The Snakes' Secret to NBL23 Success

There’s something special happening in Cairns according to import guard Tahjere McCall.

After finishing NBL22 second from bottom, the Taipans re-thought and re-tooled under head coach Adam Forde and their crop of new and exciting talent is leading the way for the club’s first finals push since 2020.

Cairns has been the antithesis of Illawarra this season. The Hawks dropped from second last season to bottom this year, and have lost a ridiculous amount of games by less than 10 points. The Snakes, on the other hand, seem to have a knack for winning the tight ones.

McCall puts it down to the rare off-court chemistry the group has.

“We’re a family of brothers. That’s what you see in our close games – and we’ve had a lot of close games – that’s the difference between winning and losing,” McCall said on The Huddle.

“Who can be the most poised, know their role and do what they do. I think that’s been the biggest thing, everybody stepping up their intensity, wanting to win and seeing we have a chance to do something special.

“This has been one of the rarest teams I’ve been a part on in terms of however deep you go everybody can hang with everybody and not feel any sense of awkwardness and can be themselves.

“It’s changed the outlook of the game for me because I actually enjoy coming to practice and being around them. On my worst days it really is a blessing to be around them.

“It just makes you look at basketball in the sense of what you think is important and what matters a little differently.”

McCall has been one of multiple players to step up in the absence of Keanu Pinder, who is locked in to return against the JackJumpers on Friday night.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">?????? ???????? ?<br><br>Our MVP candidate Keanu Pinder will make his highly- anticipated return on Friday night against Tasmania! <br><br>? Be there: <a href="https://t.co/0flhkmm6zB">https://t.co/0flhkmm6zB</a><br>? Details: <a href="https://t.co/AdLiFbMdml">https://t.co/AdLiFbMdml</a> <a href="https://t.co/EpHT8LIeDK">pic.twitter.com/EpHT8LIeDK</a></p>&mdash; Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1615937695062331393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Earlier in the season NBL analyst and host of The Huddle Liam Santamaria said he believed the Taipans were “one Keanu Pinder ankle roll away” from struggling. The Taipans have proved Santamaria – and countless others – wrong by winning their six games without the star centre.

Sam Waardenburg has stepped up in the centre position in Pinder’s absence, but McCall says it’s been a team effort to cover for the returning MVP candidate.

“We have a different leading scorer almost every other game or a different person play and have a significant impact on the game. No one is mad, no one is selfish about that, and that shows the team and the group we are off the court,” he said.

“We’ve got some dogs. You don’t need centres if you’ve got some dogs.

“All it takes is a little fight, it doesn’t matter how big you are. I think that’s a big piece. Even when I went out at the beginning of the year it was like nothing happened. We’ve got some dogs on this team.

“Everyone has sacrificed something to be here and to be a part of it so why not make it the most we can make it and try to win this while we have a chance. That’s all we’re locked in on, just keep getting better each week because it’s going to be a tough road.”