Roth Speaks out on Magette Tassie Departure

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Tasmania head coach Scott Roth has broken his silence on Josh Magette's departure from the club.

Times are changing at the Tasmania JackJumpers. The cyclical nature of roster building in basketball means for the first time in the existence of the club, Josh Magette will not be a part of the roster for the upcoming season.

Magette has departed from the club following two highly successful seasons in Tasmania. The fan-favourite leaves having become a defining piece of the club’s culture, and head coach Scott Roth says he made sure the star guard knows the profound impact he’s had on the program.

“We had a tough conversation with Josh before we signed Jordon (Crawford) and just thanked him and his family, and wished him well,” Roth said on SEN.

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“[We] recognised we would not be where we are without him in the last two years with what he’s done for this club. He’s a big part of what’s happened here.

“The way this club’s started off and the excitement it’s brought – with Josh being one of the heads of the snake of it all – it’s always tough.

“People get very attached to players, and rightly so, but it’s very transient … he was very good and professional as always, and we just thanked him.”

Despite being the youngest side in the competition, the JackJumpers have experienced a level of success that other clubs dream of in their opening two NBL seasons.

A Championship Series appearance in their debut NBL22 campaign preceded a second straight fourth place finish – however in NBL23 they were knocked out in the Playoffs by New Zealand.

Tasmania has been underestimated in its first two seasons in the NBL, and Roth believes the same will happen again in NBL24.

“We’ll get picked tenth again and that’s fine,” he continued. “We’ll just go about our work and do what we do.

“I don’t put any expectations on us apart from trying to do the right thing for the state and the people that are there.

“Our players understand the culture that’s been built over the last two years, and the new guys who come in will get integrated very quickly.

“There are three or four teams this year that have spent a great deal of money and are loaded with talent. I’d be shocked if some of these teams lose three or four games this year with how good they are on paper.

“We’ll have to go to battle and see how it all shapes out.”

The JackJumpers will open their NBL24 campaign on Friday, September 29 against Perth.