Rucker: Taipans must "work it out"

Derek Rucker was an absolute star in his first two seasons in the NBL. He was the league’s MVP and scoring champion in his first season in the competition, but a falling out with head coach Brian Kerle stained his first stint with the Brisbane Bullets – and the former champion believes he’s seeing a similar scenario play out in Cairns between Adam Forde and Tahjere McCall.

McCall played just eight minutes in Cairns’ Round 19 defeat to Perth, where post-game Adam Forde said the rotation against the Wildcats was implemented to “manage expectations”, and that the club was looking to invest in players who would be at the club for NBL25.

Rucker says that while he’s aware the full story is yet to come out surrounding McCall, Forde and the Taipans’ four-game losing streak, he hopes the pair can bury the hatchet.

“Since I made my comments on Moments That Mattered I’ve had time to reflect and it took me back to the second year of my career where Brian Kerle – the man who brought me out here and is primarily responsible for everything I’ve done our here in Australia – he gave me the chance, but in our second season we had a terrible falling out,” Rucker said on NBL Now.

“I was very young at the time, driven by ego, believing in hubris, and it led to a really tense and divisive situation in that team. We underachieved that season after being in the Grand Final the year before and ultimately Brian and I never sat down, I was too immature, and I was released from the team at the end of the season, Brian and I didn’t speak for years.

“I’m not saying this is the future of McCall and Forde, but if you don’t come together and work it out maturely and as professionals, you get what they’ve gotten over the past four games. I believe they’re on a four-game slide and it seems to have coincided with this problem.

“The thing is I live with regret from when Brian Kerle and I had a falling out, and you hate to see others go through that same thing because it’s painful, it’s sad and you feel like there are missed opportunities.

“We still haven’t got to the root of it, but my advice would be to sit down, work it out and come out and provide a united front for your home crowd to come out and beat Melbourne United.”

The Taipans are still in with a mathematical chance of making the NBL24 post-season, but to do so they would need to emerge with a big win over Melbourne and hope for a percentage swing of almost four points.

The clash will be broadcast live on ESPN via Kayo on Friday at 7:30pm AEDT.