King's dream start to coaching reign

Josh King knew as soon as he took the call in Turkey he wanted to be part of the NBL.

His first experience on Friday lived up to those expectations and now he can't wait to experience a South East Melbourne Phoenix home game.

Having spent the past six seasons continuing his emergence as a coach in Europe, King had heard nothing but good things about the NBL, so when the Phoenix enquired about his interest, he couldn’t jump quick enough.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing to get out of his contract with Turkish club Darussafaka, but it all worked out in the end and after just meeting his players and assistant coaches on Sunday, King coached his first game on Friday night.

To cap off the perfect start, South East Melbourne beat the defending champion Tasmania JackJumpers, 77-75, in Launceston.

The Phoenix have now won three of their last four, since parting ways with former coach Mike Kelly. 

"It was an exciting game, it was fun to be a part of and a lot of games in this league come down to one or two possessions," King said.

"It was definitely a fun game to be a part of, but it's always even more fun when you get the win."

Taking over as coach eight games into any season is always going to be a challenge, no matter the circumstances, but in King's case to be new to the country and the league, that increases tenfold.

But he's quickly made South East Melbourne home.

"They've made it an easy transition for myself coming over here and just getting here last week," King said.

"They've all been coachable and they've had obviously some change, but they give great effort in practice, they're coachable and I think they're willing to learn and get better.

"They're talented players and I think they like each other. I haven’t been around them that long, but it really seems like they like each other and are happy for each other. If you've got a group of guys that do that, you've always got a chance to be successful."

There's little time for King to worry about celebrating winning his first game coaching in the NBL, with the Phoenix now to turn their focus to taking on the Perth Wildcats at John Cain Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Wildcats arrive fresh off winning their last two games at home to the Sydney Kings and Illawarra Hawks, while the Phoenix have found their best form for the best part of a year.

"I'm excited to play or watch our guys play in front of our home fans at John Cain Arena on Sunday," King said.

"It's a quick turnaround and we've got to have good travel, get a quick scout and hopefully do our best to get a win on Sunday."