Latest news with #Vickerman
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
United call on White to step up in championship series
Coach Dean Vickerman had a message for Jack White the day after Melbourne United lost game two of the NBL championship series against Illawarra. For the sake of United's title hopes, the forward was told to start believing in himself again before the third game of the best-of-five series tips off on Sunday. White was one of this season's most anticipated signings when he returned to United after two seasons in the NBA, which featured 17 appearances in Denver's 2022/23 championship season. But it's been an NBL championship series to forget for the talented Duke alumnus, who shot the ball at 30 per cent from the field as United took out the series opener in Wollongong last week. White did not put up a single shot in his 18 minutes on court as the Hawks squared the series with a two-point win in game two. "We're just trying to make his catches hard, crowd his space, don't give him easy driving lanes to the rim," Hawks guard Trey Kell told AAP of the team's successful plan for White. "For the most part, it was a team effort." White has long been a favourite of Vickerman's. After the forward was overlooked in the 2020 NBA draft, Vickerman brought him to Melbourne for the 2020/21 season on a three-year deal. Before the last year of that contract, the coach had fashioned White into an elite forward with a two-way deal to join the Denver Nuggets. Vickerman felt two fouls in the first quarter of the recent loss to Illawarra may have knocked White's confidence, so he sat the 27-year-old down on Thursday to remind him of his strengths. "For us right now as coaching staff and for him, it's just finding a way to get those things back and to not be distracted by a couple of fouls," Vickerman told AAP. "When he's elite, he's grabbing rebounds, he's pushing the pace, he's cutting with aggression. He's all over the rim and one of the best rebounders in the league. "Our whole message to him right now is to totally believe in the work that you've done this year. Just make really aggressive decisions." Vickerman is also quick to point out how White has grown since returning from the US, where he shot the three-ball at a solid 37 per cent accuracy during his time in the G-League. "I really thought the level of three-ball confidence coming back from the NBA was something that really grew in his time over there," Vickerman said. "Whatever he does in the first couple of minutes (on Sunday), it just has to be aggressive and attacking and hopefully he can stay in that mindset for the rest of the game." United will wait until as late as possible to make a call on the fitness of Shea Ili, who suffered the latest in a string of head knocks during the game-two loss to Illawarra. The New Zealand guard passed his initial concussion test and is travelling with the team to Wollongong for game three. He'll be put through further tests before the medical staff, not Vickerman or the man himself, determine whether the NBL's two-time reigning defensive player of the year is fit to line up. "We definitely have to plan both ways right now," Vickerman said. "It's not so much about what we're doing on the practice floor, it's just preparing other guys to take on a bigger load if required. "We'll give it as much time as we can."
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
United's Ili no certainty to return in NBL title battle
Melbourne United are sweating on the fitness of defensive stalwart Shea Ili as they seek to re-establish an advantage in the NBL championship series. Ili received a head knock before halftime and played no further part in United's tense 102-100 home defeat to Illawarra on Wednesday night. The 32-year-old, who has a long history with concussion, took an accidental elbow from Hawks guard Will Hickey as the pair fought for possession. Squad update: After sustaining a knock to the head in the 2nd quarter, Shea Ili will not return to tonight's game. — Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) March 12, 2025 He passed an initial concussion test but sat out the second half as a precaution. The Hawks' win levelled the best-of-five title series at 1-1 and Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman is unsure whether Ili will be available for game three in Wollongong on Sunday. The two-time NBL defensive player of the year is a critical part United's title plans. "He passed his concussion test but obviously with the history we didn't feel like it was the right thing to put him back out there," Vickerman said post-game. "Moving forward, we'll assess him again tomorrow and see how he's doing. Hopefully he's okay. Asked whether Ili would be fit for game three, Vickerman added: "I can't tell you yes or no right now, but it was a positive step for him to pass that test." Melbourne coughed up 16 turnovers in their game-two loss as Vickerman conceded sub-par ball control and rebounding cost his team. United gave up 22 offensive boards, lost the overall rebound count 42-35 and sent the Hawks to the free-throw line 30 times. The foul count was 25-17 in favour of the visitors at John Cain Arena. Vickerman was left fuming about some calls, including a pair of unsportsmanlike fouls against Ili and Flynn Cameron. "I didn't get an explanation but I didn't like either of them," Vickerman said. "It (the refereeing) felt a little bit different to what we'd seen in the other game. "For a team that showed unbelievable foul discipline and had four fouls in the whole second half up in Wollongong, to see what we got on our home floor, I just felt that was certainly different. "We'll put our own questions to the referees about why that was so different tonight." Despite being outplayed, Melbourne kept themselves in game two with impressive shooting, scoring at 57 per cent from the field and 46 per cent from long range. They wiped out an 11-point deficit during the final period and hit the front with 14 seconds remaining when Ian Clark (31 points) nailed three straight free-throws. But Tyler Harvey (24 points) scored the Hawks' go-ahead triple on the next play and an attempted game-winner by United captain Chris Goulding on the final play rattled out on the buzzer. BIG SHOT TAKER, BIG SHOT MAKER ‼️The Sniper - Tyler Harvey #WeRiseTogether — Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) March 12, 2025 Illawarra's gutsy road win was the perfect response after they lost at home in the series opener, putting them back in the drivers' seat with home-court advantage. "There's ebbs and flows," US import Harvey said. "They're a great team and we're a good team and there's going to be so many runs from both sides. It's just how you manage those runs."
