Taipans success no "flash in pan"

Adam Forde and the Cairns Taipans surpassed almost all expectations last season. In the space of 12 months they went from mere championship afterthoughts to genuine title contenders, and the coach believes his side is even better this season.

The former Perth assistant and Sydney head coach was named as the NBL Coach of the Year as he helped Cairns back up the table, but has since lost star duo Keanu Pinder and DJ Hogg, to Perth and Sydney respectively.

That hasn't dampened Forde's spirits though. In fact, he's more optimistic than ever. 

With projected starters Taran Armstrong and Sam Mennenga set to play their first professional seasons in NBL24, and reigning Next Generation Award winner Sam Waardenburg heading into his sophomore season, Forde believes the Taipans' recruits will even further progress his ideal style of play.

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“Maybe I’m biased in my opinion, considering a lot of the recruiting, but I feel like we’re better again this year,” Forde told RSN. “I have a particular style I want to coach and I think it’s comparable to being a chef. If I’m a dessert chef and I specialise in cake and pastries, then I’m not going to order ingredients like meat and potatoes to make a cheesecake.

“Having now in my third year more depth to my lineup that suit my style of play ... which is fast, defensive-minded, I want younger athletes who can really get in the lane and push the break.

“We’ve lost some pieces, but I feel like we’ve got some upgrades in other areas.

“I know last year everyone wasn’t expecting us to do well and our year this year will probably prove to everyone that wasn’t a flash in the plan moment, that this is us consistently rolling into the next year of our evolution.”

While Forde is hoping his side will be taking the next step in its evolution, he’s also undertaken his next stage of evolution through the NBL off-season.

He headed to the United States to link up with the San Antonio Spurs for NBL Summer League, and spent time working under former NBL MVP and current Spurs assistant Matt Nielsen.

Forde believes he’s been offered an insight into the comparable nature of the NBL and NBA.

“The style of play and the actual basketball component, you can compare. There are subtle rule changes but there’s a lot of things that we can do – because we recruit similar athletes and guys, who are trying to get onto that NBA stage,” he said. 

“We’ve taken on a Next Star (Bobi Klintman) this year and we all hope we can improve his draft stock from 17 to be a lottery pick.

“On the basketball side there are a lot of similarities, but the life is incomparable. We took charter flights (in the US), where here – like most sporting codes – we go commercial.

“I have three assistant coaches who have been with me from the start at the Taipans who are absolute guns ... they wear multiple hats doing different things and go beyond the nine to five, and I’m very appreciative of that because I was that as well. In the NBA you’ve got 20-odd staff, and everybody is available for rebounding and passing whenever the players want to come through.

“I’ve come back with so many ideas and things I want to implement with the Taipans this year and it was great.”

The Taipans will open their NBL season on Saturday, September 30 against the New Zealand Breakers.