.
The league was on the verge of folding at the end of last season but an eight-team competition, without representation in Sydney or Brisbane, will proceed despite the overwhelming skepticism of all but basketball's true believers.
It has been more than 10 years since the Newcastle Falcons folded and almost four years since the Hunter Pirates' final voyage.
Even Newcastle Basketball president Marty McLean concedes there is no prospect of a team from the NBL's birthplace returning to tread the boards any time soon.
But it is a long-term goal, and McLean and Newcastle Basketball general manager Ivan Spyrdz and the association's board of directors are committed to seeing the city play in the strongest men's and women's competitions in the country.
A sweet-shooting swingman who played for the Falcons from 1991 to 1997, McLean remains passionately involved in basketball at every level.
He still plays socially, his four children, Jackson, Taylor, Cassidy and Keely all play, and he coaches junior and senior Hunters representative teams.
And when he succeeded Stephen Dick as president this year, he was determined to strengthen the club's foundations and rebuild a successful culture by establishing tangible links between the junior and senior Hunters programs.
"We're attempting to get back to a sustainable format where we believe we can enter teams into all the top competitions that are available to us, whether that's the NBL or another competition in another format," McLean said.
"But there's no way that anybody can think they can sustain any sort of presence in that type of competition without getting all the ducks in a row, and that means ensuring you've got the appropriate connection to grassroots levels.
"Realistically, that means when a format of that type is available to us, that would be something we would research and investigate being a part of. We're currently developing our strategic plan, and our long-term goal has to be playing at the top level. But there's a lot of issues surrounding basketball at the moment and there's no use wanting to dive into something that's going to hinder the development of the sport or the kids currently enjoying the sport.
"It's not going to happen tomorrow. It's not going to happen next year. But it's something you've got to have as your goal.
"Our mission is to provide an environment where there is a development pathway for someone playing at the junior level to progress to be playing at a national level."
Spyrdz said the appointment of "heavy hitters" like former Pirates co-owner Ross Lewis and Hunter Venues Authority chief executive Mark Zundans as association directors gave the board even more off-court clout.
"We'd like to see Newcastle playing in Australia's best basketball competition, but we don't take that thought lightly," Spyrdz said.
"We want to make sure that we are geared structurally, financially and in terms of overall support before we look at that as an option.
"We feel we are doing a lot of work here locally that will establish us in good stead to be able to do that, but at this point, we are taking a bit of a wait-and-see approach."
Spyrdz noted concerns expressed last weekend by Basketball Australia chief executive Larry Sengstock about the NBL's lack of profile.
"The NBL tips off [tonight] and no one knows, and that is a concern," Spyrdz said. "But as I've said many times, at grassroots level, and certainly locally, the support has been fantastic. We just need to reinvigorate that support . . . and who knows what the future will hold for us."
McLean said all sports, including the football codes, would eventually face the same financial pressures that basketball had encountered in recent years.
He believed a return to association-based teams playing out of smaller stadiums made more sense than losing money trying to fill entertainment centres.
With that in mind, the association has made a concerted effort this year to promote the Hunters in the NSW-based Waratah Australian Basketball League.
The men's and women's senior teams played home games as double-headers, regularly attracting crowds of more than 500 to Broadmeadow, despite the fact the Hunters men won just two games and finished last, and the women narrowly missed the finals.
In contrast, many Sydney-based WABL clubs struggle to attract 100 fans.
McLean said a major component of nurturing that support was the ambassador program in which senior Hunters players were appointed as mentors to the junior teams.
"Irrespective of the results, we've got four kids all looking at us when the games are on and asking us, 'Mum, Dad, can we go?' because they enjoy that game-night experience and they feel part of the club," McLean said.
"They play in the same singlet as what the senior Hunters players play in. With our ambassador program, they can cheer on the players who come to their training sessions.
"If nothing else, this past season has accomplished a change in culture, and that's a culture that's needed to reinvigorate the sport in our town."
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