Brisbane Bullets and Boomers great Leroy Loggins challenges James Batemon

“But I think he’s coping just fine, I know he celebrated his anniversary with his wife and had that 51, but come on, brother – what are you going to get me tonight?

“It just depends on what situation you find yourself in. You don’t just have to rely on one man, and if you go out and say in your head, ‘I’m going to get 60 and be what we call a ball eater, then that’s not going to happen.’

“You have to include your teammates in that 60, as you saw with what James and Bryce Cotton did. You have to, as a fighter would say, know when to stay and when to move, or in our case, pass the ball.”

The Bullets’ mini-bounce in form will give Brisbane pundits hope that their premiership ambitions are not dead, and the impending return of Boomers stars Rocco Zikarsky, Mitch Norton and Josh Bannan could fuel those visions.

The 18-year-old Zikarsky had started the season with limited minutes of action, but was particularly impressive with his 55 minutes in the two games before the FIBA ​​​​Asia Cup Qualifiers and finished the season with the best points (13 each) and rebounds (seven and eight). and blocks (one and three).

Load

Loggins, who played for the Boomers at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, predicted the trio would return with very different perspectives and have the tools necessary to end a 17-year title drought.

“You are playing against a completely different opponent. When I was playing, I just thought, ‘Am I good enough? Should I be here?'” Loggins said.

“But I learned a lot playing international basketball and it expanded my knowledge enormously. You can learn so much here in the NBL, but once you step out of the ring… you will definitely learn.”