Vickerman providing playing group with offensive freedom

When you’ve coached for as long as Dean Vickerman, you know what it takes to succeed at the highest level.

With 301 games, 190 wins and a trio of NBL championships as a Head Coach, Vickerman’s system, built around stifling teams at the defensive end, is proven to bring success.

It’s one his players buy into, playing a relentless brand of defence which assistant coach Rhys Carter believes is fueled by the freedom Vickerman provides his group on offence.

“If guys play hard defensively and really keep teams down, he (Vickerman) doesn’t really challenge too much offensively, he gives guys freedom,” Carter explained on SEN.

<iframe src="https://omny.fm/shows/melbourne-united-audio/rhys-carter-on-sen-3-november-2023/embed" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write" width="100%" height="180" frameborder="0" title="Rhys Carter on SEN - 3 November, 2023"></iframe>

“That’s why the boys like playing for him, if you play hard and play the right way defensively you get a bit of freedom to play your way offensively as long as we’re sharing the ball and playing as a team.

“He’s definitely a defensive coach. He wants us to keep team’s down in the 80s or even the 70s if we can.”

Anchoring United’s defence for much of NBL24 thus far has been Next Star Ariel Hukporti, who leads the entire league in defensive rating.

Carter said the Togolese-German big-man has been vital to Melbourne’s success across their first nine games.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nearly a third of the way through NBL24 &amp; Next Star Ariel Hukporti continues to impress game after game.<br>The big man currently sits atop NewsCorp&#39;s Next Star Power Rankings &amp; Dean Vickerman today said he should be in all conversations for the DPOY award - <a href="https://t.co/gm2wBrm5o1">https://t.co/gm2wBrm5o1</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1719972609461522938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“To be able to come out and do what he’s done, his defence especially has been off the charts," he said of Hukporti.

"He’s leading the league in defensive rating and protecting the rim. No one in the league is doing a better job of bringing field-goal percentages down in the key when they’re around.

“On offence, he’s such an athlete, an alley-oop threat, the boys can just throw it up there and he’ll catch it and dunk it so he’s been huge.”

United fans will get their next opportunity to see the team’s stars hit the court on Monday night when they face the Perth Wildcats as part of Indigenous Round.

Taking place the night before the Melbourne Cup, it’s the perfect opportunity to get the family together for a blockbuster evening of hoops.

To lock in your spot, secure your seat today via ticketek, or grab a three or five game membership to ensure you’re there for Melbourne’s remaining home games.