Crosscourt: Latest news out of the 2023-24 NBL grand final series between Melbourne United and Tasmania JackJumpers
A major barrier to Tasmania’s success is revealed, a JackJumpers’ hero eyes the NBA and Melbourne United bunkers down amid a crazy NBL grand final statistic. CROSSCOURT
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NBL boss Larry Kestelman says it’s “absolutely critical” the Tasmania JackJumpers crowd capacity is increased, saying it would be a “slap in the face” for the fans if the 4,340-seat MyState Bank Arena doesn’t get an urgent upgrade.
At present, the JackJumpers can’t cater to their growing fan base, with the stadium sold out to members before tickets go on sale to the general public — and a membership waiting list of almost 2000.
A $56 million redevelopment of the Derwent Entertainment Centre, rebranded as MyState Bank Arena, was announced in 2021. The work was supported by State and Local government then but it is unclear how or if last weekend’s state election will impact, given the Liberal Party is scrambling to form a minority government after Labor made significant gains.
“I think it’s important to show the (JackJumpers) fans that we, as a league, have listened,” Kestelman said.
“The demand is there. We have thousands of people interested in the club — and while we’ll never be able to fulfil the full demand — if we don’t act and do anything about it that would be a slap in the face for the fans.
“I think it’s absolutely crucial.
“They come out in droves, they’ve shown how much they love the JackJumpers.
“That (MyState Bank Arena) is one of our smallest venues and I do think expanding it is a must.
“The atmosphere in that venue gives Tasmania a sixth man. That crowd is definitely that. They are bloody loud.”
JackJumpers coach Scott Roth has been frustrated by the lack of movement on facilities in the basketball-mad state and says now is the time for work to begin on the stadium expansion.
“In an ideal world it would be nice to get a few more seats because the general public is really dying to get in there,” Roth said.
“We want our games to be accessible to everyone. It’s why we play those games up in Launceston during the season to make sure that we are out and about.
“We play games in the north to make sure that our players are there and building our brand to the entire state and not just be down here centralised near Hobart.”
Kestelman, meanwhile, maintains his priority is Tasmanian-based ownership for the JackJumpers and, if that doesn’t come to fruition over the next month or two, he’ll go searching “far and wide” overseas.
He says it’s about finding the right owners and, if he has to hold onto the club a bit longer, then “so be it”.
“I’m really not rushing (on the sale) considering the success of the club,” he said.
“I’m even more determined to ensure that we explore every option for local Tasmanian ownership.
“I’m deep in conversation with a few parties in Tasmania for part ownership of the club and I’ll conclude those before I go to overseas ownership.”
It comes as swathes of Melbourne United fans will be locked out of Thursday’s game four in Tasmania.
The NBL mandates home teams make 5 per cent of venue capacity available to opposing clubs.
The JackJumpers had about 300 travelling fans take up those tickets for Sunday night’s thriller, with around 1000 all up rocking John Cain Arena, which has a capacity of over 10,000.
United has access to just 217 tickets at MyState Bank.
Crosscourt has been told this has caused frustration, with many members who considered travelling unable to secure tickets.
THE WILD GRAND FINAL STAT
Melbourne United heads to Tasmania on Thursday night having been the better team for 70 per cent of the three grand final games but faces a 2-1 deficit and potential elimination.
After hammering the JackJumpers by 23 points in game one, building a 15-point lead midway through the third of game two and leading for most of game three, United has been in front of the JackJumpers for 84 minutes and 22 seconds of the 120 minutes played.
The JackJumpers have led for just 25.08 (scores tied for 10.30) but that’s included when it’s mattered most in both games two and three.
It’s a remarkable statistic that leaves United with an air of confidence heading into game four in hostile territory, helped by the fact they’ve beaten the JackJumpers more times in Tasmania (three) than in Melbourne (two) — although they’re now 5-10 all-time against they’re bogey team.
It’s not the first time they’ve faced elimination this season, either, with Vickerman drawing on lessons from the game three semi final win over Illawarra.
“We talked about it all year, we hadn’t lost a game back-to-back (before games two and three), so any time we’ve had a performance that we weren’t happy with, we’ve bounced back,” Vickerman said.
“Once it got to that pointy end of an elimination game, we played our best basketball, so we take great confidence in some of the things that we’ve done throughout the year.”
Vickerman said it’s a matter of slamming the door on the never-say-die Jackies when United gets out to a lead.
“Each game we’ve put ourselves in winning positions, there’s some detail we’ll tidy up offensively to make sure we can get better shots but we take a lot of confidence in the things we’ve done so far,” he said.
“But, when we’ve got a 10-point advantage, they come back and hit us with a three-ball.
“So, when we get a margin, can we push it out? Can we get three stops in a row?
“We’ve allowed them to come back and they’ve played some great basketball to come back.”
TASSIE HERO DESERVES NBA SHOT
NBA teams must give Tasmania hero Jack McVeigh a chance or risk making the same mistake they did with his legendary grand final opponent Chris Goulding.
That’s the opinion of famed pundit Beau Estes — better known as NBA Beau — who urged NBA teams to take a look at the red-hot McVeigh.
McVeigh will most likely receive an NBA Summer League call-up in the off-season, while Crosscourt understands he’ll be in the Boomers’ yet-to-be-announced selection camp ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Goulding, one of the greatest shooters Australia has ever produced, had several Summer League visits, without cracking the big time.
Estes believes the time is now for 27-year-old McVeigh to make the leap.
“CG43 was certainly at an NBA level in his late 20s and early 30s,” the GOATmentator said.
“Jack is different from Chris obviously, but his size plus his shooting should get him a look. “He’s a nice shooter with strong fundamentals and his size as a shooter is a real advantage.
