Tatum "lit a fire" in award contender

Wani Swaka Lo Buluk is a well-respected NBL defender, but it was being called out in pre-season by Illawarra Hawks coach Justin Tatum that really "lit a fire" in the 23-year-old.

The Hawks improved to a 5-1 record to start the season with Saturday night's 87-75 win in Cairns, with Swaka Lo Buluk again a dominant defensive force.

"This guy next to me (Swaka Lo Buluk) needs to be in contention for Defensive Player of the Year in the league," Tatum said.

"He comes in and sets the tone. He did another great job on one of their best players (Rob Edwards) and he's been doing it over the course of the season for us so far. When guys like this step it up and take the challenge, it helps the team and ignites us to pull out wins like this."

Swaka Lo Buluk is now 149 games into his NBL career, having started as a development player at the Perth Wildcats. He was then a starter in the Sydney Kings' NBL22 championship team.

Now in his third season at the Hawks, he's one of their most important players. 

On Saturday night he limited Edwards to 4/15 shooting, on the back of a brilliant job on Tasmania's Milton Doyle last week.

"It was in the pre-season and no one knows this, but JT called me out in front of everybody," Swaka Lo Buluk said, crediting his coach for his improvement.

"It kind of lit a fire in me and my mindset changed. Just him calling me out now makes me set the tone for everybody on the team, but I've got to give a shoutout to the coaches with their scouts.

"That lets me just go out there and try to set the tone."

While Swaka Lo Buluk's defence is on point, he's also made himself into a legitimate offensive threat so far this season, averaging a career-best 8.3 points a game.

"I just have to do whatever I can to help the team win," Swaka Lo Buluk said.

"Whether that's running the lanes or getting stops, I'm just doing what I've got to do to help us win.

"JT lit a fire in me and it definitely changed my mindset."

It's anything but a one man show, with the Hawks now sitting on top of the NBL with a 5-1 record.

Only Trey Kell III and Darius Days have come into the Hawks' group this season, while Sam Froling, Tyler Harvey, Will Hickey, Hyunjung Lee, Todd Blanchfield, Mason Peatling, Lachlan Olbrich and Dan Grida are all back from last season's Playoff run.

"It's definitely a lot to do with the chemistry that we have and keeping the guys from last year, and having the same core group definitely helps with the way we've started this season," Swaka Lo Buluk said.

"We know we've got a long season to go and we're riding on this high at the moment, but we know we can still be 10 times better."