‘Highest highs, pretty bad lows’: Vickerman reflects

Melbourne United’s NBL26 campaign was something of a rollercoaster, and Saturday night’s Play-In clash in Perth captured that perfectly. Despite the season ending in defeat, coach Dean Vickerman said he was most proud of how the club’s culture held strong throughout the ups and downs.

United’s season came to an end at RAC Arena, but not before they produced a spirited effort against the Wildcats. Melbourne delivered an impressive first half, heading into the break with a 53–44 lead on the road.

From there, however, things began to unravel.

Finn Delany battled foul trouble, Shea Ili was again sidelined by hamstring issues, Chris Goulding continued to manage a cyst behind his knee, and Jesse Edwards fought through a back injury that had kept him out on Thursday.

Melbourne managed just 24 points in the second half as the Wildcats surged past them, bringing United’s season to a close on a floor where they had previously won 10 of their past 13 games against Perth.

It was a season that had promised so much. Melbourne opened the campaign 9–0 and later sat at 13–2, but from that point on they lost 12 of their final 20 games.

Even so, Vickerman was encouraged that his group had worked their way back to a level where they were leading a Play-In Game on the road at half-time.

"I'm proud of our group and it's one of those years where we had the highest highs with the way that we started, and we had some pretty bad lows and we got back to this point where everyone was on the same page," Vickerman said.

"I thought our best was good enough to really challenge, but credit to JR (John Rillie) and Perth, and Jo (Lual-Acuil Jr) really wanted that game tonight, you could just see it and Doo and those guys really stood up."

The highs of Melbourne’s NBL26 season were clear from the outset. United made headlines early by taking on the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans before returning home to open the NBL campaign with nine straight wins, and 13 victories from their first 15 games.

From there, however, momentum began to shift. Melbourne lost eight of their next 13 games and eventually slipped to fifth position on the ladder.

The challenges mounted along the way. Ili battled recurring hamstring injuries, Goulding struggled to find his usual rhythm and Vickerman himself was forced to undergo an emergency appendectomy.

Still, United found a way to steady late in the season. They closed the regular season with a win over the South East Melbourne Phoenix before defeating the Tasmania JackJumpers in the Play-In Qualifier.

But after Saturday night’s loss in Perth brought their season to an end, it was time to take stock of the journey.

"You go back to us playing the first NBA game in Australia and being super competitive, and doing good things for the league about bringing an NBA team to Australia so it started there," Vickerman said.

"You go on a journey with Dash (Daniels) as a Next Star, veterans and how they manage their bodies, and I'm really proud of my own staff that I can go away with the Boomers and I really trusted those guys, and they grew.

"I get sick and Rhys Carter takes over for a couple of games and as a club, when you're down and losing games and struggling after playing really well, you need your culture to stand up.

"I thought there was a lot of leaders in our team that really stood up to help us get back on track."