Coach happy with dealt cards
Nelson Giants coach Alan McAughtry doesn’t mind inheriting a squad built by someone else, especially when players like Finn Delany and Dion Prewster were already signed to the roster.
The 54-year-old Australian has not been involved in the process of recruiting any of the players at the National Basketball League franchise ahead of the 2017 campaign because it was he who was the last piece to the puzzle, only revealed as Tim Fanning’s successor a fortnight ago.
But when the squad he will work with features names like Delany and Prewster, two current Australian NBL players with the New Zealand Breakers and Sydney Kings, McAughtry certainly isn’t complaining about the cards he’s been dealt.
The Giants squad put together by director Phill Jones and assistant coach Brendon Bailey also features imports Curtis Washington and Joe Slocum and locals Sam Dempster, Bronson Beri, Ali Granger, Tom Ingham, Nic Trathen and Riley Bensemann.
‘‘It’s not uncommon for me [to inherit a squad], I did the same thing with the Frankston team here in Victoria,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s not foreign territory but at the same time you have to trust the judgment of the custodians of the club. They’re not just putting the roster together to make up numbers and they know the league better than I do.’’
McAughtry said he had been in contact with each member of the squad and the initial discussions, learning about themselves as both people and players, were ‘‘encouraging’’.
‘‘My role is not only at the club to get success but it’s about the ongoing development of the players. Whether they are a rookie or a seasoned NBL player, they’re all looking for the next contract and we want to send them away better. If they’re successful then we’ll be successful.’’
Currently working as an assistant coach of the Melbourne Boomers in the Women’s National Basketball League, McAughtry’s CV also includes roles as head coach of the Black Diamond Eagles in the Big V State Championships and the Frankston Blues in the South East Australian Basketball League.
He spent two world championships cycles with the Australian under-17 side, one with the under19 team which featured NBA players Dante Exum and Ben Simmons, and he will return home to assist with the under-19 women’s team when his Giants commitments have finished.
He believed the job at the Giants was another step forward in his career and said moving to Nelson was a big deal.
‘‘I don’t take this lightly. It’s a big move for me with a wife and son who is 21 now. It’s not a ‘let’s try this,’ I’m taking this really serious.
‘‘I’ve never been away from my wife for longer than four weeks in close to 25 years of marriage so it’s a big step and I’m really looking for some success. I’m not coming here to find my feet, I’m coming here to win.’’
The Giants fell short of the Final Four series last year and McAughtry, who arrives on February 22, says returning to the playoffs is the team’s focus in 2017. ‘‘The early indication from Phill, Brendon and the team is that we have a roster that can do that, and I’m the same. We know it’s a pretty good team and they’re expecting success.’’