Cooper didn’t play for the Wildcats but he was brought over by a private investor in 1988 to help out the Wildcats. He trained and coached the Wildcats for a brief couple of weeks.

Below are a few stories about his time in Australia (click on images to enlarge):

You can win the Date With Trigger Here on Ebay.

Here’s a little description of what you get:

Fanging for a Cure offers the chance to win a date with Cameron “Trigger” Tragardh. The highest bidder will have an option as their prize.
Cam is the gentle giant of the Cairns Taipans, a real community minded man.

Option 1- a one on one date at Villa Romano Cairns Esplanade on Saturday 29th June.

Option 2 – a family shoot around with Trigger with Pizza Lunch , courtesy of Fasta Pasta. If the family option is chosen you can invite 4 extra friends along.

All money raised will go to Fanging for A Cure, Relay for Life Team- assisting local people fighting Cancer.

The members of Fanging for a Cure are extremely grateful to Cameron for volunteering for this great fundraiser.

So make sure you get around this and place a bid on this worthy cause!

Bid here

Frankston were one such team – sitting at 7-7 and clinging to fourth place, they travelled to Tasmania to take on the Hobart Chargers and the North West Tasmania Thunder. Starting with the Chargers on Friday night, where Blues import Chuck Long returned to face his former team, Frankston were unable to get the jump on the South Conference 2^nd placed Hobart team. Brandon Polk was outstanding for the home side with 32 points and 10 rebounds, while former Taipans player and potential future Perth Wildcat Deba George added 26 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. For the Blues, new import Will Walker picked up a double double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Mitch Chapman was their top scorer with 19. Hobart picked up the win 82-75 to pull further ahead of the third placed Spectres in the South.

Following a defeat in Hobart, Frankston travelled across the state of Tasmania to take on the North West Tasmania Thunder. Another team struggling to hold on to fourth place in the South, the Thunder played with something to prove, and dealt the Blues their second straight loss for the weekend, 92-82. Mitch Chapman again top scored for Frankston, again with 19 points, along with Ben Louis who also had 19 points. Both Thunder imports added double doubles to their teams totals, with Troy Payne contributing 17 points and 13 rebounds and Eric Gaff scoring 10 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Ben Armstrong top scored for the home team with 24 points. The win for the Thunder has seen them hold on to fourth place in the South, but two losses in Tassie along with a few other results across the weekend has meant that the Blues have slipped down to sixth place in the East. However, it’s not all bad news for the Blues, as all but two teams in the East are sitting on the same win record, so still plenty of time to climb back up to play off position.

Meanwhile, Mt Gambier continues to dominate in the South with a 10 point win over the Kilsyth Cobras on Friday night. An unusually quiet night from the Pioneers Brad Hill, but the beauty of this year’s Mt Gambier team is that they have the talent to pick up the slack on any given night. Ben Allen was again impressive with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while import Titus Robinson had a double double of his own with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Tom Daly, who today began his try out with the Sydney Kings, also added 15 points for the home side. Kilsyth’s import, EJ Kusyner was the top scorer for the visitors with 22 points, while former Tigers player Tim Lang also contributed a double double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. After travelling to Mt Gambier on Friday, the Cobras returned to their home court on Sunday, to take on the Sandringham Sabres.

But before that, Sandringham on Saturday night hosted the Ballarat Miners. An interesting game for both teams, with each struggling to crack the top four in their respective East and South Conferences. Ballarat were without star off-season signing Lucas Walker, who is spending some down time in the USA. Shaun Bruce was also missing from the Miners line-up due to injury, and the Sabres took full advantage, handing out a massing 112-86 whacking. Sabres imports John Pichon and Patrick Richard both top scored with 21 points each, with Pichon also adding 12 rebounds and 3 assists to Richards 9 rebounds and 6 assists in what was a relatively even scoring spread for the team. For the Miners, the only bright spark seemed to come from import duo Keena Young and Matt Hanson, who combined for 48 of the Miners 86 points.

Sunday saw Sandringham travel to Cobra country to face Kilsyth, in what was yet another game of fighting for position. With Sandringham having a big win against Ballarat, and Kilsyth suffering a big loss against Mt Gambier, both teams were eager for a win for different reasons. After losses to Dandenong and Frankston, another win for Sandringham would see them slide into third place. For Kilsyth, in sixth place, another loss would put them back down the bottom of the ladder with Knox and Albury and further out of touch from the play off spots in the South. However, Sandringham seemed lacking on Sunday – their scoring firepower wasn’t there, and Kilsyth capitalised on it and managed to snag themselves a n 89-68 win on their home court. EJ Kusnyer top scored again for the Cobras with 28 points, while for Sandringham John Pichon top scored but only managed 16 points. The 1-1 weekend for the Sabres puts them in fifth position in the East, while Kilsyth maintain their 6^th position but have moved ever closer to Ballarat and stay within striking distance of the Thunder and the Spectres.

