Getting in the Hot Seat: Flavell on leading the Phoenix

Written for nbl.com.au by Tom Hersz

Being ready is subjective. You may think you’re ready for something you’ve been working towards, but won’t really know until you’re forced to try it.

Judd Flavell, the lead assistant coach with the South East Melbourne Phoenix, received a phone call last Friday night letting him know that his head coach, Simon Mitchell, had to isolate under COVID protocols and wouldn’t be available to coach the next night. The team would also be without four key rotation players who, like Mitchell, were unavailable due to COVID protocols.

Flavell had about 24 hours to prepare for his first game as head coach in the NBL; a game that would see an undermanned Phoenix squad face a very talented Perth Wildcats team in what many were billing as the game of the round.

Now in his 16th season as a coach in this league, this was the moment he’d been waiting for, but as he walked into John Cain Arena to lead an undermanned team against Perth, Flavell tried to keep a level head.

“Well, the first thing was not to overthink it,” Flavell told NBL Media yesterday.

“It probably helps when you’ve just had 24 hours to prepare for it mentally. I’ve been fortunate enough to be around the league for a long time. So, turning up to an NBL game, even as an assistant, I still fully feel that I’m active, I’m engaged with communicating with coaches and players.

“So for me, with no Simon there, it did mean added responsibility, but it didn’t personally feel like an experience that I wasn’t ready for. It was a matter of just getting on with the job. Once you structure a game plan and present to the team and then you enter the game, you just get on with it.”

There were mixed results on Saturday night. The Phoenix started off strongly, building a 15-4 lead and looking in control. But Perth, as they do so well, adjusted quickly. They went on a 21-0 run in the second quarter to build their own double-digit lead and the Phoenix never really looked like winning from there.

The Wildcats ran out 101-79 winners leaving Flavell feeling a little empty.

Luckily, there was a short turnaround as they travelled to Wollongong to take on the Illawarra Hawks on Monday night. In a see-sawing game, again with an undermanned roster, the Phoenix managed to come away with the one-point victory and Flavell had his first win as an NBL head coach.

Flavell and his players were certainly relieved to get that win.

“Relief is a word that I guess we could use,” Flavell acknowledged.

“But, I really think in the last 48 hours, with what had just gone through our team and obviously losing Simon right before the Perth game, it was really just trying to go into business mode and not overthink things. We’ve got a job to do and just do the best that we can.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hell yeah !!!!! So freaking happy for <a href="https://twitter.com/JuddFlavell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JuddFlavell</a> and the boys tonight. <a href="https://t.co/E3C1nnkQX0">https://t.co/E3C1nnkQX0</a></p>&mdash; Simon Mitchell (@SMitch_Phoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SMitch_Phoenix/status/1490642402440527875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


And they did their jobs well. It was an impressive road win considering the circumstances and Flavell was pleased with how the team adjusted from the Perth loss.

They may have had some luck, but under the circumstances, the way Flavell prepared them helped them effectively steal that win.

“I think we had better poise,” he explained.

“We looked back on the Perth game and those moments that we had in the second and the third quarter where the game got away from us, we compounded errors compounded down one end and couldn’t stop the bleeding down the other end. I thought in the Illawarra game we were much better at keeping our composure.

“And in that game, with the way Illawarra were defending on-balls, we wanted to put the ball in Xavier Munford’s hands and play off that middle on-ball. So it gave him a lot of responsibility, but for us, it gave us some certainty and when we were looking at an undermanned group, we really wanted to make sure we had stability throughout the game.

“The last minute, that moment was fairly messy, but we’ll take the win whenever we can on the road. It doesn’t matter how it looks.”

Flavell is a pretty humble guy. He’s pretty unassuming on the sidelines unlike some other assistant coaches, but, having been around the league for so long and having been with the Phoenix since their first season, he commands the respect of everyone around that club.

That respect has been earned and Flavell also has the trust of his players and his fellow coaches. So, it’s no surprise he was able to get them to respond like that on Monday.

“I’ve been an assistant for a very long time, so I feel like with all the groups that I’ve been with, I find that if the players know that you’re fully invested in them and that you’re genuinely looking out for them and trying to make them better, that’s where the trust is built,” he detailed.

