Well the season is under way and there we no real surprises from a win/loss point of view but certainly the start of the season unearthed some exciting players to watch this year. In one of the finest debuts in my time in the NZNBL Waikato import Eric Devondorf started with an exemplary scoring effort of 49 points to help the Pistons route Nelson on opening night of our new season. Nelson were certainly at a disadvantage not having a number of players at training as they finished their commitments in the ANBL. But one thing is for sure and that is Waikato have started the way they said they would and that is playing pressure defence to fast break basketball. Scoring 92 points against a team that is normally pretty sound at the defensive end shows they are looking to put high scores on the board.

The imports certainly shone in the scoring stakes for a number of teams where as some teams again had tremendous contributions from there home grown talent. Corey Webster in particular seemed to pick up where he left off scoring a game high 34 points and taking 10 more shots than anyone else but when you are making 12 from 22 (6 from 10 3's) I think you are entitled to shoot the ball more than others although Rick Rickert was certainly very efficient shooting 6 of 7 from the field to show he is a very good option inside. For the Nuggets they showed they will be heavily reliant on their imports and Antoine Tisby showed he will again be a force in the league with 32 points and 19 rebounds. What about Dillon Boucher, again he almost gets a triple double just falling a couple of assists short. He is such an asset to any team with his never say die attitude and his ability to contribute in so many ways to a team. As a coach players like Dillon are the first on your list to recruit because you know what you get in every game. For the Hawks we have been able to recruit Dave Langrell who plays with the same attitude as Dillon and on the weekend proved he will be a very good addition to our team.

I must say it was a real pleasure to play in Invercargill in their very first game. The crowd was outstanding and the atmosphere was something I have not witnessed in too many other stadiums around the country. Other than the Hawks, Giants and Wellington I have seen a crowd as parochial. I remember when we played down there in 2006 with the Junior Tall Ferns how supportive the people where and Saturday night it was no different. The Sharks will win some games because of the crowd support and Saturday we where fortunate to get out of there with the win. There was plenty of hype going into the game and I feel the game delivered a great spectacle for the fans down there. There was also a great crowd in Christchurch which says that people are wanting to watch basketball. We don't play our first game at home until March 19 but it was good to get our first win on the board after letting one slip against the Cougars.

Overall I was pretty happy with our performances on the weekend. We are missing three players who all happen to be guards and it has been a very difficult time for the Hawks. Missing to pur point guards puts a lot of pressure on the group and it showed at times that we have some improving to do in our execution when we are put under pressure. I felt Nat and Everard did a very admirable job and will improve as point guards but the rest of the group and myself have to take more responsibility to help them both while we wait on Jarrod and Josh to arrive and then hopefully Paulie back at the end of the season.

One thing that did come out of the weekend was the potential that we have as a team. In the overtime we scored 21 points to absolutely blow the Sharks of the court. To think we only scored 12 in the last quarter and we could score 21 in half a quarter. Everard Bartlett certainly showed his potential and that the hard work he has been doing will pay off. His 23 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds against the Sharks was his best all round performance in a Hawks singlet. Players such Everard and Chris for to long have played a secondary role to other players and they now have to adjust and become more consistent in their play as they are now the front line players. So it was good to see both show such positive signs that they are on their way. The other real positive from the weekend was the play of Dave Langrell and Nat Connell. Both are finding their feet with the Hawks and both performed very well. Nat and Dave have both had a year out of the league and as they both find their legs they are going to be very valuable contributors.

While I would have wanted to come home with two wins it is always difficult to play on the road in the first round. All teams start the season very optimistic about their chances in the a new year. The Cougars and the Sharks both believe they can perform very well this year so it was a challenging first weekend. We showed in both games the glimpses of how good we can be, while we also showed we have a long way to go. Our execution let us down at times and we had trouble keeping the scoreboard ticking over when the opposition made score runs. The consistency of our play will have to improve as the season continues and we need to not ride such a roller coaster in our play. Overall we are headed int he right direction and that is the main thing.

With energy

Shawn Dennis