Underestimated Hawks to take NBL24 by storm?

It’s no secret the Illawarra Hawks struggled in NBL23. Injuries and the inability to close out a ridiculous number of tight games left them licking their wounds with a 3-25 record come season’s end.

Take the win/loss record away though, and NBL analyst Liam Santamaria believes the way in which the club conducted itself in the face of overwhelming adversity has seen it become a destination club for players who prioritise strong culture.

Former NBA forward Gary Clark and NBL Next Star AJ Johnson have headlined the raft of incoming new players, but the Hawks’ roster bats seriously deep with retained players like Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and Dan Grida complementing new signings like Hyunjung Lee and Lachlan Olbrich.

There is also still, of course, Tyler Harvey and Sam Froling leading the way.

“I thought they came out of that season with flying colours in terms of the way they battled through what was a horrible situation,” Santamaria said on The Marketplace Round Table.

“They just battled, and they stuck together and that was a big feather, I think, in Jacob Jackomas’ hat. He kept that group together and the way they played out that season, and I think it helped a lot in recruiting.

“People notice this type of stuff. Despite the fact they weren’t winning games players thought ‘that’s an environment I want to play in, and that’s a coach I want to play for’.”

Santamaria and former South East Melbourne coach Simon Mitchell were both bullish in their argument that people may be underestimating this new-look Illawarra side due to the club’s poor performance last season.

“Last year was a write-off for the Hawks, there’s really nothing positive,” Mitchell said.

“It was a horrid, horrid introduction for Jacob Jackomas as a head coach and I felt for him all year long. What he’s got here is some toys to play with and I’m rapt for him. I think this is a great opportunity for people of Illawarra to get behind the Hawks’ team, because I like what I see.

“I have a bit of a man crush on Lachie Olbrich. He came into South East Melbourne in pre-season last season and the kid can go. He can just go. Middle of the floor handling the ball he can find guys, he’s 6’9”, 6’10”, he’s got a bit of everything in him.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here we goooooo?? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL24?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL24</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HawkNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HawkNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/9xzCUxmuHd">pic.twitter.com/9xzCUxmuHd</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1684091438823522306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“The only concern I have a little bit is maybe up front. I think they may need another big body up front but, jeez, they’ve got some scoring out there and they’ve got some shooting.

“Maybe a Play-In is something Illawarra can aspire for.”

Illawarra will open its NBL24 season on Saturday, September 30 against the Sydney Kings.

Prior to the opening round meeting with their local rivals, the Hawks will participate in the annual pre-season NBL Blitz.

For more information on the Blitz click here.