Armstrong "Vastly Superior"

Cairns Taipans head coach Adam Forde has declared new recruit Taran Armstrong as possessing a resume that is “vastly superior to a number of guys in the league”.

Armstrong, 21, has signed for the Taipans off the back of two successful seasons at California Baptist University, and had previously been mooted for a potential transfer to NCAA powerhouse Gonzaga.

The 198-centimetre point guard has been previously ranked on NBA draft boards, and was recently listed by Bleacher Report as one of America’s most underrated college prospects.

“It’s crazy when you refer to a 21-year-old with an incredible sense of maturity and polish to his game,” Forde said of his new recruit. “This is why he does warrant NBA attention.

“Taran’s resume at 21 is vastly superior to a number of guys who are in the league now. He’s represented Australia at every age group including senior level, he’s been on NBA draft boards and he will be on NBA draft boards while he’s playing here.

“For him to be so NBL-ready at the age of 21, the ceiling is high … you think you’d be watching a 30-year-old veteran who’s been playing at the high levels of the European leagues.

“There’s not too many guys with his resume and capability available in the league, so for us to not at least take a punt at this would have been insane.”

Despite the Forde’s lofty goals and ambitions for the star point guard, he says he’s mindful to not give Armstrong too much responsibility too early.

“We want to make sure we’re don’t put any undue pressure on him by saying ‘here’s the keys to the car’, but he’s fully capable.

“I think any expectations are not a burden to him. He’s ready, he’s got big ambitions and we want to help provide him the platform to achieve those.”

Forde believes the signing of Armstrong will give his side added flexibility when approaching the import market in the coming weeks.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SIGNED ??<br><br>Another one heads to the talent factory. Taran Armstrong has signed a two-year deal with the <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CairnsTaipans</a> ?<br><br>Read more ? <a href="https://t.co/DHS4b3S9WQ">https://t.co/DHS4b3S9WQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/TYBdt2iBK6">pic.twitter.com/TYBdt2iBK6</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1658606298638991360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tahjere McCall is currently the only import contracted to the side for the upcoming season, while point guard Shannon Scott has defected to the Brisbane Bullets for the upcoming campaign.

“Securing the local contingent we’ve got – especially now with the addition of Taran – is really important, because now you can build out the remaining pieces around that,” Forde said. 

“He (Armstrong) gives us multiple opportunities to maybe explore more of a combo-guard rather than a pure point-guard.

“We’ve still got a couple of import spots to fill out, and the last local spot. We’re exploring options with a Next Star too, so there’s a couple of angles we can go.

“The beautiful thing is there’s no real rush.”

Forde also confirmed he was in discussions to potentially bring back All-NBL Second team selection DJ Hogg for a second season in Cairns.

“We’re definitely in talks with him,” Forde said. “He’s playing in Puerto Rico at the moment and doing really well over there.

“The ambition for NBA is still high on his agenda and we want to accommodate that, and continue the conversations at a pace that’s beneficial for both us and him.”