Aaron Young: Wellington Saints head coach previews the season, upcoming clash against Taranaki

The Wellington Saints start their new National Basketball League campaign against Taranaki on Sunday. 

New head coach Aaron Young joined Adam Cooper to look at the season ahead. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Twenty two to eight's on the All Sport breakfasts. Well,
the new Wellington Saints NBL season begins tomorrow afternoon at
TSB Arena, hosting Tartar Knaki to get the season underway. Now,
Shay Elly's return certainly headlines the Saints roster this year,
but also on board for the new season as new
Saints head coach Aaron Young. Now, Aaron's joined the club

(00:23):
on the back of a successful stunt at the Auckland
Tour Tarta as head coach, and is also back from
being involved in the Perth Wildcats coaching staff and the
A and BL playoffs most recently as well. Aaron is
with us now morning to you, Aaron, to start with,
can you just outline why you've returned to Wellington and
wanted to come down here and link up with the
Saints for twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, no, it's you know, for me, I've had some
connections with the Saints over the years. I was kind
of like a remote assistant back in twenty eighteen and
twenty nineteen, and Jordan Mills and the Mills family have
always been supportive of you know what I've been about
the relationship has always been strong, So you know, for
me the time, he just felt right for you know,

(01:05):
a new situation, new new environment, new challenge, and you know,
I was a little bit hesitant about continuing to coaching
in the New Zealand MBL, but when this opportunity came up,
I couldn't pass on it. It's always, you know, a
situation that I've wanted to put myself into. So really
excited to be here and working alongstide Jordan and his
family and then get ready for yeah, what's going to

(01:27):
be an action pack season?

Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, you talk about a new situation. So what kind
of situation is this for you? Starting afresh with a
new club.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yeah, I mean for me, it doesn't seem super fresh.
Like the guys that we've recruited and brought in, I've
got great relationships, prior relationships, and even the ones that
are locals and have you done a good job of
building the foundation before I got here. I've had prior
exchanges with it and they're really good people. So you know,

(01:57):
whenever you step into a new team or new you know,
culture or environment, there's always a bit of you know,
adjustment and you know what am I going to get?
But I think the group that we've had just has
allowed everything to run really seamlessly and couldn't be more
proud of, you know, the body of book that's been
put in up until this point, and then obviously looking

(02:18):
ahead to the season. Just a really fun group to
be able to coach and go to go to bat
with every every day.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
You've obviously been in the A and B L with
Perth as well deep into the playoffs with them. Do
you have the same mantra no matter Witch club you're
at AKA to a tader the Wildcats here, or do
you adapt to the playing group you got when you
sort of link up with different groups.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah, No, that's a that's a good point. Like I think,
you know, there's definitely things that you steal and you
take some different teams and different experiences. But you know,
for me, I'm really big on like personalizing your team.
So you know, you've got some ideas and things that
you've done in the past that you want to carry over.
But the style that we play, the way that we're

(03:02):
going to play is purely predicated on the group that
we have this season. So all the work that goes
into the offense, the defense, our system. There's a there's
a good amount of detail that has been built because
of the people that we have in our roster. So yeah,
there's a there's a good little blend. But I would

(03:23):
say with this group, we want to really try and
play to the strengths of our full balance roster.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah great, and obviously mentioned your time over at Australia.
It's always a bit of a frantic period, isn't it
where some of the team, some of the coaches are
still involved in A and B L playoffs and sort
of trickle through back to New Zealand for the National League.
How difficult does that being kind of getting everyone together
but these last couple of.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Weeks, Yeah, it's one of those things. Like for me personally,
I like, you know, I was constantly talking to people
on the ground and you know, getting things ready. But
until you're really finished with that season, can you really
lock it to kind of the Wellington side of things.
And sure for other players and coaches that there's just
a bit of a reset that you've got to have

(04:05):
because you've just come off you know, six months, seven
months of intense preparation grind and you're only focus on
really one thing, especially you know our situation. We made
it to the semifinals. You know, there's people right now
that are in the league that are involved in the finals.
The intensity of the emotion and the stakes that are
involved with that, you can't really lose your focus too much.

(04:25):
So once that page has turned, or once that chapter
is done, that's when you can really kind of hone
in on this opportunity that's coming up. And that's what
I've been able to do the last three or four
days since I've been in Wontington, is really focusing on
what's most important for this group going forward.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
And speaking of players in the Aussie League, Shay Iley,
I know fans will be excited to see him out
on court when he's ready to go this year. How
much of a game changer is it for the club
having someone of his experience, his skill set where you
know the stats he produces in the A and b L,
You know how big is that for you having a
player like of his caliber back the Saints as well?

Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, it's massive, you know for him. You know, I
think the most exciting thing for me with Shae is
he's like genuinely excited and pumped about coming back here.
You know, he's constantly asking me questions about the roster,
the you know, the schedule, like he's just in tune
with everything that's going on. So that passion that will

(05:22):
to come back and you know, put on that Saint's uniform,
that's something that he's always with, you know, a huge
amount of pride and represented this club at such a
high level. So that's what excites me about him coming back,
is like there's a real care factor for him wanting
to put on for this club and put us back
on the top of the mountain.

