Well, I was all ready to write an article about last night’s Sydney Kings‘ loss to the New Zealand Breakers, including a renewed reference to the fact that Taj McCullough simply does not cut the mustard at the NBL level, when the Kings brass beat me to the punch. The Sydney Kings have just announced that McCullough has been released by the team, due to sub-par performance.
It has become more and more apparent that the import forward does not have the required skill-set — or perhaps skill-level — to make a positive difference for the Sydney Kings. The team, which is languishing at the bottom of the ladder, has had the opportunity to win a number of its games, if only they had more leadership and output from its import players. [click through to read more]
Despite being a great guy and apparently a good teammate, McCullough is an example of where being a nice guy is not enough to win games. The Kings need on-court leadership, they need scoring, they need rebounding and they need creativity. Unfortunately, it has not appeared that the athletic forward could provide any of those characteristics in great amounts.
“The axe fell for Taj in the game against the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday night. It was always going to be a tough game and we really needed everyone on the team to play with passion, pride, and as a team,” head coach Ian “Moose” Robilliard said.
“In fairness to Taj, he himself acknowledged that he had not provided the necessary contribution to the team that everyone had expected,” he added.
“The Sydney fans have lost faith in Taj, and with that hanging over his head and Patrick Sanders having such a standout game after just one week of training, I have to say the tough decision was a little easier to make,” he added.
Robilliard said that the Sydney fans deserve to watch a team that fights for every possession, refuse to take a backward step, and is making an effort.
“That is the commitment I make to the fans and the team, and I want and expect the same commitment in return.
“We will reduce the minutes of players not putting in 110 percent, they are all aware that they need to lift their game, play as a team, have a hell of a lot more pride in the singlet.
“We have talked about accountability and, as a team, we have to be accountable to each other for our performance on and off the court. Case in point, Julian Khazzouh played well again. Ben Madgen, Ben Knight, and again Patrick Sanders stood up for team. It was great to see Ben Knight out on the court with so much focus; an aspect so essential to our game when building a team from scratch.
“We will renew our search for a replacement import immediately, we know what we need and we will be quite specific in finding the right player, with the right skill-set to make the Sydney Kings a competitive force for the rest of the NBL season.”
Indeed, Sanders had a great home debut for the Kings. After playing his first Australian game on the road two nights earlier on the Gold Coast, “Colonel” Sanders put up a team-high 20 points, along with five rebounds and three assists for the Kings, as they fell to the much-fancied Breakers 94-80. All the way, he battled to keep the Kings in contention in a game which they had a very real chance at clinching with a few minutes remaining. Sanders showed a charismatic smile that may have reminded some fans of Dwayne McClain and an athletic style of game that may have reminded others of Ebi Ere. It appears at this stage that he is definitely a “keeper”.
Big man Khazzouh put up his usual workman-like performance down low, in what has become an expected given for the Kings. He contributed 17 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals as he fouled out in 33 minutes.
One player that I have been begging to see more minutes from is rookie shooting guard Madgen. After a very successful collegiate career in the United States, Madgen has shown that he certainly can put points on the board if nothing else. On the other hand, incumbent starter Damien Ryan has been inconsistent in that same role. It was refreshing to see Madgen get an earlier call into the game last night and he did not disappoint in the slightest. His 19 points on 7/10 shooting from the field (including two treys) was highly important to the Kings’ cause. It would not be a bad move to see him get a much larger share of the minutes at shooting guard — he appears well poised and ready to contribute for a team like this.
Unfortunately for McCullough, nice guys don’t always finish first. His final game for the Kings saw him shoot 5/17 from the field and grab four rebounds, on a team that sorely needed scoring and rebounding to help out Khazzouh down low.
I believe that the team may be best served to search for a pure power forward to help out in both of these categories. Ben Knight unfortunately is struggling to get up and down the court with the current condition of his knees, despite putting in phenomenal effort every game. The return of Luke Martin thankfully means that ball-handling is not as much of a weakness as it was in previous weeks — thus meaning that recruitment of a combo-guard import is not essential.
The Kings next play at home against the Wollongong Hawks on 12 December, in what is always a tough matchup.
