NBL Hall of Famer Cal Bruton is sick and tired of seeing the capital "get slapped every way possible" and says now is the perfect time to rebuild Canberra's basketball culture.
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The NBL's 10-year hiatus from Canberra is set to end with the Illawarra Hawks set to announce details of a one-off deal with the ACT government to bring their clash with the Cairns Taipans to the AIS Arena on January 26.
The Canberra Cannons had a strong culture that had the club ingrained in the capital, but Bruton says "when they cut us out, we lost it". Now Canberra have been excluded from a new Victorian league after the SEABL went under, instead joining the lesser Waratah League.
Bruton says it isn't on the Hawks to rebuild that culture - he believes it is on Canberra's basketball community. If they do that, then NBL owner Larry Kestelman will take notice.
Bruton says if Canberra's basketball community can turn heads at NBL headquarters then it may only be a matter of time before someone with "deep pockets" rolls into town to pour money into a new franchise in the capital.
"We just dropped our SEABL program, and I’m still a little bit nervous about where basketball is at," Bruton said.
"I’m really keen to see the game go to the next level. If that comes in small doses, such as Illawarra bringing a game here, then I’m behind it.
"We’re going to need to support it, and we’re going to need more people pulling together to make it happen. That’s how the game grows, when you’ve got culture. That’s the key word, with a capital ‘C’.
"Bringing Illawarra down here is not going to create any culture, we have to do that within. Until we are able to, I don’t see how chasing one-off games is going to benefit.
"We’ve got to establish that culture, and if we can do that we can have a team here quicksmart. No ifs, ands or buts about it."
The NBL has had no major discussions about establishing a franchise in Canberra but league officials are keen to tap into the capital.
The Hawks are keen to expand their footprint to Canberra and southern NSW under new general manager Mat Campbell, with the franchise looking to shake off the financial troubles of recent years.
Their impending return to Canberra following a sold-out pre-season match is a huge opportunity for Canberra fans to prove they want more matches as the Hawks consider a deal similar to that of the AFL's with the ACT government.
"It’s more than a game," Bruton said.
"This is a marketing exercise, and we’ve got to really showcase it as such and see if we can get the people to buy in and take ownership and be accountable for wanting to bring basketball back to the big stage.
"It’s all about, in my mind, trying to do something to assist in Canberra getting their own. GWS is a different beast in terms of the way they drive memberships. It’s a start. It’s one game.
"I would suggest it would be very important for people to get out and support it and show they’re keen about having basketball on the big stage."
