Clark: "No crew has what we have"

Illawarra has all the right pieces for a breakthrough season, according to import Gary Clark - but right now, nothing is adding up for the Hawks. 

A 1-4 record to start the season brings back bad memories of a forgettable NBL23 and Cairns and Melbourne loom as daunting opponents in Round 5, but Clark is confident things can turn. 

"People say, 'oh, you're at the bottom' ... we're just off being a team that no one wants to play every night. Looking at some of the teams we've played, and looking around [the league], on paper there's no other crew that has what we have," Clark said via the Illawarra Mercury.

"I'm taking Tyler Harvey out of any other shooter in the league, 'J-Rob' (Justin Robinson) out of any other point-guard throughout the league, Sam (Froling) out of any big."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Game Day Vibes ?<br><br>Be there this Thursday at <a href="https://twitter.com/WINSportsEnt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WINSportsEnt</a> for your weekly dose of Hawks Hoops ? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeRiseTogether?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeRiseTogether</a> <a href="https://t.co/gKnnpLlpv3">pic.twitter.com/gKnnpLlpv3</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1716693889086857724?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The 28-year-old said the Hawks are tired of being at the bottom of the standings, particularly after taking early championship favourites Melbourne United right to the wire in Round 5. 

The Hawks trailed by just five points with four minutes on the clock, but the class of United took over late.

Jacob Jackomas is to Illawarra's on-court woes, but Clark says wins are near. 

The Hawks host the Cairns Taipans on Thursday night at home, with the visitors back from a two-week trip in the US.

"We've got a lot of basketball games left to be played. A lot of people were curious about why things weren't just gelling and as a group, we've been able to go back to the drawing board and look at ourselves, each player,” Clark added.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Plenty of high-stakes match-ups in Round 5, including a top of the table clash in Tassie ?<br><br>Catch all the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/QDSFhs1cxS">pic.twitter.com/QDSFhs1cxS</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1717040516494414265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tip-off between the Hawks and the Taipans is at 7:30pm AEDT on Thursday night. Fans can watch the game live on ESPN via Kayo Sports.