“It’s not just in the moment of the game, it’s all the moments before the game. It’s rebounding for them, it’s sitting down with them and going through video. It’s talking to them about life and so, when you combine all those moments together, that’s where you can really reach into that connection that you have with people and, hopefully, get the most out of them.”

He certainly did that. It was an impressive response and gave us a sense of the temperament that Flavell has on the sidelines.

It’s not something that’s new. He didn’t just make that up. Flavell has a lot of coaching experience, including many years as a head coach in the New Zealand NBL.

His most recent stint was with the Southland Sharks from 2016-19, winning the title in 2018. That head coaching experience is definitely something that Flavell tapped into this past round.

“I’d like to think that I try to keep myself composed and not get too carried away with the highs and the lows,” said Flavell.

“That’s something that I’ve learned from being a head coach and watching some of the head coaches that I’ve been with. Being able to stay in an emotional state of composure so they can actually rely upon your messages being clear. So, it does obviously help when you’ve got mileage with head coaching experience.

“I’ve always been ready for an opportunity. Obviously, probably didn’t expect it within 24 hours when I got the phone call, but I’d like to say that I think of myself as ready to go in this league regardless.

“But in this situation here it was just ‘Okay, you’ve done this before. You’ve been in these NBL games many times, now you’ve got a job to do to get this team across the line, so get on with it.’”

That composure was especially important given the roster at his disposal. Missing four regular veterans from his bench in Kyle Adnam, Cam Gliddon, Reuben Te Rangi and Dane Pineau, Flavell was forced to play the inexperienced Lachlan Barker heavy minutes as a back-up guard.

He also wasn’t sure if he’d need to go deeper into his bench with other youngsters given the lack of depth available.

So, it was important for Flavell’s body language to set the right example for those younger players on the bench who may need to play. If the coaches were confident, hopefully that would rub off on them. Flavell didn’t want them to be under any stress and tried to get that across to the team.

Working with and connecting with younger players is commonplace for Flavell. Before joining the South East Melbourne Phoenix, he was a long-time assistant with the New Zealand Breakers.

Flavell joined Andrej Lemanis’ coaching staff back in 2006 and was instantly tasked with a side project. Lemanis and former Breakers owners, Liz and Paul Blackwell, had been working on an initiative to “develop their own” local talent because it was hard to recruit across the ditch from Australia.

The Breakers had not been very tapped into junior basketball in New Zealand to that stage, but that was all to change with the formation of the ‘Breakers Academy’. 

“Andrej pushed that towards me and said ‘that’s your baby,” recalls Flavell.

“’This is what I want. Go ahead and put this program together.’ And I think it was a lot of learnings early on, but there were some great opportunities to get something started.”

In the first year, the program had Rob Loe and Corey Webster come through and it just got stronger, the more they invested and the more energy they gave it.

The game grew, the popularity grew, the profile of the Breakers grew and they were winning more, so they had more and more kids walking through the door wanting to be a part of the Breakers Academy.

A number of them worked their way through to being a development player, then a rostered player, and Flavell believes around a dozen of them who joined as teenagers, went on to represent the Tall Blacks. Te Rangi is just one example who joined at 13 years old.

And so began Flavell’s track record of player development. He spent nine years as head coach of the Academy and when you think about the players that have come through that program over the years, it’s testament to the work he put in during that period.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Unfortunate circumstances but, in its own way, it’s cool see Flavell get this opportunity. This is his 16th season (!) in the league as an assistant coach… he’s been part of 4 championships… would make an excellent choice for the next team looking to hire a head coach. <a href="https://t.co/mIZIgGBkEI">https://t.co/mIZIgGBkEI</a></p>&mdash; Liam Santamaria (@Liam_Santa) <a href="https://twitter.com/Liam_Santa/status/1489801928347320323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Since moving to Australia to join the Phoenix, Flavell has continued to develop talent, only some of it is Australian. In recent years he’s played a key role in developing Pineau into a quality starting centre and also working with Adnam to continue to expand his game.

Of course he’s also worked with some Kiwis in Melbourne. Yanni Wetzell, a former Breakers Academy player returned from college to start his pro career with the Phoenix last season. Now having moved to the Breakers, he’s one of the most dominant big men in the league.

