By Tyler Lewis
The sense of unknown excites Southside Flyers head coach Cheryl Chambers.
The Flyers begin their WNBL season this Saturday night by welcoming Adelaide to the State Basketball Centre.
While the side is healthy and expected to contend, Chambers admits there is a mysterious element to the DNA in which her group will have on the floor.
“I think some of that is to be determined,” she said.
“We actually haven’t had a full practice or full game with our whole squad together, so I guess a bit of it is – not up in the air – we certainly have some shooters that can stretch the floor.
“Hopefully it’ll be exciting to watch, our new import is as quick as a cat, so we will look to run and push the ball offensively and take any open threes we get.
“We have some real size inside, so we will be pounding it inside for some games – I think offensively we are going to score enough – so it’s going to come from our defence.”
The Flyers added none other than Lauren Jackson in the off-season and have also been boosted by a pair of other impressive recruits.
“We’ve gone out and got some real go-to players, I mean… none other than the GOAT, Lauren Jackson,” Chambers said.
“She will take some of the attention, our import Kayla Thornton, she is just a ball of energy, the other girls are picking up on it and it’s going through the whole group.
“We’ve got some young guns… Nyadiew Pouch, she will be really exciting – she’s quick, she’s long and she’s lean – there is a lot of things to be excited about.”
There’s no shortage of artillery for the Southside unit with various offensive options up the floor.
But – for now – Chambers has announced she would like her group to be known for a stingy-defensive-first mindset from opposition outfits.
“Hopefully they’re saying they are tough defensively and a little bit fearless,” she said.
“We’ve only been on the floor for one week now, but this week has all been about making sure we’re sound defensively.
“I think we have enough weapons on any given day, if someone has a poor offensive day we can cover it (with someone else).
“But defensively, we’re going to have to be pretty solid.”
As for the opening night, Chambers has revealed that Jackson will play, but is keeping her minutes and whether she will be on the floor for tip off tight-lipped.
“She’s good, we have offloaded her after the World Championships and slowly loading her back again,” she said.
“She’ll definitely be good to go this weekend… how much… that will depend on the scoreboard and other factors, but she will certainly be out there and being a big focus.
“That (whether she will start) is yet to be determined.”
