‘A leader, a winner’: Dellavedova lauded upon return

Despite having only returned to the court with Melbourne United on Wednesday morning, Matthew Dellavedova's impact on the team is already being felt.

The Australian Basketball legend and NBA Champion slotted perfectly back into the lineup alongside the likes of Chris Goulding, Shea Ili and Ariel Hukporti as MU launched into their preseason training camp.

In what was an epic scrimmage featuring NBA stars Josh Giddey, Jock Landale, Dyson Daniels and Jack White, Dellavedova looked as comfortable in United colours as ever, knocking down shots and playing his usual brand of intense defence.

Speaking after the session, Head Coach Dean Vickerman praised ‘Delly’ as a player that perfectly exemplifies what an MU player should be.

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“You’ve got a guy that’s a leader, a winner,” he said.

“He leads in a lot of different ways but mostly leads in the way that the culture of this club is about and that’s contagious.”

Dellavedova, along with a collection of United’s other new players like Tanner Krebs, Flynn Cameron, Kyle Bowen and a healthy Ariel Hukporti, impressed Vickerman across Wednesday’s scrimmage.

Pre-season, day 1. pic.twitter.com/X3OVdKebfy

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“All the new guys, everyone’s looking at those guys and when I say new guys, Ariel is one of those guys.

“He’s been missing for a year and seeing how he’s going to look against Jock Landale… I thought he certainly competed at a pretty high level for what he was going against at early stages of his comeback.

“Kyle Bowen, I think he’s just going to be solid for us. He’s in the right position, he made shots, he competes, he talks, he’s very coachable and did some great things.

“Tanner Krebs came in… I thought he was great. Flynn (Cameron) was all energy, body, we love it, we’ve got a lot to teach him about how we play as well and seeing Delly come back in the absolute shape that he’s got himself in, how strong he is.”

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