CEO declares club ready for tilt at NBL21 Championship

As Melbourne United continue to build towards the new NBL season, CEO Vince Crivelli provided an update on a range of obstacles the club has had to conquer, in preparation for the 2021 campaign.

After reaching the NBL20 finals series, Melbourne United were unfortunately eliminated at the semi-final stage. The club has spent the off-season setting themselves up for a fresh tilt at the championship in 2021.

When turning their attention to building a new roster for NBL21, Crivelli said he’s been thrilled to see the progress made in the recruitment space, saying the club is taking a more patient strategy into the new season.

“We’ve been very diligent in conducting a review into our performance,” he told Melbourne United Media.

“Every year we’re intent on making improvements and there are always some areas we want to address during the off-season.

“On the court, we review our recruitment process and list management strategies; this year we have gone to another level with the type of players we recruit.

“We’ve managed to keep the core of our team together - this is something we’ve been trying to do that for a fair while now. So, we’re delighted to have all those players come back.”

Star guard Chris Goulding recently re-signed for three years, re-committing to the club he’s been with since 2015.

Crivelli said Goulding’s re-signing was an example of the strategy to keep a core group of players together, after locking the 32-year-old into a long-term deal.

“For him to sign on for another three years is absolutely an example of the list strategy we’ve been chasing,” he said.

“Same with David Barlow, Mitch McCarron and a few others, I think we feel relatively comfortable that we have a strategy around continuity that we can build on from here.”

As well as the players and coaches, the Melbourne United office team has had to adjust to life working from home.

Crivelli said he’s been impressed by the way the team both on and off the court have adapted to the rapidly changing conditions.

“It’s been a tough time for all living in Melbourne in the last few months,” he said.

“But I’ve been rapt to see how our entire team have been able to keep working through lockdown during off-season.

“We were able to overcome some of the issues faced by not being able to work in our office, utilising technology and innovation to our advantage.”

Crivelli also had an important message for our members and fans after an off-season which has largely seen Victoria in lockdown due to COVID-19.

“Get excited about what’s coming,” he said.

“We’ve all gone through so many ups and downs throughout 2020 and I think basketball will be a terrific, family-oriented experience for us to look forward to coming out the other end of all of this.

“Be prepared and get ready to support our team.

“We can’t wait for you to come into our stadium, enjoy the games and make up for lost time together.”

The club is now looking forward to a number of incredibly exciting announcements, including announcing the completion of the NBL21 roster.

As we await that news, now is the time to stand with Melbourne United.

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