Why Taran chose Tassie

Taran Armstrong says the opportunity to play under championship coach Scott Roth played a major role in bringing him back to Tasmania and the NBL.

Already having worked closely with assistant coach Mark Radford during his junior years, Armstrong said he has great respect for the JackJumpers' program and the coaches' ability to get the best out of their players.

“What you hear in the NBL circles is he’s (Roth) obviously held in such high regard and as I’ve developed my relationship with him, I’ve been able to see a lot of those things and I’m very excited,” Armstrong said after signing with the JackJumpers.

“I hear his best quality is probably his accountability of everyone in the team and it doesn’t matter if you’re top guy, DP, whatever the situation is, if you’re not doing your job, he’s on it. That’s someone I really want to play for.”

A proud Tasmanian, Armstrong said he had no hesitation returning home, particularly knowing the club had such a strong reputation for developing talent.

At just 24 years old and already with NBA and EuroLeague experience under his belt, he knows he still has plenty of improvement left.

“That’s a massive credit to the program here,” Armstrong said.

“It’s such a blessing that it happens to be in Tasmania and it’s great for any aspiring basketball player in Tassie that there’s actually a really high-level program here.

“For myself, I could have realistically picked a lot of different places to go globally and for a Tasmanian to want to come back to Tasmania to play, it speaks highly of the program.

“I always think there’s not going to be any stage in my career where I think, ‘okay, this is my skill set and I’m comfortable’. I’m always going to push to improve and it’s the same as this off-season. We’ve been working really hard and I’m excited to continue to get better.”

Armstrong also has aspirations of continuing to represent his country, as he did at the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers last year, and says the NBL puts him in the best possible position to stay in the eyes of selectors.

“My past year I kind of feel like I’ve almost fallen off the map a little bit. Not many people over here (Dubai Basketball) have seen me and, to be honest, I haven’t played that many games,” he said.

“So, being back in the eye and being someone regularly that can be in the eyes of selectors and things like that, it’s a huge plus and definitely a factor of coming back home.”

The emerging guard joins a Tasmanian team already featuring Josh Bannan and Will Magnay, alongside the experience of Nick Marshall, Majok Deng and Ben Ayre.

With import spots still to be filled, the JackJumpers’ local core is shaping as a major strength.

“Our team looks really, really balanced at this stage and a lot of guys that have the same mentality,” Armstrong said.

“I think that’s the way they recruit. They recruit a certain type of person and to have so many guys like that under the same roof competing every day, it’s only going to make each other better.

“I think we’ll make a really good run this year.”

Since departing Cairns in 2025, Armstrong signed a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors, playing 12 games in the G League, before joining Dubai Basketball.