Illawarra Hawks coach Justin Tatum speaks out after a controversial end to the game against Melbourne United at the Sandpit. Video by NBL
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00:00Coach, what are your emotions after that loss?
00:05Clearly disappointed.
00:07Tipped my hat off to Melbourne coming in and having a plan
00:10ready to defeat us in our place.
00:12Kudos to them.
00:14With my team saying that, we did not display the best team
00:19that we know who we are.
00:22There was some ISO plays here and there defensively.
00:25We didn't have enough defensive stands to slow Melbourne down.
00:29And as they are the top defensive team in the league,
00:33they do what they did.
00:35But yes, it's disappointing not to play to our best ability
00:39and allow another team to defeat us on our home court.
00:43Obviously, the big moment came with the Chris Dalton
00:45position.
00:47Have you had a chance to look at that incident in the back?
00:49I don't have to look at it.
00:50It was right in front of my face.
00:52It was unfortunate we had a, I don't
00:54know if it's a first time or a rookie referee who
00:56wants to make a call like that.
00:58But we're just happy that Chris Goulding didn't hurt himself
01:01flopping in front of us.
01:03So I'm glad that he's injury free.
01:06But at the end of the day, the officials at that time just,
01:11I mean, they just unfortunately just made a bad decision,
01:15bad call.
01:16So it is what it is.
01:17And it's amazing that the shot clock wasn't running.
01:20So it became a technical violation that
01:23saw them in behind the ball right?
01:25Yeah, it was.
01:27But emotions was going high at that time
01:29because everybody in the gym thought
01:31there was a call at that time.
01:32And so even myself, and once they
01:34took the time to know the clock wasn't going,
01:38emotions digressed because we felt that we had a chance.
01:40We were down three.
01:42But unfortunately, we have another official
01:47who decides to want to give somebody
01:49a technical foul on emotions of the call.
01:53Wasn't disrespected as an official,
01:55but it then comes back a minute or two later and gives it to us.
01:59Not right then and there.
02:01Do you get teed up for the original discussion
02:03when it first happened and you seemed quite animated?
02:05Or was it something that you said later on
02:07when we were trying to look at what the replay center was
02:09coming up with?
02:10I'm not sure.
02:11I know that was, I told him that was a bleeping terrible call.
02:15I mean, I felt that any coach in this league
02:18will probably have the emotions at the same time
02:20that they felt that that was going on.
02:23And so that was it.
02:25And once they got everything sorted,
02:27I felt that they guessed that was something
02:29that didn't need to be said.
02:30But I mean, when I look to my left,
02:32I see Dean Vikraman standing right next to me in my box
02:35trying to call a timeout, which he didn't have.
02:37And at the end of the day, I guess I'm not Dean at this time,
02:40which understandably, I'm not.
02:42But the respect factor with the officials and our group
02:45in general was just a poor display, poor display.
02:48But once again, they didn't cost us that game.
02:51You know, us as a team didn't play to the 40 minutes
02:55that I felt.
02:55But it should never be left in the ref's hands.
02:58It always should be left in the players.
03:00So I saw you discussing it with Chris.
03:01Chris thought you directed the expletive at him.
03:03But you said you were directing the expletive at the call.
03:06Chris knew what I'd exploited it.
03:07I said, that's a bleeping terrible call.
03:09I said, Chris, I never said bleep you,
03:11or bleep the officials, or whatever the case may be.
03:13I said, that call right there could potentially
03:15cost us the game.
03:16And so if you can't determine what I said, and then he did.
03:21It came back repeated.
03:22Like, you know, you talked about the call.
03:23So if I'm talking about the call,
03:25why is there a technical foul at this time?
03:27Why is it so important at this time?
03:29And you already, we already shot,
03:32they already shot 18 free throws to four
03:35in the second half against us.
03:36So their momentum was all in that way, going their way.
03:39So why even get involved anymore?
03:41These guys get paid a lot of money.
03:42The fans get paid to get them in here.
03:44They want to see the players, not some incompetent referees
03:48that feel that they're in there, and their feelings
03:50at that time, to dictate the game.
03:52But it is what it is.
03:53So you're saying that if they're consistent now,
03:55any coaching questions or call-in-the-next
03:56players should get a team foul, right?
03:58100%.
