South East Melbourne centre Dane Pineau’s insights into his Phoenix teammates, reunion with Andrew Bogut
A civilisation at the centre of the earth, the quiet big man who trash talks with the best of them and the guard with the phat beats who can’t dance. South East Melbourne cult figure Dane Pineau lifts the lid on his Phoenix teammates.
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Towering South East Melbourne Phoenix centre Dane Pineau has fast become a fan-favourite in The Heartland thanks to his never-say-die attitude and defensive intensity.
The cult figure gives the lowdown on his Phoenix teammates ahead of their clash with the Sydney Kings.
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LOCKER-ROOM DJ
There’s a real RnB Fridays feel to the South East Melbourne locker room and Pineau says the man with the phat beats is Tasmanian native Adam Gibson.
The veteran dual-NBL champion has a huge variety in his repertoire, but early 2000s hip hop is a staple.
“That’s kind of a team favourite, that gets us up and about for practice or games, some real throwbacks in there,” Pineau said.
But, as good as he is with the tunes, ‘Gibbo’ struggles on the D-floor.
Blanco Brown’s The Git Up has become a staple, with several of the players breaking out the viral dance every time it’s played.
“It’s not an older song, but that’s a team favourite, we just get really excited when he puts it on,” Pinaeu said.
“There’s a little dance that goes to the song in the music video, so a few of us know the dance and we get up and break it out.
“Kyle (Adnam), Tai (Wesley) and I are probably the best at it.
“Who’s the worst? Gibbo himself is actually not great. Terrible dancer, yeah, no rhythm like Kyle and I.”
QUIRKIEST TEAMMATE
We’re not really in Kyrie Irving-flat earth territory, but Pineau says superstar Mitch Creek got a few funny looks when he broke out his story about a civilisation at the centre of the earth.
“Creeky has this whole story that’s a bit weird, He might have been pulling everyone’s chain,” Pineau said of the Horsham native.
“There’s this story where there’s a possibility there’s a civilisation living in the middle of the earth. The earth is hollow apparently and there’s a whole civilisation at the centre of it.
“He was at breakfast when he brought it up. He goes ‘I watched this video, it’s pretty interesting, it makes you think’.
“Not quite that bad (as Irving’s flat-earth theories), he’s a sensible man.”
He says Creek, Phoenix’s best player who joined the club after a stint in the NBA, is the teammate he’d most like in the trenches with him.
“Oh, Creeky, for sure, he’s very tough and very determined, 100 per cent Mitch Creek,” he said.
Pineau says many Phoenix players are not just teammates, but friends.
“We all get along really well, it’s a pretty cool group,” he said
“We hang out outside of playing and training, which is great. A few of the boys, we head out together after games.”
FUNNIEST TEAMMATE
A number of Pineau’s teammates fancy themselves as comedians, but he says point guard Adnam, from Lilydale, is the funniest.
“Kyle breaks out these funny sayings, I find him hilarious,” he said.
Adnam almost had American teammate Kendall Stephens convinced the mythical Aussie ‘drop bear’ was real — you can watch in the player at the top of the story.
“He did a video when Kendall first got to Melbourne, he gave a minute-long story about drop bears and how dangerous they are, it was bloody hilarious,” Pineau said.
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Veteran Williamstown-born wing Ben Madgen also has a sharp wit.
“Madg is pretty hilarious too, he’s got quite a funny sense of humour and a few quirks,” Pineau said.
“He rolled into practice the other day just blasting Black and Yellow (Wiz Khalifa, 2010) full blast through the car speakers.
“He got out of the car and said ‘hey, have you boys heard that one before? New song’.”
BEST TRASH TALKER
Several Phoenix players have developed their games all over the world and Pineau says there are a number who “like to talk a bit of smack”.
“(Import guard John) Roberson talks a little bit sometimes,” he said.
“Creeky loves to chat to the opposition too and then so does Madg.”
But he says the quiet Keith Benson has them all covered — as Melbourne United would have attested to during his NBL career-high 20 points in the Throwdown last Saturday.
