THINGS are going pretty good overall at the moment. I think at the start of the SBL season I sort of took a step back just trying to play my role for team like I did for Illawarra, but I probably have to be one of our go-to guys with the Senators. It took me a couple of weeks to get into the groove and to get that aggressive mindset back. Right now I feel like I'm playing well so I can't complain.

One thing I make sure I do is give every game everything I've got whether it's the NBL or SBL. You don’t know how long your basketball career is going to last so you have to take advantage of every game you get. I use this league right now as a bit of a confidence booster as well just to try and get better every game I play, and bring as much energy to the team as I can.

As a team, we've certainly got the talent and I think the depth to make a good run come playoffs. One thing that is frustrating for us right now is that we've only had one training where we've all been together the whole season. That makes it hard to try and stay on the same page, but everyone has work commitments and other things they need to deal with. But we are starting to gel right now despite a bit of a hiccup last week against the Redbacks. Other than that we are getting better every game.

It's just awesome getting to play under dad again this season too. It's been about eight years since I played under him in juniors so it's a lot of fun and it's good to spend so much time with him after being away at college and then in Sydney and Wollongong for so long. It's always good when we get home and we see mum and my wife sitting back bored as dad and I are talking about basketball all the time, and coming up with what we can do better. But it's a lot of fun to be able to talk with him about everything and to go through it all together. I know I can help to carry out his plans on the court, and he can give his input on my game and I can give him some feedback too. It's working out great.

I was lucky enough to play for him as a junior and it was always a bit of a dream to play under him at this higher level. I've been lucky enough to play under some prolific coaches especially at college under Rick Majerus. He is one of the best of all-time college-wise so he was great for me and I can come back now and even offer some things that I've picked up to help dad's coaching. We kind of feed off each and It's great.

The standard of the SBL keeps getting better and better as well, and it's awesome to see. This is my third year playing now and even from when I started to now, it's got a lot better every year. The imports that are coming in are unbelievable and every team has some awesome imports this year. The standard is so high and I definitely rate it as one of the best leagues in the country and it's great to play in.

Playing under Bevo last season in the NBL with the Hawks was awesome as well. Bevo was great for me and he just instilled a lot of confidence in me. He is one of those coaches who just lets you play your game and that helped me a lot. I've had a couple of individuals with him of late because we are both here in Perth so that's good to stay in touch with him. I will keep building under him and I was very excited to be able to sign to play two more years with him and hopefully we can keep getting better and better.

We haven’t got a date locked in when we will be all getting together over in Wollongong for our pre-season but he is pretty understanding about it all. Even if he wants me over to start pre-season while the SBL season is going, I'll be able to fly back and forward to take part in playoffs and help in our push for that. He is understanding with that which is great.

I'm absolutely here for the long haul and I'll be with our team as long as I can be. I certainly wouldn’t miss taking part in the playoffs if I have the choice. That's the ultimate goal for us to win a championship with Stirling and I think we have a team that can make a push for it. I'm really excited to be part of that.

Article by Cody Ellis
Photo by Deprimo Photography