Tilted Halo
Tagged in: NBL
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American Kevin Brooks admits he has made rookie coaching mistakes and his 7-5 record with Century City Wellington Saintsí this season tends to reflect that.
But after a tumultuous couple of weeks, he must somehow get the team up again for a ìmust-winî game against the Dominion Finance NBLís best if they are to rescue their fading post-season aspirations.
ìOur destiny is still in our hands,î insists Brooks. ìBut I donít quite know how much.î
Following the dust up against Youthtown Auckland Stars two weeks ago, Saints dropped a pulsating overtime encounter with Easy LPG Bay Hawks at home last Saturday, but the quality of the performance was of small consolation to Brooks, who watched his outfit squander several opportunities to seal victory in regulation.
Those two losses put them at the back of mid-table logjam for semifinal spots. To resurrect those hopes, they must now overcome Appliance Shed Harbour Heat (8-2), who still have the competitionís best record despite their own recent lapses.
ìWe have to bring a lot of what we brought on Saturday,î says Brooks. ìI thought the defence was great and the intensity was great Ö better than in the past.
ìWe have to learn from that loss, let go and move on.î
There has been a lot of ìletting go and moving onî at Saints this year, whether it has been defeats, players injured or imports replaced. In fact, the coach can probably count himself lucky to still have a job in such a volatile environment.
ìThe whole season has been emotional for the guys, myself and the front office Ö everyone involved. Expectations are high here.
ìThere were a couple of games I felt we should have won and our record might have been 9-3. But we lost those games for a reason Ö we have to move forward.î
ìBeing a rookie coach, obviously Iíve made some mistakes. Itís a learning process for me.î
To be fair, Brooks was not hired for his coaching credentials … he had none. As a former NBA player with the Denver Nuggets and Australian NBL Finals Most Valuable Player with the Adelaide 36ers, he was engaged purely on pulling power and potential.
He may yet develop into a fine practitioner, but for now, his substitution patterns are somewhat baffling and Brooks concedes he has struggled to get the right combinations on the floor at the right times. When Saints beat Scenic Circle Canterbury Rams two nights after the loss to Auckland, he rolled out an eclectic starting combination of Jonathon Southey, Corey Vessey, Leon Henry, Damian Ekenasio and American Nick Horvath.
Despite losing David Hopoi, Michael Tompson, Brendon Pongia and Brendon Polyblank in the pre-season, Brooks still seems to have too many players to choose from on his roster. Wellington have seven – imports Bakari Hendrix and Horvath, Troy McLean, Adrian Majstrovich, Terrence Lewis, George Leíafa and Ekenasio – in the Player Power Rankingsí Top 50, the same number as the Heat and more than anyone else.
ìSubstitution is like an art form Ö at times, I donít do a great job and at times, I do.î
One player Brooks thinks can feel particularly aggrieved at his treatment this season is former MVP Majstrovich, a major signing from the Hawks over the summer, whose 10.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in 26.9 minutes all represent the lowest numbers of his five-year NBL career.
ìI donít think Iíve done the best job of managing Adrian, but heís huge for us. He has accepted the fact that heís coming off the bench because of match-ups.
ìThatís part of the process for me. We have so much talent and everyone wants to play.
ìAs a coach, Iíve got to do whatís best for the team and find an eight, nine or 10-man rotation. Weíve got guys who could start for other clubs and average 20 points, but they deserve credit for accepting their roles.î
Dominion Finance NBL Guide (Round 11) (pdf 1.3MB)
