Nathan Sobey on responding to a spark from the coach, his Summer League experience and Josh Childress joining the team
NATHAN Sobey talks about the ‘spark’ he needed, Josh Childress joining the team and why training sessions can get a little heated in this week’s podcast.
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NATHAN Sobey says his spray from coach Joey Wright last week was just the spark he needed to fire a game-high 25 points against Sydney on Saturday night.
Sobey, who has been named in the Australian Boomers team for the first window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers next month, exploded when he came off the bench with 13 points in six minutes and earnt glowing praise from Wright post-match.
“I think I just needed a little spark to get me going again, I probably shouldn’t have needed it but it happened and you learn from it,” Sobey said after training on Tuesday.
“I’ve just got to keep getting better every day and play hard all the time.”
Adelaide’s main training session was again very competitive and at times heated with clashes involving Matthew Hodgson, Anthony Drmic and Shannon Shorter but tempers didn’t boil over.
“We get after it when we practice so obviously there’s going to be some sore bodies afterwards but it prepares us well for the games ahead,” Sobey said.
“That’s the goal earlier in the week, get after it and compete and then start to focus on our game plan.
“Once you’ve got your five guys on white and five guys on blue it’s you versus them so you want to win, there is a lot of talking going on when you lose so you don’t want to be on the wrong end of that.”
Sobey spent time in the US in the off-season including a stint at Utah with Adelaide teammate Mitch Creek
“It was awesome, you get to go to the best facilities in the world and compete with some of the best guys who are coming up through the NBA draft,” he said.
“And to learn from the coaches it was just a great opportunity, they’re all on their way to the highest level of their game and have a lot of attributes so you have a lot to learn from.
“So I think I did learn a lot and it helped me expand my game so far this season.”
In this week’s Sixers Report podcast, Sobey also talks about team chemistry after Saturday night’s 30-point win over Sydney, Josh Childress coming into the team and how he can learn from him and that feeling of running hot like he was on the weekend.
36 SECONDS WITH A 36er ...
NBA team?
“I follow Cleveland but I more follow players — I like Lebron, Damian Lillard, and Russell Westbrook.
Nickname?
“Sobes, my whole family has had it, my brothers and my dad, it’s pretty simple.”
Pre-game ritual?
“Not really, I just come and get shots up a bit earlier but that’s about it.”
Worst habit?
“Don’t know.”
Best trait?
“Personality.”
Joey’s favourite saying?
“It’s not really the same all the time, it’s just what we’ve got to do to get the job done but playing hard is his main thing, that’s what he exercises the most to us.”
Which teammate would you want shooting for your life from the free throw line?
“For my life? I’d probably rely on DJ, he’s pretty reliable.”
Favourite thing about living in Adelaide?
“The relaxed lifestyle and beaches, I’m from a small country town on the beach and that's he best thing to take the dog down the beach and chill out.”
ROUND 3
Adelaide 114 (Nathan Sobey 25, Shannon Shorter 19, Matthew Hodgson 14) d Sydney 84 (Travis Lesley 25, Brad Newley 15, Perry Ellis 13).
THE MOMENT
It was party time for the 36ers in the second quarter when Mitch Creek set up Ramone Moore for an alley-oop which brought the house down. With four minutes to half time and Adelaide leading by 13 points Creek looked like he was driving to the basket when he spotted Moore coming in hot, threw the ball up and the US import did the rest with a two-handed jam in the air.
THE STAR
Shannon Shorter
It’s pretty hard to top Sobey’s game-high 25 points including a monster rejection and slam dunk against the Kings but Shannon Shorter underlined his importance to the team with a performance that was just as impressive. After missing the loss to Melbourne United the week before, Shorter came back into the team to run the point and he controlled the tempo of the game. He hit 19 points and had zero turnovers with ruthless efficiency. He also did the hard things like forcing a steal which drew an unsportsmanlike foul from the frustrated Kings.
THE QUOTE
“We won some really close ball games last year but didn’t show that killer instinct, and I thought tonight we showed that.”
- Adelaide coach Joey Wright on the 36ers crushing win over Sydney on Saturday night.
COMING UP
Friday, October 20 v Cairns (away)
FORMLINE
-2 v Melbourne (0-1)
+9 v Sydney (1-1)
+26 v Cairns (2-1)
-20 v Melbourne (2-2)
+30 v Sydney (3-2)
THE NUMBERS
Points (per game)
Daniel Johnson 17
Mitch Creek 16.7
Ramone Moore 13.5
Shannon Shorter 13
Anthony Drmic 12
Rebounds
Mitch Creek 6.5
Nathan Sobey 5.5
Daniel Johnson 5.2
Shannon Shorter 4
Matthew Hodgson 4
Assists
Shannon Shorter 6.3
Nathan Sobey 5.2
Mitch Creek 3
Daniel Johnson 2
Ramone Moore 1.7
Blocks
Daniel Johnson 1
Mitch Creek 1
Matthew Hodgson 0.7
Shannon Shorter 0.6
Nathan Sobey 0.2
Steals
Mitch Creek 1.5
Shannon Shorter 1
Nathan Sobey 1
Ramone Moore 1
Daniel Johnson 0.7
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