NBL imports take comp to new heights

ILLAWARRA Hawks and Australian Boomers head coach Brian Goorjian believes the standard in the NBL has never been higher due to the number of foreign players who have joined from overseas.

Every team has been able to sign an international recruit for the 2021/22 NBL season, which Goorjian sees as a positive sign for the league.

“All these teams have been able to add another import,” Goorjian said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“The whole league has an international flavour.”

One of the most high-profile recruits in recent seasons was LaMelo Ball who played for the Illawarra Hawks and instantly became one of the most dominant players the NBL has ever seen.

Goorjian said that the influx of international talent has meant teams have had to adapt and need to get better if they are any chance of competing.

“If we came back with the same team as last year and played like we did last year and with the way the league is going, we wouldn’t make the playoffs,” Goorjian said. “We had to upgrade.”

Around the league, the Perth Wildcats continue to be one of the premier teams of the competition and Goorjian insists that they are already the side to beat this season.

“Last year, Perth went all the way to the final without [Bryce] Cotton,” he said. “You’ve gotten Cotton back in form.

“I don’t know what people were thinking about when they said Perth is not a playoff team.

“They’re the team to beat.”

– BY CHARLES GOODSIR/ SEN