Recruits to bring sting for ’Jumpers
RECRUITS Matt Kenyon and Jock Perry say the JackJumpers will hit the court with the same venom as their insect namesakes when the NBL season kicks off on November 18.
Fresh from quarantine, Kenyon and Perry joined the squad for an intense training session at Kingborough Sports Stadium on Monday when coach Scott Roth introduced to them to his defensive coaching ethos.
Kenyon, a 196cm shooting guard, brings his experience from the Tokyo 2020 training squad, after being selected in the FIBA Asia Cup qualification game against New Zealand and playing a key role in Australia’s 81-52 win.
Perry, who stands a towering 216cm, spent the past four years in the US College system with Saint Mary’s and UC Riverside and returned to Australia to play with the Ballarat Miners in the 2021 NBL1 South season alongside Kenyon.
Kenyon and Perry share a house with JackJumpers teammate Will Magnay.
“We’ve got a great group here, we’ve got a great bunch of guys and I’m really looking forward to getting to know everyone more,” Kenyon said.
The JackJumpers will bring the heat in their debut season.
“Fans can expect a lot of excitement and we are going to work really hard to make them proud,” Kenyon said.
“Tasmania has wanted an NBL club for a while. We all know that, we are all aware of that, and we want to play hard and be successful.”
The JackJumpers aim to be tough to play against.
“In the NBL all the best teams have defensive mindsets,
it’s a massive part of basketball ... so we really want to make opposition teams feel uncomfortable at their end,” Kenyon said.
The delayed start to the NBL season will advantage the start-up JackJumpers.
“It gives us more time to get to know each other, get to know our structures and jell, so it’s working in our favour for sure,” said Perry, a development player with the JJs.
“There will be a lot of excitement among the group
when the first game arrives.
“We are very keen to get out there and set the standard from the jump.”
Even though it is early days, Roth is delighted with his group.
“I wanted to find guys who were happy and humble, who might be underdogs or have a bit of a chip on their shoulder, and players the people of Tasmania might be able to walk up to in Salamanca or Ulverstone,” he said.