Rinse and repeat: Roth praises youth movement

Scott Roth knew committing to three young, first-year imports would come with growing pains. But as the season reaches a crucial point, he likes how the Tasmania JackJumpers are starting to come together.

Roth has always been aware of how young his NBL26 squad is, but it was only after their most emphatic win of the season, the Open Air Game victory over Melbourne United at John Cain Arena, that he spoke about them as the youngest group he has coached. That youth has led to some inconsistency, but results are beginning to follow. The JackJumpers have now won four of their past six games and sit sixth at 9 and 11, with seven wins from 11 games away from Tasmania.

The performance against United was a statement. Tasmania won the rebounding battle by 20, pulled down 14 offensive boards to five, and earned 31 trips to the foul line.

But Roth knows one strong night means nothing without a repeat on Boxing Day, when the JackJumpers host the New Zealand Breakers at MyState Bank Arena.

"We just have to hit the repeat button, which is something that we've been talking about for three or four weeks and just being able to duplicate things over and over again," Roth said.

"There's a maturity and a growth area there when it comes to being able to solve problems quickly and when we are on point in those areas we play some good basketball, but the consistency has not been there throughout.

"We've had our moments and tonight was a moment, but now can we regroup here in three days and go play the Breakers who have given us humongous amounts of problems, and can we hit the repeat button and do some of these same things over and over again."

The import trio of Tyger Campbell, Bryce Hamilton and David Johnson all played key roles in Tuesday night’s 92 and 73 win over Melbourne United, with Roth impressed by what he saw.

Campbell led the way with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Hamilton added 18 points, while Johnson delivered a crucial late impact, scoring 14 points, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter.

Roth said the performance highlighted both the talent and the learning curve facing his young group.

"I knew we were young, but I didn’t realise that we are the youngest team in the NBL so there's a growth period for the three imports that have never played over here," Roth said.

"They have to learn how to win in a building like this and adjusting to the style of play and referees, and there's all growth in there that's positive and sometimes it's not so positive."

Despite the challenges, Roth believes the foundation is being built.

"But I think the maturity level of us and the growth is definitely an area that we can continue to work on with how tough the league is, but for these guys that are just coming in as three brand new imports trying to find their way in our system, has not been easy."

For Roth, the focus remains firmly on steady progress.

"The growth we have is exciting for us and we just continue to stack days, that's all we talk about and we don't talk about anything other than can we just win a day, and then we move on to the next day."