Vickerman thrilled with buy-in, intensity from new additions

With the Hungry Jack’s NBL Blitz officially less than a month away, Melbourne United Head Coach Dean Vickerman is feeling great about his group’s new additions.

Import trio Jordan Caroline, Rayjon Tucker and Xavier Rathan-Mayes took the court for full-contact practice for the first time on Thursday, joining fellow new recruits Isaac Humphries and Josh Duach.

From the opening minutes, the session was played at a break-neck pace, with all of United’s stars looking to push each other while building chemistry as a group.

Speaking to media following the session, Vickerman touched on how pleased he was with the group’s level of commitment to the practice.

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“I thought their intent to pick up our system and play at an intensity… it was what we were looking for,” he said.

“Anytime you recruit, you hope that they are what you saw and what people have spoken about them. I think we’ve got quality people to start with that all are unselfish and have an intent to help everyone else get better. I think that’s an important part of being an import.”

Known for his staunch defensive teams, Vickerman was particularly impressed by the way Melbourne’s additions committed to locking down that end of the floor.

“I hope that there’s a great buy-in, and there was today, about how we want to compete defensively,” he continued.

“There were great celebrations of getting a shot-clock violation or the team getting a stop, they drew a lot of energy from playing basketball that way. (We’ve got) the speed and athleticism to create a fast-paced game going the other way.”  

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