Taipans’ faith in loyal Heuir
TAIPANS guard Damon Heuir has been rewarded for his unwavering loyalty.
The explosive combo- guard will again add his scoring punch from the Snakes bench in the 2017- 18 NBL season after the Townsville product signed a fresh deal yesterday.
The 26- year- old is locked in for his third season in orange, initially signing with the club as a development player before he was elevated to the full- time roster in 2015.
The Townsville product was made to wait until the eve of the NBL 2016- 17 season before his contract was officially sealed but the club saved him from a winter of worrying this time around.
Heuir’s loyalty to basketball in the far north is unquestionable, at the Taipans and Marlins, rejecting bigger QBL offers to dominate the competition in front of Taipans coach Aaron Fearne weekly.
He sits second in the QBL MVP race, four votes behind former Taipan Mitch Young.
Fearne revealed the reserve guard’s importance to the program despite his playing time not being that of his more accomplished teammates.
“He also really impressed with his ability to hold guys accountable,” Fearne said.
“He’s been part of our program for a while now, and he knows what’s expected of everybody. So when guys weren’t pulling their weight, he would speak up and have a say.
“His maturity, his on- court play, his engagement with the team, and his energy on the bench was phenomenal.”
Heuir enjoys being able to contribute to the group when not on the court.
“Last year the big thing I took on was being that voice off the bench,” Heuir said.
“Guys really listened, which was surprising for me at first, but I tried to take that role on and voice what I see from the bench and hopefully help the guys in any way I can.”
Heuir hit a new career- high against the Brisbane Bullets last season, scoring 15 points in the infamous blackout game.
The Taipans now have three roster spots open, two imports and one Australian, with the Aussie expected to be a power forward, to fill the void of retired champion Mark Worthington. Contracted Taipans 2017- 18 Cameron Gliddon Stephen Weigh Alex Loughton Jarrad Weeks Mitch McCarron Nate Jawai Nnanna Egwu Damon Heuir