Coach Dean Demopoulos has labelled Casper Ware's team-first contribution "eye-opening" after the energetic American showed he's the previously missing piece in the Melbourne United NBL puzzle.
In just his second appearance for United, recent arrival Ware lit up Hisense Arena with a long three-pointer with two seconds remaining to knock off the ladder-leading Sydney Kings 95-92 in a high-class thriller on Saturday night.
It's surely no coincidence that United have won both games since Ware's arrival following a miserable season start which left them last and prompted import predecessor Cedric Jackson's exit.
After showing flashes of his high-energy game in his first start against Cairns, Ware finished the clash with the Kings with 28 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Demopoulos has been impressed with his new point guard's work ethic at both ends of the floor and willingness to share the ball.
"That's how you gain respect from your teammates ... do those things," said Demopoulos.
"And he's done them the first two times out and it's eye-opening."
Ware demonstrated he's a man for the big moment, also hitting two crucial free throws in the final minute to give United a 92-89 lead, before Sydney counterpart Kevin Lisch responded with three foul shots of his own to tie the game.
While his game-winning triple will live long in the memory of United fans, Ware's ability to drive to the basket and score over larger opponents or find an open teammate also stood out.
"My jump shot is not really consistent right now so I have to show them something else they have to respect," said Ware.
"Ss getting to the rim is going to open up my jumper even more and give even more open looks and even open up my teammates a little bit more as I get to the rim more."
Having endured a tough start to the season, Demopoulos is now feeling good about his current state of his talented squad with the addition of Ware and return of prolific scorer Chris Goulding from injury playing a big part.
Demopoulos was also pleased to see United close out a tight match against a quality Sydney outfit, something that will only benefit his side as they look to climb the ladder through the second half of the season."WWe are just going to get better at it, hopefully," he said. "Games like that tonight help you do that.United will be gunning for three straight wins when they host the New Zealand Breakers next Sunday and Demopoulos is expecting another tough battle. "The competition is very even and I think you saw two really hungry teams," he said. "The whole league is like that and it's going to be that way the rest of the way out."
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