COOL, CALM SCOTT HELPS SETTLE NERVES
BE proud of what we’ve done, but know we are capable of doing so much more.
If there was ever a sentiment that shows just how far this Taipans team has come this NBL season and the mindset of the group just hours away from the most important game of the campaign, import guard Shannon Scott delivered.
Cairns are preparing for a sudden death shoot-out with the Wildcats on Sunday afternoon, with the winner locking in a semi-final series against the defending champion Kings and the loser left to wonder what if.
The 30-year-old is the experienced veteran of this Taipans team, the youngest roster in the club’s history, which went on to record the Snakes’ second-best winning rate in history.
He is the cool, calm head in a crisis - on and off the court - and that influence will be crucial when the bulk of this young roster tackles the biggest challenge of their career to date.
The biggest piece of advice he, along with Tahjere McCall and DJ Hogg, who won a G-League championship together at Lakeland, can pass on to the rest of the squad is that while it is sudden death, there’s nothing different about fundamentals of the game when they hit the court.
“My biggest thing is giving a lot of reassurance to the guys,” Scott said.
“I’ve played in play-off games before, Tahj has played play-offs, DJ has as well. It’s just letting guys know it’s basketball at the end of the day.
“You might feel different nerves because it’s a playoff game, but honestly … you get on to the court and you get your first little lay-up, the first foul on you and you get hit hard, the nerves go away and you go play ball.
“Just letting the guys know it’s OK to feel nervous, it’s OK to feel like it’s a different environment, because it is.
“You should understand it’s different game, but when you get on the court, all the work you put in throughout the whole season – we had a fairly successful season – take advantage of it.
“There’s five other teams in the league who’d love to be in our position right now.
“All the work we did leading up to today has put us in the position to where we could play (Thursday), lose, but have another chance to make the play-offs. Be proud of what we’ve done, and don’t forget those things when we get on court.’
Scott isn’t interested in looking too far back, instead driven to bounce back the gutting loss to Tasmania on Thursday night on their home floor and get the job done on Sunday.
“We don’t want to recap right now, but the things we’ve done to this point has allowed us another chance to make the playoffs,” Scott said.
“We should be well aware of it and happy about it. Take advantage of where we’re at, be proud of what we’ve done but also know we’re capable of doing so much more.”
The Taipans were written off by everyone at the start of the year but dropped no lower than fourth on the ladder as they proved everyone wrong.
The 18-10 record was coupled with recognition at the NBL Awards night, with Adam Forde grabbing Coach of the Year, Keanu Pinder and DJ Hogg making the All-NBL Second Team, Pinder winning a second straight Most Improved gong and Sam Waardenburg being named the first Next Generation Player winner.
Now, the job is to achieve their ultimate goal of claiming the club’s maiden NBL championship, and the next step is the sudden death clash with a Wildcats team riding a wave of momentum after storming home with 41 fourth-quarter points to sink South East Melbourne and end their season.
Cairns Convention Centre was a happy hunting ground for the Wildcats in the regular season, winning both games by more than 20 points, but Scott believes this Taipans team is different, and can repeat the
“We’re a different team than we were the first few times we played Perth,” Scott said.
“They won’t take us lightly at all. “But at this point of the year, you shouldn’t be surprised by anybody, you’ve played them three times now.
“We know who they have, we know what their strengths are, we know what their weaknesses are, we just have to be able to go into the game and expose what we can expose, then figure out ways to be successful.”
A Perth team led by arguably the best NBL player of the modern era in Bryce Cotton will be tough to handle, but now the Snakes have had a taste of play-off basketball, Scott is adamant they can bounce back and deliver.
“It was the first play-off game for a lot of guys, getting a taste of how different the atmosphere is, and how locked in you have to be. I’m more than happy with the team and what we were able to do once we’re all locked in and on the same page,” he said.
Just letting the guys know it’s OK to feel nervous, it’s OK to feel like it’s a different environment, because it is.