Giants find right balance
SKILLED Goldfields Giants coach Wayne Creek is confident his side has found the right balance of youth and experience to be considered legitimate title contenders for the upcoming State Basketball League season.
The Giants have been in training since December and will be given their first full hit-out of the new year during a special pre-season tournament in Perth next month.
Their first match of the regular season is against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on March 19 – leaving Creek and his coaching staff with plenty of time to familiarise themselves with the new-look squad.
Off-season recruiting has netted US imports Darnell Dialls and Matt Rosinski, while Tasmanian swingman Dwayne Radcliffe and CBC big-man Garry Street are also shaping as excellent inclusions.
However, Creek has been quick to deflect attention away from his new signings and on to the squad’s younger players, who he believes are quickly coming of age.
Integral to the side’s plans are teenagers Miles Tierney, Mitch Sheppard, Garry Sidebottom and Tane Moran, who have been among the local Division 1 competition’s most consistent performers this season.
Creek, who is embarking on his second year as head coach, was full of praise for the young brigade and said the door was open for them to see more court time in 2011.
“We’re really hoping this year is the opportunity for those guys to take the next step,” Creek said.
“More court time is planned and they’ve been working hard and are well on their way to earning that court time.
“All those four guys have really picked up this year and some of the senior guys have commented on how well they’re going.
“There were six players under the age of 18 who played in the SBL last year, and we fielded four of them.
“So whether these boys see it now or not, they’re all players of the future and they may play small roles or quite big roles this year – we don’t know just yet.”
The Giants’ first pre-season test comes against Mandurah Magic at the WA Basketball Centre on March 5.
They then take on Perth Redbacks and the Stirling Senators before rounding out the carnival against reigning champions Willetton Tigers.
The tournament also represents Creek’s first opportunity to see Radcliffe, Rosinski and Street in action, while Dialls is no stranger to local basketball fans following his stint with the club in 2008.
“The biggest thing for us in this tournament is to get an idea of how our guys play together, what works and what doesn’t work and we’ll come back to Kalgoorlie and work on those things before the season starts,” Creek said.
“This is our one and only hit-out before the first match so we have to take it for what it’s worth.
“We’ll keep one eye on the other teams and what they’re doing, but we’re more focussed on our set-up at the moment.” going down to Perth Redbacks 59-60 in game-one of their series.
Article by Dean Stacey (Kalgoorlie Miner)
Photo by Travis Anderson (Kalgoorlie Miner)
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