Stattmann’s late injection only bright spot as Bullets fail to fire
THE Bullets didn’t have too many reasons to cheer on Thursday night but Kody Stattmann’s late cameo forced Brisbane coach Greg Vanderjagt to question his use of the rookie in their heavy Sunshine Stoush loss.
An insipid Brisbane were blown off the court by the high-flying Taipans, falling 107-81 in a stunning capitulation on their home court.
Tyler Johnson topscored with 32 points (60 per cent from the field), as big guns Jason Cadee (8pts), Nathan Sobey (2pts), and Aron Baynes (2pts) failed to fire.
While Johnson was praised on social media as being potentially the only Bullet to play with pride, the late injection of Cairns product Stattmann produced a few key moments.
It’s been a tough season for Stattmann, who started hitting his stride before losing six weeks to injury, but his performance on Thursday night had Vanderjagt praising the youngster’s toolkit, which could make him a “very good pro” in the NBL for years to come.
Stattmann put up a NBL career-high 10 points in just over seven minutes, hitting two three-pointers, and grabbing a rebound, assist and steal for good measure.
“Statt’s had taken his lumps this year, got hurt with the ankle when he started to play some good basketball,” Vanderjagt said.
“The biggest thing for Statt, and we keep getting on him as coaches, is the consistency for him as a young professional.
“You see the flashes, like tonight, he has some real tools to be a very good pro in this league for a very long time, and we’re here to help him unlock that.
“Maybe I should have given him more opportunity earlier in the game, maybe he could’ve dug us out of a rut with some energy.”