THE South West Slammers have broken through for their first win of the Men's SBL season and coach Charles Nix is confident things will continue to improve as everyone sorts out their roles within the group.

It's a vastly new-look Slammers group in 2017 from the one that struggled to eight wins in 2016 on the back of a tremendous three-year journey with Ty Harrelson as playing-coach culminating in the 2015 grand final appearance.

The first big change for the Slammers in the off-season was a changeover in coach with Michael Van Lit standing down and then Nix making the move from the Perry Lakes Hawks to return to his hometown to coach the local club.

There were some key retentions led by Tre Nichols, Clive Weeden and Teny Puot and impressive youngsters Travis Durnin and Brody England.

But plenty of experience went out the door with the retirements of Wade Hitchcock and Trent Worthington, and departures of Corey Easley and import Royal Crouch.

Nix admired from afar what Brian Voelkel provided the Slammers back in their grand final season of 2015. He was keen to get him back to the Slammers if possible and was delighted when that happened.

Then the addition of Michael Lay on his return to the SBL gave the Slammers the potential to have a back court capable of being among the best in the league.

That all meant that Nix was happy enough with the squad he had put together coming into 2017 even if the recruitment of experienced big man Ben Smith didn’t eventuate due to his ankle injury.

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But with Voelkel unavailable the opening three weeks and others still finding their groove, the result was losses to the Lakeside Lightning, Perth Redbacks, East Perth Eagles and Stirling Senators.

However, they broke through last Friday night beating the Rockingham Flames on the road 74-65 ahead of a home clash with the winless Mandurah Magic this Saturday night at Eaton Recreation Centre.

That was Voelkel's second game of the season and he delivered 20 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists after also having a near triple-double the previous Sunday against Stirling.

With Nichols also delivering 23 points, the pair put the Slammers on their backs to deliver that first win that they will now look to build on.

Despite the tough start to the season, Nix remains buoyant that things would soon start to click.

"Having Brian back is obviously good for us just so he can be playing with the guys, but I think we've had patches through every game where I've felt pretty confident that just with some slight adjustments it will allow us to get the wins that we are chasing," Nix said.

"I think the schedule has been fairly kind to us only having single games for the first five weeks. Starting 0-4 wasn’t ideal but we've all been in worse situations and turned it around.

"I'm not overly concerned about our current record, it's just more about making the adjustments we need to so we can execute the way we want to down the stretch."

Voelkel arrived back in Bunbury in plenty of time to prepare for the season and was ready to go having been at home in New York since a short stint in the British Basketball League with the London Lions.

However, it took until Week 4 of the season for him to be granted his clearance to play and anyone who knows his passion to get out there and compete for his team would understand how difficult that was for him.

It was especially hard when the team was losing but now that he's back, he helped South West win its first game of the season and has shown he could very well still average a triple-double even with 40-minute games.

Nix is looking forward to seeing him deliver.

"He was really eager to get in and play, it was a long first three weeks for him," he said.

"We were really eager for him to get in there and play as well, but he hasn’t played at this level for over a year so it will take some time for him to adjust as well.

"In saying that, his first couple of games have been pretty good so it's just good to have him out there."

Lay is another proven player at this level that the Slammers have welcomed back to the league this season.

He has had a solid start to his first season in Bunbury. Nix only expects him to continue improving.

"He's also getting used to playing with these guys as well as coming back into the league," he said.

"He's obviously played for a few different clubs but we're a really guard heavy group so it's just about learning to play with other point guards and learning when he should be off the ball and on the ball.

"But Michael's been fantastic. He has fitted in really well, he has a great personality, is a great guy and a really good leader."

It's not all about the experienced players with the Slammers though.

Nix is particularly impressed with the athleticism and ability to deliver in important situations that Durnin is showing while Chris Douglas has been thrown in the deep end and is being asked to fill the role in some ways that Smith was initially recruited for.

England is another young player Nix sees great potential in.

Those players won't be lost in the shuffle of his seasoned veterans as 2017 rolls on.

"Obviously I'd like to be in situations where I can play the kids for longer because we do want to develop and that's a major focus of ours, but I think for us to compete with the best teams a seven, seven and-a-half to eight-man rotation would be perfect," Nix said.

"Chris Douglas is still very young and we see a lot of promise in him. Travis Durnin has played some outstanding games for us and there are times when he's really aggressive on the offensive glass and he can take his opportunities when they present.

"He does a lot of the things that we need to do within our structure. I'm really happy with his progress and Brody England is showing some good signs too so we've got some good young talent coming through."

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