The key to igniting JackJumpers' championship drive

They may have been eliminated in last season's Play-In Qualifier, but the Tasmania JackJumpers are determined to bounce back during the Hungry Jack's NBL27 campaign.

The catalyst for this confidence is who will be steering the ship this season. That will, of course, be Tasmania product Taran Armstrong, who returns to the homeland after stints in the NBA and EuroLeague.

"Taran Armstrong for me is one of the best talents to come through the country; he can flat out play," Lanard Copeland said on NBL Now.

Despite only missing the one NBL season due to his overseas commitments, Copeland's colleague Jeck Heverin knows how much the 24-year-old has developed in that time.

"The biggest thing with Taran is that since we last saw him, he's had the NBA experience and been on the periphery, which is not easy, and he's had the Dubai experience, which was challenging for him for a range of reasons," Heverin said.

"He's coming back a man, with a world of experience. That's got to mean something."

NBL Now panellist Pete Hooley agrees Armstrong could be the missing piece for Scott Roth's side, as they try to claim the franchise's second title.

"The homegrown kid is finally back in Tasmania, and he has the keys to a team that is built to go and win a championship," Hooley said.

"He's playing with a different level of confidence; he's matured a whole lot, so I'm intrigued to see how it translates, but [he's] the key to what drives this.

"We keep talking about the point guard battles, and everyone's talking about Kendric, [Bryce Cotton], and Cole Anthony, but Taran Armstrong is very different to every single one of them.

"He's a point guard who's going to have screens set by two of the biggest bruisers in the NBL in Will Magnay and Josh Bannan.

"That is a luxury to have when you're going to have guys who are hounding you [defensively], while bringing the ball up the floor. You've got terror screens from Magnay and Bannan, as well as hard screens and rolls.

"Having those two leaders as your big men takes so much pressure off you as a point guard, and I think it will help ease his transition in with the keys.

"The formula is there for this team to be very, very good."

Armstrong and his JackJumpers open their NBL27 campaign against South East Melbourne on Monday, September 21 at MyState Bank Arena.

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