KING KEEN FOR HAWKS’ REDEMPTION
NEXT Star Mojave King will be primed for another crack at the Hawks on Thursday night after one of his best outings in a Taipans uniform.
King joined the Snakes at the start of the season, and despite his youth and relative inexperience, has been touted as one of the men to step up and deliver for Cairns.
He had a mixed start, highlighted when he failed to score a point against the Hawks last Monday, but King looked far more comfortable on court against Sydney in Saturday night’s home loss.
Coach Mike Kelly backed the Dunedin-born shooting guard to improve, and that’s what he did in a 12-point, four-rebound effort against Sydney. King opened his account with a three, much to the delight of home fans, and chimed in with crucial scores during a huge 15-2 run by the home side in the third.
“Mojave did some great things and sparked us when we were down in that third,” Kelly said after the 99-91 loss to the Kings.
”I thought he gave us great lift with his energy.
“He only knows one way and that’s in that assertive, aggressive mode, which is great, and I think he’ll just continue to get better.”
The Taipans played NBL championship favourite Melbourne United at the
Snag Pit last night, in their fourth-straight home game to start the 2021 season.
Cairns hosts the Hawks on Thursday at 6.30pm, before travelling to Brisbane for the first “Sunshine Stoush” of the season against Queensland rivals, the Bullets, in Saturday’s 4.30pm slot.