The team set for "freakish level" scoring

NBL champion Pete Hooley believes the South East Melbourne Phoenix have the firepower to put points up at “a freakish level” this season.

A completely revamped squad includes a strong trio of imports, led by Derrick Walton Jr, Joe Wieskamp and Matt Hurt, while the local contingent has been strengthened with the additions of Nathan Sobey, Jordan Hunter and Angus Glover.

Last year’s bottom-placed team now boasts one of the most exciting rosters in the league.  

“You lose an MVP-calibre Mitch Creek and a lot of fans will be thinking ‘where do we go from here?’,” Hooley said on NBL Media’s The Roundtable

“They’ve gone and re-tooled exceptionally well, and I’m very excited about what they could potentially achieve on the offensive end.

“They’re going to put points up at a freakish level, night in and night out.”

Hooley says the recruitment of Walton Jr, a Grand Final MVP and All NBL First-Team member, is an incredible coup for the Phoenix. 

“I do still have some concerns defensively ... but historically speaking, what’s really the key to success and to winning ... firstly you’ve got to great defensively, but then you need a strong point guard, a pick-and-roll beast, and they’ve got that in Derrick Walton Jr,” he explained. 

“I couldn’t be higher on what Derrick Walton Jr. can achieve this season. He’s a point-god. He’s arguably the best playmaker in the NBL in that position … he is an absolute mastermind.

“We might have an anomaly in a season where it might not matter too much because of the offensive power they have.”

Hooley said South East Melbourne’s apparent deficiencies on the defensive side may be unfounded, a statement supported by former Sydney King Brad Rosen.  

“Joe Wieskamp is actually a very good defender,” Hooley continued.

“It may come to a point where defence doesn’t matter, but I still they’re going to be able to work it out eventually.

“Angus Glover’s going to come in and lock up defensively, Matt Kenyon’s going to do that, Malique Lewis is going to do that, the exciting Next Star.

“They’ve got pieces who can come in and hold it down defensively.”

“The head of the snake here, Mike Kelly ... he knows defence non-stop. He’s a former NBL coach of the year. He knows what needs to be done and how to get it done on the defensive end,” Rosen added.

Rosen was bullish on the prospects of two-time NBL champion Jordan Hunter, confident he can put himself in the mix as one of the league’s elite centers.

“They’ve got the greatest bigs in the league on the pick-and-roll, in Jordan Hunter. He was outstanding last year and I think he’s one the Kings let go, that they didn’t want to,” he said.

“Every team needs a Jordan Hunter in it. The way he screens, the way he rolls, the way he defends, he doesn’t need the ball.

“I’ve watched him grow into the player he is today, and he’s elite.”

The Phoenix will get their first test with their new-look roster when they take on the Brisbane Bullets on Thursday night in Wangaratta.

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