NBL off-season news: Mike Kelly named South East Melbourne Phoenix new NBL coach

The Phoenix have unveiled the former South East Melbourne Magic champion on a two-year deal in a full circle moment for the Californian, who spent nine years in Melbourne’s Heartland honing his craft on the court.

The 55-year-old was an assistant to the legendary Brian Goorjian on the Boomers’ history-making Tokyo Olympic bronze-medal team and replaces Simon Mitchell as the second coach in franchise history.

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Kelly will have to hit the ground running — he takes the reins on the same day NBL free agency opens.

“Free agency happens very fast and, with all the conversations that go and people starting to lean one way or the other, we need to be very quick in the direction we want to go,” Kelly, a former NBL Coach of the Year in Cairns, told News Corp.

“We have a good idea of the guys we’d like to speak with and, with a good base right now in Mitch Creek and Alan Williams, two of the best players in the NBL, and Reuben Te Rangi and a couple of great young players in Owen Foxwell and Anzac Rissetto, there’s a great nucleus there to build off.”

Kelly, plucked out of Perth where he was assisting John Rillie, played in the old SEABL with Nunawading, won the 1996 NBL title playing under Goorjian and assisted Dean Vickerman on the 2018 Melbourne United championship team.

He’s focused on creating a squad that can rely on its defence at the Phoenix, something the club has struggled to do in its first four seasons in the league.

“Having a consistent defensive presence is the decider if we win consistently or we don’t,” he said.

“We’ll be able to put together a great offensive team who can score points, but it’s super important for us to put a great defensive team that has toughness and fights and gets it done on the defensive end consistently.

“Coming back as a head coach, it’s full circle. Back when I was playing, from the very start, the south east was the basketball Heartland there and the fans there embrace it and I can’t wait to be a part of it again.”

SEM boss Tommy Greer said the club settled on Kelly after an exhaustive process.

“Mike aligned with our key priorities — we were looking for NBL experience, a defensive-minded head coach and someone with the ability to build strong relationships with players,” Greer said.

“He’s also got strong connections with the south east so he knows the landscape well.

“We’ve already had a number of conversations throughout the process and we’re incredibly aligned when it comes to how we’re thinking about the construction of the team.”

With only four players contracted, the first phone call Greer and Kelly will make at 9am on Thursday when free agency opens is to Cairns’ defensive dynamo Bul Kuol, who is among the most-coveted free agents in the league.

They will also approach Brisbane big Gorjok Gak, who is seen as another piece that can strengthen their defensive depth.

The Phoenix would love to be in the running for William McDowell-White, but the reality is they have a good chunk of salary cap tied up in superstars Creek and Williams and it’s understood the 24-year-old point guard has put a price on his services that would rule several clubs out.

Kelly’s wife Annette has been by his side for 28 years as he’s travelled his “two homes” — Australia and the US playing and coaching. Children Ashton, Kirsten and Josh — who wants to follow in his dad’s footsteps on the court — are his biggest supports.

“My mum would still get upset if I called Australia home, but it is,” he said.

“Our kids were born here, and this is where we base ourselves.

“But, when we go back to the states, we also say ‘we’re going home’.”

He maintains a thick American accent, even though he’s been in Australia for the best part of the last 33 years.

“It’s funny, if I don’t listen to myself or think about my accent, I just feel really comfortable here, It’s just where I’ve kind of grown up as a person,” he said.

“I think Americans have to try to lose their accents, actually, and I never have.

“If I have a couple of beers, I think I can do the Australian accent a little better, but this is what it is, for better or worse.

“When I go back to the states, people say ‘oh, you say that funny’, I think there’s a few Aussie sayings I’ve picked up, for sure.”

NBA DREAM COULD DERAIL KINGS’ THREEPEAT PLAN

Sydney won’t stand in the way if NBA teams come calling on back-to-back championship coach Chase Buford.

But, Right now, the combative Kings coach is focused on putting together a roster in search of a rare three-peat, with Kings owner Paul Smith keen to exercise the club option on Buford’s contract for NBL24. The Kings could even renegotiate a longer-term deal — provided he doesn’t land in the big league.

“That’s the plan, for sure — we’ll try to reload and come back strong and give it another crack,” Buford said.

“I’m sure we’ll have some conversations and see what (NBA head coach) opportunities come up but those are 30 tough positions to get that a million people around the world want.

“I’m just loving where I’m at right now, love being a head coach, love coaching basketball, so, whatever that looks like, is fine by me.

“I’ve got a great job and enjoy coming to work every day.”

Smith wears the Kings’ success at fostering NBA talent as a badge of honour, with Xavier Cooks the latest to step up, and he said he’d like to see Buford do the same.

In two short seasons, the 34-year-old has become one of the most-polarising — and well known — personalities in the NBL.

At different times, he’s danced on the sidelines, celebrated big plays with his charges, kicked in doors and directed plenty of rage at his favourite sparring partners — the referees.

It’s left him lighter in the pocket and with an army of haters outside Sydney, who, if they were looking for some compunction, better not hold their breath.

“I’m not going to apologise for being who I am,” Buford said.

“I know, for a lot of people, I’m not their cup of tea.

“But I think, for the guys I go to work with every day, they have a lot of respect for me and the way we go about it and it’s a fun environment that we’ve created in our building.

“I’m happy with the opinions of the people closest to me and that’s what matters most.”

The reload is already well advanced for the Kings. They’ve locked away much of the supporting cast that led them to title No.5, renegotiating young gun Jaylin Galloway’s contract to add two more years. Galloway, still just 20, enters his fourth season in the NBL, all with the Kings, and his combination of athleticism and defensive prowess has some touting him as a future NBA talent. The Kings have also locked in grand final hero Angus Glover for the next two seasons and, on Sunday, exercised forward Kouat Noi’s team option for NBL24.

Buford’s under no illusion the challenge in finding a replacement for reigning MVP and new Washington Wizard Xavier Cooks is monumental.

“I don’t think you can just act like you can find a like-for-like replacement and just go from there — it will be all about how you build the roster and find new pieces that fit together,” he said.

Buford wouldn’t be drawn on outside talent — free agency doesn’t officially commence until Thursday — but star Cairns big man Keanu Pinder is a name that continues to pop up as a potential Cooks replacement. Grand final MVP Derrick Walton will test his value in the overseas market, while both Justin Simon and the club have a mutual interest in a return.

Basketball journalist

Michael Randall is a basketball reporter for the Herald Sun and CODE Sports, covering the NBL, WNBL, NBA and Australian senior and junior international and representative teams…. Read more

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