Williams: NBL set to take off

There’s a changing of the guard at South East Melbourne, and the belief that “this is the best shot at a championship” in the club’s history isn’t just limited to part-owner Josh Childress. It spans through the playing roster too.

Only Mitch Creek, Alan Williams, Reuben Te Rangi, Gary Browne and the now fully-rostered Owen Foxwell remain from last year’s playing group, and Mike Kelly is the new man to guide the team to its attempt at title glory.

“It’s an exciting time,” Williams told NBL Media. “I think that all of the new pieces that we have inserted into our program, into our organisation bring a lot of value, bring a lot of depth, bring a lot of knowledge and wisdom and experience and all those great things that you can talk about.

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“I think that mesh with the core that we have coming back with myself, ‘Creeky’, Gary signing, and obviously Reuben Te Rangi, it’s strength to strength.

“I’m just really excited to see how it all unfolds and first impressions.

“I’m just really excited for the future for us.”

New import guard Will Cummings only touched down in Melbourne just over a week ago, and he’s already embedding himself within the fabric of the playing group.

He’s already played for teams in eight different countries over the course of his career, and he’s already impressed with the look of his new team – even without New Zealand World Cup representative Te Rangi.

“We’ve got a lot of talent,” he said. “We’re just trying to put those pieces together and gel as quickly as possible with the new season quickly approaching.

“Any time you have a new group of guys together and a new coach there’s a learning curve.

“We’re trying to get past that learning curve as quickly as possible and put our best foot forward.”

Williams and Cummings warm-up together ahead of a pre-season session - photo via South East Melbourne.

It isn’t just the Phoenix Williams believes is primed for a game-changing season in NBL24. It’s the whole league.

He’s one of 19 former NBA players to be participating in the upcoming campaign, and with the presence of eight NBL Next Stars and established European talents like Cummings, New Zealand’s Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Cairns’ Patrick Miller, the talent-level in the NBL has never been higher.

Williams has already committed his immediate future to the Phoenix, and he’s excited to be involved in the continuing growth of the league.

“We’re on the cusp of the NBL being something extremely massive,” he said. “In my mind as I'm mulling over re-signing, or potentially going somewhere else and playing for more money, I saw an opportunity to be a part of something that's building that's ready to take off.

“I want to be a part of that, boom, I want to be a focal point in the NBA, I want to be an advocate for bringing people to Australia and growing the game here. Because I think Australia globally is starting to expand all around.

“Larry (Kestelman) has done an amazing job of getting the NBL to this point. And he just needs more people around like me, welcoming more talented imports to come over to really enrich themselves and gain a lot from the experience here in Australia.

“I think Tommy Greer and the staff [at South East Melbourne] have done an amazing job of bringing good talent and providing us stuff off the court that helps to make things a lot easier.

“The place I stay in, having a car available for us through the club. It’s those kinds of things that really do a lot for bringing high quality imports over.”

South East Melbourne will open its NBL24 season against Melbourne United on September 28 before playing its first home game of the season on October 1.