Adelaide star believes in Ninnis NBL25 extension

Thursday, February 1, 2024

DJ Vasiljevic has heaped praise on Scott Ninnis, saying he should be appointed to the head coaching position at Adelaide.

In the space of a few short weeks the Adelaide 36ers have shifted their fortunes from being a bottom of the ladder side to contending for an unlikely Play-In position.

The appointment of Scott Ninnis as interim head coach at the beginning of December was the cultivating factor in the shift in fortunes, and two-time NBL champion DJ Vasiljevic was full of praise for Ninnis' alteration to the side's game plan.

“Since Scotty Ninnis has taken over, he’s simplified it a lot. He’s given people the freedom to do a bit more,” Vasiljevic said told SEN.

<iframe src="https://omny.fm/shows/nbl-radio-interviews/dj-vasiljevic-on-sen-january-30-2024/embed?style=artwork" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write" width="100%" height="180" frameborder="0" title="DJ Vasiljevic on SEN - January 30, 2024"></iframe>

Vasiljevic arrived in Adelaide part-way through the season on a one-year deal, and has rapidly become one of the 36ers' most important offensive weapons.

The former Sydney King recently signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him in the City of Churches until the end of NBL27.

The 36ers have given themselves a chance to participate in Finals basketball for the first time since 2018, and Vasiljevic says the organisation should look to maintain the status quo heading into next season.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Should the <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Adelaide36ers</a> bring back Scott Ninnis for NBL25 and beyond???<br><br>Star guard DJ Vasiljevic endorsed the interim coach for the job following the 36ers' Round 17 win over Cairns ? <a href="https://t.co/JHPPdhAaEe">pic.twitter.com/JHPPdhAaEe</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1752477109573038136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“If we can keep Scotty [Ninnis] around that would be big. Scotty and the assistant coaches bring great culture, with the core group we can establish the culture and keep going, he said.

“You’ve got to get three great imports that actually fit that culture. You can’t just go and get three names from nowhere and they don’t fit, next thing you know they’re getting fired. It also come down to personality on who you recruit.

“If we can establish a core group of guys like myself, we’ve got Nick Marshall, Jason Cadee – if we could get Isaac Humphries, Kyrin Galloway, and maybe one more local piece, then I think we are set very well,” he said.

Vasiljevic and the 36ers will face the Kings on Friday night at 7:30pm AEDT at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, the game will be broadcast live and free on ESPN via Kayo.