“Adrian Hurley brought Longley, Bradtke and Vlahov in at the same age and the Australian program was rewarded ten fold by doing that... I think if you are gonna take an eleventh or twelfth man you should go with some young guys and give them some experience"  - Brett Maher's thoughts on whether Ben Simmons should have been selected in the FIBA World Cup Boomers squad.

Other parts of Brett's career we cover are;

- Shane Heal sharing Trash Talking stories of when he went head to head with Gary Payton in the Olympics.

In this episode of the Aussie Hoopla podcast we interview the greatest three-point shooter in Australian history Shane Heal, the bleached blonde, pierced and tattoo’ed guard who never backed down from anyone shares some of the amazing stories which have led to him being one of the most popular players in Australian history.

Dan Boyce had the opportunity to ask Shane his side of some of the wild stories and moments which have made his career memorable to so many.

Perhaps no other Australian player has had the heart and career of Shane Heal which has included playing in the Olympics, the NBA, Europe and of course the NBL.

Additional topics discussed include;

All of this and a lot more…

"After my second year with the Tigers Lindsay retires, Drewey retires, Copes and Bradtke went on to Brisbane and Chris Anstey had come in. I hadn't talked to anybody and nobody came and spoke to me so I signed a deal with Wollongong"

- Darryl McDonald shares how he agreed to play with Wollongong Hawks prior to winning his two NBL Titles with the Melbourne Tigers

In this episode of the Aussie Hoopla podcast we interview three-time NBL champion Darryl McDonald, the man legendary coach Brian Goorjian has called "the greatest American ever to play in the NBL".

No matter whether you remember him winning a title for the North Melbourne Giants in his rookie NBL season, running the point for the Victoria Titans or playing alongside Andrew Gaze or Chris Anstey at the Tigers what everyone remembers is the pure entertainment D-MACK brought to every game.

The man who earned the name "Mr Excitement" on the playgrounds of New York City  is open and candid about the Melbourne Tigers plans for next season, including his thoughts on;

D-MACK is open, candid and honest, going as far to speak about his family, the trials and tribulations he faced in bringing his children into the country in 1995 and how proud he is of their individual success in life.

Additional topics discussed include;

But perhaps the most interesting story is hearing D-MACK talk about how it felt when he was cut by the Victorian Giants front office because he was too old to lead that team to a championship in the next 3-5 years and would need to retire before being signed by the Melbourne Tigers and leading them to two NBL titles in 5 years while the Victorian Giants folded the year after the released him.

"He was trying to find out how much power did he have, he'd try things and no one would say no to him, I think if he had an older player or coach to guide him through those things he would have developed into a different player. He'd take off his seatbelt and run up and down a private plan during take-off but no one would say anything so of course he would think oh well I will try something else next time to see where the boundaries are" - Mark Bradtke discusses his time playing with Allen Iverson in Philadelphia.

Head to iTunes to download this episode on your phone or iPod

This Sunday Mark Bradtke will have his #50 raised into the rafters of the Hisense Arena where he will join Melbourne Tigers legends like Andrew Gaze, Lanard Copeland, Dave Simmons and Ray Gordon. In the days leading up to the man they call "Hoagie", Mark Bradtke receiving the honor  Hoopla host Dan Boyce sits down to briefly discuss the big man's career path and highlights before the big jersey ceremony goes down.

Mark Bradtke's basketball resume is something which has never been equalled within the Australian basketball playing ranks.

A three time NBL champion (1992, 1997, 2005), a ten time NBL first team member (1994, '96, '97, 1999-2005) who was  recently inducted in the the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame who also left his mark on the NBA, Spain and Greece.

Additional topics discussed include;