Earn your court time, Roth warns

Scott Roth delivered a clear message to his players ahead of their first game at the CODE Sports NBL Blitz: ‘play well, stay on the court’.

According to the Tasmania JackJumpers coach, reputations mean nothing heading into a new season, and minutes must be earned, not given.

“You’re just gonna earn your minutes to be on the floor and whoever gets on, gets on,” Roth said via CODE Sports. “We’re not here to play nice and just everyone gets 15 minutes and do the evaluation, we’re actually trying to figure out some things, chemistry wise and where we’re at.”

The JackJumpers are preparing to face former Champion Jack McVeigh and the Cairns Taipans on Thursday night.

Roth said he “hadn’t even thought” about the McVeigh matchup, staying focused on his own team. He won’t watch opposition games at the Blitz, keeping his attention on fine-tuning his squad’s preparations.

“It’s uninteresting to me to be quite honest with you,” Roth said. “I just worry about our group and what we do and when we get ready for a real game, then we’ll get ready for a real game.”

Tasmania has refreshed its roster over the off-season, adding three new imports David Johnson, Bryce Hamilton and Tyger Campbell, while farewelling several members of its NBL24 Championship-winning squad, including Milton Doyle, Jordon Crawford and Clint Steindl.

The JackJumpers have also secured promising big man Josh Bannan from the Brisbane Bullets.

Tasmania faces Cairns on day two of the CODE Sports NBL Blitz, live on Disney+ and Kayo from 8pm AEST.

Read the full story here >> JackJumpers coach makes a stern warning to his players ahead of the NBL26 season