QBL Men's Previews - Rockhampton Rockets
2015 Season 2015 W/L: 12-5 (2014 W/L:14-2) Made Quarter Finals (Lost to Gladstone) Coaching Staff Head Coach: Neal Tweedy Roster Transactions In: Auryn McMillan, Ray Turner, Shaun Gleeson, Jordan Gregory, Chris Kann, Marcus Fossey Out: Chehales Tapscott, Dominic Cheek, Brad Williamson, Brent Wallace, Michael Kingma, Glenn Scott, Peni Nasalo Projected Starters: Mitch Philp, Jordan Gregory, Shaun Gleeson, Auryn McMillan, Ray Turner Key Bench: Chris Kann, Marcus Fossey, Jared Blanchard, Jackson McTier
Key Gains
Ray Turner: Turner is a two-way player that was exceptional in his first stint with Rockhampton which earned them a championship in 2014. They missed his presence in 2015, where the Rockets struggle to defend the inside and eventually bow out at home to Gladstone in the quarter finals. Turner brings size, post play, athleticism and defence; combine that with Rockets newcomer Auryn McMillan and you have the makings of a formidable frontcourt.
Jordan Gregory: Gregory was a stud preform at Montana. A combo guard that can distribute and score at will, with a high basketball IQ. He is expectionally good with the pick and roll and having Ray Turner will be fun. Gregory averaged 17 points a game at Montana in 2014-15 season and earn him huge accolades in the Big Sky conference. Should be a nice addition for Rockhampton who have a knack for going for players with a big NCAA Division I resumes. Key Losses Chehales Tapscott: One of the best scorers I have seen in the QBL. A dominated player that made it extremely tough for the opposition to stop them.
Brad Williamson: Williamson’s departure signalled an end to an era for the Rockets. Williamson (alongside Scott, Nasalo and Kingma) where a big part in getting Rockhampton to a QBL-record of seven consecutive Grand Final appearances. While I think they could have used Williamson off the bench given how thin they are, I can also understand Rockhampton intention to want to move on and rebuild.
Position by Position Analysis
Guard: Have improved dramatically with the addition of Gregory and Gleeson. With the returning Mitch Philp, the Rockets have guards that can score and distribute the ball. There is a bit short given that one of them will have to defend a small forward. Chris Kann is returning back to his home association but will be a tough ask to replace the veteran Peni Nasalo. Forward: Rockhampton has suffered huge losses in that department. Auryn McMillan is a nice pickup for the Rockets, has experience in SEABL, NBL and Europe and should form a nice comb with Turner. However, they lost a lot with the departure of veterans Scott (off the bench defence) and Williamson (shooting). Dominic Cheek was good for them offensive but a defensive liability. Not much in the bench with McTier and Blanchard.
Center: Ray Turner returns for the Rockets and that is a huge boost for the team. Wallace struggle in the paint last year and Kingma left the team early into the season, resulting into Tapscott being a make shift centre for the most of the game. Turner will give the squad rebounding and a defensive presence that Tapscott couldn’t provide. Auryn McMillan should see time at center too while Jackson McTier is their only option off the bench.
Does Rockhampton have enough ball to satisfy their starts?
Given how ball dominate guys like Gleeson, Gregory and players like McMillan and Turner would need shots to be effective it's a reasonable concern whether they can distribute the ball. However i think ball distribution won’t be an issue given that they have three guards that have experience in running the point, with Philp being a pass-first kind of player (if he doesn’t over dribble the ball in the first place). Given than Rocky doesn’t have much depth in the bench most of these guys will end up player in the 35-37 minutes per game mark so I think everyone will get their opportunity to score. Does Rockhampton have enough deep to challenge for a championship?
The way I see it right now, Rockhampton is 6-man deep (starting line-up and Chris Kann). For me it’s a difficult situation for the Rockets. In this league irrespective of the quality of your starting line-up (and they are as good they can get in Rocky) you need some depth to counter for fatigue, injuries, foul trouble, normally at 7 to 8 quality players. Their current bench is very young and inexperienced like Jackson McTier, Jared Blanchard, Marcus Fossey or the Christensen twins. It hurts when you lose veteran leaders like Glenn Scott, Peni Nasalo, Michael Kingma even Brad Williamson who could be used as a backup. A key indicator will be how Rockhampton handle those brutal 3 game weekend roadtrips. Having said that teams like Mackay have suffered with their bench depth, so it might not be a huge issue if Tweedy does a solid job on time management and their youngsters are capable of holding their own for limited minutes. What gets Rockhampton into the playoffs?
Starting line-up plays to their ability. Young bench is capable giving a good rest to their starters. Tweedy continues his impressive coaching record. Hegvold continues to be a fortress for the Rockets. What gets Rockhampton out of the playoffs? Their bench is as thin as predicted and their starters start getting into foul trouble, injuries or out of form. They lose control of ball distribution and players start looking for their own. Lack of veteran leadership becomes evident. Team like Cairns improve and Gladstone somehow maintains the playoff status.
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