Giant Zhou Qi hasn’t suited up for South East Melbourne Phoenix in six games.
But, if Tuesday’s high-octane practice session is anything to go by, the 216cm Chinese centre is close to a return from a calf tear.
So close that coach Simon Mitchell rates the 26-year-old — who was rattled last week when his Melbourne home was burgled — a 50-50 chance of hitting the floor on Thursday night against Illawarra.
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It would mean South East Melbourne would be back at full strength for the first time in more than a month.
“That’s the best I’ve seen him move this year, although he was coming in as a sub on the white team, so his reps weren’t incredibly high,” Mitchell said after Tuesday’s session at the State Basketball Centre.
“I really like what we saw out of him today, that was the most nimble that he’s looked.
“So we’ll go through the medical staff, they’ll assess him, see what his recovery is like and we’ll operate from there.
“I don’t know for sure at this point but, on the back of what we saw in the gym, he’s a chance.
“See how he goes tomorrow (Wednesday) and hopefully he can get through another tough session.”
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Phoenix, sitting fourth, have had recent issues with travel, dropping games in Perth and New Zealand, but Mitchell leans on his side’s record of 8-2 when all starters were available (0-4 when one or more are missing).
“It’d be fair to say that’s pretty damn consistent but there’s also a fair gulf between those eight wins and the two losses,” he said.
“We had a bit of a meeting about it today and we’re trying to assess what’s behind those two losses.”
They won’t have to worry about the travel this week. On Thursday, Phoenix host Illawarra Hawks — off the back of their first win in nearly two months — before backing up in a Sunday matinee against Adelaide.
***SEM Phoenix v Illawarra Hawks, Thursday, December 8, 7.30pm, John Cain Arena
***SEM Phoenix v Adelaide 36ers, Sunday, December 11, 2pm, John Cain Arena
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