Fear Factor: NBL Players That 'Terrify' Opponents

There are some players in the NBL that possess a genuine fear factor, and Melbourne United assistant coach Jacob Chance believes his new side contains one of the most dangerous of all. 

Chris Goulding may be approaching his 17th season in the NBL and already hit over 1000 career three-pointers, but he still holds the ability to change the game in a matter of possessions.

Given his previous experience coaching at the Perth Wildcats and Tasmania JackJumpers, Chance has been the part of teams searching for ways to stop the Olympic bronze medal winner for a number of seasons, but is yet to find a proven formula. 

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“He’s got that amazing ability as a player – and I think he and Bryce (Cotton) are probably the two in our league – that you’re just always scared,” Chance said of Goulding on The Extra Pass.

“You come into a game, it’s the fourth quarter, maybe he’s having a poor night and it doesn’t matter. You’re just terrified of what could come.

“The best players will never let you rest, whether that’s because they’re a world-class shooter like Chris, maybe they’re an unbelievable rebounder like Jack White … Chris and Bryce are the two that stand out,

“I think they’re the two world-class players in our league and have been for the past five or six years.

“They can take a game away from you in a quarter if you’re not careful.”

Only half the battle in trying to stop players like Goulding and Cotton comes in the high-speed action on the court. The other half comes when they inevitably still find ways to change the game.

“The biggest battle with those guys is just trying not to get deterred by it as a group,” Chance continued.

“Any time we played Chris it was like ‘he’s going to make ridiculous shots, make sure when that happens our body language doesn’t slump’.

“You see it all the time ... someone hits a big shot, and everybody just stops and don’t get the ball out the net quickly.

“We were big on ‘he and Bryce and these guys are going to make world-class shots, they’re world-class players. It’s can we drive the percentage down and not let it deter our game plan’.

“That’s usually half the battle.”

Melbourne’s opening game of the NBL24 season will come against South East Melbourne on Thursday, September 28.