Culture Build Roth's Top Goal

By Dan Woods - NBL Media

Tasmania JackJumpers head coach Scott Roth still has significant room for growth, both on and off the court, despite its fairytale first season. 

Roth helped lead the JackJumpers to a 17-11 record in its inaugural season last year, good enough to scrape into the final playoff position at the expense of the well-established Perth Wildcats.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">To our partners, members and fans thank you for your incredible support in our historic inaugural season. We felt the love from around the world and can’t wait to do it all again, bring on NBL23 ? <a href="https://t.co/xZgKK6DcyZ">pic.twitter.com/xZgKK6DcyZ</a></p>&mdash; Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1524661255411474434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tasmania then went on to defeat regular season winners Melbourne United in the semi-finals, before falling to the Sydney Kings in the grand final.

“Everyone’s asking the question ‘what’s next?’. The reality is, and we’re trying to deal with the reality, is every season’s a new journey regardless of where you finish,” Roth said on The Huddle.

“For me the reality is [we've played] 34 games in the existence of the franchise. We finished fifth and then all of a sudden in six or seven seconds we finished fourth ... we had a great year and won 17 (regular season) games, no doubt about it.

“[It] has to be realised that we’re in the infancy of what we’re doing here.

“I’ve said all along the number one thing was to get high character guys, humble guys and most importantly build a culture that’s sustainable.”

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Despite the club still very much being in its "infancy", the foundations of the team Roth is looking to build are well and truly noticeable.

The ‘grit and grind’, underdog mentality of the JackJumpers has endeared them to the wider Australian sporting audience. Their run to the finals was one of the sporting stories of the country last year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you Tasmania for your support for the 22/23 season! ?<br><br>MyState Bank Arena memberships are currently sold out.<br><br>You can still join the Ant Army by purchasing a supporter membership and keep your eyes peeled for a new and exciting way to support the JackJumpers coming soon! <a href="https://t.co/q2Ab0Gjdql">pic.twitter.com/q2Ab0Gjdql</a></p>&mdash; Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1558976159958040576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Roth says continuing to build that identity and culture will be a key part of the organisation’s sustainability.

“What I’m trying to build down here is an identity that can resonate throughout Australia, that when kids grow up or when you think about the JackJumpers you think ‘this’,” he said.

“It’s the same with Perth, when you think of Perth you think of tradition, winning, playoffs, 35 straight years, it’s just there.

“I don’t know how many teams have an identity in the NBL, I think there’s a few, I want to be one of the ones that when people think about playing for the JackJumpers they know x, y and z.

“You’re going to have to play defence, you’re going to have to be tough minded, there is no bullsh*t down here. It’s accountability, sacrifice, check your ego at the door and let’s see if we can do this together.”

Tasmanian basketball has had an incredible rise in recent years, with memberships for the club's 2022/2023 campaign selling out in minutes.