A new point guard pairing dubbed the “two-headed monster” will help drive Altona Gators coach Des Radoslovic’s ambition for a playoff berth in his second season in charge of the Big V basketball men’s division 1 club.
Radoslovic had to make a difficult call in the off season, telling last year’s team leaders, Daniel Martin and Daniel Ellul, they will need to step aside for 12 months after they planned overseas trips that make them unavailable for the second half of the campaign.
Radoslovic wanted to avoid the disruption of a mid-season line-up change.
While Martin and Ellul will remain involved with the Gators and could train with the team and attend matches, their absences on the court would have left a major hole in the Gators’ back court, so Radoslovic cast the net far and wide to find replacements.
He believes he has adequately filled the point guard position with the signatures of Kevin Badu, who has played at the top level in England but was brought in from the Sydney club competition, and Claudio Campos, who arrives from Melbourne University’s Black Angels.
The two recruits are so highly rated that all 40 minutes at the point guard position will be theirs to fight for.
“Those two will be my primary point guards for the season,” Radoslovic confirmed to Star Weekly.
He said he felt a need for speed in his second season. The pacy points will ensure the Gators have an up-tempo offence without conceding ground on defence, as they are both two-way players.
“They’re the two-headed monster at that position,” Radoslovic said.
The Gators have brought in athletic shooting guard Matthew Peet from the Whittlesea Pacers. Towering centre Wilson Arob has returned, as have Joey Mausar, Brent Radoslovic and Milos Trkulja. And Daniel Nicholls is back from a knee injury.
A deal with stretch four JP Wilkinson fell through after he decided to accept a training invitation from the Melbourne Tigers.
The Gators will play their first home pre- season game against Melbourne University at the Altona Sports Centre on Sunday.
Radoslovic has worked the players hard since November, but he sees the warm-up matches as crucial to implementing tactical tweaks and injecting fresh faces.
The clash with University will be their only pre-season game at the Swamp.
The following weekend, the Gators will head up to Warrnambool to face the Whittlesea Pacers and Warrnambool Seahawks in a weekend double-header before having a week’s rest ahead of the season proper.
The Gators will shun the three-day Big V pre-season tournament to ensure the players are not mentally and physically drained before the season tips off.
“The tournament runs on a Saturday, Sunday and Monday and to have a bunch of games on that weekend can wear you out for the start of the season,” Radoslovic said.
