Bullets get Patterson and eye NBL playoffs

A shiny new home and a returning star import, it is all happening for the Brisbane Bullets who are eyeing a return to the NBL playoffs, writes Greg Davis.

Lamar Patterson

Brisbane head coach Andrej Lemanis says the Bullets are well-placed to challenge for back-to-back NBL playoff berths with star import Lamar Patterson recommitting to the club.

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Brisbane officially unveiled their new home at the Queensland State Netball Centre on Wednesday and confirmed the signing of Patterson in a double-barrelled dose of good news for the foundation club that qualified for the finals last season, breaking a 10-year playoff drought.

Lamar Patterson during his standout 2018-19 NBL season with the Brisbane Bullets.

The arms race in the NBL went up a gear in the off-season with clubs chasing the best and brightest talent in an increasingly tight and competitive league that will welcome the well-resourced South-East Melbourne Phoenix into the fold this season.

Brisbane’s recruiting drive netted All-NBL First team member Patterson, Boomers star Nathan Sobey and Americans Taylor Braun and EJ Singler to bolster the core of the squad that was eliminated from the semi-finals by eventual champion Perth.

And they have a shiny new, state-of-the-art home to launch their campaign from.

“We’ve got a very good team. The league’s very good but I think we’ve got a team that can improve on last year,’’ Lemanis said.

“Some of it is the additions, some of it is the returning core group of players who’ve had one season together and tasted a little bit of success together, getting confidence out of that and building on that.

“We have no illusions about the competitiveness of the league but we also have a very good team that can be successful in the league.

“Until everyone gets in and you put all the pieces together you don’t know what it looks like but with the quality of people we have and the skillsets we have, we are well-placed to do well.’’

Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis says Lamar Patterson had a ball in the NBL last season.

Lemanis said Patterson “had a special place in his heart” for the Bullets after a successful first campaign last season when he was an MVP candidate after averaging 18 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

He said the Bullets squad is buoyant about Patterson’s return.

“I know through the course of the recruiting phase, keeping players abreast of what’s going on, every time we mentioned that Lamar is starting to get a bit more interested, you could see the excitement in their eyes,’’ Lemanis said.

“When we were able to tell them that Lamar had agreed to come back, the core of the group that played with him last year was stoked.

“It shows what he means to the team and how much the guys enjoy playing with him. It’s not just what he brings on the court. It’s off the court. He’s a great guy.’’

Andrej Lemanis at the Brisbane Bullets new home at the Queensland State Netball Centre in Nathan.

Lemanis said practising and playing at the one-stop-shop would be a significant boost to Brisbane who started training at the QSNC this week.

The Bullets will play all 14 of their home games at the $44 million, 5,000-capacity QSNC that is also home to the Queensland Firebirds.