Melbourne United In Praise For Young Gun

Melbourne United captain Chris Goulding has praised teammate David Okwera, as the young gun continues to grow from strength-to-strength. 

Okwera has worked himself up into the starting lineup, after a strong season playing in NBL1 for the Sandringham Sabres under head coach and United teammate David Barlow.

The 208-centimetre forward signed with United for the 2021-22 season as a development player and secured a roster spot for the 2022-23 season.  

“He’s been great,” Goulding said after the team's Throwdown win on Sunday. 

“The potential has been there, and the year he had under Barlow in the NBL1 gave him confidence to play in that system and translate that into our team.

“When he plays with that confidence and knowing that he’s gonna get a certain amount of minutes, there’s a big responsibility thrown upon him.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Young gun David Okwera making his mark with a couple of ????? jumpers.<br><br>Watch live &amp; free ? 10 Peach &amp; 10play | Live on ESPN2 via Kayo &amp; Foxtel. <a href="https://t.co/JnxlCGx6od">pic.twitter.com/JnxlCGx6od</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1589134730661834752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Okwera recorded 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in his 20 minutes of playing time in Sunday’s victory over the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

“He shoots the ball really well, he’s got confidence in his shot … that’s impressive to have that confidence in your shot to go and step in and shoot it when teams are disrespecting you, that’s what I’m really happy about,” Goulding said.

“He gets a couple of fouls here and there, but the more he plays and the more refs get used to officiating him, he’ll probably get away with some more stuff.

“It looks like he does some really good things that he’s getting pinned here and there, but that’s just growth for him in this league and getting more comfortable and people getting more comfortable with him.”

Goulding joked, “If you’re (Okwera) watching this, don’t get too far ahead of yourself ... keep working”.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">20 y/o David Okwera tonight in the win over SEM:<br><br>13 Points (Career High)<br>5 Rebounds<br>2 Assist<br>1 Block<br>5/6 FG (83%)<br>2/3 3P (66%)<br>19 Minutes <a href="https://t.co/IWoQ3vPLAL">pic.twitter.com/IWoQ3vPLAL</a></p>&mdash; NBLAlerts (@NBLAlerts) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBLAlerts/status/1589151399761178625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The United captain himself was a shooting star in Sunday’s game, with an impressive 30 points, including 7-of-12 from three. In front of a sell-out home crowd, Goulding was happy to deliver on the big stage.

“We got a good win in front of 10,300 people. I like looking at that and seeing 10,300 people and having a win, because the last time we did that, we didn’t come away with a win, so really pleasing,” he said.

Melbourne hosts the Adelaide 36ers in Round 7, following the FIBA window.