Preview: Tasmania vs Illawarra - Round 15, NBL24

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Three losses in four games has seen Tasmania lose touch with the top two. Can the Hawks continue to establish themselves?

Friday, January 12 at 7:30pm AEDT | MyState Bank Arena

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | Sky Sport in NZ | International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

Tasmania fell to its third loss in four games in the opening match of Round 15 against Brisbane. A Chris Smith three with one second remaining sunk the JackJumpers in a low-scoring affair at Nissan Arena.

Scott Roth has stated his desire to turn Jack McVeigh into the “the Jesse Wagstaff of the JackJumpers” in terms of his versatility, culture fit and championship winning impact. Roth was an assistant at the Wildcats from 2019-2021.

Justin Tatum believes the Hawks should not only be targeting a place in the NBL24 finals, rather, the competitiveness of the group means they should be looking at a title run.

ESPN's Olgun Uluc has reported that Tyler Harvey’s potential citizenship status early next year will see him be a more valuable commodity on the free agency market come season’s end. Should he become an Australian citizen Harvey would not count towards a team’s import limit.

The Hawks are currently on a three-game winning streak. Their most recent loss came at the hands of the JackJumpers in Round 12.

Tasmania
77-80 loss to Brisbane
103-86 win over Cairns
93-98 loss to New Zealand

Illawarra
116-78 win over South East Melbourne
91-84 win over Adelaide
94-90 win over Sydney

Jack McVeigh
Any comparison to a person like Jesse Wagstaff needs to be made carefully. After all, he may not have been a headline stealer for much of his career but Wagstaff is a six-time champion and one of the all-time great players of the NBL’s most storied franchise. Scott Roth is one person who is in a position to make comparisons like that though.

Following Tasmania’s loss to Brisbane on Wednesday, Roth detailed how he wants Jack McVeigh to be the JackJumpers’ equivalent of the Wildcats legend, partially in a positional sense, but mostly in a cultural sense.

There are definite parallels between how McVeigh and Wagstaff go about their business. They can both step out and hit the three-ball but also crash and bash inside, they’re both the cultural barometer and spiritual leader to their sides, and they’re willing to step out of the limelight for flashier teammates, but continue to chip away and be effective in their roles.

Both Wagstaff and McVeigh are two of the most respected and likeable individuals off the court the NBL has to offer, but they’re killers on the court when they cross that line.

Although Wagstaff’s powers have waned with age, don’t get it twisted – that’s a big compliment from Scott Roth.

“When I got him here I said ‘can you be the Wagstaff of the JackJumpers?’ The younger version of Jesse, but the kind of player that can stretch the floor and do a lot of things. The next thing for him is to win some championships like Jesse has.” – Scott Roth following the loss to Brisbane.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jack McVeigh is HUSTLING ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/ets9mawmeu">pic.twitter.com/ets9mawmeu</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1745023094756888916?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sam Froling
The entirety of the Hawks roster has bounced since Justin Tatum was appointed as interim head coach, but has any Illawarra player improved more under the American than Sam Froling?

Earlier this season Damon Lowery issued Froling a challenge to take his level from good to great, and the fringe Boomer has answered in dramatic fashion. It may be easy to forget he’s yet to turn 24, but Froling is starting to showcase the dominant level of play he’s looked capable of producing since he burst onto the NBL scene.

Froling has scored fewer than 16 points just twice in eight appearances under Tatum, and although his rebounding and assist numbers have dipped slightly when compared to last season, there’s been a marked improvement in almost every other metric.

With the current standing of a number of World Cup representative Boomers currently in flux, there could be a handful of places on the plane to the Olympics this year – and Froling is raising his hand to earn a maiden major tournament berth.

“From college I’ve had a frontcourt-mate that can score at will like Sam does, and now it’s almost like an automatic assist because he knows where I am and I know where he is. When I see the mismatch I see everyone else but I’m hunting Sam because I know he has the mismatch … you try to find your guy when he’s down there working.” – Gary Clark on Sam Froling following the win over South East Melbourne.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sam Froling cannot miss ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@illawarrahawks</a> star has converted all 9?? field goals. <br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/7fg2TLsLnx">pic.twitter.com/7fg2TLsLnx</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1743213867595878576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Milton Doyle vs Tyler Harvey
JackJumpers star Milton Doyle endured a completely justifiable lean patch of form in recent weeks, but the All-NBL23 First Team nominee has been back to his best in Tasmania’s last two fixtures.

Doyle added 31 points in his side’s only win in its last four games in Round 14 against the Taipans, before he added a team-high 19 points in Wednesday’s loss to Brisbane in a game in which the entire JackJumpers team struggled from the field.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Milton Doyle dropped a season-high in his last outing, and the <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JackJumpers</a> are 6-0 whenever he scores at least 19 points in NBL24 ?<br><br>Can the star guard get the job done against the Bullets tonight? ?<br><br>Catch Doyle in action tonight at 7:30am AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/W0trfuFMnd">pic.twitter.com/W0trfuFMnd</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1744970276730003861?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hawks star Tyler Harvey, on the other hand, seems to be sacrificing his own game for the betterment of the team, which is a far cry from last year’s offensive strategy that, at times, looked like it was Harvey or bust.

He attempted just four shots and scored seven points in Illawarra’s blowout win over the Phoenix – however Illawarra cleared its bench early in the 38-point win. Before that he scored 11 points in the win over Adelaide, and 15 in the win over Sydney.

The fact the Hawks are finding ways to win while still having Harvey’s x-factor and very, very proven ability in the clutch sitting in their back pocket should be a terrifying prospect for the teams currently around them on the ladder.

Both Doyle and Harvey can win games on their own, but they’ve both showed a willingness to take a back seat to teammates who are in form or on a hot streak.

Those types of selfless superstars border on priceless in the current landscape of world basketball.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tyler Harvey put that in a stocking ?<br><br>Watch the NBL on Christmas Day Live and Free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies / 10 Peach & 10 Play ? <a href="https://t.co/gbxKqqBfBM">pic.twitter.com/gbxKqqBfBM</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1739231426694762549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Illawarra Hawks haven't won four straight games since rounds 17-19 in NBL22, while the JackJumpers haven't lost four games out of five since rounds two to four in the same season. Which streak continues?

Gettyimages 1921765469
Sean Macdonald.