Keilor Thunder will be better prepared for its tilt at the Big V Basketball men’s state championship this season.
Dipping their toes into the top flight for the first time last year was an eye opener for Thunder coach Liam Glascott.
With the benefit of a year’s experience at the level, the Thunder know where they need to improve and what they need to target.
“We were obviously very competitive last season,” Glascott said.
“It was a good season for us to see where we need to tweak to take another step up and push for finals and a championship this coming season.
“It was about finding out what the league was like. What didn’t work for us, what did work and the tweaks we can make to our structure and obviously recruitment as well.”
One area of need for Keilor was finding more reliable outside shooting.
The Thunder’s offence was too easily stymied when teams executed a zone defence.
“We weren’t the best outside shooting team when teams zoned us, so it gave us issues,” Glascott said.
“We’ve tried to fix that and now one through five, if players are left open, we’re going to be able to make shots.”
Keilor has completely overhauled its import positions.
The Thunder have seen leading scorer Jordan Coleman depart for Hume City, while Hanner Mosquera-Perea will be playing in Colombia.
One of the import spots will be filled by former NBA G-League player Mike Anderson.
Anderson was the Raptors 905 – the Toronto Raptors affiliate – first ever draft pick, but managed just one game.
He moved to the Greenboro Swarm, the feeder team to the Charlotte Hornets, and featured in 28 games.
Previous to that, Anderson was a point guard for the University of Washington, based in Seattle.
While Anderson is a combo guard, he can play the position one through to four.
Glascott is excited by what Anderson can bring to the table in terms of his experience.
“He’s 27, so he’s a little bit older, not fresh out of school or played just one professional year, so that helps our team,” Glascott said.
“He’s in his prime, he’s at the age where he can play his best basketball.
“He’s a family guy, so it’s a big thing for him to come over here. He wants to come over here and try and have a crack at getting to that next level, like the NBL for example.
“He’ll be taking it seriously.”
Another star recruit is former Euroleague player Vlad Brckov. Standing at six-foot-seven, Brckov will hold down the power forward position for Keilor.
“He’s a very good shooter,” Glascott said.
“He’s played in the Euroleague and in division one in Macedonia. He’s come here on a spouse visa, so he doesn’t count as an import, so he’s right to go.”
Keilor will have co-captains in 2019.
Chuck Long will remain one of the skippers and he will be joined by Jason Todorov.
The Thunder has retained its core players from last year, including BJ Symons, Matt Spencer, Joel Bellman and Mitch Lukey.
Last year’s Big V youth league MVP Daniaell Herbert has crossed from the Werribee Devils.
Keilor’s recruiting work is not done just yet.
Glascott is close to securing a second import, while he is in discussions with potential recruits for the other open roster spot.
“I’m still trying to find one more piece,” he said.
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