From plane done to now flying in pursuit of glory
AT the end of his tether after more than a year away from his family, Tasmania JackJumpers’ coach Scott Roth was ready to throw in the towel before a ball had even been tipped this NBL season.
Now, the 58-year-old rookie NBL head coach, named coach of the year in his debut season for the league’s brand new team, is three games away from the championship.
The gritty JackJumpers on Monday night found a way past titleholders Melbourne United on their home court to reach the five-match grand final series against the Sydney Kings. Roth revealed that, six months ago, he was ready to get on a plane, bound for Florida to reunite with his family and see, for the first time, the new home he had built with wife, Lorie.
Roth was an assistant coach in Perth in 2020-21 who immediately took on the JackJumpers role when that season ended. Then, when Covid lockdowns closed borders, he had no way of going to the US.
Flanked by his captain and confidante Clint Steindl after the JackJumpers’ 76-73 win, Roth recalled the night after a pre-season game he was ready to call it quits.
“When you’re away from your wife for 14 months and your daughter for 18 months … it was getting difficult for me, mentally, to see if I’d ever actually get home to see them,” Roth said. “(After playing) Cairns in the (pre-season) Blitz, I drove back from Launceston to Hobart. I was basically done. I just mentally spent myself and probably wasn’t great to be around, in general. I was just crashing and burning.”
As the buzzer sounded on his team’s win, Roth’s thoughts turned to his family, and, soon after, they were on the court with him, thanks to technology.
“The first thing that ran through my mind was obviously my wife and daughter back home, who were up in the middle of the night these last two or three weeks watching every moment and texting me after every game,” he said.
“Had a little quick FaceTime with them right after the game on the floor, which is incredible. I wouldn’t be here without them, they saved me when I was about ready to pack it in here and go home.
“Luckily (I had) a few conversations and I just held on,” he said. “In my wildest dreams
I never thought I would be here (in Australia) for almost two years and never be home to see a brand new house that I built that I’ve never seen or walked in.
“My wife and daughter, they kind of saved me and got me mentally back to where I should be and ever since that it’s been incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.”
There’s more enjoyment to come.
The JackJumpers kick off the NBL grand final against the Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night.