CAIRNS Taipans coach Alan Black says geography should have no bearing on whether clubs take their place in next year's new elite competition.
our of a new elite competition, although the criteria for entry and number of teams is as yet unknown.
Speculation has already been raised as to whether North Queensland can sustain two teams in a revamped league.
"If your franchise is strong enough, it shouldn’t matter where the hell you are," Black said.
"Certainly, it can’t just go on geography.
"This is a strong franchise, we have strong owners who are passionate about the sport, good media coverage and a fan base that is constantly increasing.
"We’re not doing a whole lot wrong short of winning the thing and even that’s not a determinant of whether you should be in the (competition) or not.
"A lot of teams have won the thing and then collapsed in a screaming heap."
Black said it would be interesting to see the criteria for inclusion in next year’s league.
"Should there be two teams in Melbourne? If you look at the A-League model, you’d say no," he said.
Football Federation Australia adopted a strict one town, one team policy when revamping its league but doing the same in basketball could be problematical, especially with the stakeholders involved.
Former Melbourne Tigers legend Andrew Gaze is a member of the sport’s interim board overseeing the merger of Basketball Australia and the NBL, while national coach Brian Goorjian coaches the Melbourne-based South Dragons.
"It would be a strong board to say one has to go," Black said.
