A strong team performance – that’s what Bathurst Goldminers coach Andrew Osborn thinks can propel his Basketball NSW Waratah Youth League men's division two outfit into the competition’s top five on Saturday night.
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While that might seem pretty obvious, Osborn feels that if each of his players can deliver when they take on the Hawkesbury Jets it will lead to success at the Bathurst Indoor Stadium, and that success would almost definitely lead to a rise on the league ladder.
His belief stems from what he saw last Sunday when a well-rounded performance from his squad saw it pile on 104 points against Moss Vale, and it’s largely because the side has so heavily relied on Orange’s Matt Gray and Bathurst’s Will Cranstown-Lown all season.
“We spoke about in the changeroom on Sunday morning – the fact that there needs to be more team involvement rather than leaving it to guys like Will [Cranston-Lown] and Matt [Gray] to take it upon their own shoulders to try and do everything,” he said.
“That sunk in. They created the shot, but when there was someone in better position, we made the pass and we finished.”
There is little doubt that Gray and Cranston-Lown, who have scored 335 points between them through the first six rounds, will still be a key to victory against the Jets.
Gray’s accounted for 201 of them to lead the league and his average of 33.5 per game is simply astounding.
But Osborn anticipates the duo will also be a focus for their rivals’ defence.
That is why he wants the rest of his squad to lift, take the pressure off Gray and Cranstown-Lown and capitalise on the extra space they’re are likely to be afforded.
“They’d know about Matt and Will because any coach worth his salt does his homework. Every game we’ve played this year, they have been targeted,” the coach said.
“We’re are reasonably confident of winning. I still won’t have Kobe [Mansell] back, but by the same token, both Ben [Matthews] and James [Gogala] are getting better and better with each game and that’s confidence.
“Nathan [Germech], it was certainly good to have him back last week. He makes a big difference, particularly in defence with his pull downs, he gets off the ground very, very well.”
Tip-off on Saturday night is at 6pm and Osborn is hoping for plenty of support.
“If we get a crowd there like we have had previously, that always helps. [It] makes a big difference,” he said.