“I find his the funniest, because it’s kind of like out of nowhere, Creeky thinks he’s the best trash talker, but I’d probably say Keith,” he said.
“He talks s**t a lot when he’s playing. I was off the court the other day when he was playing against United but I know after every one of those baskets he would have been talking smack.
“He let them know about it and I know what that feels like because he does it at practice too. “He was getting under their skin, because he’s a little bit unorthodox as well, so you can’t believe it’s going in, but he makes them, it’s effective.”
PINEAU BRACING FOR BOGUT REUNION
Master will face apprentice when South East Melbourne Phoenix host Sydney Kings at Melbourne Arena today.
Phoenix big man Dane Pineau, who last year honed his game under the tutelage of Aussie basketball great Andrew Bogut in Sydney, knows he has his work cut out for him trying to contain the reigning NBL MVP.
Pineau did battle with the 213cm, 118kg beast on an almost daily basis — and that’s what makes the task so daunting.
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“We never held back last year when we were practicing at all so, if anything, I actually think he’s going to go a lot harder than he does against other guys,” Pineau, who stands 206cm and weighs 102kg, said.
“He’s a massive, big, old bloke, so it’ll be tough for me, because he’s obviously a lot bigger and stronger too, but hopefully we can plan around that. There are other areas — I’m quicker than him — so I can use that to my advantage.
“Hopefully I can put him in a lot of on-ball screens to try to make him work hard, try to make him guard John Roberson as much as possible — he won’t really enjoy that too much — just try to run him around a bit.”
Pineau is enjoying a breakout third-year in the NBL, averaging career highs across the board, becoming the soul of the Phoenix.
He’s excited to catch up with his mentor, who he still texts often, and holds a deep respect for.
“Bogues is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” he said.
“If I ever wanted to talk to him, he was always more than happy to help and he offered advice even when I wouldn’t ask. I couldn’t speak more highly of him.
“I’m excited just to see him and maybe hang out a little bit after the game.”
Pineau’s Phoenix will be attempting to arrest a two-game slide against the top-of-the-table Kings and he’s keen not to let Bogut produce a highlight reel play against him.
“I know how much he loves throwing his highlight passes, so I want to try to press when he’s up holding the ball at the top of the key,” he said.
“I remember when he dunked on (Illawarra big man) AJ (Ogilvy) last year, he was so happy with himself, got Olgilvy real bad.”
Andrew Bogut goes behind his back before posterizing AJ Ogilvy!
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 2, 2018
(Via @FoxBasketball)
pic.twitter.com/vfOrmE8cML
PREVIEW
THE TEAMS
South East Melbourne Phoenix (4th, 5-4) v Sydney Kings (top, 9-1)
WHEN
Saturday, November 23, 5.30pm AEDT
BETTING
Head-to-Head
Phoenix $2.25
Kings $1.65
Line
Phoenix +3.5 $1.85
Kings -3.5 $1.95
***TAB.com.au
KEY MEN
Phoenix
Mitch Creek - 21.8ppg, 7.6rpg, 4.2apg, 1.2spg
John Roberson - 19.9ppg, 5.8apg, 51.4%3pfg
Dane Pineau - 7.9ppg, 6.8rpg, 69.6%fg, 1.6bpg
Kings
Casper Ware - 20.3ppg, 3.9apg
Andrew Bogut - 7.9ppg, 10.3rpg, 2.9apg, 1.3bpg
Jae’Sean Tate - 15ppg, 6.2rpg,
KEY MATCH-UP
Dane Pineau v Andrew Bogut
This contest might come down to how the Phoenix handle Bogut. Pineau can’t do it by himself, so they’ll have to work in a committee to stop the big man impacting at both ends of the floor. The two mates won’t be leaving anything out there.
MICHAEL RANDALL SAYS
Last round was a dirty one for the Phoenix with a pair of losses. The Kings have superior depth, but Phoenix have the grit to turn things around. Phoenix by 1.
