Father stands to defend Roman

Roman Siulepa’s father, Nadas, has shot down concerns over his son’s professionalism following his departure from the Tasmania JackJumpers earlier this week.

Siulepa signed a deal with the reigning champions as a Next Star in June, but mutually parted ways.

In the wake of the split, Tasmania chair, Steve Old, publicly questioned Siulepa’s commitment to basketball and his handling of injuries, with the youngster determined to finish his high school rugby.

“From our standpoint, Roman looks after his body really well,” Mr Siulepa told Newscorp.

“He’s been playing rugby without any injury concerns and he does all the right things with rest and recovery. The opportunity to finally play rugby with his mates ... is very important to him.”

Mr Siulepa said Roman has just three more games of rugby left, before he will turn his full attention to basketball and finding a new home.

A supremely gifted athlete, Siulepa’s junior basketball has been nothing short of sensational. He was named MVP of the 2024 U20 National Championships, where he averaged 24 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists as a bottom-age player.

He has already donned the green and gold, leading Australia to a gold medal at the 2024 Albert Schweitzer Tournament averaging 18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. He also represented Australia at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup and won gold at the 2022 FIBA U16 Asian Championships.

Despite his early accolades and undeniable potential, JackJumpers’ coach Scott Roth believes his club had to move on.

“People say you lost out on some talent (but) I think if you followed our team for the last three years (you can see) we’ve had multiple NBL first-team, second-team, most improved (players) and three Olympians,” he said.

“There’s 15 guys here that love being here, love being in this environment. And those are only 15 that I care about every day, trying to get the best out of them and defending our island.

“We have talent and we’re not missing out on talent. We are developing talent that are in our market and people that want to be here.

“We wish him (Siulepa) well and we’re on to what we do, which is get ready for the season.”

GM of Next Stars recruitment Liam Santamaria has confirmed an opportunity exists for a new team to work with Roman and the NBL will immediately begin working through the options.

Read the full story here >> Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott Roth speaks on depature of Roman Siulepa as NBL next star’s father gives his take