New Breakers backcourt set to star?

Injury and unavailability prevented the backcourt partnership of Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Will McDowell-White from ever truly hitting its straps in NBL24. While McDowell-White has since gone on to pursue opportunities away from the Breakers, Mody Maor believes the club has recruited the perfect foil for ‘PJC’ ahead of next season. 

 Veteran NBL journeyman Mitch McCarron has been added to a rapidly building Breakers roster for NBL25 on a two-year deal, and has already discussed his own desire to return back to his best basketball under Mody Maor.

McCarron was an All-NBL Second Team nominee and NBL champion with Melbourne United, and has spent the past three seasons with the Adelaide 36ers. He was reportedly a heavily chased signature in this free agency period, and he says he believes he and Jackson-Cartwright can play off each other perfectly.

“I imagine my combination with Parker on the floor is going to be a little bit of everything at times,” McCarron told Breakers Media. “Sometimes it’ll be flip flopping between the one and the two – obviously that might depend on how this roster fills out by the end of the day.

“I think we can both push the ball, I think we can both play in transition, and at the end of the day having different kinds of attacks is going to be good for the team and whoever we get on the roster so I’m sure we’ll be able to play off each other and play up-tempo.

“I think Parker’s second year in the NBL is going to be a big one. He was borderline runner-up for MVP and in some people’s eyes he was the MVP, and then he showed that in the Play-In games that he stepped up to another level despite all the injuries on the roster.

“Now he’s familiar with the league and how teams are going to cover him on defence I expect another big year from him.

“Parker seemed to be able to break scouts quickly and people had a hard time slowing him down, and I think he’ll be even better in his second year.”

New Zealand has had to embark on a near-full roster rebuild ahead of the upcoming season, and prior to the re-signing of Jackson-Cartwright, head coach Mody Maor said only Dane Pineau would likely be returning from last season’s group.

Amongst the key departures is Tom Abercrombie who, after 429 games and four titles with the club has retired from the game.

Only ten currently contracted NBL players have played more games in the competition than McCarron’s 245. While Maor believes McCarron will add a crucial leadership element to the Breakers locker room, the guard has rejected any notion of replacing the club legend’s influence.

“We lost significant players with significant voices who knew what winning looks like, who knew what winning habits looked like, who knew what wining plays looked like, who knew what winning practices look like,” Maor said.

“It was very important for us to bring players into the building who have this experience and who can lead us by example and by their words in the right direction and hold other players accountable, and Mitch definitely fits that mould.”

“I’m definitely not trying to replace Tom Abercrombie – that’s a bit of an impossible feat,” McCarron added.

“I’m definitely going to reach out to Tom in due time and have a chat with him about how he approached things. He’s a legend of the club, a legend of the league and he was super successful.

“It’s not really about replacing him or stepping into his shoes, I have to walk my own path and help the group in a different way than Tom did but I’ll definitely reach out to him and get as much advice as I can.”