In another battle for positioning, Saturday night saw the Knox Raiders travel to Albury to take on the Albury/Wodonga Bandits, in what was the South Conference Grand Final re-match – albeit with teams this time at the other end of the spectrum. The Bandits jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, and Knox struggled to close the gap all game, eventually going down 76-67. The loss is another blow to Knox, who sit on just four wins for the season. Despite CJ Massingale top scoring for the Raiders with 23 points, he struggled to hit shots throughout the game, making just 3 out 16 field goals and 1 out of 7 three pointers. Most of Massingale’s points came form the charity stripe – making 16 out of 17 free throws for the game. John Philip and Lester Strong each managed 17 points each for the visitors, but Albury managed to share their scoring load a lot better. New import Jermel Jenkins has continued to impress with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Fellow import Flenard Whitfield contributed 16 points and 9 rebounds, and Ben Hollis managed 14 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth.

The Brisbane Spartans have jumped from sixth place in the East up to fourth after a win over the Dandenong Rangers on Saturday night. The Spartans welcomed Brendan Teys back from the Australian Boomers camp, but it was Scott Kenny who had the biggest impact for the home side, top scoring with 22 points. Rangers imports Daequon Montreal and Tony Lewis were both uncharacteristically quiet, Montreal top scoring for Dandenong with 15 and Lewis adding just 12 points to go along with 8 rebounds. With scores level at halftime, the Rangers managed just six points in the third quarter, setting Brisbane up for a 76-62 victory by the final whistle. The win for Brisbane, along with Frankston’s two losses and a few other results, rocketed the Spartans into the top four with a 7-8 record, sitting just behind the inconsistent Rangers who now have a 7-7 record.

The cellar dwellers of the East Conference, the Canberra Gunners, headed to Bendigo on Saturday night to take on the in form Braves. On an 11 game winning streak, the Braves looked like they could do no wrong, but were wary of the Gunners team which had given them one of their three losses at the start of the season in the ACT. The game was close – a lot closer than many people expected, with Canberra pushing Bendigo at every play. As with Kilsyth two weeks earlier, the Braves got up by one point in the dying seconds off the back of a Jazz Ferguson free throw, and held their breath as Daniel Joyce attempted a three to snatch victory for the Gunners. Luckily for the home side, Joyce’s shot missed, giving Bendigo the 88-87 win and extending their streak to 12 and moved further ahead of the pack in second place in the East. Jazz Ferguson top scored for Bendigo with 24 points and 5 assists, while Ivan McFarlin continued his double double averages with 20 points and 10 rebounds. For Canberra, Daniel Joyce top scored with 18 points, with teammates Camontae Griffen and Alex Gynes contributing 17 points each.

Canberra had a chance for redemption on Sunday, as they travelled to Ballarat to take on the Miners who had taken a beating from Sandringham the night before. Without Lucas Walker and Shaun Bruce, the Miners team really seemed to struggle, again with imports Keena Young and Matt Hanson seeming to be the only two scoring options. Canberra were able to get a comfortable 31-17 lead at quarter time and cruise along to an easy 100-77 victory. Daniel Joyce was again impressive for the Gunners, against his former team at the Miners, top scoring for the visitors with 25 points.

East Conference ladder leaders Geelong sent another message to the league on Saturday night – they are just the deepest team in this competition. Easily accounting for the Nunawading Spectres in an 89-69 win at the Arena, Geelong managed to restrict star Spectres guard Shane McDonald to just 10 points for the game. Nunawading did welcome back import Cicero Gonzaga and Melbourne Tigers player Tommy Greer after being out with injury for a number of weeks, but both played limited minutes. Simon Conn top scored for the Spectres with 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Geelong’s Mike Mercer continues to quietly go about the business of winning with 22 points and 7 assists to go along with fellow import Theron Wilson’s 17 points and 5 rebounds.

Nunawading had arguably the toughest weekend of the round. After coming up against Geelong on Saturday night, the Spectres then had to host the Bendigo Braves on Sunday. After a close game the night before, the Braves were not about to let the Spectres get as close as the Gunners, and held a six point lead at halftime that they just continued to hold on to win 80-93. Jazz Ferguson put in a player of the week performance with 33 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists to go along with teammate Tom Garlepp’s 25 points and 8 rebounds. Ferguson also showed he was definitely out of his shooting slump, hitting 7 out of 8 three’s for the game. Simon Conn again top scored for the Spectres with 22 points, while point guard Shane McDonald had an impressive 20 points and 10 assists in his stat line. Despite two losses on the weekend for Nunawading, they remain in third place on the South ladder, but have North West Tasmania breathing down their neck. For Bendigo, the win makes it 13 in a row – with an absolute blockbuster to come next weekend.

