By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG will again put its reputation as one of Australia’s strongest men’s basketball programs on the line this weekend.
The Rangers begin their South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) campaign against Sandringham at Stud Road on Saturday night, returning to the multi-state competition after a four-year stint in the Big V.
Ironically, both clubs switched leagues over the summer in a bid to reignite some old rivalries, only to face their recent nemesis on opening night.
Coach Warren Dawson this week said the Rangers were keen to put the politics of the league shift behind them and get stuck into the on-court action.
“We’re over waiting, we just want to get amongst it,” he said.
Dandenong has made a handful of changes to the roster that bowed out in the Big V preliminary final last year.
Gun centre Brent Hobba and import Vince Inglima are back, while American forward Dusty Jura has arrived to fill the void left by perennial all-star Ash Cannan.
Cannan, who has moved to Brisbane to study physiotherapy and play with the Southern Districts Spartans, will be among several championship-winning Rangers wearing enemy colours this season.
Veteran floor general Mick Wheeler has returned to Kilsyth and emerging guard Dwayne Campbell has joined the Sabres – his older brother, Adrian, has retired.
Those departures paved the way for the return of a trio of talented Dandenong juniors in Jadranko Jusufagic, Oresti Nitsios and Gavin Illangakoon and the addition of ex-Frankston guard Bart Strzrebonski.
Jusufagic, known simply as ‘J.J.’, could be the wildcard in Dawson’s deck.
The former Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder has returned from his birthplace of Bosnia, where he played for local league powerhouse Bosna Sarajevo after a promising college career in Florida.
Dawson says the 206cm forward-centre is an NBL-standard talent.
“He has a ridiculous amount of potential and could definitely be the X-factor for us this year,” he declared.
“There aren’t many guys at his size who are so skilful and athletic, so he could be a nightmare for other sides.”
Strzebonski is returning from a year out of the game, but he left little doubt about his scoring ability when he dropped seven three-pointers in a recent practice match against Geelong.
“Bart’s a prolific scorer, he can heat up very quickly, but his challenge will be fitting his scoring capabilities into our structure,” Dawson said of the 28-year-old guard.
Illangakoon has returned to Dandenong after averaging 13 points-per-game with SEABL outfit Albury-Wodonga last year, while Nitsios – a sweet-shooting swingman – is expected to be missing until at least April as he recovers from an Achilles injury.
Dawson is unsure of what to expect from his reloaded roster, but there is no doubt the Rangers will be more than competitive.
“They’re probably not at the level I’d like them to be at the moment, but there’s 29 games in the regular season, which makes the SEABL season almost a third longer than the Big V,” he said.
“I certainly won’t be offering any excuses (on Saturday night), because I’ve always said that once you walk over the line you’re ready to go.”
The Sabres began their 2009 campaign last weekend, smashing Albury-Wodonga 137-82 on Saturday night before losing to Frankston 106-85 on Sunday.
Dandenong and Sandringham will fight it out in the SEABL’s East Division alongside the AIS, Ballarat, Bendigo, Canberra, Kilsyth, Knox and Southern Districts.
Tip-off is at 7.30pm on Saturday.