1 week Ago By Agron Latifi
Two down, two to go. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading At the start of December, Justin Tatum stated that his Illawarra Hawks could win their four upcoming challenging games against the Perth Wildcats, Melbourne United, Perth and Sydney Kings.
On Friday night, the Hawks made it two from two after a breakthrough win over United in Melbourne. The Hawks' 106-93 win at John Cain Arena improved their win/loss record to a league-leading 10-5. As importantly, the performance showed Tatum's team was the real deal and a genuine championship contender.
The Hawks' coach was also happy to pick up just his second win over United in nine outings in Melbourne. But Tatum said the round 12 win wasn't a top-tier win as United were missing key players Chris Goulding and Rob Lee. He was, however, happy to see his team play well for four quarters and fight through adversity.
"I'm happy how they trusted each other out there. I'm happy how they encouraged each other not to get caught up in anything and just worry about the game. So I was proud of the growth of my group," Tatum said.
'It's a tough place to play. We have not had so much success since I've been the head coach here, but this is not playoffs; this is regular season for us to get better, so I don't really put it as a top-tier win; it's just something to help us grow as a group." Hawks' co-captain Sam Froling was fantastic for Tatum's team, finishing with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds.
In his previous six outings against United, Froling averaged 18 points on 71.9 per cent shooting. Asked why he always did well against United, Froling praised his long-time partner in crime, Tyler Harvey, who also had a big game, contributing 31 points, seven rebounds and four assists, for freeing him up to shine.
"It's the beauty of having Tyler on this team. So much focus goes to him, Trey, now, we've got shooters everywhere. They back their bigs in a one-on-one matchup, and I back myself in that matchup, and it tends to work," he said.
"The first three minutes, we didn't get some great shots, and I told the guys, to Tyler, get me one, and he straight in. "I think it's a good outlet when we're not getting great shots; you can roll it in. I think I'm smart enough to make the right play and get us a good shot.
And many of those shots in the third quarter were me going up low; there was no help. "That's why we have so many good shooters." Froling added the Hawks took a lot of confidence out of beating United convincingly and leapfrogging them to the top of the table.
"We come into this game confident with a good game plan. We backed ourselves, and everyone was talking about the record, and we pushed that to the side. This is another game, a team we can beat, and we went out there and executed the game plan and got that.
" Tatum added that the Hawks weren't overly concerned with recognition and were focused on gaining as many wins as possible. "I think winning speaks for everything, speaks volumes. I think the more games we can win, the more respect we'll get.
"We haven't been at the top of the echelon in the league for a while. And so what we're doing is probably surprising the league, but every day, we come to practice and work, and we're not surprising ourselves; we're trying to get to the point where we see our potential together. "We are just going to keep winning.
" The Hawks' next chance to win is against the Perth Wildcats in Wollongong on Sunday, December 22. Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years.
I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure. Wollongong born and bred.
I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
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