Speaker 1 (05:42):
Aaron, when you do have players like Shaye Early going
from the Aussie League coming back into the New Zealand League, Now,
how do you manage that in terms of workload and tiredness.
So obviously you want to come out with the strongest
team and the strongest energy at this point of the season,
but how much you know, do you have to keep
in the back of everyone's minds managing their workloads the time?

Speaker 2 (06:02):
Oh for sure. Yeah, if you don't do that, then
you're you know, you might get away with you know,
maybe squeaking out a few more wins or getting a
few more results, but in the long run, you know,
your body is probably going to break down a little bit.
So we've got a good support staff and people involved
that you know, had good experience in managing different you know,

(06:22):
transitions between seasons and leagues. We've done a good job
up to this point. You know, for me as a coaches,
you know, you want to get the most out of
everyone and really push these guys, but you've got to
also understand like their bodies are adjusting. I think what's
exciting that there's about you know, our core group, the
guys that were in the a MBL, their opportunities were
a little bit limited or inconsistent. I would say, you know,

(06:45):
I think they're all coming in hungry and wanting to
really prove, you know, that they can play at a
high level and just get out there and enjoy the game.
So that's that's what exciting. But you've got to kind
of real a minute different moments, especially at practice. They
want to get after it as much as they can,
but yeah, just you got to take it day by
day and think about the long game as well.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
I'm obviously exciting news Sean Bruce back at the Wellington Saints.
You know, legendary Australian basketball are so much success over
the years with the Sydney Kings. Now I'm just joining
the dots here, Aaron with the last time you were
at the Saints. Would have that been around the time
that Shawn Bruce was also playing here in Wellington? Correct?

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah, so that was, yeah, my first kind of stint
helping out with the team he was here, so that
relationship kind of goes back to that time frame. But
you know, he's someone that always stay in contact with obviously,
you know, really respect him as a competitor. You know,
he's one of those guys that you love to have
on your team, but you know, he's chippy when he's
on the other he's on the other side. So he

(07:43):
just approaches the game at such a high level and
thinks the game. And I think he's going to really
help our group. So we want to, you know, squeeze
as much out of him as we can. He's going
to be so good for just the continuity. He had
his first practice this morning, and the way he picks
up on things and you know, implements himself as is
really really strong for someone at his colorb.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
Troy Plumtree is obviously going to be someone that the
fans and Wellington are watching obviously, you know, hometown boy
on the back of his very promising high school basketball
career at Wellington College. As a coach, what focuses do
you have on a player like him at the moment
coming into his sort of second main year with this team,
you know, with I guess a lot of potential. How
do you assist that as a coach?

Speaker 2 (08:26):
I mean for me with with guys like him, and
I've you know, had the luxury of coaching some really
good you know first year you know, so last year
high school players or first year out of high school
players going into college, so I've got some good experience
with that with you know, the last three or four
years with the tuatata with them, it's you know, you
only get them for four months, so you know, you

(08:49):
really help them and try and give them as much
confidence and give them as much opportunity as you can.
But for me, it's always about setting them up for
that next you know, that next gig is or that
next top counity, so you know, for choice sake, he's
he's going off to college at cal Poly, putting him
in a professional environment, holding him to a standard so
that when he gets over there, it's not a massive

(09:11):
jump or a massive you know, learning or adjustment phase
that he has to try and pick up on the fly. So,
you know, the discipline stuff, being on time, you know,
being you know, showing up every day, even on those
days you don't feel great. Those are the things I
feel like I can help them with it. So when
he does take that next step, and ultimately that's going
to help our group as well. So those are the

(09:33):
things I try and focus it on, as well as
the development side of things. But you know the things
that are a little bit more bigger than it's just
this four months it's ahead of us.

Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah, great, and game one against Tartanuki at home, tell
us what you expect from from them to open the season.
We just know how competitive this league has, has become
unpredictable on many aspects. But what kind of game are
you expecting to play out in front of our home
fans on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (09:56):
Yeah, They've got some serious size, you know, between Domoto,
Jack Andrew. I think Harry Fowlings in the mix now.
So he's he's been off the off the map for
a couple of years, but he's always been an impact
player with us. You know the way he can shoot
and rebound, and his sizes you know legit, So you

(10:16):
know that front court there, owners you know enough to catch,
you know your attention and make sure that you have
a prep game plan just to be able to nullify
their physicality. Foxwell's an exciting guard. You know, he's had
a really good season myself. He's Melbourne over there, so
it's great to have him in the league. You know
he's going to be aggressive and do what he does it,
you know, a good level, consistent level. And then you

(10:37):
know Carlon Davidson is another name that just keeps improving
each year. So they're going to be confident and I'm
sure they'll be playing hard under Sam McKinnon.

Speaker 1 (10:47):
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