“He plays with an edge, which I really enjoy.
“He’s at that age where it (NBA) needs to happen now.
“Guarding NBA level players will be the thing I watch for.
“I just need some evidence that he has the guts to take and make the big shot,” Estes laughed.
McVeigh’s red-hot form in NBL24 has sparked interest from NBA teams and analysts alike.
An UNBELIEVABLE three-pointer from Tasmania's Jack McVeigh seals an incredible win for the @JackJumpers over @MelbUnited. 🔥
— CODE Basketball (@codebballau) March 24, 2024
Tasmania will head to the Apple Isle up 2-1 looking to win their first championship with a win on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/qWO5EyXF1C
Sam Vecenie from The Athletic is a huge fan of the JackJumpers’ forward, regularly pushing his case for an NBA call-up.
“Yeah, you know who is good at basketball? Jack McVeigh,” Vecenie said after McVeigh hit his remarkable three-point dagger from half-court to help Tasmania beat Melbourne United in Game 3.
“I can only say so many times that he should A. Get an NBA shot this summer and B. Be invited to the Australian national camp for the Olympics. Clearly fills a need for both: awesome shooter with size who impacts the game.”
TRUSTING DELLY
Matthew Dellavedova’s errant inbound pass with 8.1 seconds left paved the way for Jack McVeigh’s miracle gamewinner for Tasmania.
But United coach Dean Vickerman revealed it hadn’t been a focus of the coaching staff and playing group.
“You walk out of there a little bit ‘oh man, if we were one step better in a number of areas, we would have won the game’, we don’t focus on the out-of-bounds play or anything like that, we focus on every possession of the game, I see the areas we can be so much better,” Vickerman said.
Vickerman said if a similar situation occurs in game four, Dellavedova — who has played his guts out in the taxing series — will have the ball in his hands.
“We trust him to go in and make that play, whether he’s tired or not,” he said.
“He’s still the guy we’re going to put it in his hands to make the right decision and we will again.”
Basketball’s a game of swings and roundabouts — and Vickerman’s seen both sides of it. His first title as head coach came in New Zealand, on a 2015 buzzer beater from Ekene Ibekwe that sunk Cairns.
“I was looking at the top big shots and winning the championship with Ekene Ibekwe, sometimes you win a game on the last second and sometimes you lose one, this game always seems to find a balance,” he said.
TOUGH REVIEW AND THE LEADERS STANDING UP
The club has hunkered down this week, shielding players from the media, with coach Dean Vickerman handling all requests.
He says the club’s leaders have stood up, particularly veteran Brad Newley, who, still chasing his first NBL title in his last season, has provided a boost to teammates.
“Newley, I got a text from him yesterday and he text all the boys, sharing his belief about what we can get done, it’s a positive message to come from one of your leaders,” Vickerman said.
“All our leaders CG (Chris Goulding), Delly (Matthew Dellavedova), Jo (Lual-Acuil Jr), they all stepped up and were great about driving a belief about ‘let’s go get it’.”
In game two, United surrendered the most offensive rebounds (21) and most three-point makes (16) of the entire season — unacceptable numbers in such a crucial contest and Vickerman said it made for a “tough” review.
“We look at those two things and say, we’re so much better than that and we should have been in this game,” he said.
“We watched every one of them (offensive rebounds). It’s still that hit-first mentality — they were determined to get it. There’s always going to be 10 or 12 you can do a good job on and it bounces the wrong way, but the extra possessions they got were just so important in that game.
“And then the three ball, the offensive boards helped them get 33 but we’ve got to hold them to around 20 attempts. We can see the areas where we can slow them down.”
HOW TASSIE CENTRE’S INJURY IMPACTS UNITED’S STRUGGLING BIGS
Tasmania, on Wednesday, confirmed the devastating news centre Marcus Lee would miss the rest of the grand final series with a torn MCL.
It’s a shattering blow for the club and for the kind-hearted American big, but it means Tasmania coach Scott Roth will roll out a healthy dose of small ball, with United’s game-three fourth quarter destroyer Majok Deng set to play a huge part.
Deng got going at the four and then shifted to the five, pouring in 15 fourth-quarter points to set up Jack McVeigh’s buzzer-beating win.
Vickerman and company will be prepared — but they desperately need a lift from giants Jo Lual-Acuil Jr and Ariel Hukporti, especially in keeping the defence-challenged Deng honest at that end of the floor.
“We’ll give them a better plan as a coaching staff, right now, to make sure they deal with Majok Deng a little bit better,” Vickerman said.
“I think we’ve had great opportunities when Deng’s in the game with our bigs to make sure they can use their advantage there.”
After a dominant 20-point, 11-rebound, 2 block performance in game one Lual-Acuil Jr, particularly, has been curbed by the JackJumpers.
Lual-Acuil Jr lowered his colours to Sam Froling in the semi finals and he’s been held to single figures in games two (9) and three (8). He shot just 27 per cent from the field in game two and only took three field goals in game three.
The 29-year-old returned to United this season after a stint in China with the goal of making the NBA and needs a pair of massive performances to both bring the NBL title back to Melbourne and capture the eyes of US scouts.
Vickerman has encouraged both big men to use their speed to their advantage.
“I thought in game one, Jo got a lot of stuff from sprinting the floor, taking advantage of his quickness,” he said.
“I’d love to see him and Ari do that, when they’re sprinting and they’re running with Shili (Shea Ili), is when we talk about our pace. Can you run with Shili? Can you run with LT?
“When those two are out sprinting the lanes I think they get themselves in great receiver spots to pick up some easy points.”
Originally published as Crosscourt: Latest news out of the 2023-24 NBL grand final series between Melbourne United and Tasmania JackJumpers
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