The Otago Nuggets have a pre-game ritual they’ve established during the Sal’s NBL Showdown which they believe is a key part of why they’ve been able to hit their opponents for a six during this six-week hybrid league.
The Nuggets are through to their first ever NBL grand final – albeit one with an asterisk given the unique nature of this post-Covid, draft-dispersed competition – in their first hitout at this level in six years after going into abeyance in 2014. They will meet the Manawatu Jets in Saturday night’s showpiece game (7.30pm tip) in what should be an intriguing matchup between the two most consistent teams in the league.
They’ve done so because head coach Brent Matehaere, a genuine character his players enjoy competing for, put together an exquisitely balanced group, with a trio of team-first standouts courtesy of the draft, and then a group of quality, mostly local, role players who complement them perfectly; and also because they have knitted together as a tight, happy and committed group in their short time together in Auckland.
Which is where their now regular pre-game ritual comes into play. Before every outing in this compressed, five-nights-a-week league they come together for a game of cricket in the upstairs lounge at event venue Trusts Arena. It’s their way of staying loose, getting bodies moving, engaging in some banter and continuing to build what has become a remarkable team spirit.
“Teams talk about culture and building culture, but I think culture comes from within and the players themselves,” Matehaere told Stuff after their semifinal victory over the Canterbury Rams. “We picked on basic good dudes. We knew there are players that come in that aren’t great locker-room guys, but the guys we have are great locker-room guys.”
Not bad cricketers either. At least some of them.
“I didn’t have a great bat today,” said Matehaere of the pre-semifinal hitout, to which they invited league GM Justin Nelson to make a guest appearance. “You can get into your own head a little too much in preparation for big games. We’ve done the cricket thing the whole time. It’s anybody who wants to be involved, and it’s good to move around, get active, and you’ve got to be alert with me smacking a ball around.
“(Nuggets forward) Josh Aitcheson is a really good cricketer… (veteran point guard) Jarrod Kenny not so much. It’s just a good change, it loosens people up, and it’s fun. Why do we play sport? To have fun and be with our mates and that was certainly on show tonight.”
Kenny, the floor general of this group who, at 34, has wound back the clock in this league, says he’s loving the camaraderie of a group assembled at short notice, but with plenty of thought.
“The cricket is a great example of how we’ve gone about this. There’s a few blokes that are pretty decent, though I’m not one of them. But I love to participate. For me it’s more about talking trash, getting the energy up and just having fun with the guys.”
It’s worked. The Nuggets, behind stellar play from Kenny (11.5ppg, 5.1apg, 3.8rpg), No 1 overall pick Jordan Ngatai (18.6ppg, 5.7rpg, 4.5apg) and standout third-round sleeper Jordan Hunt (19.5ppg, 6.0rpg), and some quality role play from the likes of Aitcheson, Kane Keil, Richie Rodger and Darcy Knox have rolled through the league as minor premiers and now title favourites.
Kenny says he didn’t know a lot about the players he was teaming with beforehand, but quickly realised he had become part of a special group. “A game or two in everyone kinda opened up and shared a little about themselves, showed that vulnerable side and everyone respected each other. From there we’ve just built relationships and it’s been awesome to be a part of.”
Matehaere knew exactly what he was getting from his top two picks, but revealed it was Ngatai who pointed him strongly in the direction of the 22-year-old Hunt as a big with legit game and a ton of upside. The 2.06m Hutt Valley product who has just finished four standout years at Southern Oregon University has been a Showdown revelation and must be knocking loudly on the door of a DP role in the Aussie NBL (maybe even with the Breakers, if they’re smart).
“I didn’t know he was going to be this good but Ngatai told me he was,” said Matehaere. “He said he can do big things, and he has certainly come out and done that. I think he deserves a crack at the ANBL. The guy can do it all: he works so well under the basket, has great footwork and is just filling it up from the 3-point line as well (where he’s shooting 40 per cent).”
Kenny says Ngatai (“Super talented but totally unselfish”) has been an ideal on-court spearhead and he’s been rapt with a decision he committed to early to play in this league at a soon-to-turn 35.
“It was a little bit of a selfish reason for me initially. At my age I thought if I don’t participate in something, it might be the end of me. It’s unfolded awesomely, and Justin and the team at Basketball NZ have done a wonderful job. We’ve all been well looked after.”
