Taipans back on court but await NBL’s game plan

Taipans coach Adam Forde is getting ready to lead his team into the unknown – with players gathering for pre-season while the NBL season is not yet mapped out.

Taipans coach Adam Forde is getting ready to lead his team into the unknown – with players gathering for pre-season while the NBL season is not yet mapped out.

Forde said the club would “adjust accordingly” if and when it needed to.

The Snakes officially tipped off their pre-season training at Cairns Basketball on Monday and Forde said there was plenty of energy and excitement at the team’s first session.

“It’s good, and obviously you got to understand it’s the honeymoon period at the moment so everything seems new and fresh and great,” Forde said.

Majok Deng at Cairns Basketball. Picture: Brendan Radke

“But the reality is we could have another prolonged pre-season, so I don’t want to get too ahead of the schedule and get the guys fully amped up and excited knowing that their enthusiasm could drop right off and we haven’t played a game yet, so just trying not to go on that emotional rollercoaster with the highs and lows.

“But obviously it was great, the guys were keen to get some shots up, get together and we sort of rode that energy.”

Forde said the team’s enthusiasm would be a “balancing act” in pre-season.

“There’s things we want to put in place discipline-wise, we still want to keep it fun, and we want to get guys peaking at the right time of year, but also fully well knowing we don’t know when the season starts or how long until it starts, so we don’t want to burn out from the physical and mental side of it by going too hard too soon unnecessarily,” he said.

Forde said there was still uncertainty around what the season would look like and how it would operate with lockdowns putting much of the nation under restrictions.

“We’re sort of preparing for it as if it is another season like the last,” he said.

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“The guys at World Gym have been great, where we have a separate room away from the general public so we can still get all our sessions done while being Covid-safe.

“Those sort of restrictions aren’t in place yet, but we’ve sort of set it up now in case it does get changed up in a month or two months’ time.

“That way, it’s already like business as usual from that aspect of it, and once the news comes through we’ll adjust accordingly, but right now we’re just assuming it’s going to be anywhere between an October-November start.”

While the Taipans are classed as a professional team, they must abide by the state government’s restrictions on community sports while training in a community venue.

Taipans coach Adam Forde. Picture: Brendan Radke

Forde said it had worked in the team’s favour so far.

“There’s no contact and we’re in smaller groups – we sort of split it up into four ends, no more than three (players) at each end – a lot of shooting, not a lot of defence,” he said.

“It sort of played into our favour knowing that we’re nursing Kouat (Noi), Jordan (Ngatai), Mirko (Djeric) and Nate (Jawai) back at all different levels.”

Bul Kuol signs for Cairns Taipans, completes NBL roster

HE may be a virtual unknown but rival NBL clubs cannot afford to sleep on new Taipans recruit Bul Kuol.

Kuol is yet to play an NBL game but Taipans coach Adam Forde was thrilled the 24-year-old forward was the last man to be added to the roster for the upcoming NBL season.

Born in Sudan, Kuol was schooled in Canberra, played basketball at the Canberra Gunners and represented the ACT at an under-20 level.

The @CairnsTaipans have completed their #NBL22 roster with the signing of exciting local prospect, Bul Kuol on a two-year deal 🐍

Bul joins the growing list of South Sudanese players in the NBL 🇸🇸🙌

Full details here: https://t.co/BO6mIxoVft pic.twitter.com/MtsJJYKiXF

— The NBL (@NBL) August 13, 2021

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He completed his collegiate career this year, spending several years at California Baptist University before one final campaign with the Detroit Mercy Titans.

Kuol returned to Australia to take up an opportunity with Knox Raiders in the NBL1 South, and it’s there he showcased the accurate long-range shooting ability and competitiveness which caught Forde’s attention.

“I’m a huge competitor, I think (Forde) understands that, being able to shoot is a bonus,” Kuol said.

“He didn’t guarantee anything. He said I’d have to come out here and really work, and for me, that’s all I need.”

Bul Kuol during the Round 3 NBL1 South match between the Knox Raiders and the Albury-Wodonga Bandits at The State Basketball Centre on May 1, 2021, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Peter Knight/Ian Knight Photography)

No promise, no guarantee, and there is absolutely no concern from the man who, at least from a fan’s perspective, unexpectedly rounded out the Taipans’ roster.

He is the only rookie on the Taipans’ roster, though Forde has followed the young man’s career since he started at college – and it is there he impressed him most.

“When you can look at that five- year NCAA career and see consistency, especially in his outside shooting, that holds a lot of weight,” he said.

“He’s a six-eight, wing player, he’s athletic, great defensively, and he’s been doing a great job at Knox at NBL1 level.”

Throw in a bunch of positive comments about his character, and Kuol ticks every box for what Forde wants in this Taipans team.

Given his relative inexperience at the NBL level, Kuol could be the ultimate disrupter for Cairns – a low-minute, high-volume shooter who could tilt a game in no time via his accurate long bombs – but Forde made clear that he wouldn’t pigeonhole Kuol.

Bul Kuol in action for the Detroit Titans. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

He likened the situation to how he handled Jordan Hunter in his time as Sydney Kings head coach.

“One thing I feel like I’ve had a great track record in is that I roll with what’s happening in front of me,” Forde said. “Hunter was third string centre averaging two minutes a game, then last season we put him as starting centre and averaged nine and six.

“If you’re getting results and we’re getting wins, I’d be crazy not to play you more.

“Bul’s going to come in, he’s going to work his way up – we have guys who are already established, have the reputation of being efficient at the NBL level. If Bul starts stealing minutes, that’s only going to lift the level of competition in the team – which is a healthy thing.”

In Kuol, the Taipans will get a strong shooter from range, with the Sudan-born Canberra-raised forward recently shooting at 42 per cent from beyond the arc with the Knox Raiders in NBL1 South.

“We had key pieces that we wanted to target for our team this off-season, and Bul is no exception to that strategy. The reason we’ve recruited him is simple – he is a 6’8” shooter that’ll complement our team by adding another layer to our overall style of play,” he said.

“Throughout his entire college career, he shot 39 per cent from three, and more recently with Knox he had been shooting at 42 per cent. So, we are expecting much of the same here at the Taipans, and for him to continue to improve and mature as a professional basketball player.”

On top of his accuracy from range, Kuol described himself as a “mature rookie”, one who will take no backwards step in competition.

“I just look forward to going up there and being a sponge. I enjoy learning from other people. I see the roster, I see what we have, and I can’t wait to be part of it,” Kuol said.

Kuol completes the Taipans’ roster, joining Scott Machado, Cam Oliver, Tahjere McCall, Nate Jawai, Majok Deng, Kouat Noi, Jordan Ngatai, Mirko Djeric, Jarrod Kenny and Keanu Pinder.

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Originally published as Taipans back on court but await NBL’s game plan