Running it back: How Phoenix stars re-united

‘Hey, I know a guy’. Every level of sport is inundated with players – stars or otherwise – suggesting friends and former teammates for their current side – and the NBL is no different.

Marcus Lee and Jordon Crawford have already spoken extensively about how crucial Milton Doyle was to them signing with Tasmania, as has Cairns coach Adam Forde on Tahjere McCall’s influence in recruiting Patrick Miller.

The addition of experienced European star and former German and French league MVP Will Cummings to South East Melbourne’s stacked NBL24 roster has taken that line to a new level. 

Cummings has embarked on a globe-trotted career since turning professional with NBA G-League side Rio Grande Valley, and during his time in Russia he crossed paths with current South East Melbourne centre Alan Williams.

Cummings and Williams helped lead Lokomotiv Kuban to a third-place finish in 2019-20. From there Cummings headed to France with Metropolitans 92 and China with the Zhejiang Lions, while Williams departed for South East Melbourne, after two more seasons in Russia.

Williams has since established himself as one of the premier players in the NBL, and says as soon as Cummings was linked with a move to the NBL, there was no chance he was going to any club other than the Phoenix.

“Will and I talked throughout the summer. We’re genuine friends – not just the basketball side of it, but off the court as well,” Williams told NBL Media. “He’s someone I’ll occasionally call probably once or twice a month to just catch up.

“As the summer goes along and you don’t hear your friends’ names on whatever site typically talks about overseas guys getting signed somewhere, I just start piecing things together in my head like ‘you know what, we’re down a guard spot, we’re still looking and this person hasn’t signed yet’.

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“I’ve forgotten where I heard it, but Will had interest. He didn’t reach out to me initially, but I immediately reached out. I woke up at like six in the morning one day and saw it on my phone.

“I immediately called him and was like ‘yo, don’t get me excited – is this true? Are you interested in coming to Australia?’

“‘Because if Australia is okay with you, you shouldn't go anywhere other than the team I'm on here, in South East Melbourne with the Phoenix’.

“So that kind of started and then they started the negotiations, and I took my hands away from it.

“If he had any little questions on how things go, or how the transition is I could answer those. Now it is just an opportunity for us to play again together. And I truly believe that this is a great spot for him and his family, and that he'll enjoy playing basketball here.”

What is it that makes that relationship between the South East Melbourne import pair so special though?

Between them, Cummings and Williams have represented 17 teams across a combined 16 years of professional experience.

Some – like Williams’ NBL23 off-season stint with Japanese side Nagoya or Cummings’ four-game stint with Italian side Dolomiti – have been short tenures. Others, not so much.

Between them that’s an almost incalculable number of teammates they have each come across over the years, and Williams says the circumstances of playing together in Russia helped bring them together.

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“As people we just gel,” he said. “We get along with each other really well. We bounce ideas off each other, whether it's business strategies, whether it's investment ideas, whether it's fashion stuff, we just have always had that connection.

“Playing in Russia, being two of the few imports that were there in that city at that time. We spent a lot of time together, whether it be on the road or dinners after practice.

“Neither one of us had our partners there at the time, so we were kind of being pushed up to spend more time together.

“He and I have enjoyed spending time with each other and it's just another opportunity to do that.”

While the existing relationship with Williams undoubtedly played a crucial role in bringing one of Europe’s top guard talents to the NBL, it took far more than just that to convince Cummings to move. 

In the grand scheme of the NBL – and world basketball – the Phoenix are still a side in their infancy.

While they’re not the newest team in the NBL anymore, they’ve only participated in four seasons of NBL basketball. History is there to be made, and the culture is still being built.

Cummings says the ability to have such a key influence on what is still a young and emerging franchise played a huge role in his decision to come to the NBL.

“I already knew where Sauce was playing and he re-signed for two years,” Cummings said. “I think he contacted me when he got wind of it.

“So, we talked about it. Obviously it's a great opportunity to play with Sauce and join him again, it's great to go into a situation where you know somebody out there who helps you adjust quicker, who just knows the environment – and not everybody’s a new face.

“He was definitely instrumental in in getting me to come here and it's making that adjustment easier.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alan Williams is a force in the post ?<a href="https://twitter.com/alantwilliams?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alantwilliams</a> has some of the prettiest footwork in the league, here a few of his best finishes down low from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/UFISgkOCQW">pic.twitter.com/UFISgkOCQW</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1693785364505489743?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“It's a developing club, they don’t have a long history. I think it's only this year five ... I want to be a part of that building a successful program, and starting winning a lot of games and winning championships.

“That appeal for me was it’s a great challenge. I like challenges. It’s a great city to be in, Melbourne, it’s a great living environment as well, so those were great, appealing factors for me to make the jump over here and test my waters in Australia.”

Part of that emerging history and culture of the young Phoenix is the addition of new head coach Mike Kelly.

Kelly has taken the reigns from inaugural coach Simon Mitchell ahead of NBL24, and will become just the second coach to lead the side since its introduction into the league in NBL20.

He has an exceptional history not just in the NBL, but in South East Melbourne specifically. The 2020 Coach of the Year has championship experience not only as a member of the coaching staff on the 2018 Melbourne United side, but also as a key member of the title-winning South East Melbourne Magic in 1996.

Cummings believes his views and vision on the game of basketball align well with his new head coach.

“I was able to get on a call with coach Mike to kind of see what the fit would be like, the objectives, goals, playing style, all those factor in when you’re trying to decide where you're going to sign with.

“I liked talking with coach Mike, [he’s a] great basketball mind, great philosophy, and our goals aligned to kind of how we wanted to play.

“I'm grateful for the opportunity that they've provided me, and I just want to be a part of it.”

While Cummings has only just touched down in Australia and is still in the process of feeling out Melbourne, the Phoenix and the NBL, Williams has already decided he’s in it for the long-haul.

The Phoenix-born centre has thrown himself into Australian – and Melbourne – culture and has committed his immediate future to the side.

He’s become a devout Melbourne Demons fan and has plans to take in the spectacle of the cricket heading into the new summer as well.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">One of the greatest sports countries in the world! Super cool by the boomers, and since team USA is out it’s GO MATILDAS <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Matildas?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Matildas</a> <a href="https://t.co/04um1F7JzK">https://t.co/04um1F7JzK</a></p>&mdash; BigSauce (@alantwilliams) <a href="https://twitter.com/alantwilliams/status/1690896387909828609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“I'm big on culture, I'm big on the experience of getting a chance to see different places that I otherwise probably wouldn't have seen if it weren't for basketball. I play a game for a living, so that in itself is just a great thing,” he said.

“And I love sport, and that's all sport. And so I'd love to get to a T20 match, I'd love to get to the Boxing Day tests, like I'm in the NBL1 stuff, the AFL stuff going on – but I haven’t picked up rugby yet, but that's not really a Victorian thing.

“It's authentic because I just love to see people performing their best, and what better way to do that than in a professional landscape? The quicker you can kind of let go of your initial thoughts or your hesitations that you have dive into that culture, the better experience that you can have.

“I know I'm a testament to that, and Will also is due because he's got a chance to play all over the world and embrace different cultures as well.”

South East Melbourne will open its season against Melbourne United on Thursday, September 28 before playing its first home game of the season on Sunday, October 1 against a new-look Perth Wildcats.

The Phoenix are also playing the opening game of this pre-season’s Hungry Jack’s NBL Blitz on the Gold Coast.