The Geelong Supercats will travel to Bendigo next Saturday night in what is likely to be the preview to the East Conference Grand Final. When these two teams last met in round 1 – both were missing players, and still finding their feet. Geelong got the jump on Bendigo, but the Braves will be out for revenge, and looking to keep their win streak alive. Can they match the depth that Geelong has? Will the Supercats be the ones to snap the Braves winning streak and keep them in second place? It’s sure to be a big game!

There’s not much doubt in my mind this week that the Player of the Week has to go to Jazz Ferguson from Bendigo. His free throws to put the Braves in front against Canberra in a nail biter, coupled with his massive stat line on Sunday against Nunawading, and a 2-0 weekend for his team – there’s no one else that jumps out to be a contender. The only smokey could be Brandon Polk for his 32 points and 10 rebounds against Frankston – but again, I have to give it to Jazz for a great overall weekend performance. There are whispers that a couple of NBL teams have been making inquiries about the import point guard, so here’s hoping we’ll have some good news to report down the line in Ferguson staying in Australia a little longer after the SEABL season.

The game features some future NBA players like Brad Miller, Andre Miller, Pat Garrity and Michael Doleac just to name a few.

The Australian team reads a who’s who of some of the best NBL players of the 90s and 00s. Chris Anstey, Sam Mackinnon, Ben Pepper, Ben Melmeth, Aaron Trahair. Matthew Nielsen, Simon Dwight etc.

Description:

ESPN’s Jason Bennett spent four years chatting on & off with Aussie NBA star Andrew Bogut, tracing the ups and downs of life as a professional athlete. The result is a fascinating exclusive behind-the-scenes insight into life on the NBA rollercoaster.

The audio is a little fuzzy but otherwise – Enjoy!

Going through the selection we took into consideration: Time with the club, awards won, play and what they did for the team. We came across some hard decisions like Marcus Timmons, Ron Dorsey, Kevin Owens or one of the first Taipans imports Rashamel Jones. But not everyone can make the cut.

Some players were left off the list because they became naturalised Australians before or during their tenure with the Snakes. Such as Darnell Mee, Melvin Thomas and Rob Rose. Although Rob Rose’s Cairns stint wasn’t even note worthy.

Players that made the ‘Not so good’ import list are: Kenny Payne, Gerald Zimmerman, Jared Newson, Ron Kelly and Rashad Tucker.

Some other random imports you may not remember, but weren’t that bad: Al Hamilton, Ricky Robinson, Rich Melzer and if you have a short memory Andrew Warren.

So – Here we are!

C: Chris Burgess

Burgess spent 3 years in the NBL, all with the Taipans  from 2004-2006. He was selected to the All-NBL First Team in 2005 and All-Star in the same year. Over 3 seasons he averaged 16.6 ppg, 11.9 rpg and 1.9 bpg.

Chris is by far the best import center the Taipans have ever had and still holds the team record for the most rebounds in a game when he pulled down 28 against the Perth Wildcats in October 2004. He was known for his inside scoring, rebounding and a great shot blocker.

F: Jayson Wells

Wells came into the NBL in 2001 with the Canberra Cannons and signed with the Taipans in 2002 as a replacement for Matt Garrison. He came back to Cairns for the 2003 season. In 2 seasons with the club he averaged 21 ppg and 8 rpg.

Wells was one of the most exciting players to watch during his Taipans years. He could dunk with the best of them and one of the best scoring imports the Taipans have ever had.

F: Larry Abney

The original Birdman came to Cairns in 2008 after playing two seasons with the Townsville Crocs. A signing that angered many Crocs fans and would later come back to bite the Taipans because of his large contract.

Abney spent 2 seasons (well, 1 and a half) with the Snakes, making the NBL All-Star game in 2008 and finishing in the top 5 for rebounds in 2008 and 2009. He averaged 15.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg and 1.0 bpg during his time in Cairns.

Larry was best known for his dunks, giving him the name “Birdman”.

G: Ayinde Ubaka

“Chewy” Ubaka played just one season for the Cairns Taipans but he was the most memorable season the Taipans have ever had. Ayinde joined the Taipans in 2010-11 after a season with the Gold Coast Blaze. He averaged 13.9 ppg and 4 apg whilst earning a selection to the All-NBL Third team.

Ubaka lead the Snakes to their only finals appearance, losing to the NZ Breakers. He was best known for his clutch shooting, on the court antics and streaky scoring.

