Bullets Looking for ‘McDowell-White’ Type

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Brisbane Bullets’ newly appointed head coach Justin Schueller has confirmed he is already making plans to scout a Will ‘McDowell-White’ type point guard for the 2023-24 season.

With only two contracted players on the roster, Schueller and the coaching staff are heading into the offseason with a clean slate and looking to build a strong team alongside NBL veterans Aron Baynes and Nathan Sobey.

Schueller said he is looking for a player that possesses the skills of McDowell-White to aid the team in producing winning basketball next season.

"Will McDowell-White is about to go in a Playoff run, someone of that ilk would be looking great in a Bullets uniform,” Schueller said.

“His ability to pick the game apart with the use of the ball screen has separated him from everyone else.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? ??? ???? ????? ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrisbaneBullets</a> have made a big move early in their off-season. Former Melbourne United assistant and Australia Under 17's coach Justin Schueller will lead the Bullets in NBL24 and beyond ?<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/LdAr6Fd8fo">https://t.co/LdAr6Fd8fo</a> <a href="https://t.co/ntt6dbGO6k">pic.twitter.com/ntt6dbGO6k</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1623112024514506752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Schueller coached McDowell-White as a teenager in U17s and said his growth in the NBL has made him stand out.

“The growth of him, I had him as a 15-year-old kid in the U17s way back and to see where he is today as an opposition coach it’s something you enjoy. So would definitely love to coach him than coach against him,” Schueller said.

“Definitely someone like that that can influence the game in that way would be a good influence for this club.

“He’s the model of player that we’re trying to recruit.”

Schueller came from Melbourne United where he was the assistant coach for six seasons from the 2017/18 season to the current campaign. Schueller was a part of two championship titles alongside Melbourne head coach Dean Vickerman in 2017/18 and 2020/21.

Schueller spoke on the changes he wishes to make for next season as he gives an insight into his aspirations for the Bullets.

“Defensively, I think there has to be change on that end of the floor. How we build the roster is going to be a key part of that,” he said.

“We have to have a much more gritty approach to the defensive side of the ball. The two championships I was a part of at Melbourne, it was built on that and that’s been my role at that club for an extended period of time.

“That to me is the first part of the change, the second part is having a floor leader, a point guard that can allow us to put our guys into positions for success.”

With scouting already underway, Schueller is adamant to find players of high-skill and experience of the ‘international game’ which Schueller believes the Bullets will adopt next season.

“The way that I’ve coached for a very long time, the international game is also how I believe the game needs to be played at the NBL level. There’s definitely going to be an influence in that,” Schueller said.

“Players who come through with that sort of system will definitely have an advantage in how we play.”