BASKETBALL BOOST:
RADCLIFFE BACK TO FIRE UP CHARGERS
HOBART’S quest to head into a significant block of home SEABL games ahead on the win-loss ledger has received a boost with last year’s captain returning to the fold.
The Chargers opened their account with a big victory over rival North West Thunder last weekend and head interstate for the first time this season for clashes with Bendigo tonight and Sandringham tomorrow.
Helping the cause will be the addition of three-point threat and defensive specialist BJ Radcliffe, who returned to training this week after missing the preseason and first two games with work commitments.
Coach Anthony Stewart has also declared import Zac White a certain starter following a quicker than expected recovery from a groin strain suffered in the opening min- utes of the first-round loss. After this road trip, the Chargers play seven of their next eight matches at the Derwent Entertainment Centre, with Stewart aware that if they can at worst split this weekend, it will set a huge platform to catapult into the campaign.
“BJ is back on board, he is on the road at a conference so will join us as the ninth player,” Stewart said. “He will certainly complement already what we have. We have invested a bit of time into the young guys so far and we want to make sure we continue to do that.
“I’m not sure how many minutes he will play but he will be very handy, in particular in the power forward area where he can go in and defend those bigger bodies.
“He is very professional in his approach, but the last couple of weeks he realised how much he missed it and decided to come back.
“I know he works weekends, so for him to travel is a pretty big commitment for him and his family.”
Hobart’s downfall last season was an inability to close out tight games on the road, with six of the 10 losses for the season coming by five points or fewer.
While Stewart specifically targeted exciting point guard Tre Nichols and big man Craig Moller to address the issue, it remains to be seen if the team as a whole has learned from past failures.
“Going into Bendigo — and I’ve said it all along — they are one of the big ones, they are one of the best outfits in the league, it is a huge challenge for us,” Stewart said.
“In the past, when we win games, we win them well, it was the close games that we couldn’t get over the line. That’s a major reason I am not taking too much on last Saturday night against the Thunder because it was pretty much over at three-quarter time.
“The jury is out until we get tested in the last couple of minutes.”