McCall Still Searching For Taipans Role

Cairns Taipans guard Tahjere McCall says he is figuring out where he slots into the team due to the strong performances the Taipans are demonstrating.

McCall made his return to the line-up in last week’s win over the Brisbane Bullets, playing 22 minutes off the bench. He had been sidelined since round 2 of the season after sustaining a hip injury.

During his time on the sidelines Cairns has emerged as a genuine championship contender and McCall is working out where he fits back into the squad.

“The guys were flowing with me out, so I’m just trying to figure out where I can be of help and still play my game, but not take away from too much that’s been going on because they’ve been playing great,” McCall said.

McCall enjoyed playing the role of ‘coach’ whilst on the bench and it opened his eyes in what he needs to do moving forward.

“It was great, you get to see a lot when you take yourself out of the equation and watch without a biased input,” he said.

“I got to see what the team does in certain scenarios and how they respond, and you build more of a trust factor, so it was great.”

The Taipans are third on the ladder at 6-3, behind just the New Zealand Breakers and Sydney Kings.

Assistant coach Sam Gruggen is confident the Taipans will finish off the season strong and head into the finals hopefully claiming a title.

“For us we repeat, we outwork, we hustle,” Gruggen said.

“We come in here and we work hard, players pay rent, coaches pay rent, and we want to make sure we put a good product on the floor for our community.

“We know how effective, productive and amazing we can be on the offensive, and if we can do that consistently every game and put that kind of performance in against New Zealand then we feel pretty confident about it.

“Offensively we can get out and run and hit some shots and it’s an exciting brand of basketball to watch.”

The Taipans host the New Zealand Breakers on Friday night at 7:30pm AEDT.