Caroline Praises NBL "Test"

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Although Jordan Caroline says signing on with Melbourne United was a ‘no-brainer, there was a strong possibility that the import forward’s talents would not be gracing the NBL this season.

Although Jordan Caroline says signing on with Melbourne United was a ‘no-brainer, there was a strong possibility the import forward’s talents would not be gracing the NBL this season.

Now firmly entrenched in this Melbourne United side, Caroline arrives in the NBL off the back of a full season playing in Italy with Dolomiti Energia Trento, and before that short stints in Taiwan and Israel.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">??? <a href="https://twitter.com/heraldsunsport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@heraldsunsport</a> <a href="https://t.co/h5r6vg7bA2">pic.twitter.com/h5r6vg7bA2</a></p>— Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1560217013615611904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Caroline says the offer from Melbourne United wasn’t the first mouth-watering prospect that came across his table this off-season.

“This summer a previous deal I had fell through and my agent brought me the Melbourne deal,” Caroline told SEN.

“I’m a basketball junkie so I’d watched a bunch of NBL prior to and I knew how great and prestigious of a club Melbourne United was.

“When he brought me the deal, for me it was basically a no-brainer. I was excited and jumped on it right away.”

After going undrafted in 2019, Caroline signed on with the LA Lakers. After two months with the organisation, he was waived due to a broken foot. Later in that year he would also suffer a debilitating groin injury.

Those two months training with the likes of LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo and Anthony Davis quickly exposed Caroline to the speed, standard and explosiveness of NBA basketball.

Having just taken part in the NBL’s pre-season Blitz tournament, Caroline says he believes the style of play in Australia is comparable to that of the NBA.

“It’s (the NBL) a lot more fast-paced than Europe, the talent level is really good, and it’s a pretty physical league too. It’s a good test and I’m excited for it, and I like the style of it,” he said.

“It definitely reminds me a lot more of an American style of basketball … I feel like the style of basketball we play and the style of basketball in the league really fits the way I like to play and just caters to my abilities.

“I’m a player who exploits mismatches. If I have a bigger defender on me I like to be on the perimeter but if I have a smaller guy I feel like I can bully a bit and be closer to the block. I’m just a versatile player who brings a lot of energy.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Make way for Jordan Caroline ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> <a href="https://t.co/7wLdS7ntiJ">pic.twitter.com/7wLdS7ntiJ</a></p>— NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1149786274422652930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Once again heading into the season as one of the favourites to win the NBL championship, Melbourne United’s pre-season performances have seen them slide down the pecking order of neutral fans over the past few weeks.

Losses to collegiate side St Mary’s and an undermanned Brisbane side preceded the Blitz tournament in which United would go on to win two of their three games.

A season-ending injury to Next Star Ariel Hukporti soured the Blitz experience for United, but Caroline says the team isn’t listening to any outside noise.

“Inside the locker room we know it’s about us,” he said. “People have opinions on anything, it is what it is – we know what we’re capable of doing.

“We have to stay focused, keep chipping away and keep getting better each day.

“It’s an internal thing. We like to push ourselves and we like to get better and make stuff happen.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Great to chat with new <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelbUnited</a> import Jordan Caroline<br><br>He's an athlete from a very impressive sporting family<a href="https://t.co/LSbyiwFGAb">https://t.co/LSbyiwFGAb</a></p>— Andy & Gazey (@TheRunHomeSEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRunHomeSEN/status/1574655017444745217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>