Joining as a late injury replacement, we find out more about JackJumpers new recruit Tristan Forsyth from NBL1 commentator Liam Ellison, who has been calling Forsyth’s games with the Waverley Falcons in NBL1 South.
In early August the Tasmania JackJumpers announced that the Centre Will Magnay’s recovery from a knee injury was going to be further delayed. With no immediate timetable for his return for NBL23 the JackJumpers moved quickly to sign 6’10” Tristan Forsyth as an injury replacement.
The 24-year-old was relatively unknown to most JackJumpers fans when he was announced, but Head Coach Scott Roth is excited in what he’s bringing to the team.
“Tristan is a fantastic athlete and gives us some additional size and comes with NBL experience” Scott Roth said.
“I think Tristan can really help on both sides of the ball, in particular pick and roll situations with our guards, Josh Magette and Milton Doyle”.
His NBL experience comes from the last two seasons as a development player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix, appearing in eight games.
Embed from Getty ImagesBringing strong NBL1 form to the NBL
Aside from playing with the Phoenix, Forsyth just finished his first season playing with the Waverley Falcons in the NBL1 South. Forsyth led the Falcons in rebounds (8.4 rpg) and was second in scoring (15.1 ppg), where they just fell short of finals (finishing 10th with an 11-11 record).
Watching Forsyth’s game closely all season was broadcaster Liam Ellison, who has been calling all of the Falcons games online for NBL1. Ellison thinks that Forsyth will be a great fit for the JackJumpers.
“Tristan is a dependable five man and a hard worker. He moves up and down the floor well and rebounds ferociously,” Ellison said.
“After seeing limited opportunities with the Phoenix the past two seasons, I’m sure Tristan will be pumped at the prospect of increased opportunity with the JackJumpers.”
With Magnay out for much of last season, the JackJumpers lacked a strong inside post player. They may have found a potential option in Forsyth, who is happy to go to work around the rim.
“Tristan is one of the best back to the basket scorers in the NBL1 South. Whilst he occasionally steps out his range to three, his bread and butter is the low block,” Ellison said.
“The Falcons are a high pace, three-point shooting team so Tristan provided a reliable source of scoring when some of Waverley’s dynamic guard unit went cold from the field.”
When Magnay initially went down with injury midway through last season, the JackJumpers were well serviced by backup centre Jock Perry, but Ellison said the two play quite different.
“Although undersized compared to the 7’2′ Perry, Forsyth will keep opposition bigs off the glass whilst also having the motor to stay with the elite bigs in the league.
Tasmanians won’t have to wait long to get their first glimpse of Forsyth in a JackJumpers uniform. With Roth indicating he wants to give all his squad playing time in next weeks practice games against the Phoenix.
“I hope we get through the entire roster in those two games and play the Development Players and everybody,” Scott Roth said.
You can hear more from Liam on the NBL1 South Podcast, with the latest episode featuring this weekend’s NBL1 South Grand final and road to the National Finals.