G: Jamar Wilson

Wilson will play his 3rd straight season with the Taipans this year. He first joined the Snakes in 2011-12 and after a MVP like season in 2012 he was re-signed on a rare multi year deal by the club.

In 2012 Wilson averaged 17.3 ppg, 3.1 apg and 5.3 rpg. Earning him selection to the All-NBL Second Team in 2012. He backed this up with a All-Star and All-NBL Third Team selection in 2013.

Madgen dislocated his ankle at Boomers practice before game 2 of their series against China. He was released from hospital and has since returned home but further tests reveal he will miss up to half a year.

Shane Heal spoke to Boti Nagy from Adelaide Now about his injury:

The best news is Ben won’t need any surgery, he saw a surgeon here and luckily the ankle was put back in place and there was no fracture. – Shane Heal

The 28 year old NBL MVP candidate had a career year last season leading the league in scoring with 18.2 points per game to go along with 3.4 rebounds per game. Madgen took out the NBL’s most improved player award, selected to the All-NBL First Team and the NBL All-Star team. He also scored a career high 33 points against the Townsville Crocs on the 3rd of March 2013.

Madgen is expected to return to the Kings line up around late December early January 2014 – deep into the new season.

The Kings just recently signed import Jesse Sanders to play the point, thinking that Madgen would be their leading scorer at the shooting guard position. It is currently unknown if the Kings will look for a short term replacement.

Bartlett was signed by the Perth Wildcats in 2011-12 acting as an injury replacement for Damian Martin. After Martin returned the Wildcats released Everard, days later Bartlett signed with the Adelaide 36ers for the remainder of the 2011-12 season.

Everard was then re-signed by the Perth Wildcats before the start of last season on a two year deal, which the Wildcats today have decided to cut short.

Perth were hoping that Bartlett’s outside shooting and athleticism  would help improve the team, but Bartlett struggled most of the season, shooting at just 26% from the three point line.

Before playing for the Wildcats in 2011-12 Bartlett won the 2006 NBL dunk comp as a development player for the NZ Breakers.

With the move the Wildcats can now go after a more high profile guard (within their points cap). Some current free agent guards are: Bennie Lewis, Tom Daly, Michael Cedar, Chris Cedar, Luke Martin, Luke Cooper, Aaron Bruce & Kerry Williams.

After scoring a career high 28 points, 5 steals and 3 assists against the NZ Breakers on January 5th, Martin went down with a season ending ACL injury just a week later against the Cairns Taipans. Hawks import Lance Hurdle went down with the same injury in the same game.

A season that looked so promising for both Martin (who was setting career highs across the board) and the Hawks, ended with the Hawks limping into the playoffs and both Lance and Martin on crutches.

Hurdle’s recovery has been going well and is ahead of schedule (see video we posted a couple of weeks ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY2nACFFbfo) whilst Martin’s has been coming along a lot slower.

Martin spoke to Tim Keeble of the Illawarra Mercury about his recovery:

I’ve started straight-line running and a little backward running. I haven’t done any sharp change of direction running, more just big esses down the court. It’s slow going and it still gets a bit sore, but the flexibility’s great and pretty much back to normal. – Rhys Martin

Martin later confirmed that he believed he won’t be playing in the NBL’s pre-season tournament:

The pre-season isn’t a big focus of mine to worry about. It’s more getting ready for October and being ready to play, rather than play six pre-season games and maybe injure it again. Rhys Martin

The Hawks roster is yet to take any real shape, while the staple rotation of Demos, Forman, Davidson, Coenraad, Gruber & Martin will be there, the Hawks are still yet to decide at what position they will sign their imports at.

Lance Hurdle will very likely be ready come pre-season time but with Martin’s return still unknown the Hawks may be forced to sign another import point guard.

Wollongong also lost Glen Saville last year due to an injury then retirement. They were hoping Stephen Weigh could fill his void but he has since signed with another team (yet to be announced). Greg Hire re-signed with the Wildcats, Mitch Creek re-signed with the 36ers and Todd Blanchfield re-signed with the Crocs, meaning that unless the Hawks can afford a college returnee they will be going for an import small forward to replace Saville. Also a position Hurdle can’t fill.

A few things are certain, Adris Deleon will not be returning to the Hawks. He has not ruled out returning to Australia but the Hawks have not made an offer to the guard. Mirko Djeric will not be returning, deciding to sign with the Townsville Crocs. Gary Ervin will not be returning to the Hawks either, he’s still a chance with the Adelaide 36ers at this stage, but Wollongong can not afford him.

Gordie McLeod is on his yearly overseas trip scouting for imports and the Hawks will be holding their yearly open scrimmages in July, these scrimmages are for fringe NBL players and selected SEABL imports, the Hawks will know where they stand with their import selection after then.