No person has been a stronger public supporter of LaMelo Ball during his time in the National Basketball League than his head coach Matt Flinn. In his first year as a head coach, the Illawarra Hawks’ main man has thrown his full support behind his Next Star despite his struggles to open the year.
Ball made good on Flinn’s high praise early in the year with a historic performance on Monday, becoming the youngest player in league history to record a triple-double. Ball finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in an overtime win over the Cairns Taipans.
After the game, Flinn talked about Ball’s historic performance in his post-game press conference.
“I think everyone saw tonight what he’s capable of. We see it pretty regularly in practice when the doors are closed. It was really nice for him to get into a flow. He just impacts the game in so many different ways. It’s exciting to be a part of. It’s also the way he brings his teammates into the game as well. There’s so many good players in this league but the really great ones make everyone around them better. I think we saw tonight he can bring other people into the game.”
Ball has continued to improve game by game in the NBL and has really hit his stride in the weeks since Aaron Brooks’ injury. He’s also helped slowly drag the Hawks back up the table.
The win over the Taipans moves them off the bottom of the table at least in the short-term and within two wins of a top-four spot. It’s still a long road but with Ball steadying improving, anything feels possible with the Hawks moving forward.
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