{"id":924863,"date":"2026-10-12T01:38:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T01:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/924863\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T01:38:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T01:38:27","slug":"team-by-team-hooyah-harden-up-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/924863\/","title":{"rendered":"Team-By-Team: Hooyah & Harden Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Damon Lowery.\u200d<\/p>\n

Round 4 Edition<\/p>\n

Author\u2019s note: These opinions are mine and mine alone. It\u2019s NEVER personal and always about the basketball. <\/p>\n

A Hooyah is given for exemplary play and standout performances so if you get one \u2013 bask in the glory. <\/p>\n

A Harden Up signifies an underwhelming effort or poor play so if you get one of these – cop it and just move on.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Defeated by Melbourne, defeated Sydney<\/p>\n

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Nick Rakocevic: You\u2019re in beast mode. Last week you got your career high with 29 points, and topped it against United with a humungous 33. Plus your 14 rebounds led everybody on the floor.<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Matt Kenyon: You\u2019ve earned your reputation as a hard-nosed defender and the job you did on Kendric Davis will only strengthen that. You hounded KD all over the floor and helped restrict him. But you helped yourself to 11 points and 8 boards in 18 minutes.<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 Zylan Cheatham: Against Melbourne you finished with a respectable stat-line and your playmaking was awesome with 8 assists. With that being said, I can\u2019t forget the first 3 quarters that yielded 0 points and just 2 rebounds. You finished with 8 and 6 boards. You\u2019re infinitely better than that, which you showed in your next game with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Defeated by Cairns<\/p>\n

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Tyrell Harrison: You\u2019re having an All-NBL season and were an absolute Goliath terrorising the Taipans with 23 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks.<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Nate Hinton: From Gastonia, North Carolina. You\u2019ve settled in nicely and I love your all-round game and how you accumulate points in a variety of ways. It was great to see you snap for your season high with 30 points on 54% FG and 6 rebounds.<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 Arnas Velicka: My Lithuanian mate, your three-ball has totally betrayed you. You were 1\/11 from downtown in your last game and went 1\/9 in this one. It happens to best of us, but I know it\u2019s only a matter of time before the tide turns. However, I\u2019m still riding shotgun on board the Velicka Van and I\u2019m yelling out the window, \u201cKeep Shooting!\u201d I hope you find form quickly when you return from injury.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u200dDefeated Brisbane and Illawarra<\/p>\n

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Luke Paul: I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve handed out one of these to a dude who only scored 2 points and had 2 steals in 11 minutes. But you are different. At only 17, you are the future of Australian basketball and a lock to make the NBA. I thought you had a great debut and showed tremendous skill and poise. All the best for the rest of the season, all of Australia is cheering for you.<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Jaylon Brown: 25 points against Brisbane with 5 triples. You\u2019ve well and truly found yourself and followed it up with 14 points and 9 assist against the Hawks. It\u2019s with great pride and admiration that I officially welcome you into to the \u201cLil Big Man\u2019s Society\u201d.<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 O Boards: Against the Bullets y\u2019all allowed 22 offensive rebounds which is, offensive. It didn\u2019t cost you the win but it easily could\u2019ve.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Defeated by Tasmania and Cairns<\/p>\n

DOUBLE HARDEN UP ALERT<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Makur Maker: What a welcomed sight you have been. Your skillset is impressive. At 6’10” you can knock down triples and can touch your spine when you dunk. 18 points and 9 boards in only 17 minutes is crazy work.<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 Tyler Harvey: The artist formerly known as \u201cThe Pathological Scorer\u201d. You alright, man? I\u2019ve never seen you act like this. You played 17 minutes, took only 2 shots and finished the game with just 2 points. It goes without saying that you need to make up for that performance immediately.<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 Milton Doyle: The Silent Assassin. You were way too silent my man. You went mute against the Taipans. I didn\u2019t think you were physically capable of not scoring a point in a game. Zero points in 25 minutes is an abomination for a man of your pedigree.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Defeated Adelaide and South East Melbourne<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Luke Travers: I knew a team was going to eventually cop an \u201cLT game\u201d \u2013 it was only a matter of time. It was the Phoenix on the receiving end when you only missed 2 shots on your way to 24 points with 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks for good measure. More of that please.<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 Josh Oduro: I\u2019m taking a hard stance against fouling out. Even though you scored 16 at 100% against Adelaide, I can\u2019t help but wonder how many more you would\u2019ve scored if you didn\u2019t foul out in 19 minutes. That\u2019s the second time in 5 games so please protect yourself. To your credit you stayed on the floor against SEM and finished with 21 and 10 rebounds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Defeated by Perth<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Sam Mennenga: I firmly believe there\u2019s no one else in the League remotely like you; a 6’10” powerhouse that can manhandle dudes and knock down triples. That was the most dominant performance of the season so far, and of your career. You were simply unstoppable and pulverised the Wildcats with 40 points, 18 rebounds and 5 dimes.<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 Parker Jackson-Cartwright’s lower leg: It\u2019s been an injury-riddled season for every team. The injury bug has also bitten you which is surprising given your speed. Hoping for the quickest of recoveries, because you\u2019re playing at an MVP level.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Defeated New Zealand<\/p>\n

