
Story by MELANIE WHELAN at The Courier
BALLARAT Miners created mayhem about the league in May – enough to earn David Flint South East Australian Basketball League coach of the month honours.
Dangerous star Roy Booker backed it up as SEABL player of the month.
The GMHBA Miners had one win from five starts leading into the month and were staring at a formidable eight-game schedule with four weekends on the road and three straight weeks of double-headers.
They won seven of the eight, letting slip one late to Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence that broke a six-game winning streak.
Flint has implemented a system based on imports Roy Booker and Ken Horton, with Booker leading the league in points and assists, while Horton leads the league in rebounds. He has also made it clear that this month has been a whole-team effort from Booker and Horton, to captain Liam Gibcus and in-form point guard Anthony Fisher, to new recruit Nathan Sobey – who joined the team mid-May, and important roles for all bench players.
The Miners lead the league in three-pointers made and three-point percentage, shooting the three at an impressive 39.4 per cent.
Booker was instrumental in the Ballarat resurgence, quickly becoming a league most valuable player favourite at the season’s midway mark.
In May, Booker chalked up three 40-point games, averaging 32.1 points and 8.3 assists.
The Miners return to the GMHBA Minerdome on Sunday for a clash against Sandringham. A massive showdown against east conference powerhouse Geelong is brewing for the Minerdome a week later, on June 21.