Interview with Rockhampton Rockets player Auryn Macmillan
How are you adjusting to playing in Rockhampton, after coming from a season in the BBL?
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Rockhampton seems like paradise after my time in Plymouth! I mean the location/weather is a no brainer, who wouldn't want to be in this part of the world. But more so the club and community here has been a really well needed change. It's a really great environment to be a part of, everyone has made me, my wife, and our little fella feel really welcomed along with just being really supportive. It's a great feeling after what was a bit of a miserable experience in England.
How is Neal Tweedy as a coach?
Tweedo is great. Gives us a good fundamental structure to work with and then lets us do our thing. He's done a great job of putting guys in positions where they can be effective and then backing them to get the job done. He's an easy coach to feel confident playing for, which can make a huge difference for a lot of players.
You had different frontcourt partners this season started with Tom Garlepp who was a short term replacement for Ray Turner. How different are they as players and do you adjust your playing style?
Yeah it's been really cool for me actually. Tom and Ray play almost polar opposite styles of game; Tom has incredible touch from the inside, through the midrange, and out beyond the arch, to go along with some really crafty (and pretty unorthodox) footwork. Whereas Ray plays a lot of his game above the rim, he's a combination of size, strength, speed, and athleticism that you rarely come across at this level and he uses it at both ends of the floor. To go along with that he's got a sneaky little midrange J, so you can't sleep on his faceup game either.
Given these two totally different front court partners, I've had to play two totally different roles so far this season. With Tommy I played more of a 5 man, spent a lot of time in the paint, and did a fair bit of wrestling with the other teams bigs. With Ray here, I get to play the 4 now, which means trailing in, having a little more influence on our plays, and finding some open looks from deep. Also, since we've got a couple of young bigs (Trev and Jacko), I'll even try my hand at the 3 spot if the matchups are right. Which is great experience for me, and probably my favourite position to play. All in all, it's been a cool experience for me thus far, and has allowed me to show a little of my versatility across multiple positions.
On the weekend you had a double header against SC Phoenix and Bundaberg. How did the game unfold?
Both were tough games, the final score against the Phoenix didn't really show how close the game was. The can score in bunches, so a 10+ point lead can melt in a matter of minutes. We were well aware of this going down the stretch, so had to stay on our toes a bit and never really got a chance to relax. Bundy was no walk in the park either, they have a great atmosphere at home and I think there fans are a real spark for them. Honestly, I think we got lucky with a couple of things (in particular the PG losing his head and getting ejected), or else it could have been a much tighter game. But they really put the pressure on us in the last 4 minutes and had us worried late.
Rockhampton is in a tough fight to make the playoffs, where do you feel Rockhampton has the edge to get beat teams like Mackay, Cairns and Gladstone for that second spot in the north pool?
Yeah it's definitely a tight race for second, third, and fourth in the North. Now that we've got our Roster all sorted and have started to get into a bit of a rhythm, I think our biggest edge is in our scoring potential at every position. I really feel like any one of our starters could go off for 30 on any given night, and we've shown we can get multiple guys in the 20s on the same night. I think this makes it tough on our opposition since they can't single out one guy. If we have one or two guys having a slow night, there's plenty of scoring punch to pick up the slack.
Playing this week against SW Metro, what does Rockets need to do to win?
I think our keys are defensive execution and playing at our tempo. When we do a good job forcing tough shots and sweeping the boards, the rest of the game seems to flow for us.
You have played for years at SEABL for Kilsyth. How do you compare both leagues?
The leagues are very similar in just about everything but the weather. Both leagues are tough top to bottom. Venues and crowds are pretty similar, although I think you Queenslanders are a bit rowdier, which is definitely a good thing; I copped a fair bit of lip from the fans at Townsville and Bundy which I really enjoyed. I love a good bit of banter from the fans, makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable for everyone and it's great to see that kind of atmosphere at this level.
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