# 2011–12 Adelaide 36ers season

The 2011-12 NBL season was the 30th season for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL. After missing out on the playoffs in 2010-11 for the 4th time in the past 5 seasons and finishing the season in 8th position with a worst ever 9-19 record the 36ers, who have won the NBL Championship four times (1986, 1998, 1998–99 and 2001-02) will be looking to get back to a position of power in the league.
The season is the second year of a 3-year contract for head coach Marty Clarke.
The 36ers played their home games at the 8,000 seat Adelaide Arena, their home since 1992. The arena is the largest purpose built basketball venue in Australia and the third largest venue currently used in the NBL behind the Sydney Entertainment Centre (10,517) and the Vector Arena (8,500) in Auckland (NZ).

## Off-season
### Additions

| Player | Signed | Former Team |
| Stephen Weigh | Announced signing on 23 May 2011 | Perth Wildcats |
| Nathan Crosswell | Announced signing on 25 May 2011. | Townsville Crocodiles |
| Chris Warren | Announced signing on 20 July 2011. | Ole Miss Rebels |
| John Williamson* | Announced signing on 2 August 2011. | Honka Playboys |
| Wade Helliwell | Announced signing on 18 August 2011. | Melbourne Tigers |
| Diamon Simpson* | Announced signing on 10 October 2011. | Türk Telekom |
| Everard Bartlett** | Announced signing on 17 December 2011. | Perth Wildcats |
* Williamson was released by the Adelaide 36ers on 30 September 2011 due to a knee injury. He was replaced by the signing of Diamon Simpson on 10 October. ** Everard Bartlett signed as an injury replacement for Nathan Crosswell.

### Subtractions

(From the squad at the end of the 2010-11 NBL season)
| Player | Reason Left | New Team |
| Eddie Shannon | Not re-signed | |
| Rhys Carter | Signed to play in Sweden | Uppsala Basket |
| Jeff Dowdell | Not re-signed | Cairns Taipans |
| Brad Hill | Not re-signed | Cairns Taipans |
| Jacob Holmes | Not re-signed | Townsville Crocodiles |
| Aaron Bruce | Not re-signed | Sydney Kings |

## Current roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Reserve |
| C | Daniel Johnson | Wade Helliwell | | |
| PF | Diamon Simpson | Jan Warbout | | Adam Ballinger |
| SF | Stephen Weigh | Mitch Creek | | |
| SG | Everard Bartlett | Nathan Herbert | Matthew Lycett | Nathan Crosswell |
| PG | Chris Warren | Darren Ng | Tom Daly | |

## Regular season
### Ladder

| Pos | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte | 2011–12 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 21 | 7 | 75.00% | 4–1 | L1 | 13–1 | 8–6 | 2382 | 2177 | 109.42% |
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 28 | 19 | 9 | 67.86% | 3–2 | W3 | 10–4 | 9–5 | 2434 | 2171 | 112.11% |
| 3 | Gold Coast Blaze | 28 | 17 | 11 | 60.71% | 3–2 | W2 | 10–4 | 7–7 | 2387 | 2253 | 105.95% |
| 4 | Townsville Crocodiles$^1$ | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.37% | 2–3 | L2 | 11–3 | 4–10 | 2213 | 2210 | 100.14% |
| 5 | Cairns Taipans$^1$ | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.37% | 2–3 | W1 | 9–5 | 6–8 | 2025 | 2107 | 96.11% |
| 6 | Melbourne Tigers$^2$ | 28 | 11 | 17 | 39.29% | 1–4 | L3 | 7–7 | 4–10 | 2156 | 2239 | 96.29% |
| 7 | Sydney Kings$^2$ | 28 | 11 | 17 | 39.29% | 2–3 | L1 | 5–9 | 6–8 | 2279 | 2423 | 94.06% |
| 8 | Wollongong Hawks | 28 | 9 | 19 | 32.14% | 3–2 | W3 | 4–10 | 5–9 | 2093 | 2232 | 93.77% |
| 9 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 8 | 20 | 28.57% | 1–4 | L4 | 4–10 | 4–10 | 2297 | 2454 | 93.60% |
Updated to match(es) played on 25 March 2012. Source: NBL.com.au

### Ladder Progression

* Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
* Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
* Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
2011–12 NBL season vte :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Adelaide 36ers | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Cairns Taipans | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Gold Coast Blaze | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Melbourne Tigers | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| New Zealand Breakers | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Perth Wildcats | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sydney Kings | 6 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Wollongong Hawks | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |

