Upper Room Eagles looking to leave mark in 2023 NBL season

THE SIMON Brown-coached Upper Room Eagles are in the process of finalising a squad for the 2023 National Basketball League (NBL), which tips off later this month following a three-year stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Preparation has gone as well as it can. It has been a haphazard season, but we (coaching staff ) have been reaching out to players, as we are gearing up to kick-start our training,” Brown said.

The Upper Room Eagles coach highlighted that due to his coaching tactics and style of play, he tends to look for younger players first, rather than the experienced ones. He added that the experienced players who will be brought into the squad will be tasked with helping with the development of the younger players.

“We are looking at youth first. The experienced players that we are looking at bringing in are players that can lead the team and help to develop the young players that are there. I’m the type of coach that looks at young players first,” Brown stated.

He added that due to the lengthy delay for the restart of the league, it’s hard to conduct any research on his opponents, which, he believes, could play into his hands. At the moment, Brown believes that focusing on what his group can do and turning them into a championship team is his sole purpose.

“Definitely, it’s hard now to do any research when you don’t know the teams. We are just focusing on the players that we have,” he said.

As to the style of play that the Upper Room Eagles will employ, coach Brown said that using players to the best of their abilities, along with sustained ball movement, will be how his group will go about their business.

“My style of play as a coach is allowing the ball to move. I play with a lot of ball movement and using players to the best of their abilities,” Brown said.

When quizzed on what will be considered a successful 2023 National Basketball League season, Brown said topping the NBL is his main objective.

“Winning the trophy is the only thing that I would regard as success,” Brown declared.