Simon Mitchell and Tommy Greer Q-and-A

South East Melbourne Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell and CEO Tommy Greer jumped on a members Q-and-A yesterday to answer questions ahead of NBL22.

How will Zhou Qi fit with the team and what will he add?

Simon Mitchell: Even more amazing than his 7’1 height is his 7’8 wingspan, which made him the sixth-longest player to ever play in the NBA.

One of the things you associate with 7’1 guys is that they lumber around and don’t get up and down the floor, but Zhou Qi is exactly the opposite, he’s an athlete. He’s very nimble for a 7’1 guy.

He’s going to fit in with our high-pace style of play, shoot it from outside, make good passes on the perimeter – he’s a really all-round player. That rim protection he’ll provide with that wingspan is really going to save a few guys’ bacons.

What impact will the Zhou Qi signing have for the club off the court?

Tommy Greer: Bringing in Zhou Qi opens up incredible opportunities as a club both locally and internationally.

The Chinese community loves basketball, they get right into it. Zhou Qi is really going to expand the exposure we get internationally and all basketball fans in China will be watching the Phoenix next season.

What’s the plans for the remainder of our NBL22 roster?

TG: We’ve got a few spots plus a few development players to fill, which we’ll fill over the next month or so.

We’d really like to get some potential development players in to training and work them out to see how they fit with the squad before we make any decisions in terms of those spots (pending COVID-19 restrictions).

We’ve still got the ability to bring in another import, so we’re weighing that up at the moment. The coaching staff is scouring the globe trying to find the right candidate for that final position. If the right player presented, we’d definitely do it.

How’s Ryan Broekhoff looking and what are your hopes for him this season?

SM: I go back a long way with Rowdy so to see him struggle last year from a form aspect and a personal aspect was really hard, I felt for him pretty heavily.

He’s taken a little time out this off-season and he’s fully dedicated himself to his pre-season. He hasn’t had a proper pre-season in a few years so it’s been great watching him.

Judd Flavell is working him out really hard and he looks fantastic the way he’s moving. Many years ago when Ryan was on the cusp of making the Australian team, I did a six-week preparation camp with him and I reckon he’s almost at that level again – that was when he just broke into the Boomers. He’s moving almost at that level and that’s probably six or seven years ago.

NBL22 MEMBERSHIPS

What’s the latest on the State Basketball Centre refurbishment and what will it do for the club?

TG: The refurbishment is just getting started, so there’s going to be a fair bit of work going on there for the next few seasons.

It’s going to have incredible benefits. This is one of the things I’m most excited about. We’ve been working on it since day one, it was a government promise to the club when we kicked this thing off.

To be able to bring the club under one roof is going to be a massive win for the club. When this is complete, the Phoenix is going to have a real home with everything we need right at our fingertips and everyone in the one location.

It’s going to be a massive upgrade for the club.

In terms of game day, the show court will get some upgrades as well. We’re going to dress up the court a bit, improve the lighting and audio and bring that up to elite NBL level.

How important is Dane Pineau’s return and how will he work with Zhou Qi?

SM: Having a healthy Dane Pineau is fantastic for the club. I’m sure the fans will be happy with it, he’s a bit of a darling to them and pretty popular among the coaching staff too.

He was our best defender in year one and to have his presence again is really important for our group defensively.

He’s the hustler and bustler, and Zhou is more of the highly-skilled finesse guy, so we’ve got that yin and yang thing going which is what you want.

What was behind the decision to sign Xavier Munford?

SM: He’s always been a talent that I’ve admired and he’s shown he can do it internationally and with Team USA.

For me, it was just a good fit this year. With the emergence of Kyle Adnam and Izayah Le’afa, I want to make sure they’re in a position to play and with the adaptable skillset Xavier has playing at the point or switching over to the two or even the three, it’s going to ensure the players we’ve got continue to get good minutes.

Will our game style look different in NBL22?

SM: I certainly want to maintain our high-tempo. It suits players like Kyle Adnam and Mitch Creek. We have a large number of ball handlers…we’re built for speed.

Our emphasis the last two years in recruitment is to make sure we solidify the defensive end and we’ve done that again this year. In year one we were the worst defensive team in the league, and last season we moved our way up to the middle of the pack defensively.

It’s a high priority to continue to improve in that area.

(10/09/2021)