Pair to lead team

The Printsync South West Slammers men’s team will be led by Luke Deighton and Alastair Ishigami-Sims during the 2020 West Coast Classic.

Ahead of tomorrow night’s home opener against the Mandurah Magic, coach Mark Worthington outlined why he felt both players were fitting of the honour.

“Deights has been around Bunbury basketball for awhile,” he said.

“He has a really level head and thinks things through. And knows he is not going to be the superstar player.

“He is going to come off the bench and provide that sort of leadership for the rest of the group — an older head in a very young team.

“With Alastair, I wanted to have a young, up and coming player who also possesses a level head.

“Alastair will have an opportunity to grow into a leader as well during this process without having to do it alone.

“He will be able to lean on Deights as well on the court. They are both obviously guards and you need your guards to be on the same page.

“With those two, I find them really easy to communicate with and I think they both have the respect of the group.”

Aside from the bonus of securing a victory tomorrow night, Worthington is keen for his team to achieve some targets of their own.

“I would hope to see people understand that our guys are playing very hard,” he said.

“We have always said from day one that effort is a non-negotiable. From when we started to where we are now, training-wise I think we have picked up tremendously.

“Two would be that structure within the group. That it is not just a free for all and we actually stick to what we do.

“And the third thing would be that the guys are actually having fun out there.

“I think that has been a big one from last year. Find joy in the small wins.”

Friday night’s match up pits two WA-based NBL legends — Worthington and Aaron Trahair — against each other, while respective assistant coaches James Fitch and Ricky Grace are also good friends.