Australian basketball godfather Lindsay Gaze this week said the talent is at an all-time high and it’s hard to argue. However, if there’s one area where the game is lagging, it’s in the officiating.

You can see players and coaches struggling to hold their tongues in post-match pressers. Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman did well not to blow a gasket when an awful offensive foul call on Casper Ware robbed his side of a win in Perth three weeks ago.

That call came from Michael Aylen who, along with Vaughan Mayberry, is the best whistle-blower in the league.

It’s hard to be too critical. The marquee playing talent has increased so rapidly, it’s near impossible for referees – mostly part-timers – to keep pace. Hoopla certainly doesn’t want to foster an NRL-like obsession with bagging referees.

Still, it’s not going away. Hawks coach Rob Beveridge is normally loath to publicly criticise refereeing, but he couldn’t hold back when asked if he felt Brian Conklin was getting a fair shake.

Conklin has fouled out on offensive foul calls in games against Melbourne and Perth where the margin was just five points. A flop warning to defenders would have been more appropriate on both occasions.

He’s also struggling to get a call at the other end, with Beveridge unequivocal in his response when asked whether officials were calling fouls on the 29-year-old.

“Absolutely, categorically, no they’re not, it’s as simple as that,” Beveridge said.

“Everybody knows that he’s a super physical player, that’s the way he plays the game. He’s so frustrated at the moment he’s on the verge of exploding. Hats off to him the way he’s handling it.

“Particularly last three games, he’s just not getting the calls he’s got over his entire career. I was proud of him [against Adelaide] because he could’ve really exploded.

“He got hammered out there so many times and he just ploughed away. It’s extremely frustrating, there’s no doubt about it, but hopefully we’ll start getting those calls.” 

Beveridge was, however, the first admit his side needs to find a better outlet for frustration. Jordair Jett’s technical after a scuffle with 36ers youngster Harry Froling on Saturday was a case in point.

“That fed into their hands, there’s no doubt about that and we didn’t handle it very well at all,” Beveridge said.

“You’re in Adelaide, there’s thousands of people and they get the players going. Rather than us coming back and playing the physical [game] the referees tidied it all up and allowed the game to go that way.

“What I’m finding with out group is we get way to distracted with things we can’t worry about. Whether it’s bad calls or turnovers or whatever… we’re struggling in those areas.

“We need to get everyone back on the same page and we need to start believing in ourselves that we can compete with any team in the league.”  

ADELAIDE LOOKING OMINOUS

THEY experienced some early hiccups, but Adelaide have certainly thrust themselves back into championship discussions following their win over the Hawks on Saturday.

One win does not make a contender, but you shudder to think of the possibilities for a side boasting Nathan Sobey, Demitrius Conger and Jacob Wiley through 2-4 spots.

No side can match it for pure athleticism. Like the Hawks, a limited three-point shooting arsenal looms as the major stumbling block.

They shot just eight of 34 from three-point range on Saturday but Conger is certainly a huge addition.

His contribution didn’t show up on the final stat sheet, but he had a major impact coming off the bench. 

He dropped a triple that was the 36ers first field-goal in near five minutes of the opening quarter.

He had an assist and a steal on his next two touches and, without him, the Hawks could easily have lead by more than nine at the break.

“He’s just an easy fit with his ability to handle the ball,” coach Joey Wright said post-match.

“He had no legs and no wind [on Saturday] and he still finished with eight [points] and five [rebounds]. 

“He’s going to be good for us once he finds his feet and feels a part of it. There’s an always and adjustment period but he’s a good one.”

HAWKS AND BULLETS SINGING FROM SAME HYMN SHEET

IF there’s any team that could feel luckless at present it’s Brisbane.

In the last fortnight they’ve literally been beaten on single possessions and they were right in the game against Melbourne on Sunday.

Their 15 turnovers proved their undoing and there’s no doubt taking care of the ball will go a long way to deciding their clash with Illawarra.

The Hawks were even worse, turning it over a staggering 19 times against Adelaide on Saturday. Rob Beveridge and Todd Blanchfield both bemoaned that fact in the aftermath.

It sounded like Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis and skipper Adam Gibson were singing from the same hymn sheet following their loss. 

“We feel like we’re beating ourselves in a lot of these losses,” Gibson said.

“We had 15 turnovers and they weren’t forced turnovers, I know I had three just careless sloppy plays and I think we had a lot of those.

“We’re still positive and there’s a lot of positive signs, it’s just us beating ourselves for the most part.”