Vickerman confident following milestone weekend

One of the winningest coaches in NBL history, Dean Vickerman continued to build on his legacy across Round 18 of the Hungry Jack’s NBL season.

Having led our club for the past nine seasons, Vickerman brought up his 300th game as Head Coach of Melbourne United to start a round which ultimately ended with a pair of important victories.

Vickerman has tallied 195 wins across his now 301 games as United, with much of his success coming from his expert defensive acumen.

Since the start of Round 17, we have allowed the fewest points per game (72.0), while limiting opponents to just 21.8% shooting from beyond the arc.

Speaking after our win on Sunday afternoon, Vickerman touched on how the team’s renewed defensive focus has led to more positive results.

“Of all the things where we kind of dropped off as a team, we just felt like if we could get back to our defensive identity, then we would get to run more and we’d have more freedom offensively,” he explained.

“We’ve changed all our practices… every practice starts with a defensive drill now, it’s just an absolute focus for everyone.

“The intent to really help each other, have active hands, we chart deflections, we’re looking at our rebound percentage, we’re looking in practice anytime we miss a rebound, there’s a massive focus on the physicality and the defensive end.

“We’ve still got some things to tighten up offensively, but (playing this well defensively) is a good place to be right now.”

Currently sitting in fourth place on the ladder, we are locked in to a postseason appearance with five games still remaining on our schedule.

Looking at the competition table, Vickerman is confident that wherever we finish, we can make a significant impact on the Playoffs with a healthy roster.

“Our focus, the whole year, is just trying to take one more step.

“You lose two Grand Finals, the only way to try and move (forward) is to go some more step better.

“We certainly haven’t been worried about ladder position… Our goal is to go into the playoffs having everyone available and playing good basketball, and if we can play that defensive level and tidy up some things, we give ourselves a chance.”

Our next opportunity to continue to build on our strong form will come on Friday evening when we head on the road to face the New Zealand Breakers from 5:30pm.

The game will be streamed live on ESPN.

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