South East Melbourne sack coach Mike Kelly after horror start to NBL season
South East Melbourne have wasted no time in searching for a replacement for sacked coach Mike Kelly, with Phoenix powerbrokers still believing they can make a finals push despite an 0-5 start.
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South East Melbourne basketball boss Simon Mitchell says the Phoenix will scour the globe to find a replacement for axed coach Mike Kelly.
Mitchell said the club had hoped Kelly could turn things around but it became clear after Saturday night’s loss to Brisbane change was essential.
“There were certain things that Mike was really pushing to turn around with regards to performance of the team and, unfortunately, Saturday night, we weren’t able to turn those things around,” Mitchell said.
“We went into the Brisbane game looking to win and wanting to see the performances and the things that were being emphasised take place.
“The values and the points of emphasis that Mike was pushing were perhaps not being adhered to or weren’t being fulfilled.”
Among names mentioned around the traps who could be potential candidates for the job, five-time NBL champion Trevor Gleeson told Code Sports he was yet to hear from the Phoenix, while former Brisbane championship coach Joey Wright has ruled himself out, when contacted Sunday.
Mitchell said interim coach Sam Mackinnon would come into consideration as the club faced a balancing act between urgency and doing the work to find the best candidate.
“We want to do this as quickly as possible, but at the same time, we’re going to take our time,” Mitchell said Monday, 24 hours after Kelly was sacked following a fifth loss in as many starts in NBL25.
“So we’ve got to find that sweet spot where we get the right person to lead this team into the future.
“The phone’s been buzzing (from coaches of) various levels of experience, a couple of domestic coaches from here in Knox right through to some really world class people who have shown some interest.
“The ideal coach will present themselves.
“We’ll look at anyone who’s really strong in accountability areas, strong in leadership, and sees a team and sees the team for what it is and feels that they can win with this squad.”
Mitchell said the club would take inspiration from last season’s Illawarra Hawks, who began 2-7 then made the playoffs after a coaching change, and the 2024 performances of AFL clubs Hawthorn and Brisbane, the latter spending 16 rounds outside the top eight before storming to the premiership.
“We believe in this group, Mitchell said.
“Whilst we’re 0-5, we’ve got 23 games to go, we can still make a run, as we saw last year with Illawarra, and we’ve seen the AFL season just gone on with Brisbane and Hawthorn.
“We feel like there is a turnaround in this group.”
Mitchell said all at the club, including himself and the struggling players, shared ownership of the Phoenix’s perilous 0-5 start that resulted in a hard decision on his dear friend.
“Whenever we have a situation that we’ve found ourselves in, everyone’s got to shoulder a little burden and some responsibility,” Mitchell said.
“We have some players that are down on form at the moment but one of the things that we believe is that they can turn that form around a little quicker with the leadership of somebody else.”
One of those struggling players is explosive Boomer Nathan Sobey, who Kelly shifted to the bench for Saturday night’s two-point loss to Brisbane and is understood to be frustrated after managing just 5 points on 1-7 shooting.
“I’ve spoken with Sobes, I got a hold of him yesterday (Sunday) just to check in on him, Mitchell said
“Look, he’s not the only one experiencing form issues at the moment, and I think he’s probably carrying a little bit of a burden there, but we want to relinquish that burden from him.
“This is a team effort, everyone’s got to wear our performances right now and focusing in on Nathan is not what we’re going to do.”
‘Grace, professionalism’: How Kelly sacking unfolded and what’s next
Axed South East Melbourne coach Mike Kelly’s fate was sealed in the hours after the Phoenix’s gut-wrenching two-point loss to Brisbane.
Club powerbrokers went into Saturday night’s game against the then-winless Bullets expecting to see on-court change which would hopefully result in their first win of the season.
Kelly shook up the starting line-up, shifting struggling star Nathan Sobey to the bench in a bid to revive the season. But the two-point loss was the trigger point after an accumulation of poor play and an inability to get the best out of a highly-rated group that left the Phoenix winless in five starts this season.
Players were on a day off Sunday when Kelly met with Phoenix chief executive Tommy Greer and general manager of basketball operations Simon Mitchell at the club’s State Basketball Centre base and was delivered the news.
Multiple sources told Code Sports Kelly carried himself with grace and professionalism as pressure built and in the hours after he lost his job.
Assistant coach and long-time close friend Sam Mackinnon has been installed as South East Melbourne’s interim coach.
Mackinnon spoke with Kelly and reached out to staff and players on Sunday.
He told Crosscourt Kelly was more interested in providing encouragement as he took on the interim role.
“The thing about Mike, he’s a great human being, and I spoke with him this morning, I’m trying to talk to him about him and what had happened and he’s already wishing me all the best,” Mackinnon said.
“I told him if he hadn’t have advocated for me to be his assistant, I don’t think I’d be in the NBL right now.
“He used to pick me up as a 16-year-old kid going to (South East Melbourne Magic) training and now I’ve been an assistant coach under him and now taken over from him.
“He cares deeply for everyone, all his players and his staff and you just want to return the favour and do a good job for what he’s done for me.”
Mackinnon said discussions with players were largely professional, the squad confident it can turn around the horror start.
“This group’s a really good group and I think it was really apparent they all want to win,” Mackinnon said.
“I think they’re professionals and they’re probably, upon reflection, looking at themselves a little bit.
“There was lots of ‘let’s f***ing go’ and ‘let’s trust in each other’, they were all really positive and now I’ve got to lead them and I know I can do that.”
Mackinnon will be thrown straight into the fire, with a prime time Sunday afternoon Throwdown against cross-town rivals Melbourne United — a team which played off in last season’s grand final and on the Phoenix hasn’t beaten in their past six meetings, the last win coming in December 2022.
