Turning It Around: Justin Schueller's New Culture Club

Photo: Brisbane Bullets Media.  

After seasons filled with apparent roadblocks and off-court struggles, there looks to be a new dawn at the Brisbane Bullets under Justin Schueller. A new coach, a new staff, a new team, and, most importantly, a new outlook.

The Bullets have been an organisation racked with apparent discontent and disorganisation over the past few seasons. Their ninth-placed finish in NBL23 under the work of three separate head coaches proved that.

After a gloriously successful time as an assistant coach with Melbourne United and as head coach of the Australian U/17 national program – otherwise known as the Crocs – Schueller has stepped into his first NBL head coaching job with one goal in mind - to push on.

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“An analogy I like to use is that a Bullet can only move forward, which is where my mindset was when initially talking to the club,” Schueller told NBL Media. “What has been in the past is in the past.

“Perception is not always reality, and when I did my homework on the club it was very clear there was going to be a new direction from ownership, and the introduction of Stu Lash was a key piece to that as well.

“It’s driven from the top down, but at the same time we’re also about those people who want to buy in straight away – that’s a key pillar of who we want to be.

“One of our key questions when recruiting players has been ‘what player do you want to be?’. Mitch Norton, for example – the first thing he said to me was he wants to be in an environment where he gets to get better, and that ticked a box for me straight away.

“We want guys who want to do the work daily, who want to put winning first, and who know what it takes in that space. That’s an important part of turning the culture of the club around.”

Schueller has been on a signing spree through the NBL off-season, and it’s a spree that has extended beyond the on-court performers.

Norton has been joined by star collegiate recruit Josh Bannan, former Tasmania pair Isaac White and Sam McDaniel, and ex-Cairns import Shannon Scott on the roster for next season – alongside the remaining quartet of Aron Baynes, Nathan Sobey, Tyrell Harrison and DJ Mitchell.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Get used to seeing Josh Bannan in yellow and blue, Bullets fans ??<br><br>The 22-year-old sat down with <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Pacers</a> Media after his first NBA pre-draft workout with the club ??<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/429AIUFlvb">https://t.co/429AIUFlvb</a> <a href="https://t.co/4J0PZfonHN">pic.twitter.com/4J0PZfonHN</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1666280643670704133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

As impressive as some of those signings loom to be, arguably the most high-profile signing Schueller has made largely flew under the radar of the mainstream media – and that’s the acquisition of three-time NBL champion and legend of Victorian basketball, Darryl McDonald, as an assistant coach.

“When you put a staff together you need guys that have their points of difference, but also guys who you know are going to get into the fire with you,” Schueller said. 

“With D-Mac, when he knew I was getting closer and closer to getting the job he told me he was available, and I was like ‘are you for real?’. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get him out of Victoria.

“D-Mac and I worked so well together in our time at Melbourne United. We see the game in similar ways, and his experience as a player, I feel, was really important to add to the staff.

“We want to be seen as a bit of a destination club where you come and get better. We use the term ‘a move through program’.

“We don’t want you to come and finish you career at the Bullets, we want to you come and move onto another level. Whether that’s going on to be a Boomer, or earning an opportunity in Europe or the NBA, that’s where we want the mindset of young guys coming into our program to be.

“He’s a guy I knew I could depend on, game in, game out, and I know he’s not only going to see what we need to see when we need to see it, but he also has a great ability to develop individual talent.”

The Bullets’ basketball program has been gutted and rebuilt since their final game of last season, but one key player has remained - Greg Vanderjagt.

Vanderjagt was the third man to have a crack at leading the Bullets as head coach last season, and now, with the introduction of Schueller, has returned to his role as an assistant, despite stating in his final press conference as interim coach that he “would love to take on the challenge” of being the full-time head coach.

In the same line, though, Vanderjagt also stated he would “love to stay” with the Bullets regardless of what his eventual role would become, and, true to his word, he has remained in Brisbane to support his long-time friend Schueller.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> campaign over, Bullets coach Greg Vanderjagt spoke on his future at the club. <a href="https://t.co/kIGfbeC7dv">pic.twitter.com/kIGfbeC7dv</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1621847187494948864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“We were having dialogue through that whole season … obviously Greg had been my assistant with the Australian Crocs, so there’s a comfort level there,” Schueller said.

“We’ve always had a really open relationship, so he knew I was in the mix. He was probably championing me getting the role as much as he was wanting to keep it.

“When it went my way, it was always going to go hand in glove, he and I working together again.

“We had a great experience with the Crocs in Spain last year, and now we get to do it at the pro level.”

Brisbane’s opening game of the NBL24 campaign will come on Friday, September 29 against Adelaide.