Reath Willing to Do Whatever it Takes for Hawks to Reach Potential

Written for nbl.com.au by Chris Pike

All Duop Reath wants to do is whatever he is asked to help this Illawarra Hawks team win and whether that means dominant performances or sacrificing at times, he just wants to win and then whatever comes next will look after itself.

Fresh off being part of history winning a bronze medal with the Australian Boomers at the Tokyo Olympics, Reath joined the Hawks for his first NBL season having started his professional career in Serbia after finishing his college time with Louisiana State.

Reath has had his moments of being a dominant presence for the Hawks in #NBL22 too including 27 points and seven rebounds early against the Sydney Kings, and recently 22 points and 12 boards against the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

However, with the talent on this Illawarra team with Sam and Harry Froling up front with him, and then Justinian Jessup, Antonius Cleveland, Tyler Harvey and Xavier Rathan-Mayes around him, it's not all about relying on individual brilliance.

Reath is still producing 14.6 points and 7.0 rebounds a game but more importantly for him is that the Hawks are in fourth position at 13-8 having now won five of their previous six matches.

They appear to have worked some things out and Reath is more than happy to sacrifice whatever he needs to make sure he's doing what the team needs from him to win, and be successful.

"I'm definitely willing to do whatever to help the team win, that's the mentality I go in every game with," Reath said.

"I just think that at the end of the day I'm a basketball player and there's different ways to impact the game so you're winning. It's not just about shooting the ball and I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win in whatever form the team and that coach requires from me."

Reath arrived in Wollongong on a one-year deal unsure of what his future held beyond playing in the NBL for the first time on the back of being part of the Boomers success in Tokyo.

He's still not sure what he will be doing next and to be honest, he doesn't want to put any attention into anything but helping this Hawks team reach their potential.

"You definitely can't think too far ahead and I'm just focusing on where I am at the moment and on this season so I honestly don't know what comes next for me," he said.

"I just want to play well here, hopefully help the team win and then stay healthy. The healthiest team will be the one that wins this year so that's what I'm focusing on and I'll just let whatever happens beyond this take care of itself."

Reath has been impressed by the level of play and competition he has found in the NBL this season, but that's exactly what he expected and after some challenges early, he's pleased with the way the Hawks are figuring things out.

"It's definitely what I expected. I've been keeping an eye on the NBL for a long time and obviously I'm from here, and it's definitely what I expected," Reath said.

"There's definitely a good feeling in the group right now. I think our focus is just to worry about ourselves and still try to just keep getting better as a team, and keep working on that.

"I think it was just about us staying with it. I felt like the boat was rocking a little but everybody just stayed with it and everybody was at the right headspace. Everybody stayed very positive and we felt like we were going to be able to get out of it at the end of the day, and it seems to be working.

"I just feel like coach has been really emphasising how everybody has to sacrifice things for us to be able to win. That's what we've been trying to do, each of us just needs to sacrifice because we have great players here. 

"Everybody knows what they are capable of doing, but sometimes it's about sacrificing a little bit for the better of the team and I think everybody is doing that really well that. I think everybody is on the same page now at the moment in regards to that."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">?‍???‍???‍??<br><br>Reath Rejection.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> live on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/WoIyZ5sHqK">pic.twitter.com/WoIyZ5sHqK</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1505074889132183552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Speaking of coach Goorjian who unfortunately won't be with the team on Sunday in Melbourne against United due to contracting COVID, Reath feels honoured that he has his backing and to have now played under him both at the Olympics and in the NBL.

"I definitely feel close to him. I think that just going through this season with him has definitely brought us much closer and dealing with the ups and downs. It's definitely made our relationship much stronger on and off the court so I'm just very grateful for that," Reath said.

"Just knowing what he knows about basketball and the knowledge he has and the things he's already achieved, it's not easy in the sporting world to win like he has been doing all his life. To be able to have the back of someone who has been winning all his life is a privilege."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">He won a bronze medal with the Boomers in Tokyo and now he is taking over <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <br><br>Catch Duop Reath and his <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@illawarrahawks</a> take on the Breakers LIVE NOW on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/Y9kQuAQrWz">pic.twitter.com/Y9kQuAQrWz</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1471760629895548931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Hawks came into this season with many seeing them as championship aspirants and they've done nothing to suggest they aren’t still in the hunt. 

While ultimately Reath would love nothing more than to help them accomplish that, he knows you just have to take care of what's right in front of you first.

"I don’t think anybody would go through a season thinking they are going to win it, but that's what you are hoping for. I'm sure everybody thought they were going to do well at the beginning of the season but it's a marathon," Reath said. 

"Right now we're just focusing on ourselves and trying to be the best team that we can be. If we be the best that we can be, then anything is possible after that. The body has been holding up pretty good so I'm very grateful for that."

Before that though, the Hawks take on the league-leading defending champion United on Sunday at John Cain Arena. Reath is looking forward to the challenge.

"I just want to go out there and compete with them this Sunday," he said.

"They just won a championship last year so they are the championship team and that means they know how to win. It's definitely going to be a challenge just because they are the championship team so that's where the challenge lies for us."