'Play for the people'

What does success look like for the Illawarra Hawks over the remainder of NBL24? In pre-season it was a vocal playoff push, and guard Biwali Bayles said on Tuesday that a post-season appearance is all that matters to him over the remainder of the season – but Damon Lowery and Derek Rucker believes the focus needs to be on winning back the support of Hawks fans.

Illawarra has won just four of its last 20 home games, and the most recent clash held at the WIN Entertainment Centre was a 20-point loss to local rivals Sydney – a loss that many believe left the writing on the wall for former head coach Jacob Jackomas.

“I think they need to win in front of their people,” Rucker said on NBL Now.

“Somebody told me a long time ago that home wins are almost worth twice and if they can go down there and show that home crowd that 'we’re going to fight, we’re going to be slightly more entertaining than the previous edition, and we’re going to give ourselves a chance every game', that will go a long way to instilling confidence in the community.

“There’s nothing worse than going out in your own city and people having a look of shame on their face when they see you. I think if they can restore some of that credibility, that’ll be marvellous for everyone in the organisation.”

Lowery played four seasons with the Hawks during his playing career, and was a key piece of the side’s only NBL title in history – which came in 2001. He also hit the last second free throws in the semi-final to send the Hawks to the decider, which is a moment that has gone down in both NBL and Hawks folklore.

“Respectability is huge. Playing there for four years, that community only respects one thing – that you go out there and bleed for the team,” Lowery added.

“This is a small-market town. A hard-working, blue-collar town. We don’t need all the flashy stuff, but you have to show up and lay it on the line every single night, and they haven’t done that.

“To quote my buddy Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption “hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing”. You’re welcome.”

Co-captain and emerging Boomer Sam Froling looms as a key piece in the side earning that respect back, and debate remains as to whether the 23-year-old can take the next step in his development to become one of the NBL’s best players.

The former Most Improved Player has already played 124 games in the competition after debuting in 2020, and has maintained remarkably similar numbers to last season.

Lowery believes Froling needs to add a consistent jump shot if he’s to become one of the biggest post threats in the NBL.

“Sam is good enough and athletic enough to get 14 and seven in this league. He’s also only playing maybe 25, 26 minutes a game – coaches' fault.

“Sam should be playing 30-plus minutes a game and he can get you 20 and 10 easy.

“I’m still not seeing that jump shot, that left-handed Melvin Thomas catch and shoot money shot. I refer to him as the Chris Bosh of the NBL.

“Sam hasn’t done that because he’s consistent enough and happy to be good. I need you to be great, but to go from good to great you have to do some things in between.”