### Game log

* Games with a * are televised on One HD. Games with ** shown on Sky Sport NZ
2011–12 game log :
Pre-season: 2–2 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
3 September
Hawks
L 84-100
@ Schweppes Arena Ulverstone, Tasmania
0-1
2
3 September
Hawks
L 81-83
@ Devenport Basketball Stadium Devonport, Tasmania
0-2
3
10 September
Taipans
W 91-86
@ STARplex Gawler Adelaide
1-2
4
11 September
Taipans
W 87-82
Darren Ng (23)
Adelaide Arena 1,500
2-2 :
Pre-season
: 2–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
22 September
Blaze
L 78-94
@ The Southport School Gold Coast
0-1
2
23 September
Kings
W 96-88
@ Auchenflower Stadium Brisbane
1-1
2
23 September
Hawks
W 79-69
@ Chandler Arena Brisbane
2-1 :
October
: 1–3 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1*
8 October
Wildcats
L 69-102
Chris Warren (17)
Stephen Weigh (10)
Stephen Weigh, Chris Warren, Daniel Johnson, Nathan Crosswell (2)
Adelaide Arena 5,683
0-1
2
16 October
@ Hawks
L 89-97
Chris Warren (25)
Stephen Weigh, Diamon Simpson (6)
Chris Warren (3)
WIN Entertainment Centre 2,966
0-2
3
21 October
Kings
L 71-94
Chris Warren, Daniel Johnson (14)
Daniel Johnson, Diamon Simpson (9)
Darren Ng (4)
Adelaide Arena 4,495
0-3
4*
28 October
@ Wildcats
W 100-92
Daniel Johnson (22)
Stephen Weigh (10)
Nathan Crosswell (4)
Challenge Stadium 4,200
1-3 :
November: 1–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
5**
3 November
@ Breakers
L 90-99
Diamon Simpson (20)
Diamon Simpson (8)
Nathan Crosswell (7)
North Shore Events Centre 2,893
1-4
6
12 November
Kings
L 104-113 (OT)
Daniel Johnson (25)
Diamon Simpson (10)
Chris Warren (7)
Adelaide Arena 5,049
1-5
7
19 November
Tigers
W 95-89
Stephen Weigh (24)
Daniel Johnson (13)
Nathan Crosswell (9)
Adelaide Arena 6,175
2-5
8*
26 November
Blaze
L 95-89
Darren Ng (20)
Diamon Simpson (13)
Chris Warren (5)
Adelaide Arena 4,708
2-6 :
December
: 3–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
9
4 December
@ Wildcats
W 96-84
Diamon Simpson (22)
Daniel Johnson, Diamon Simpson (10)
Chris Warren (6)
Challenge Stadium 4,000
3-6
10
8 December
@ Kings
L 103-107 (OT)
Daniel Johnson (24)
Daniel Johnson (9)
Chris Warren, Nathan Crosswell (5)
Sydney Entertainment Centre 3,624
3-7
11
11 December
Breakers
L 73-86
Daniel Johnson (17)
Diamon Simpson (8)
Nathan Crosswell (4)
Adelaide Arena 4,350
3-8
12*
16 December
Hawks
W 87-63
Diamon Simpson (22)
Diamon Simpson (10)
Chris Warren (4)
Adelaide Arena 3,597
4-8
13
23 December
@ Blaze
L 77-96
Daniel Johnson (24)
Diamon Simpson (5)
Nathan Herbert, Chris Warren, Mitch Creek (3)
Gold Coast Convention Centre 3,280
4-9
14*
30 December
@ Kings
W 96-77
Daniel Johnson (21)
Daniel Johnson (14)
Everard Bartlett (4)
Sydney Entertainment Centre 6,165
5-9 :
January
: 0–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
15
7 January
Taipans
L 67-72
Diamon Simpson (16)
Diamon Simpson (12)
Chris Warren (4)
Adelaide Arena 6,194
5-10
16**
13 January
@ Breakers
L 63-80
Chris Warren (14)
Diamon Simpson (6)
Chris Warren (2)
North Shore Events Centre 4,400
5-11
17*
22 January
Taipans
L 74-87
Stephen Weigh (21)
Daniel Johnson (9)
Daniel Johnson (3)
Adelaide Arena 5,076
5-12
18
25 January
@ Crocodiles
L 69-79
Daniel Johnson (21)
Daniel Johnson (16)
Stephen Weigh, Diamon Simpson (2)
Townsville Entertainment Centre 3,622
5-13 :
February
: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
19*
3 February
@ Tigers
L 81-87
Chris Warren (31)
Daniel Johnson (11)
Chris Warren (4)
State Netball Centre 2,126
5-14
20*
5 February
@ Crocodiles
L 71-89
Mitch Creek (19)
Stephen Weigh (6)
Mitch Creek (3)
Townsville Entertainment Centre 3,322
5-15
21*
12 February
Crocodiles
W 79-74
Daniel Johnson (20)
Diamon Simpson (12)
Stephen Weigh (8)
Adelaide Arena 5,072
6-15
22
24 February
Wildcats
L 79-90
Daniel Johnson (24)
Daniel Johnson (8)
Stephen Weigh (3)
Adelaide Arena 4,255
6-16
23*
25 February
@ Tigers
W 92-83
Chris Warren (26)
Diamon Simpson (10)
Chris Warren (8)
State Netball Centre 3,500
7-16 :
March: 1–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
24*
3 March
Hawks
W 77-73
Daniel Johnson (16)
Diamon Simpson, Everard Bartlett (6)
Chris Warren (5)
Adelaide Arena 4,585
8-16
25*
10 March
Breakers
L 76-91
Daniel Johnson (21)
Diamon Simpson (11)
Everard Bartlett (4)
Adelaide Arena 4,936
8-17
26*
17 March
Blaze
L 83-84
Diamon Simpson (21)
Diamon Simpson (11)
Chris Warren, Daniel Johnson (3)
Adelaide Arena 5,177
8-18
27
23 March
@ Taipans
L 75-79
Diamon Simpson (20)
Diamon Simpson (16)
Chris Warren (6)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,813
8-19
28
25 March
@ Hawks
L 78-92
Stephen Weigh (15)
Diamon Simpson, Daniel Johnson (7)
Daniel Johnson (5)
WIN Entertainment Centre 5,032
8-20 :

