Trice speaks out Pair grew closer after a tricky start says Bullet
REIGNING MVP Travis Trice has opened up about his, at times, rocky relationship with Taipans coach Aaron Fearne as his former club walks into Brisbane for the first time since his defection tonight.
The Trice-Taipans dynamic has seen its ups and downs in the past 18 months, with the point guard admitting he and Fearne butted heads in his early days in the Far North while his family traded barbs with the club on social media recently.
The 24-year-old Trice says his relationship improved with his coach as the 2016-17 season progressed.
The Bullets import believes the pair grew closer as they both followed a similar path to the NBL: underrated by some and aiming to prove the doubters wrong.
“I think you need to chalk it up to my frustrations learning the offence and not knowing what was going on or what he expected,” Trice said of his relationship with Fearne.
“One thing about Fearney, he is a straight shooter and he is going to tell you if he is not happy with every little thing.
“At the same time, towards the end of the year things were going better for us — that had a lot to do with our relationship.
“We are both really competitive people and both have been doubted our whole careers and I think that was a point we bonded on.
“Even though we fell short at the end, we came together as we hated losing and we got closer after that.”
Trice, in his first season of playing outside the USA, averaged a touch under 15 points a game for the Far North club as well as three assists and a steal.
He is following that up with better numbers again for the Snakes’ Queensland rivals this campaign.
The Cairns Post attempted to gain comment from Fearne about his relationship with WHEN: 6:30pm Tonight, Brisbane Entertainment Centre TAIPANS Cameron Gliddon Damon Heuir Kuany Kuany Mitch McCarron Scoochie Smith Stephen Weigh Chris Patton Nnanna Egwu Alex Loughton Jarrad Weeks Jerry Evans Jr Coach Aaron Fearne Today BULLETS Travis Trice Adam Gibson Perrin Buford Mitchell Young Matt Kenyon Stephen Holt Shaun Bruce Tom Jervis Daniel Kickert Anthony Petrie Reuben Terangi Coach Andrej Lemanis Brisbane v Cairns, Perth v Melbourne Saturday Adelaide v Sydney Sunday Melbourne v New Zealand, Illawarra v Brisbane, Cairns v Perth Odds: Taipans $2.05 — Bullets $1.77 Trice yesterday morning at Cairns airport as the team flew out to Brisbane but he would not answer questions.
After engaging with the Taipans in talks about returning this season, Trice and his outspoken management group eventually signed with the Bullets for more money than Cairns could offer.
Bullets and Australian Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis was emphatic on his desire to grab Trice in the preseason.
“I love him,” Lemanis said at the NBL Blitz.
Lemanis’s system is what sold Trice on a move south.
“Coach sold me on the style and pace,” Trice said.
“He wants to put the ball in my hands and trust me to make decisions and make plays.
“You can tell by what he said to me when he was recruiting me he had paid attention, watched film and really dissected my game.
“He talked about playing in transition and me making the right play. “He liked that I looked to score but was still unselfish.” Trice currently leads the NBL, averaging 23 points a game, to go along with five rebounds and three assists.
ONE THING ABOUT FEARNEY, HE IS A STRAIGHT SHOOTER AND HE IS GOING TO TELL YOU IF HE IS NOT HAPPY WITH EVERY LITTLE THING
LIKE every point guard who lands in the Far North being compared to Scottie Wilbekin, Perrin Buford – much to his dismay – will be compared to Torrey Craig for the entire NBL season.
A former Snake and Brisbane Piictturre:: Annetttte Dew Bullet, Craig produced a magical 2016-17 season, claiming club MVP and Defensive Player of the Year before signing a two-way contract with NBA club the Denver Nuggets.
The Bullets were forced to scramble late in the off-season to grab a replacement forward import before landing on 198cm Alabama-born man Buford.
He and Craig are similar in almost every way – both are 198cm tall and around 100kg, both attended small colleges and are using Australia as a building block to the big time.
Buford, 23, recently played for the Boston Celtics in the swing