Äfter spending his off-season at home in the United States, Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott Roth has discussed his excitement for his revamped roster ahead of NBL24
Speaking earlier this week to the NBL from NBA Summer League in Las Vegas en route to Tasmania, Roth commented for the first time on his new look team, which will once again will revolve around NBL first team guard Milton Doyle.
“Milt was obviously the key for us when the season was over,” Roth said.
“To have him for two years I think is going to be exciting and that was sort of the building block of what we put to build around him.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThat build will include two new imports that both will bring something new to the JackJumpers.
“We have an exciting player in [Jordon] Crawford, I think the people are just going to fall in love with just how dynamic he is. And Marcus Lee has proven himself to be a really good shot blocker and a rim-runner.
“So we’re trying to open the floor a little bit more, especially for Crawford and Milt to have some room, and have someone like Lee and [Will] Magnay rolling down the lane so I think we have a dynamic roster” he said.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhile the team saw defensive-minded players Sam McDaniel, Matt Kenyon, Isaac White move to other clubs during off season, rather than replace them with similar players, the JackJumpers have instead focused on bringing more offence to the floor.
“I think the thing that we tried to do this year was….expand our shooting, and get a little more athletic and get a little more size.”
“So bringing in Majok Deng because of size and shooting, [Anthony] Drmic gives us another shooter, Junior Madut gives us another guy who has some athletic ability and speed and can shoot the ball.”
NBA summer league connections and preseason plans taking shape
Roth joined JackJackers Co-CEO Jorrick Chivers in Las Vegas for NBA Summer league this week. The duo were there to meet with agents, scouts and representatives from NBA and other leagues around the world.
“The intent of coming over here is to grow relationships and meet agents and players face to face that we’ve been dealing with over the last two years. Covid made it difficult to get over here to this point, so this is our first real experience of Summer League and so far it’s been really positive,” Jorrick Chivers said.
“Being able to meet these guys in person and make those connections is super important.
“The real benefit for us is being able to interact with those guys, see how they operate and also see the show that the NBA have put on as well, he said.
With the NBL season less than two months away, Roth discussed the importance of having the full roster set early as they head into pre-season.
“We start minï-camp next week when I get back, so we’re starting to get our locals through there.
“I like to have things well in hand before you get to this venue [NBA summer league] because I think here you can get a little carried away with a lot of things that are happening here.
“I think it also bring comfort to our team knowing who’s on the roster and start to formulate what we want to do offensively and defensively,” he said.
The JackJumpers season tips off on 29 September 9 against the Wildcats in Perth. The annual preseason NBL Blitz competition is expected to take place in September, however the location and dates are yet to be announced by the NBL.
