Kelly Lays Down Foundation for Phoenix

Friday, March 31, 2023

Newly appointed head coach of South East Melbourne, Mike Kelly, has outlined the foundation of what he expects from the Phoenix next season to become strong championship contenders.

Returning to the Heartland once again, Kelly will be back in a different position this time.

In 1996, Kelly helped lead the South East Melbourne Magic to a championship title and won the Best Defensive Player Award, both within his inaugural season in the NBL.

Kelly spoke on his excitement of returning to the South East as a head coach on the latest episode of The Huddle.

“I’m really excited to be a part of South East Melbourne, I think it’s been a great club in a short existence,” Kelly said.

“Right situation, I could do some really good work and help a team to compete for championships and I feel like this is a situation like that.

“People that I know in Tommy Greer, Eric Hollingsworth, trust that the table is a little bit set already with some very good players and the ability to try to round out a good, competitive, tough-minded roster. So I’m very excited about that.

“The club is showing willingness to try to put that together so I think this is a great situation.”

Kelly was the assistant coach for the Wollongong Hawks in 2005 before returning to America. He found his way back to the NBL and coached one of his former clubs, the Townsville Crocodiles, as an assistant.

He then became the assistant coach for Melbourne United where he forged a strong friendship with colleague and former Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell.

Kelly then went on to be the head coach of the Cairns Taipans, winning the 2020 Coach of the Year, before most recently being an assistant with the Perth Wildcats for the past two seasons.

Accountability and toughness are two words Kelly mentioned frequently in what he wants to build on this season with the Phoenix.

“Probably every team except Sydney over the last two years, and maybe New Zealand this year, have probably come out of their exit meetings and said we need more accountability,” Kelly said.

“This is a situation where that was the message and I’ve been in situations in the past where it was the same message. So I’m going back to the learnings of the past from my own experience.

“Toughness, you can already see some of that in the guys that they’ve carried over. Guys like Mitch Creek and Alan Williams, Owen Foxwell, Reuben Te Rangi.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The South East Melbourne Phoenix have finished their search for a new head coach, and have named former NBL Coach of the Year Mike Kelly as their new figurehead. <br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/TEwi37HIak">https://t.co/TEwi37HIak</a> <a href="https://t.co/FNzbsSzFbU">pic.twitter.com/FNzbsSzFbU</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1641169800188809217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

He praised the efforts of former coach Mitchell on developing the organisation and hopes to bring consistent success to the club.

Kelly wants to coach a team that will become powerful on both ends of the court, focussing on defence and ironing out any creases that were visible last season.

“You can see that the Phoenix has been a fantastic offensive team and hopefully will be right up there as far as offence goes. But if you compare that with consistent defence, toughness and grittiness then I think you’ve got a recipe for competing for championships,” he said.

“We’ve seen that through the years.

“I know we all fall in love with the offence and I’ve done that as well at times, and sometimes it’s with a talent level and certain teams you have to hang on the certain strengths of the team.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">New <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SEMelbPhoenix</a> head coach Mike Kelly is going back to where it all began ?<br><br>The South East Melbourne Magic legend is back in the Heartland, and he's joined <a href="https://twitter.com/Liam_Santa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Liam_Santa</a> on The Huddle ?<br><br>Watch the full video now: <a href="https://t.co/0SyJViAxFB">https://t.co/0SyJViAxFB</a> <a href="https://t.co/MdPiNdirAb">pic.twitter.com/MdPiNdirAb</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1641213771602628608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Extremely happy with the Phoenix’s talented players, Kelly is optimistic in continuing to form a roster that will enhance each players’ strengths, allowing the coach to work with the team on sharper consistency and determination.

“If we can be super athletic, super talented, can score and defend, that’s the best of everything,” Kelly said.

“It’s not reinventing anything, it’s trying to impress upon our guys that this is how we play. With that consistent grit, determination and competitiveness, that’s going to help win basketball games.

“Having relationships with players and building trust. You can build on that to have accountability.”