‘Things don’t look great’: NBL MVP’s big call on Taipans star

Former NBL MVP Derek Rucker has questioned the demotion of Tahjere McCall as the Taipans prepare to finish a disappointing season with their final home game of the campaign.

Speculation is rife Taipans import Tahjere McCall’s time in Cairns is coming to an end. Picture: Brendan Radke

Former NBL MVP Derek Rucker has questioned the demotion of Tahjere McCall as the Taipans prepare to finish a disappointing season with their final home game of the campaign.

And it could be the last of a fan favourite, with McCall out of contract and seemingly out of favour.

Taipans coach Adam Forde and McCall have worked closely together over the past three seasons.

Forde has repeatedly talked about how this Taipans team was built around the Philadelphia native, and the partnership reached its greatest heights in NBL23 when McCall and fellow import star DJ Hogg and now Wildcats gun Keanu Pinder helped take the Snakes to the semi finals.

McCall has also been brought into the fold as a quasi assistant coach, afforded the opportunity to lead the Taipans during two pre-season games as well as being a leading voice during “player-led” timeouts.

But the situation appears to have soured drastically in recent weeks, with suggestions there is a sizeable split between Forde and his import star.

Tahjere McCall puts up one of his few shots against Perth. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

And with McCall not under contract for NBL25 and no guarantee to return, this Friday’s clash against the league-leading Melbourne United could be the Orange Army’s last chance to see the man who has become a fan favourite.

Rucker told the NBL’s Moments The Mattered his first indication of an issue came during the 94-86 loss to Tasmania on February 1.

That was the first time McCall came off the bench since round 2 this year, when he returned from an injury, but given there were no injury concerns this time, it raised an instant alarm with the commentator.

“That was my first indication everything was not fine,” Rucker said.

“Whenever they say everything is fine and a guy isn’t hurt, there are other problems at play.

“His body language didn’t look right. It didn’t look like he had the energy or the vibrancy we usually see from Tahjere McCall.

“The body language was really, really bad.”

Then came Perth.

McCall, the man this team was built around, played just eight minutes off the bench, despite the Snakes closing the deficit to just two points in the final term before being blown away by the Wildcats.

Tahjere McCall during warm-up ahead of the game against Perth, in which he logged an NBL-low eight minutes. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Cairns were outscored 38-16 in one of the worst quarters the team have put together in some time, dropping the Snakes completely out of the hunt for a play-in tournament berth.

McCall left the game down five points with more than five minutes to go in the third term, and saw out the rest of the game on the bench.

The score blew out from a 67-62 deficit to the fulltime score of 117-88, with McCall riding the pine for the duration and another star, Bul Kuol, seen in a frustrating exchange with Taipans assistant coach Kerry Williams.

“The floor has fallen out from the Cairns Taipans, they look really, really bad,” Rucker said.

“They fell apart in that second half. The energy in that team … there’s some players who are really contributing to it.

“McCall doesn’t look like he’s into it, Pat Miller doesn’t look like he’s playing with the same push he was. Bul Kuol, there was some frustration there with the coaching staff.

“Things don’t look great.

“It’ crazy because two weeks ago they were in the hunt for the play-offs.

“It comes down to institutional control; who’s in charge up there? Who’s ensuring everybody is walking the line and maintaining the team ethos, whatever that may be.”

Forde played it down, describing his lineup choices as having an “eye to the future”.

When asked about McCall’s court time, he said he wanted to use the import as scoring punch off the bench and rode the momentum of Pat Miller and Sam Waardenburg.

“I think you just mourn this for what it is,” he said of the result.

“Everyone’s going to be dealing with the loss differently – myself included.

“You take these opportunities to also have one eye on the future, to see how you want to build this thing out.

“It’s not really a typical ‘dressing down’, you just leave them to their own accord and let them marinate it in a little bit.”

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Originally published as ‘Things don’t look great’: NBL MVP’s big call on Taipans star