36ers coach demands credit for star big man

When Isaac Humphries went down with a serious injury before the season, there were fears the Adelaide 36ers would come up short in the big-man department. Nick Rakocevic had other ideas.

The 28-year-old’s rise in NBL27 has been nothing short of impressive, and he claimed another big scalp on Thursday night, going toe-to-toe with Melbourne United’s Josh Oduro on his way to 15 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in the 36ers’ 101-93 win.

Adelaide coach Trevor Gleeson says it’s time Rakocevic got the credit he deserves as one of the League’s best big men.

“I don’t know why you guys don’t talk about Nick more often,” Gleeson said after the win.

“I know, you know, his personality and that, you guys mightn’t like him at all, but he’s been producing numbers every single week, like a double-double, and no one’s even having him in the top five or top 10.

“I think it’s really funny how that transpires.”

Gleeson was just as pleased with how his big man handled the matchup with Oduro, who had 14 points and fouled out late as United’s comeback fell short.

“He did a great job on Oduro today,” Gleeson said. “Those two guys battled at it and it was a good battle to watch.”

The numbers back his coach up, and they show just how far Rakocevic has come in 12 months.

In NBL26, he averaged 7.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists across 30 games, playing 17.7 minutes a night.

Through 13 games of NBL27, he is averaging 18.5 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He already has six double-doubles, twice last season’s total.

It hasn’t been due to a big spike in minutes either. Rakocevic is playing a little over 20 minutes a night, up threee on NBL26, yet his scoring has more than doubled, his rebounding has nearly doubled and his assists have more than tripled.

The 36ers, now 7-6, have a week off before travelling to Illawarra next Thursday night.