Harrelson proud of his Slammers team that's stepped up

PLAYING-coach Ty Harrelson returned for the South West Slammers to help them win their quarter-final Game 1 against the Willetton Tigers and while he might again have to dart off during the playoffs, he's been proud of the way the likes of Tre Nichols and Jordan Hickert have stepped up.

Harrelson has been a terrific servant as a player, captain and coach of the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers since arriving in 2013, but he is now in his last season and it's been interrupted in recent times since his appointment as coach of the school he played at, Wayland Baptist University.

However, he returned to play in Saturday night's Game 1 of the quarter-final series against the Willetton Tigers at Willetton Basketball Stadium, and the Slammers ended up winning 90-83 largely on the back of hitting 20-of-24 from the free-throw line while the Tigers made just 23-of-40.

That sets up the Slammers to have two opportunities this weekend to win a second game over the Tigers to advance to the semi finals starting Friday night at Eaton Recreation Centre with Game 3 then potentially to be on Saturday.

Harrelson played his first game since July 5 last Saturday night and was happy to come off the bench as a result, but with the way the likes of Nichols and Hickert have been playing in his absence, along with Brian Voelkel, Clive Weeden and Wade Hitchcock, he was happy to do so.

"When I was away, Tre stepped up even more and I think in crunch time this week he was very good, and he and Jordan Hickert both came up with some big shots," Harrelson said on SBL Slam on 98five Sonshine FM.

"That's just team rules. If guys don’t practice or show up, whatever the reason, we start the guys who are there.

"And we have been starting well even when I was away and we've won a lot of the first quarters with that starting five. I would do it again and it's the same with Trent who has been out with a sore calf but he's usually in our starting five. That was basically all that was behind it."

Harrelson has been particularly impressed with the form that Hickert has been able to show in the second half of the season for the Slammers, but he's not surprised having expected it of him last year before his season was ruined by an ankle injury.

"We lost Jordan before last season even started when we were counting on having him, but he had an ankle injury," he said.

"He then started out great at the start of this season and then reinjured the ankle a little bit and had some time off, but now he is healthy when we need him and he's a good player. He's got the height and a very high basketball IQ."

Harrelson admits that he might have to again miss one game of the semi-final series due to his commitments back at Wayland Baptist, but that's a problem he will worry about when and if the Slammers get past the Tigers in the quarter finals.

"If we get past the first round, I'm probably going to have to miss a game because school is starting there and we've got 12 guys coming in, and I need to be there," Harrelson said.

"Our club's aware of it and I will fly back for the first semi-final game, but in all likelihood I will have to miss at least one."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Grant Lauterbach




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