Izayah Le’Afa is another example of a player who has emerged from a DP to a starter in just a couple of years. And of course Keifer Sykes worked on his game, with Flavell’s help, and is now in the NBA playing regularly for the Indiana Pacers.

But Flavell also credits the head coaches he’s worked under for helping to shape him. Lemanis, Dean Vickerman, Paul Henare and Mitchell. He’s seen their journeys and it’s taught him to be himself.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work with these guys and they were all assistant coaches prior to getting their head coaching experience,” Flavell explained.

“So, I really got to see the emergence and the transformation that they made from an assistant coach into a first year head coach and then being a great head coach, you know winning championships in this league.

“And when you’re side by side next to them, there’s no better seat to learn off than actually being in their seat, which you can’t do. But, being able to be alongside them and work with them every day, regardless of whether you’re in the office or on the basketball court, or you’re just talking hoops, you get to see the journey and experience the journey as close as you can.

“And what I’ve taken away from it is that everybody is just so different. Everybody has a strong philosophical approach and belief, and they stick to their values. It’s knowing who you are and being true to yourself. And that sounds very, very clichéd and it’s something you’d read on a bloody Instagram post or something like that, but it really is. Because they’re all so different, but all have very similar core values.

“Now, the way they communicate and the way they motivate are also different, and I think what that has given me is that it’s okay to just be yourself. It’s okay to just speak with your own voice and trust what you’re doing.”

Vickerman trusted Flavell when they worked together with the Breakers during the 2015 Grand Final.

Flavell is credited with the play call in the dying seconds of that series when Ekene Ibekwe sealed the win with a turnaround fadeaway jump shot. The play was called ‘Gate Switch’.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pandemonium. Absolute scenes.<br><br>On this day in 2015, Ekene Ibekwe nailed the game winner on the buzzer to win the <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NZBreakers</a> the title ?<a href="https://twitter.com/Ebeks25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ebeks25</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Andrew_Mulligan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Andrew_Mulligan</a> <a href="https://t.co/88GOwLdb0b">pic.twitter.com/88GOwLdb0b</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1368686148524994561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


“It was born out of our day in, day out scrimmages and last second play situations that come out of those moments on the practice floor,” Flavell recounted.

“And some experimentation, some creativity and we’d always be drawing up something new because you’d be playing yourselves and need to have a little wrinkle on the play. Some would come off and look great and some wouldn’t come off and look stupid.

“This was a play that we found successful on the practice floor that season. And this was the first time that we were presented the same scenario from a side out of bounds with, I think, one second left and we needed a two.

“And when the moment came, it was really a quick look between the three of us, Deano, Pauli and myself and I just looked at Deano and I think we might’ve both said it at the same time: ‘Gate Switch’.

“The play itself, it lives in the memory books. I guess it’s cool if someday you say to yourself ‘I had something to add to that team and it got used in a championship game winner.’”

Unfortunately, that play was used against Flavell and the Breakers in the 2018 finals.

Tai Wesley – a former Breaker – suggested it to Vickerman who was now coaching United. It led to a Josh Boone bucket in the dying seconds to eliminate New Zealand in the semi-finals. Flavell who saw it unfold right in front of him, to this day still kicks himself for not realising it was coming. So, mention Gate Switch and Flavell will tell you that name is bittersweet for him.

After NBL22 concludes, Flavell will head back to New Zealand and the NZ NBL to take on the head coach role for the Canterbury Rams. It’s a chance to get some more experience under his belt, work with some young Kiwi talent and bring that experience back to his role as an Assistant.

“It’s a great opportunity to get in the hot seat,” he admitted.

“The head coach is obviously a responsibility where you are overlooking a lot and being given the opportunity to run the program and manage people. Sometimes when you’ve been an assistant coach for so long, you need to just dip your toes in the water. Sometimes it gives you a little bit of a background on how to assist your head coach better because you know what they’re going through. You’ve been in their shoes.

