Why Hawks players "should feel ashamed"

Hawks legend and former NBL champion Damon Lowery has called for Illawarra’s playing contingent to “feel ashamed” that Jacob Jackomas and the club have parted ways nine games into the season.

Lowery was a crucial member of Illawarra’s solitary NBL title, which came in 2001 where he played alongside the likes of current Hawks General Manager of Basketball Mat Campbell.

The club announced on Tuesday morning that Jackomas would not see out the remainder of the season after opening the campaign with a 2-7 record, following last season’s 3-25 bottom-placed finish.

<iframe src="https://omny.fm/shows/nbl-now/nbl-now-breaking-news-hawks-coach-sacked/embed?style=artwork" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write" width="100%" height="180" frameborder="0" title="NBL NOW | BREAKING NEWS | HAWKS COACH SACKED"></iframe>

“Ultimately it’s Jacob, but the players are in for at least 50 per cent – minimum 50 per cent. The coach can’t shoot the ball for you, he can’t play defence for you, he can’t rebound for you,” Lowery said.

“The players have let themselves down. They should feel ashamed of themselves that their coach got the sack.

“Some players might be those guys who say ‘he wasn’t doing it, blah blah blah’. Well, I’m watching games and I’m watching guys get beaten off the dribble with ease, I’m watching every basketball mistake you can think of being made by that playing group.

“I hope they feel bad right now and they should all be apologising to Jacob. With Justin Tatum coming in, hopefully he can get some heads cracking.”

Tatum has been shifted into the interim head coaching position while the Hawks search for Jackomas’ long-term successor, and Lowery hopes he uses the next 19 games as a job interview for the full-time position starting next season.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@illawarrahawks</a> have parted ways with head coach Jacob Jackomas effective immediately. Justin Tatum has been named as interim head coach.<br><br>Full story ?<a href="https://t.co/99Xxry6Z50">https://t.co/99Xxry6Z50</a> <a href="https://t.co/zGJGvg9zuZ">pic.twitter.com/zGJGvg9zuZ</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1724213020791087538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tatum arrived at the club earlier this year in a scouting and special advisory position, and Lowery believes he is the type of character that can help steady the ship.

“I’m going to ride the rest of the season out with Justin Tatum. Not because his son is who he is, but because Justin Tatum seems to be a strong personality, and that’s what this team needs – like Brian Goorjian was to that group,” Lowery said on NBL Now.

“Justin, ride this season out and I would use it like a job interview. They’re 2-7, Justin can prove himself and has 19 games to do it.

“At the end of the season I’m going to open it wide up. Not just to Australia, I want to do like the Sydney Kings and I want to look everywhere. It’s going to cost some dollars so you’re going to have to reach into your pocket a little bit more, but that’s what I would be doing.

“The Hawks need to win, and they need to win right now. There can’t be any more of this rebuilding stuff going on. If I can get an established coach who has already won at the head coaching level, I would be leaning more towards that.”

Illawarra’s first game under Tatum will come on Sunday, November 19 when the Hawks travel to take on the Breakers at Spark Arena.