Leading man’s verdict
SHANNON Seebohm has revealed how an early season injury to Steph Reid could be what inspires her finest WNBL campaign yet.
The Townsville Fire mentor is deep into “unofficial” preseason preparations, with a strong contingent of his squad already in North Queensland.
Fresh off his recognition as the NBL1 North’s coach of the year, having guided the Flames to the semi-finals, Seebohm instead preferred to break down what has made Reid’s season
one which has her positioned to lead his side’s attack.
The 25-year-old point guard was joined by Fire teammate Nadeen Payne in the Queensland competition’s All
Star 5, finishing with 20 points, six assists and more than five rebounds a game.
Seebohm has been conducting one-on-one sessions with his attacking linchpin since she returned from Melbourne, having sustained an ankle injury which sidelined her for 10 weeks.
While the coach said it took Reid time to regain confidence in her foot when defending, she never showed ill feelings with the ball in hand – scoring 168 points in the first six games of the campaign.
Seebohm considered the 2021 WNBL North Queensland hub to be Reid’s breakout season at the national level.
But now that she has been forced to overcome adversity while spearheading the Flames attack, he has seen her evolve her game dramatically.
With American guard Alecia “Sug” Sutton set to arrive in Townsville in mid-october, Reid has the best part of a month to show Seebohm she is ready to claim the offensive reigns from the outgoing Shyla Heal. And even with Opals gun Lauren Nicholson also on the books, the leading mentor believes Reid has the tools to stamp her authority on the competition.
“One of the things she’s worked hard on is her ability to finish in the paint,” he said.
“For a player who’s not particularly tall she utilises her speed really well and has a nice finishing passage in front of the basket to score depending on what defence is in front of her.
“She did a great job at the start of our season to battle back from a pretty serious ankle injury. It took time, but as the season went on she was playing the style of defence we saw from her in the WNBL.
“She still played really well, but some of the things we usually saw from her maybe weren’t there at the start.
“(But) Steph’s work ethic is fantastic, and I think she really grew a lot this season in terms of being a point guard and leading the team.”
The nucleus of the Fire’s lineup has touched down in the North, with Lara Mcspadden, Courtney Woods and Lauren Nicholson joining Reid, Mia Murray and Micaela Cocks at Townsville Stadium.