03:59But it's only going to be me.
04:00It's only me.
04:01I'm intimidating.
04:01I guess my voice too deep.
04:02I'm too tall.
04:03My skin color's different.
04:04Whatever it is, it's me.
04:06Because I hear the same coaches say similar to same things,
04:09or complain about the same stuff.
04:10And their lead way, their leash is a little bit longer.
04:13But I guess I have to be made an example out of.
04:18And the reason that it's important, I suppose,
04:20is because after you got teed up, they made the free throw.
04:23The difference is four.
04:24When they inbound the ball and the turnover,
04:26you drop the three.
04:27Had you not been teed up, the score's level.
04:29Then you don't need a foul, right?
04:31And that's a stretch.
04:32Could be a different game.
04:33But the referees wanted to be seen.
04:34And so I hope they're happy today
04:36that they were actually acknowledged and seen
04:39and made a difference in the game today.
04:40I'm proud of them.
04:41What do you feel happened back into the second quarter,
04:46starting the third quarter, where
04:47it looked like your offense lost a bit of flow
04:49and the defense ramped up?
04:50Why couldn't you get any better than that?
04:52I mean, once again, like you said, the defense ramped up.
04:54And they took us out of our position
04:56to catch our ball where we wanted
04:58to start our offense at.
04:59And we knew that.
05:00We knew that Melvin was going to come in and be physical.
05:04They can be as physical as they want.
05:06But we needed to be a little bit smarter.
05:08So they pushed our offense out a little further.
05:10And then we got into the individual stuff
05:12as the first guy taking a shot or the ball
05:14and make it to the other side.
05:16It seemed like you guys have been an up and down defensively
05:20this season.
05:21It seemed like the connection for you guys
05:23was also really high up.
05:24Like, your aggression defensively
05:26was very different than we've seen in the post-match.
05:28Was that an emphasis coming into this one?
05:30Only on certain players that we wanted
05:31to give extra attention to.
05:33But they had their reserve guys step up.
05:36Cam, Cameron Flynn, did a really good job making some baskets.
05:41Ian Clark was solid as normal.
05:44We let other guys who we wanted to see if they can make shots.
05:47They ended up making them.
05:48David, the incidences at the end aside,
05:51where do you feel like this game falls for you guys?
05:54If you want to pick any point in the game, you can.
05:59We lost the game by five points.
06:00If you want to go to the free throw count,
06:01if you want to go to the cause, you pick it.
06:04But at the end of the day, I felt like what JT said,
06:07being out there, it felt like the ball stuck.
06:09There were times where we could have definitely got a better
06:12shot, and we didn't.
06:14So as much as we can definitely blame whoever we want,
06:17being out there, it felt like we had
06:20control of certain situations, and we didn't capitalize.
06:22So it's definitely on us, too.
06:25But it makes it a little harder when things don't go your way
06:28in general.
06:29So it's a tough one.
06:31Coach, was Trae Kelly right for your away game in 48 hours?
06:35We know.
06:36That's something we'll know probably later on this evening.
06:38Tomorrow, he fell on his back that he's
06:40done a couple of weeks prior in the last, not two home games
06:44ago, and re-aggravated.
06:46So we'll see how he is after some time when he wakes up.
06:49I guess the most important thing for you was a man beside you.
06:53You really stepped up tonight, didn't you?
06:54Oh, he did a great job.
06:55I mean, he did a great job.
06:56And that's a next man mentality with us,
06:58with the depth of our bench.
06:59It's a success that we'll have this season.
07:01And when guys get opportunities like they will do today,
07:04they make the best of it.
07:09Yeah, you fought this game out, but you just
07:12didn't get the result. Did you think the difference was
07:14in some of the calls?
07:16Or did you think in the way that you played the game,
07:19whether it was on defense or offense and in patches?
07:24It was definitely us.
07:26I mean, it was, like you said, in patches
07:28that where we, in the last three to four minutes,
07:30we gained the lead by four or five points.
07:33And then they came and went on the run.
07:36So we, once again, like Devo said,
07:37we got stagnant with our offense.
07:40And then defensively, they made some tough shots
07:42on the back end.
07:43You didn't do it before, but obviously,
07:46you were trying to rest on this, fainting some time away.
07:49Yeah.
