'Salty' Doyle jumps to Magnay defence

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Milton Doyle believes Will Magnay will have a point to prove in the Finals after he was overlooked for a key NBL award.

Will Magnay is one of the strongest defensive forces in the NBL, and his JackJumpers teammate Milton Doyle still believes the fact the shot-blocker was not named the competition’s Best Defensive Player is a “joke”.

Magnay was nominated for the award alongside Brisbane’s Sam McDaniel and eventual winner Shea Ili. He was also nominated for the Best Sixth Man award, which eventually went to Tasmania’s Sean Macdonald.

“I’m salty about that,” Doyle said of the perceived snub of Magnay. “It’s still a joke and I think he’s got a lot to prove in the Playoffs.

“We’ll continue to see him do what he does. He gets blocks, he defends one through five and he’s going to shine offensively.

“I think he’ll do the same thing, but he’s had a chip on his shoulder since I met him. That’s all of the guys here.

“They all have something to prove, and that’s the way we go about it and the way we play.”

A third-placed finish in the regular season has seen Tasmania earn a home Seeding Qualifier against the Illawarra Hawks, and the final ladder position cemented the JackJumpers third top-four finish in three years.

No other side in the NBL has registered a top four finish across NBL22, NBL23 and NBL24 outside of the newest team in the competition.

Despite their consistent high finishes, the JackJumpers are yet to win an NBL title in their short history, but head coach Scott Roth says it’s worth recognising his club’s achievements over its first three seasons.

“I think you embrace it as it comes, but I also think you have to be humble about this. This is not the norm, and especially for expansion teams this is not the norm,” Roth said.

“There have been quite a few teams over the last few years that have not even come close to what we’ve done, but have been trying extremely hard to get things across the line.

“You don’t take it for granted what we’re doing here, you appreciate it and try to grab opportunities with two hands.”

The JackJumpers and Hawks will clash in the Seeding Qualifier on Wednesday night at 5:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.