Taipans take time to set standards

BASKETBALL THE Cairns Taipans believe an annual preseason pilgrimage to Rockhampton is vital to developing the values and standards the team will live by this NBL season.

Snakes veteran Alex Loughton, who could be entering his final season in a career more than a decade long, set the scene earlier this week before the team departed for central Queensland.

The playing group, with the coaching staff and support staff, will sit around a boardroom table at CQ University’s Rockhampton campus and discover what the club will stand for in the 2017-18 season.

“We put all our culture and our values together in Rockhampton,” Loughton said.

“It is a big week mentally and physically but we will come out better for it.

“It is all lip service if you do not act on those behaviours.

“We sit around the boardroom table on the campus and we come up with what we want to be about and (how we) behave throughout the year.

“We hold ourselves accountable to the behaviours.”

A key part of the trip will be integrating fresh imports Michael Carrera and Scoochie Smith into the flow of the team. Fellow new face Kuany Kuany will miss the trip through injury.

The beef capital of Australia is a happy hunting ground for the Taipans, who went undefeated through their Rockhampton pre-season series against defending NBL champions Perth Wildcats last year.

Returning import big man Nnanna Egwu said developing the team’s culture and identity was arguably more important than a pair of wins against Brisbane.

“That is what Fearney (head coach Aaron Fearne) wants,” Egwu said.

“I think he wants us to jell more off the court right now than on the court on this trip.

“It makes it easier when you are bringing in good guys.”

The American big man was quick to re-sign with the Taipans in the off-season, the first player inked for the 2017-18 campaign.

The culture at the Far North club played a key role in the import deciding to return.

“I like the environment here and it was something I was really comfortable coming back to,” Egwu said.

“A lot of it had to do with the players here. If I could come back to an environment, a culture like that and a locker room like that, I am happy.”

The second-year Snake is set to play an increased role through the preseason with Nate Jawai recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.

editorial@cairnspost.com.au facebook.com/TheCairnsPost www.cairnspost.com.au twitter.com/TheCairnsPost