High praise for Wieskamp, Ayre, Kenyon

Matt Hurt was happy to throw Joe Wieskamp in there as one of the best two-way NBL players after South East Melbourne Phoenix's big Saturday night win with Ben Ayre and Matt Kenyon also stepping up.

While the Phoenix ended up beating the Tasmania JackJumpers 116-80 to improve to a 15-11 record and into fourth spot, coach Josh King was anything but happy with the first half.

Up until there was 2:38 to go to half-time, the JackJumpers were leading 43-36 but King noticed an instant change at both ends once he subbed Ben Ayre and Matt Kenyon into the game.

The Phoenix would end up outscoring the JackJumpers 10-2 the rest of the half and then kept that going throughout the second half with 29-17 in the third quarter, and 41-18 in the fourth for the monstrous 36-point win.

The three players in the game for the Phoenix with the best plus/minus numbers were Wieskamp, Kenyon and Ayre highlighting just how significant the trio were in turning the tide late in the first half, and carrying it over to set up the dominant second half.

Hurt was once again a key contributor to the win to strengthen his claims on an All-First Team spot with 29 points and six rebounds on 11/17 shooting with 6/8 from the foul line, but it was some of his teammates he was even more impressed with.

"I think our guys did a great job and shoutout to Ben Ayre, Matt Kenyon and Joe Wieskamp especially," Hurt said.

"Matt Kenyon guards me sometimes in practice and it's not fun I'll tell you that, and Ben Ayre I just love his game and in practice he pushes our guards to be better especially."

Given Hurt and Wieskamp are playing in the NBL for the first time together and have a history dating back to their high school days, and it's only fitting they have a bit of an extra special connection.

That's why Hurt is so happy for Wieskamp, after he has bounced back from getting a DNP against Perth on November 15.

There's never been a question over his offensive firepower and he is putting up 15.5 points over the last eight games, having scored double-figures in each of them.

But he's also pulling down six rebounds in that stretch and his defensive ability, both in a physical sense and as a shot blocker and rim protector, has also been outstanding.

That was all on show on Saturday night against Tasmania where he finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, and Hurt can't speak more highly of him.

"Having a DNP coach's decision is never easy but right after that he came into practice every single day and worked his butt off," Hurt said.

"I've known Joe for a while now going back to high school and I think he's one of the best players in this competition.

"Just the way he shoots it and now he's being more comfortable driving when they close out, and attacking good defenders and he's being really physical on the defensive side of the ball.

"I think he's one of the best defensive and offensive players in this competition."

King was equally impressed with Wieskamp and has continued to like his growth to become so much more than just a shooter, but he wasn't the only player the coach was impressed by.

In the five games where Derrick Walton Jr returned for the Phoenix up until re-injuring his hamstring, Ayre only hit the floor twice for the Phoenix for a total of 14 minutes.

Now in the four games since he is averaging 14.3 minutes and is making a strong contribution including being a +40 in 20 minutes for five points and three assists against the JackJumpers.

"There's an old saying that if you stay ready you don't got to get ready and Ben has pushed these guys all year long in practice," King said.

"You don't want to get an opportunity because of an injury, but Ben has stayed ready and he's doing a nice job giving us a lot of energy on both sides of the ball.

"Obviously we know he can shoot and run the team, but he's doing a really good job on the defensive side of the ball too. He was part of that group that gave us a lot of energy when we needed it."

Kenyon is the other one who King was full of praise for with the way he impacted the game especially to finish the first half and to start the second.

He finished with +34 in the 14 minutes he played for five points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals after only hitting the floor in six of the previous 10 matches for a total of 42 minutes.

"It says a lot about Matt to have the mental capacity to not really know if I'm getting in or not, but he's been huge for us," King said.

"He practices well too and that's why these guys are getting rewarded. I think if they were guys who felt sorry for themselves or wanted to ask a million questions about why this or that then you wouldn’t see them do so well on the court when they get their opportunities.

"It says a lot about a guy's mental capacity to be ready to go."