“Why not, hey?” Mackinnon said, when the mammoth task is mentioned.
“It’s my job to get the group up, it’s another long week of prep for the game, so your mind starts to switch to how can we get the guys up and ready to play United but also not cook them in the process.”
Mackinnon is treating the interim job as an audition for the permanent role as the Phoenix begin the process of identifying potential candidates.
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KINGS’ ACHILLES HEEL EXPOSED
The star-studded Sydney Kings are widely regarded as a championship contender in NBL25, but in a close competition they can ill-afford injury, especially to their key men Jaylen Adams and Xavier Cooks.
This came across in spades during Friday’s loss to Adelaide. Adams suffered a back injury in the second quarter and did not play in the second half while Cooks pushed through a bout of the flu.
The Kings had looked rudderless without their superstar point guard on the court, struggling to get through offence, but rookie Tyler Robertson (10 points, 3 assists) and veteran Shaun Bruce (21 points, 3 assists) stepped up in a big way in Sunday’s 26-point win over Cairns.
Cooks will be fine following his flu hit, but there is some level of concern around Adams’ back.
Adams’ failed a fitness test Sunday morning and was unable to get up for the clash with Cairns. His absence was a huge dislike for almost 30% of the top 1% of SuperCoach teams who selected him as captain for round 4 - many venting on social media his 12 points for the round had killed their SuperCoach season.
However, the silver lining for 797 coaches who brought in Tyler Robertson was a huge spike in minutes and one of the biggest price rises so far in NBL25.
TERRIBLE TASSIE BLOWOUT
In a short yet successful history the Tasmania JackJumpers have prided themselves on their dogged grit. The JackJumpers always find a way to fight and defy the odds.
Sadly, this wasn’t the case in a terrible 33-point loss to Illawarra on Saturday night.
The JackJumpers were simply no match for the red-hot Hawks and it was a shock to see given the franchise’s resilient DNA.
FT. pic.twitter.com/RONm7KUWyX
— Tasmania JackJumpers 🜠(@JackJumpers) October 12, 2024
Tasmania has proven it can overcome any hurdle or critic’s question mark, but they’d be bitterly disappointed with the poor showing against the Hawks.
As history has proven, it would take a brave man to bet against the JackJumpers reigniting their season.
At this point, though, the men from Tassie need to rediscover their famed fight to be any chance of defending their title in NBL25.
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BOX OFFICE HARRELL MUST STAY IN NBL:
Adelaide must do whatever it takes to keep NBA superstar Montrezl Harrell in the NBL long-term because the bloke is box office entertainment.
The electric ball of energy is now going by ‘Aussie Monsta’ among his teammates and there’s a growing feeling that he could be here to stay.
Harrell’s endearing persona was on show on Friday night as he put on an eye-catching display in the Sixers’ big win over Sydney
From explosive dunks to high-fiving fans and even joining in on the Hungry Jacks chants with the crowd when the Kings were at the free-throw line, the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year is the type of character the NBL yearns for — and he puts bums on seats.
The 36ers are growing in confidence Harrell will be in the City of Churches for the long haul — and, internally, they believe he can coexist on the same floor with Isaac Humphries and fellow star big Jarell Martin, who could be back in uniform as soon as next Sunday’s clash with Tasmania.
“He shoots the piss out of it,” one source told Crosscourt of Martin.
“He can operate on the perimeter with DJ (Vasiljevic) and KD (Kendric Davis) and then you have ‘Trez’ and ‘Ice’ (Isaac Humphries) inside.”
It begs the question, has a more talented quintet than what Adelaide might roll out in the near future ever stood on an NBL floor together?
BATEMON BOUNCES BACK:
Brisbane’s American point guard James Batemon looked destined to become the first import sacked in NBL25, but he defied the doubters with an impressive performance in the Bullets’ win over the Phoenix.
Batemon put aside his sluggish start to the season to finish with 20 points, including 7 of 14 shooting from the field.
The standout display starting from the bench went on a long way to helping the Bullets beat the Phoenix to record their first win of NBL25.
A relieved Batemon had a clear message for those who questioned his form in the opening rounds.
“Everybody talking and saying what they’ve got to say, but I always believed,” Batemon told Code Sports post-game.
“My teammates believed in and the organisation still believes in me.
“I had a slow start in my first three games. It was tough. It took me and us four games, but we finally got it done.
“We’re just going to keep this thing rolling.”
HAWKS TITLE FAVOURITES?
The Illawarra Hawks are flying as legitimate championship contenders and it’s a significant win for the NBL, given the franchise’s past struggles.
The small market Hawks have struggled in recent years, amid poor results and calls for the foundation club to be relocated or dissolved.
But Illawarra is a proud, working-class region and its basketball team personifies these traits in spades.
Get on the bus. @illawarrahawks are the best side in the @NBL . Justin Tatum can coach! @VossyBrandySEN
— Andrew Voss (@AndrewVossy) October 12, 2024
The resilient Hawks pushed through a dismal 2023-24 season when the club finished last with a 3-25 record, started the following season 2-7 before Justin Tatum took over from axed coach Jacob Jackomas and they soared into the postseason.
Tatum has his men sitting on top of the NBL ladder with a 4-1 record.
Illawarra blew out reigning champions Tasmania on Saturday in a dominant display.
The 33-point triumph even attracted the eye of respected rugby league commentator Andrew Voss, who was in the crowd at the WIN Entertainment Centre to witness the commanding win.
“Get on the bus. The Illawarra Hawks are the best team in the NBL. Justin Tatum can coach. They will be one of the best shows in town this summer,” Voss tweeted.
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Originally published as South East Melbourne sack coach Mike Kelly after horror start to NBL season
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