NBL Stars: "Ebi's in town!"

Anstey's Tigers were the underdogs in last years finals series against the ladder leader Sydney Kings. With 43-year-old D-Mac steadying the ship, Thomas making plays, Barlow hitting shots and Lampley stepping up, the Tigers were crowned the Kings in 2008. With Sam Mackinnon (2006 League MVP) and Grizzard stepping in for D-Mac and Thomas this new season, sports bookmakers were already placing the Tigers as the title favourites.

In what looked to be an already solid line-up, along came the addition of superstar import Ebi Ere, last year's NBL leading scorer and runner-up MVP (to Chris Anstey). Ebi just got back from almost securing a spot in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies. The NBA camps are on during an important signing time for the NBL and European clubs, which makes it hard for players chasing the NBA dream to sign a deal with another club too soon. The South Dragons had Ebi's word he'd play with them this season, until the Dragons made it clear they didn't want to wait around, as they ended up signing Tremmell Darden, letting Ebi Ere do his thing. As soon as Ebi just missed out on his NBA spot, the Tigers had one import spot still open and immediately looked into getting Ebi in town. The deal came through and the Dragons apparently said something about taking the matter to court as they had his signature, which was all about business and not the well-being of Ebi's career. Nothing more has been reported about that, but the only court Ebi Ere will appear in will be NBL arena's across Australia, putting on a show for the true fans of Australian basketball.

In Ebi's first game for the Tigers, he came out with a quiet 31 points. After 4 games he's the 2nd highest scorer in the league already with 24ppg. A lot of Tiger fans may say Barlow, Anstey or Mackinnon should be featured here as the Tigers NBL Star, which is fair as they're all great players in their own right. But the reason Ebi gets the Star in Melbourne is because this is about which player you'd pay to go see the most, which player who can put on a show for the crowd and get the job done, a player who can give you the most memories and highlights... and that player is Ebi Ere. Every NBL team Ebi's played for he has helped them bring home a title; Sydney in 04, Brisbane in 07.

A player that most teams hate to match up against, but when he's on your side, you know what to expect in the fourth quarter every night. On a game night while we were walking to the Tigers stadium all the way from the zoo parking (while the new carpark is being built), I said to a Tigers fan "it's a long walk true!" He turned around and said, "Yeah, but it's all worth it... Ebi's in town!"