'Big Sauce' Signing "Another Weapon" for Phoenix

The South East Melbourne Phoenix have been handed a major off-court boost ahead of their do-or-die Play-In Qualifier against Perth. Alan Williams – the import centre that has endeared himself so much to the club and its fans – will be going around again next season.

Williams initially signed for the club for just NBL23, but after an impressive debut campaign in Australia the Phoenix have wasted no time in getting him signed up for two more seasons.

‘Big Sauce’ as he is affectionately known led the league in both total rebounds and rebounds per game during the regular season – and former Phoenix guard Adam Gibson believes the re-signing is a huge coup for the club.

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“I love it,” Gibson said on NBL Today. “They’ve found a big that works for them. He’s great for the community, he’s great for the club … he’s great with the ball, he’s great off the floor.

“When you find [a big] that can play as well as he can – I’ve got him in my All-NBL Second Team – I think it’s great for the league and great for the Phoenix.

“That will help them moving forward to have that piece locked away.”

The improvement Williams has experienced over the course of his debut season in the NBL is reflective of the rise of South East Melbourne.

After initially struggling to come to grips with the pace of the game and style of officiating, the former Phoenix Sun has brilliantly adapted to become one of the Phoenix’s major pieces.

With other members of the roster going through consistent injury problems during the campaign ‘Big Sauce’ was a near constant presence in the paint for his side. He missed just one game during the regular season and was less than one rebound per game from averaging a double-double each contest.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??<br><br>Alan Williams has signed on for two more years with the South East Melbourne Phoenix ?<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/y4Ho55Begu">https://t.co/y4Ho55Begu</a> <a href="https://t.co/iqhFhmoPxn">pic.twitter.com/iqhFhmoPxn</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1622717743274545153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Gibson believes as dangerous as Williams is to opposition teams now, he could be even better next season.

“Every import that comes across – especially having played in the NBA – it takes a while to adjust,” he said. “You just have to look at someone like (Rayjon) Tucker for Melbourne. The first third of his season he just didn’t understand the league. Now he does, now he dominates.

“Give Alan Williams another off-season, give him time to acclimatise even more with Melbourne, get him back here for his second year and, without a doubt, he’s a go-to guy the Phoenix need.

“He’s another weapon for them.”

Williams and the Phoenix take on the Perth Wildcats on Thursday night in the first Play-In Qualifier in NBL history.

The winner of the clash will go on to face the loser of Cairns and Tasmania’s Seeding Qualifier, while the loser will have their season ended.

The game – to be played at John Cain Arena – will be live on ESPN via Kayo at 6:30pm AEDT on Thursday, February 7.