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Wollongong Hawks guard Tyson Demos attributes his new outlook on basketball to some words of wisdom from former Australian under-19 teammate Patty Mills.
Demos and Mills were part of the Australian Emus team that finished fifth at the 2007 under-19 world championships in Serbia.
While Demos has carved out a respectable NBL career over the past seven years, Mills played college basketball with St Mary’s before making a name for himself in the NBA, firstly with Portland and then as a key member of the title-winning San Antonio Spurs.
Demos stayed with Mills for a couple of weeks during the NBA playoffs and returned home with fresh ideas to improve his own game.
‘‘I worked really hard to drop a heap of weight, which has been good for my knees, and I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been in,’’ Demos said.
‘‘I was at Patty’s house while he was playing in the playoffs, and the whole time I was there I was just picking his brain, picking up little things with diet and his individual training schedule. He dropped something like 4per cent body fat last year and had a stand-out season, and he said the difference was dropping a bunch of weight.
‘‘It helped him avoid injuries and he was playing a lot better.
‘‘It was good to get some tips and ideas, and when I came back it gave me a bit of motivation. I lost about seven or eight kilos and I’m in a good place physically and mentally.’’
An Illawarra junior, Demos is in his fifth season with the Hawks.
The 26-year-old’s take-no-prisoners defensive style has earned him a minor cult following among Wollongong fans.
‘‘I’m going to play the same way and bring energy, but definitely slow down at times and take on more of a leadership role,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m getting up there to being one of the older guys and I need to go out and and lead through my actions. That’s probably the biggest change to my role.’’
The Hawks tip off the 2014-15 NBL season with Friday night’s home game against Townsville.
Demos will be assigned the task of shutting down Crocodiles guard Steve Markovic.
‘‘I take that role pretty personally,’’ he said.
‘‘I like to take their most offensive-minded guard and try to cause them trouble, which forces the rest of the team into making decisions.
‘‘It’s going to be a very tough game.
‘‘You have to treat everyone with respect.
‘‘Every team has taken a step up this year.’’