Illawarra Hawks players are still angry, and coach Rob Beveridge doesn't want it any other way.
While all the Championship talk has centred on the star-studded outfits of Perth and Melbourne United, the Hawks are quietly confident of bucking the odds to become a contender for a third-straight NBL season.
Illawarra defied the doubters by reaching last season's grand-final series, but injuries and bad fortune meant they could barely fire a shot when the title was on the line.
Firstly, a jam-packed schedule meant the Hawks had less than 72 hours to travel to Perth to play in the grand-final opener.
Import Marvelle Harris missed game one after flying to the US to be with his critically ill father.
The jet-lagged guard returned for games two and three, but was physically underdone and overwhelmed with grief as the Wildcats secured a 3-0 sweep.
Star Hawks big man AJ Ogilvy carried an ankle injury into the series and was a shadow of himself.
And Illawarra were also on the receiving end of the Bryce Cotton blitzkrieg, with the Wildcats' import draining 45 points in game three to secure the title.
Despite the extenuating circumstances, Beveridge said the pain of being swept in the series still hurt.
"We're pretty pissed off with how we did perform in the grand final. Our players are still hurting from that final," Beveridge said.
"We didn't have our full complement together in the grand final to allow us to play our best basketball.
"I was really pissed off that (people say), 'Oh, you got swept - you got smashed in the finals'.
"Well, hang on a second. We got smashed by Cotton. He put on one of the greatest individual performances that you'll see in the history of the NBL."
Hawks players returned to pre-season training early to try to give their title hopes an extra boost.
The bulk of last season's squad has been retained - bar the imports.
Harris and Michael Holyfield have departed, with the Hawks recruiting Demitrius Conger and Delvon Johnson.
Cotton's grand-final heroics clearly showed Beveridge he needed to boost his team's star power on the import front to allow the Hawks to contend this season.
The Hawks are pinning their hopes on Conger to become a star.
"The guy is special," Beveridge said ahead of Friday night's clash with the Taipans in Cairns.
"I was looking for a Casey Prather-Torrey Craig type of player, and that's what I've got.
"He could be a triple-double type of player. He's a complete player."
Share