07:50Yeah.
07:50What are you expecting?
07:52Well, I'm expecting my guys to bounce back,
07:54because once we've had losses before,
07:58and then we had a great job bouncing back.
08:00So I think this really burns a hole in my team,
08:03mentally and physically, because they really
08:05want to be able to get back Saturday
08:06and show them how we can really play.
08:08David, you've hurt yourself tonight,
08:10freshly signing a three-year extension.
08:13Congratulations.
08:14You must be pleased that you're getting more minutes
08:16and you're delivering on the call.
08:19Yeah, yeah, definitely.
08:20It stings not walking away with the win, though,
08:22like being a competitor and as competitive as I am.
08:26But past that, I feel sure I'm happy just being somewhere
08:30and solidifying myself to a degree.
08:33I feel like JT sees that I come in and I'm a dog.
08:36I play hard.
08:37It's sort of what I do.
08:37I play with my heart on my sleeve.
08:39And I'm just grateful that the City of Wollongong
08:44and the region of Willowarra see that as well.
08:46So I'm just really grateful to be here.
08:48Well, you had a team high 17, you had a team high six assists.
08:50What part of your game are you most happy with right now?
08:53Right now?
08:54Just my confidence.
08:56I mean, yeah, I can sit here and say specific things,
08:58but it's just my confidence.
09:00I just want to make sure that I keep this confidence going
09:02forward.
09:03And no matter what happens, the ups and the downs
09:04throughout the season, I just want to make sure I keep that.
09:06But it makes it a lot easier when you've got the coaching
09:08staff and JT.
09:09They instill that in me every day.
09:11They don't want to take away from what we do.
09:14So it makes my job easier.
09:16You used to be, I'm going to say,
09:18an erratic guy coming off the bench.
09:20You had a lot of energy, but it wasn't really controlled.
09:22It seems like you've refined your game really, really well.
09:25What do you think?
09:25I mean, it's hard to do that when you're playing two,
09:28three minutes a game.
09:29So that's all you guys are seeing.
09:30And that goes for any DP player.
09:31You guys consider and say, they're this and they're that.
09:34But given the right minutes, I feel
09:35like there's a lot of guys in this league
09:37that are just waiting for an opportunity.
09:39And as much as it is, for sure, being on a bench,
09:43watching a lot of basketball over the past five, six years,
09:46that accounts to it.
09:47But I just want to make it known that I've always been nice.
09:51It's just I'm getting an opportunity.
09:53There are a lot of guys who are in that position right now
09:55that can spot minutes and then get a chance
09:57to get an extended run.
09:58What would your advice be to those sorts of guys
10:00Training.
10:01Every single day, go in and prove a point.
10:03Training is your game day.
10:04If you go in every single day and prove it,
10:07eventually your teammates and your coach have to respect you.
10:10They have to.
10:12Coach, later in the game, lots of irrigation.
10:15Everyone expected to go to Tyler Harvey for the game
10:17labeling potential three.
10:18But you went to Toddy Blanchfield.
10:20Was that intended?
10:21Was that drawn up?
10:23We just told them, take whoever has the best shot.
10:25We knew that they were going to hug and everything on Tyler.
10:28And we wanted to put two guards into action
10:30to where they had to make a choice.
10:32So Tyler, it was unselfish.
10:34And we kicked it to TB.
10:35And he made a tough shot.
10:36So those things that they do in practice.
10:38So as long as we be able to have two guys being
10:41able to same action, we trust both of them to take it.
10:46Coach, they have benched on the floor three throws.
10:49Now you have 61% from the line.
10:50Is that an issue for you guys moving forward?
10:53I hope not.
10:54I hope not.
10:55I mean, it shouldn't be because we work on it continuously.
10:59I just think sometimes the guys, when they're up there,
11:01they get complacent.
11:02Or they don't focus on as much.
11:04I probably would challenge them a little bit more in practice,
11:06certain ways.
11:08But I hope it's not a problem.
11:09But we have been shooting solid prior to this 60%.
11:12I think we've done the lowest was probably like 73%.
11:16And this is the first lowest.
11:18So I don't think it will be.
11:20The guys will challenge themselves and do better.
11:26That's good.
11:27All right.
11:28Appreciate it.
11:28Appreciate it.