On the Ball: Tatum lauds young gun

Tyler Harvey and JaVale McGee were huge as the Illawarra Hawks got an important win in Perth, but Kiwi Jackson Ball was every bit as important, according to coach Justin Tatum.

The Hawks beat the Wildcats on Saturday night by a point thanks to a dominant finish from three-time NBA champion JaVale McGee, who ended up with 24 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.

Then there was Tyler Harvey, who was huge too with 24 points, eight assists and five three-pointers, but their teenage starter was every bit as crucial as the defending champions improved to 2-4.

Ball joined the Hawks late this season after his commitments with Napier Boys’ High School at New Zealand’s Nationals AA Boys tournament, and made his NBL debut last Saturday.

He has continued to impress coach Tatum to the point he started in Perth on Saturday night and played over 32 minutes for two points and five rebounds, but his impact was highlighted with the best plus/minus on his team.

The Hawks were +8 against the Wildcats with Ball on the court and for Tatum, it was simply about rewarding him for earning the opportunity.

"It's not just about having confidence in him, this young man worked his tail off for it," Tatum said. "As soon as he got here from high school, he still has to go take his exams in a couple of weeks, he had a challenge of going against Swak [Wani Swaka Lo Buluk] and TB [Todd Blanchfield] and never backed down.

"Right now, we needed somebody with his skill set of having composure and who could competently put the ball in the hole.

"This young man is a very talented kid and we're going to keep using him as we can."

Ball, part of the competition’s impressive crop of young stars, has a calm head on his young shoulders and was excited at the chance to start in Perth, but was ready for the challenge with the grounding he's already got playing against men in the NZ NBL.

Ball averaged 20.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists this past season with the Hawke’s Bay Hawks, so already is finding himself feeling comfortable on an NBL floor.

"I got told (about starting) by JK (Joel Khalu) and I was pretty pumped, hey. Obviously, it was a bit of a surprise, but I've been working really hard at trainings and was happy to have the chance to get out there and start," Ball said.

"I've been playing against men for four years now so know what it takes to be physical with them. I might have got a little bit too excited in the first half and I had three fouls, but it's just about being able to be as physical as I can and finding ways to help our team win.

"I didn’t put the ball in the hole, I don’t think, but did enough to help the team win and that's all I wanted to do."

The Hawks return home to host New Zealand in Round 7, with the Indigenous Round fixture tipping off at 7.30pm AEDT on Friday, live on ESPN.