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Dylan Windler: From Belmont, Indiana you are well and truly back. An aggressive Dylan is my favourite kind of Dylan. You put on a shooting clinic splashing 7 triples on your way to 32 points, and your toes were nowhere near the 3-point line. You were letting \u2019em fly from NBA range. And I can\u2019t forget the 8 boards.<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Elijah Pepper: \u201cCayenne Pepper\u201d was at it again. You\u2019re in the purple-est of purple patches. Coming into this game you dropped 25 points in your last 3 games and I thought to myself, \u201csurely not again\u201d. 25 points on the nose. I might hit the casino, go straight to the roulette table and put $25 on your singlet number \u2013 red 25!<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 O Boards: I understand you\u2019re playing without Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., but I don\u2019t understand nor do I want to understand how you gave up 21 offensive rebounds. It didn\u2019t come back to bite you but it needs to be addressed \u2026 yesterday. Box out!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Defeated by Melbourne<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 D\u2019Shawn Schwartz: It looks like you\u2019re starting to feel more comfortable, providing your team with much-needed inside\/outside scoring presence. You racked up your season-high with 19 points. Now string more of these performances together.<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 Jordi Hunter: Sorry, not sorry but I\u2019ve added another rule for 7-footers who are starters. You must have more rebounds than fouls. You had 4 fouls and only 4 rebounds. C\u2019mon man.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Defeated by Adelaide<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Xavier Cooks: Another solid outing with 22 points and 8 boards, you\u2019re flying under the radar and averaging a respectable 15 points this season. You\u2019re the team\u2019s true X factor.<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 Kendric Davis: This isn\u2019t for your 16 points, 5 boards and 7 dimes \u2026 it\u2019s because you decided to run across the floor and chest Bryce Cotton up after he stole the ball from you in the dying seconds. What do you want to happen in that moment? I just don\u2019t understand your motivation for carrying on like that. You gotta learn how to take the \u201cL\u201d like a man and move on.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Defeated Illawarra<\/p>\n

DOUBLE HOOYAH ALERT<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 David Johnson: What an incredible performance. You shot the absolute leather off the ball to finish with a season-high 32 including 5 triples. Sixth Man of the Year might be a lock already.<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Will Magnay: You\u2019re acting different this season. Your defence has always been top shelf, but this new aggressive offensive approach really suits you. You\u2019re averaging career-highs in points and rebounds. You toyed with the Hawks and were so close to getting your first triple-double with 14, 9 boards and 8 dimes.<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 Bad D: Any road win is a good win, but you guys switched off in the last quarter and gave up 39 points and a 112 for the game. That is not a habit you want to continue.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

HOOYAH \u2013 Big crowd: Another huge crowd in Sydney with 13,365 flocking to see the Championship rematch between the Kings and 36ers. Outstanding!<\/p>\n

HARDEN UP \u2013 Crowd behaviour: To the knucklehead in Illawarra that got up out of his front-row seat and pointed the finger aggressively at Ben Gold when he tumbled on the baseline \u2013 be better! Sitting in those seats, that close to the players and the action, is a privilege and I hope you never get the opportunity again.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Damon Lowery.\u200d Round 4 Edition Author\u2019s note: These opinions are mine and mine alone. It\u2019s NEVER personal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":924864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-924863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/924864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=924863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=924863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}