Jackomas "Proud" of Youthful Hawks

For the ninth time this season the Illawarra Hawks have lost a game by under ten points. Slumping to a 2-17 record on the season, one eye must now be focused on NBL24 and beyond for the cellar-dwelling outfit.

A late run in the third quarter helped amp up the Illawarra crowd, who would have hoped to see just their third win from 10 home fixtures this season, but even without Keanu Pinder the Taipans proved too strong down the stretch.

The injury bug has bitten the Hawks hard this season. Imports Justin Robinson and George King both had their seasons ended prematurely, and their replacements – Peyton Siva and Michael Frazier II – were both unavailable against the Taipans due to injuries of their own.

Those injuries meant young players like Lachie Dent, Will Hickey and Dan Grida all saw extended minutes against the Snakes, and Hawks head coach Jacob Jackomas says he can’t fault the efforts of any of his players.

“I can’t not be proud of the guys with their efforts,” Jackomas said post-game. “There’s a lot of youth we’re relying on right now, and people can be critical of them but they need to remember these are young guys.

“There are some mistakes that cost us victory and they’re young mistakes I think. We’ve always seemed to be right there this year so I don’t think anybody is taking us for granted.

“I’ve always tried to stay away from this idea, but our young guys today – the mistakes they made are the mistakes you need to make to learn.”

Sam Froling was a dominant force in the paint for the Hawks on the night, and he finished with a game-high 25 points along with 13 rebounds.

He shot a solid 55 per cent from the field – including making 11-20 two-point field goal attempts but his struggles form the foul line continued. He made just three of eight attempts from the charity stripe.

The 22-year-old Boomers representative has had his ups and downs this season, but at his best he’s one of the most effective inside presences in the competition.

“Everyone’s got some individual goals right now, and they’re all team-based to help us win,” Jackomas said.

“Sam’s is consistency, and ever since we sat down and spoken about that I think he’s been pretty consistent.

“I think that’s a good sign for the future, and we do have to talk about that a little bit right now. He’s a good sign, Dan (Grida) is a good sign, ‘Davo’ (Hickey) is a good sign … the way they go about their business day to day, I’m proud of them – because it has been rough.”

The injury shoulder injury suffered by Siva was just the latest in a long run of poorly timed absences for Illawarra this season, and while the likes of Dent and Hickey have ably stepped up to fill the large shoes left by the guard, Jackomas says the signs don’t look good for the former Detroit Piston.

“We’re worried, I will say that,” Jackomas said of Siva’s injury. “We’ll wait for the scans before we say anything.

“I’ve sat through quite a few season ending injuries with the imports this season. This is the most negative one.

“We’re getting scans on him [on Tuesday].”