Systematic Bullets Build Ready for Next Stage

The Brisbane Bullets are starting from almost scratch in NBL24.

After starting the off-season with just Aron Baynes and Nathan Sobey contracted, new head coach Justin Schueller has systematically recruited players he believes can play key roles in playing his defence-first system at the club.

Isaac White, Sam McDaniel, Mitch Norton and Josh Bannan will all be new faces at the club come the first tip of the season, while Tyrell Harrison has extended his contract and DJ Mitchell’s team option was picked up.

Suddenly the Bullets have both proven talent and youthful exuberance on their roster, with a number of key positions still to be filled.

Schueller says now some key names have been locked away, it’s time to begin the identity shift of the entire club ahead of NBL24.

“I’m big on data and knowing what winning looks like in this league starts, always, at the defensive end,” Schueller said on The Huddle. “That’s really where we went to in the next part of the recruitment – what are the key pieces that we need at that end of the floor?

“We know we’ll be able to make up enough points in the way we play but it’s about ‘how gritty can we be at that end of the floor?’

“Isaac White became in important piece of that as a two-way player who just played with a bit of an edge, Sam McDaniel, my time with him at Melbourne United and having seen him guard the best players in the comp and be a bit of defensive stopper, he became a priority.

“Then it was about what youth we can bring in who is going to be who we want to be for a long time.

“Josh Bannan was one that I’d already sat in the Melbourne meeting as a recruiting piece in trying to get him in so that was a bit of a unique on to then put a different hat on… for him to pick us and want to be a part of where we’re going, people are going to see a totally different Bullets way.”

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Brisbane still has a pair of marquee slots available for the upcoming season, and after running with a pair of imports last season, Schueller says the club is targeting a point guard and a wing.

Tyler Johnson became an immense influence of the bench for the side last season and earned a nomination for the NBL’s Sixth Man of the Year Award, while Devondrick Walker and Andrew White III both spent time on the roster in NBL23.

“The thing that was really identified straight away was we needed a point guard, and that will be an import point guard for us now,” Schueller said.

“We will [also] be looking for an import wing.”

In terms of the wing position, a familiar face reached out to Schueller to offer congratulations once the former Melbourne United assistant was awarded the Bullets’ coaching job. Three-time NBL champion Casey Prather.

Prather is currently playing alongside Adelaide’s Antonius Cleveland for Hapoel Eilat in Israel and was named as the Israeli League MVP in 2021.

Casey Prather (L) won three titles his first three seasons in the NBL - two with Perth and one with Melbourne.

Since his MVP season in the competition though, he’s been struck down with injuries, including a broken kneecap this past pre-season.

Schueller said, tongue in cheek, that he won’t rule out a return to the NBL for the former All-NBL First Team selection.

“The funniest thing was when I got the job Casey hit me up and was like ‘hey, congrats mate,” Scheuller reflected.

“I wasn’t expecting to hear from him but that was a cool thing, when you get announced just the people you’ve dealt with over the years reach out.

“That quickly delved into telling me that he’s good to go, I’m not sure he is but we’ll see.

“It’s a funny thing when you put something out there like that and it comes to be that you get the guy you were originally talking about.”