Bullet-turned-Meteor Harry Froling dominated in his first official clash for Mackay

Many players would be happy recording 21 points, 14 rebounds and five assists on debut, but for one NBL recruit it is just a solid foundation.

It was a Mackay debut to remember for newly signed Meteor Harry Froling, who dominated in his first game for his new NBL1 club.

In a tussle with Gold Coast, the star forward offered the Meteors a towering presence to start alongside fellow recruit Emmanuel Malou.

The Brisbane Bullet had 21 points, 14 rebounds and five assists in the 101-89 win for Mackay, but coach Joel Khalu said he expected the big man to improve on those numbers.

“He’s coming off the NBL season and he’s fit, and he was a big factor for us in his first hit out,” Khalu said.

“He was tracking for a triple-double in game one with guys he’s never played with before, and he was also really good defensively.”

Froling’s scoring slowed in the second half as Gold Coast began to double-team the forward, but the extra attention led to lapsed defence elsewhere.

Khalu said the side had factored in the attention to Froling at training and knew how to handle the defensive set-up.

“Harry demands so much attention because he’s so good offensively, so if they don’t send a double-team then he’s tough to stop, and we did a really good job using that to find an open shooter,” he said.

“Manny was so good offensively, he shot the ball at a really good clip, but I want five or six players scoring in double figures, I want to be an unselfish team.”

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Jerron Jamerson was strong again offensively with 22 points, but his defensive presence in the second half helped the Meteors stretch the lead to double digits.

Khalu said he wanted Jamerson to continue building into a two-way player.

“Why I recruited him was because I wanted him to become a two-way player, he’s got the ability to do it but he just needs to stay engaged every possession,” Khalu said.

“Jerron’s got aspirations to play higher levels of basketball, whether that’s in the NBL or overseas, but to do that he’s got to become a great defender.

“He’s got the ability to sweat some guards and build so much pressure, but he needs to bring that every game.”

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Originally published as Bullet-turned-Meteor Harry Froling dominated in his first official clash for Mackay