Lowery ready to "pass the torch"

If not this year, then soon. That’s the onus Illawarra Hawks legend Damon Lowery has placed on his former club to add to its solitary championship, and he believes Justin Tatum is the right person to take them back to the pinnacle of the NBL.

Lowery played a crucial role in the only title in Hawks history, when they triumphed over the Townsville Crocodiles in 2001 in a three-game series.

The Hawks are currently on the longest title drought of any team in the NBL to have previously won a championship. The Taipans, Phoenix and JackJumpers are yet to lift the competition’s ultimate glory, since entering the competition in 1999, 2018 and 2022 respectively.

“They got the right man for the job,” Lowery said on NBL Now.

“What that does is it stabilises the entire community. Everybody now doesn’t have to worry about what’s going to happen next year, if it’s the right guy, blah blah blah. All those distractions are now gone, and we can focus on the job at hand.

“The belief is sky high, can they go on a run and win it all? It’s going to be hard coming from fourth, but it’s very possible and if it doesn’t happen this year hopefully it happens in a couple of years under the Justin Tatum administration. I’d love to see another chip, like I’ve been saying for years – it’s been hard carrying this burden of the only title in 23 years of this franchise. I’m ready to pass the torch.

“Everybody on the job from one to 12, the DPs, the support staff, everybody knows who is driving the bus, and Justin Tatum is driving the bus. They believe in this dude and Justin Tatum is the best thing to happen in Wollongong for a long time.”

The Hawks’ first task if they are to progress all the way to the Championship Series will be to overcome an in-form Tasmania JackJumpers side in Wednesday night’s Seeding Qualifier.

The two teams will face off at MyState Bank Arena, where the JackJumpers have won four of their last five games.

The only defeat in that run was the double-overtime thriller against the Hawks in Round 15, where Illawarra prevailed by a solitary point,

Lowery praised the impact the Tasmanian home crowd has on its team.

“The JackJumpers home crowd I think is worth at least 12 points. If they’re down, they’ll bring them up, and they can blow the doors off of you. These little poisonous ants, they march, they’ve probably been sleeping outside MyState Bank Arena – they’ll show up in droves,” he said.

“The city is on lockdown in a good way and the atmosphere is going to be electric. Full credit to the JackJumpers, they’re going to take some beating, but the Illawarra Hawks are very capable.

“Make no mistake, the last time the Hawks were there it was a double-overtime game and they came out with the win. They’re not just going to give it to the JackJumpers, they’re going to have to earn it.”

Wednesday night’s Seeding Qualifier between Tasmania and Illawarra will tip off at 5:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.