Locke
Years ago
Team Ratings Part 2- Illawarra Hawks
Backcourt - Kevin White, Cedric Jackson, Jordair Jett, Daniel Grida, Emmett Naar.
Backcourt Rating: C+
Illawarra Steer away from their 3pt shooting Identity, going with a more physical guard lineup. While Jordair Jett and Cedric are proven commodities in what was "weaker" NBL years, no one can deny in 2018 they fall under lackluster signings.
Cedric is still not to be underestimated, his defense and play-making ability will be crucial for the Hawks. Jett is going to get them into the paint, if he can deliver like he did for the Crocs, Hawks backcourt will be much harder for opponents to guard, but that is a big "if". Jett is certainly playing in a much improved and tougher league than what he did when he was with the Crocs. There is some positives with the addition of Naar and Grida, both provide good depth and are proven 3pt shooters who will be handy off the bench.
Naar will be one to watch, a playmaker who shot 42 percent from deep at St. Marys is nothing to scoff at, very excited to see how he develops over the 3 year contract period. Grida is another young gun with a great future, hit the 3 at a 39 percent clip last year, which would be giving Bevo a hard-on.
Hawks looking to the future with Bevo hoping to strike gold through development and mimic Joey's success with young Aussie talent.
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Frontcourt - David Anderson, AJ Ogilvy, Brian Conklin, Todd Blanchfield, Tim Coenraad
Frontcourt Rating: B
Great to see Anderson back where he began his basketball journey. Nowhere near the same player but still has the ability to score from everywhere. Weak interior defender, but obviously not signed for defense.
The Conklin signing is an odd one, money must be tight in the Hawks nest. After his last NBL stint you'd expect to never hear his name again on an NBL team. Can't see him lasting long... Logged junk minutes in France that made him look better than he is just because he had a contract with Limoges.
Hawks need a big year from AJ to make the top four. Blanchfield a great addition, he should have a great season under Bevo at the Starting Small forward. A quality player that was misused at Sydney.
This team still feels very weak in 2018... going back to 2014, this would be a powerhouse import trio.
I know I'm on the sams page with many of you in saying not going hard to re-sign Conger was a big mistake. Budget must be seriously tight in Illawarra, however surely you'd go for having only two imports and pay Conger more just to keep a player of his quality? Do they really even need Conklin?!
