Jets coach Tim McTamney said they didn’t cope well with four games in eight days, so he was glad to be back playing at home and following their normal training schedule. “We re pretty excited about playing at home for the first time. In a way, this is our season starting for the second time. It was an awkward eight days. “Trying to acclimate players who have just arrived, play a doubleheader, have a disrupted practice schedule because you’re training and travelling, then to back it up with a doubleheader was probably a bridge too far for us.” He was hopeful of getting a big crowd and for Manawatū fans to get behind the team.
Guard Jayden Bezzant, a key player in the march to the final last year, is back and will be an on-court general again. Experienced United States import Daishon Knight could form a formidable partnership with Bezzant if the two can gel. Knight is a big-scoring guard and was a standout in his last tenure with the Jets, from 2018 to 2019. There are high hopes for the side’s other import, DeAndre Daniels, a forward from the US who has played in the Australian NBL. Young guards Finn Lally and Nikau McCullough, forward Shane Temara and guard Ashton McQueen should all be key players too.
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