NBL: Andrew Gaze admits Sydney Kings defence is poor

Andrew Gaze admits his Sydney Kings are a poor defensive side and understands why people are questioning his position.

Sydney Kings coach Andrew Gaze.

Andrew Gaze admits his Sydney Kings are a poor defensive side and understands why people are questioning his position, but says he’s no quitter.

The last-placed Kings, who play Perth Wildcats in Sydney tomorrow, have a 5-14 record and are giving up a league-worst 93 points a game.

While the roster was reinforced by the mid-season acquisition of well-credentialed imports Jerome Randle and Jeremy Tyler, the Kings have continued bleeding big scores.

Coach Gaze believes he has the right defensive strategy and is getting his message across, but feels it’s not being applied consistently by his players.

“Strategy is one part of it, and then there’s also that single-mindedness, determination, that commitment to play defence,” Gaze said. “We’ve tried to be as frank as we can with some of the players, and say ‘It doesn’t matter what system you are going to execute, if that’s your level of application it’s highly unlikely its going to be successful’. But the reality of it is we’re a poor defensive team. We’re working through ways in which we can do better in that area, with only limited success.

“We continue to try to work on that, but at this point in time we understand we’ve got a long way to go.”

As the losses mount and the Kings’ finals hopes dwindle, Gaze’s position comes under more scrutiny. He has one more season of his three-year contract to run and has no intention of walking away early. “I don’t quit, there’s no quit in me,” Gaze said.

“Absolutely there should be questions asked, or an investigation into the performance of me and all the coaches.”

There was a positive for Gaze yesterday, as guard Kevin Lisch got through 20 minutes of his first competitive training session for several months following two calf muscle tears. Gaze says he expects Lisch back in a week.

AAP