“It's something that I’m really looking forward to getting back to. I would encourage any assistant coach to look at offseason Head Coaching, because I think it makes you a better assistant coach and gets you ready for who knows when. For when COVID comes in and takes out your head coach!”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Welcome back Juddy! <br><br>Judd Flavell is the new Head Coach of the <a href="https://twitter.com/CanterburyRams?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@canterburyrams</a> <br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/zVBzlRMeXy">https://t.co/zVBzlRMeXy</a> <a href="https://t.co/tvTlNrW30V">pic.twitter.com/tvTlNrW30V</a></p>&mdash; NZNBL (@nznbl) <a href="https://twitter.com/nznbl/status/1461135714993721348?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


It would have been easy for Flavell to stay in New Zealand with the Breakers and bide his time hoping the head coaching role may open up someday. He was established there, everyone in New Zealand basketball circles knew him and he was comfortable.

But, Flavell wanted to challenge himself both on and off the court and he also wanted to be more visible in Australia so that when opportunities to become a head coach in the NBL arose, he was present and known.

Joining the Phoenix for their inaugural season was a way to do those things.

“Being a start up club, it was a whole new challenge,” he explained.

“It was a way for me to seek new challenges outside of New Zealand. It gave me the opportunity to learn new experiences and really test myself. Come to Australia, stand on your own feet, work hard in this ball club and have opportunities that I could really grow from.

“As well as having a chance to build your network. Being able to link up with players that I hadn’t previously worked with before and when I look back on it, it’s been an experience where I’ve definitely grown.

“Being in Australia with a network of people that now know who Judd Flavell is, so that’s been great for me. And yes, the big picture is trying to hunt down that head coaching job when it comes up."

Six new head coaches were hired during the offseason ahead of NBL22, but Flavell was not one of them.

“I did have a couple of interviews with teams when those jobs came up,” he acknowledged.

“I had some good feedback from that. One of them was close and even though at the end of the day I didn’t get the job, it was a great opportunity to sit in front of the owners and the front office to express exactly who Judd Flavell is.

“And I think over time that is something that I can continue to grow and build on.”

Flavell hasn’t yet landed that head coaching role that every assistant aspires to reach, but he has certainly established himself as a very well-respected and credentialed basketball brain, both in New Zealand and in Australia.

He’s now been given a taste of what it takes to be a head coach at NBL level. He will have one more chance to demonstrate his coaching prowess and any point of difference he has to offer when the Phoenix host the Sydney Kings on Thursday night.

Win or lose, he’s demonstrated he can command the respect of his team, he can draw up and execute winning game plans, and he can certainly develop talent. And he sees all of those things as important.

But the real point of difference he thinks he has is that chip on his shoulder that Flavell says is inherent within all Kiwis involved in the NBL.

“This is what attracted me to the Phoenix and Tommy Greer,” explained Flavell.

“There was a bit of ‘Hey, we’re the new club and we’ve got a chip on our shoulder. Being a New Zealander, I said this to Tommy from day one, I said ‘that’s so easy for me as a New Zealander.

“Firstly, being a New Zealander in an Australian competition, every single game we tap into that. We have to and for me that’s a side that’s still there to this day. It’s a side of me that’s probably part of our make up.

“That competitive side, I guess there’s always a way to win. You’ve just got to find it. You’ve just got to find a solution. There’s always an answer.

“Even being slightly undermanned against Perth and Illawarra, the expectation was we were going to find a way to win. And if we didn’t that’s cool. We’ll keep looking and we’ll keep searching but we’re not throwing the towel in at all.”

He’s also learned a few things about building winning foundations from having the right culture. Having been involved in four championship teams and now the establishment of a winning start-up program under Greer and Mitchell, he is very clear on what is needed to get that culture right.

“What I learned from my Breakers years is how you work with people, how you build a culture,” he said.

“I truly believe that having your culture solid, having great people around you, being able to empower those people, being able to build relationships with those people. It all starts with the culture and I’m a true believer of that.

“And I also think that when it comes to creativity and thinking the game, whether it’s Gate Switch or seeing the game for how it is, I see that as a real strength of mine.”

“I think my knowledge of this league is as good as anybody. I think Dean Vickerman and Goorj have been in this league longer than me, but outside of those two, this is my sixteenth straight season, so I might be getting up there.

“I feel like my relationships with people and players in this league and knowledge of what success looks like in this league is pretty good. Those are some of the points of difference that I think I can offer.”