WITH Ray Turner on fire, strong leaders in Joel Wagner and Adam Johnston and a healthier playing roster, Perth Redbacks coach Nik Lackovic is confident his team can build on the momentum from last Saturday's win over the then league-leading South West Slammers.

The Redbacks had lost their previous four matches coming into Saturday night's clash with the Slammers at Curtin Stadium but they delivered a terrific performance with Turner receiving plenty of help with Johnston, Wagner, Ben Smith and Marshall Brown all joining him scoring in double figures.

That win improved Perth to a 5-9 record coming into this week's clash with the Rockingham Flames on Friday night also at Curtin Stadium.

Lackovic was proud of the effort his team delivered to beat the Slammers and pleased for them to be rewarded for the hard work they've been putting in.

"I am really pleased for the team. They've been putting in a lot of work even though the results haven’t really shown over the last three or four weeks. It was a good test for us this weekend particularly against two good teams," Lackovic said on SBL Slam on 98five Sonshine FM.

"We couldn’t quite get over the line against Cockburn but to back it up the following night against the class team of the competition so far at this stage of the season, I was really happy and pleased for the guys."

While Turner has done all he can to try and lift the Redbacks game after game, Lackovic just hasn’t been able to get his best team out on the court so far this season. However, that is now starting to turn around and he saw what was possible from his team in the win over the Slammers.

"We can't just depend on Ray. Ray has been outstanding and every team goes through it, and we've had it this year early in the season with injuries and we've had Dennis Tawhiiti out, Jarrad Prior is out, Zach Makavilitagia and Adam Johnston was even injured for a short period of time, and Marshall Brown had to exit and go back home to the States for three games," he said.

"But Ray has just been outstanding. He has been a leader in every aspect for us and we made it a focal point this weekend for our guards to really step up. We made it a priority to try and attack off the bounce and space the ball, and it worked for us against the Slammers."

Turner has been remarkable for the Redbacks this season, though, and while he is averaging 32.9 points and 17.6 rebounds for the season while shooting 58 per cent from the field, his numbers in recent weeks are even more incredible.

Over his last eight games, Turner has averaged 41.3 points and 18.4 rebounds while continuing to shoot at an incredible 76.7 per cent from the field including games of scoring 58 and 50 points respectively.

Lackovic is delighted to have been able to recruit him into the Redbacks program this season but certainly expects him take a step up to at least the next level before too long.

"I had an opportunity to try and recruit him in 2014, but our resources didn’t allow it and it was between him and Okoye that I chose knowing that I could only have one at the start of the season. I certainly wasn’t disappointed with Stan Okoye, he was just a remarkable import as a player and person," he said.

"I then watched Ray's progress after the 2014 season and saw what he did for Rockhampton and he won the MVP in that grand final in the QBL, and I saw him go over to the NBA D-League with the Lakers' team where he unfortunately sustained a bit of a hamstring injury and he was the last player cut. I made contact with him because he's just a unique proposition.

"He's an unbelievable athlete and he's unguardable one-on-one on the post, and he has an unbelievable work rate. From where he is now to when he first got here, he is a credit to to himself because he's improved especially knowing the attention he's getting on every possession down the floor.

"He is a next level import without a doubt and we probably won't see him again in the SBL because he should be in the NBL or possibly higher after this. We would like to keep him as much as we possibly can and he has been terrific for us. The numbers he has put up for us I haven’t seen for a long time."

While Turner is performing as the standout player in the SBL so far this season for the Redbacks, Lackovic continues to be just as proud of the efforts of two men who put their hearts and soul into the organisation.

Wagner and Johnston continue to perform strongly on the court for the Redbacks and continue to set the example off the floor as well, and Lackovic is proud as punch with the men and basketball players they have both turned into.

"He (Johnston) is a young man who has been at our club since the age of about 10, and he does so much on the court for us as well as off it. I'm really proud of the young man he's turned into as a basketball player and now as a husband as well, so it was great to see him get rewarded with that win in his 150th game," Lackovic said.

"Joel's one of those guys who every parent would be proud to call a son and at our club he is simply the yard stick of what we measure with work rate both on and off the court. He does an amazing job with the guys at Curtin, the marketing department, junior development, with our imports and he gets out there in schools, clinics and camps.

"He now seems to find time as a husband and father with a newborn child to still put in the effort at practice and lead our team. We made a big commitment this year in getting across to Curtin and the feedback has been great from the visiting teams, and we can't do it along and there's been a lot of people stepping up to help us make the move."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Clare Chappell