## Finals

The Adelaide 36ers failed to make the NBL playoffs for the third year in succession.

## Player statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | Min | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Stephen Weigh | 28 | 875:17 | .395 | .346 | .778 | 4.9 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 11.4 |
| Nathan Herbert | 28 | 457:23 | .346 | .290 | .875 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 4.4 |
| Tom Daly | 12 | 072:26 | .438 | .333 | .455 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| Darren Ng | 28 | 425:23 | .386 | .375 | .950 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 6.1 |
| Wade Helliwell | 27 | 301:24 | .392 | .000 | .667 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.3 |
| Chris Warren | 28 | 896:15 | .406 | .364 | .844 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 14.2 |
| Jan Warbout | 2 | 002:59 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Daniel Johnson | 28 | 862:12 | .443 | .378 | .758 | 7.7 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 16.5 |
| Mitch Creek | 28 | 436:27 | .442 | .333 | .552 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 5.4 |
| Nathan Crosswell (VC)* | 9 | 201:59 | .458 | .000 | .714 | 2.0 | 4.7 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 7.7 |
| Everard Bartlett | 15 | 307:43 | .393 | .364 | .800 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 5.9 |
| Diamon Simpson | 27 | 664:53 | .592 | .000 | .542 | 8.6 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 14.3 |
| Adam Ballinger (C)* | 8 | 144:45 | .333 | .150 | .750 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 5.5 |
| Matthew Lycett | 0 | 000:00 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
* Ballinger and Crosswell suffered season ending ankle and Achilles tendon injuries respectively in Round 10. Ballinger against the Sydney Kings and Croswell against New Zealand.

### Finals
## Awards
### Player of the Week

* Week 4: Daniel Johnson - 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block vs Perth Wildcats @ Challenge Stadium

### NBL Award Winners

* NBL Most Improved Player - Daniel Johnson
* All-NBL Third team - - Daniel Johnson

### Season summary

Along with season ending injuries to the club's captain and vice-captain (Adam Ballinger and Nathan Crosswell) in Round 10, the 36ers performed well at times in 2011-12 but the young team's inability to close out games or win close games saw them ultimately record a club worst ever 8-20 record. For only the second time in its history dating back to when they started as the Adelaide City Eagles in 1982, the club finished the season in last place.
Bright spots for the team were the emergence of centre and the NBL's Most Improved Player for 2012 Daniel Johnson who finally got court time to show his potential and finished the regular season in 3rd place in league average scores (16.5ppg), 5th in rebounding (7.7rpg) and 5th in blocked shots (1.0pg) as well as exciting import power forward Diamon Simpson who led the NBL in shooting percentage (59.2%), was 2nd in blocked shots (1.5pg) was 3rd in rebounding (8.6 rpg). Other bright spots in an otherwise dismal season included rookie import guard Chris Warren (14.2ppg) in his first professional role outside of college, the continued athleticism and defense of youngster Mitch Creek and the outside shooting of veteran Darren Ng.

### Adelaide 36ers Awards

* Most Valuable Player (Mark Davis Trophy): Daniel Johnson
* Players Player: Daniel Johnson
* Most Improved Player: Daniel Johnson
* Best Defensive Player: Mitch Creek
* Best Club Person: Carmel Margaritis (Choreographer - 36ers Dancers)