Sunday

WOLLONGONG HAWKS v CAIRNS TAIPANS (5pm)

WIN Entertainment Centre

He is the talk of the NBL and is coming to Wollongong to shoot down the Hawks on Sunday at WIN Entertainment Centre.

Cairns Taipans import Scottie Wilbekin signalled his arrival in Australia with a spectacular debut last weekend, leading his side to a pair of convincing road wins over Adelaide and Melbourne.

A former standout at the University of Florida, the 21-year-old guard averaged 25 points, 4.5 assists and four rebounds, earning NBL Player of the Week honours for round one.

Full coverage of the Hawks

The Hawks will be in trouble if Wilbekin cuts loose on Sunday.

"Wilbekin adds something to Cairns that they haven't had in recent years and he showed in his first couple of games what he's capable of," Wollongong captain Oscar Forman said.

"That team has several guys who can hurt you, but we definitely have to do a good job on Wilbekin. If we can stop him from getting going, it might take away some of their effectiveness as a team."

Good as he is offensively, Wilbekin often does his best work at the other end.

"He's an outstanding defender, an NBA-level defender right now," Cairns coach Aaron Fearne said.

"It was a tough off-season trying to find what we really wanted. I really wanted somebody who could defend and Scott definitely ticks that box big time.

"I've given him a green light to be more aggressive offensively because he has an amazing instinct to find the open man and always make the right play. He makes plays when we need him to with the clock going down, but when you go back and watch the video, it's also his ability to find the open man that makes him such a threat."

Both teams play two games this weekend. Wollongong met the Wildcats on Friday night in Perth, while the Taipans had a Friday home game against Melbourne United.

Cairns beat the Hawks in two preseason trials, but Wollongong were without import Jahii Carson and towering centre Luke Nevill.

"They're a totally different team to what we faced in the preseason with Jahii and Luke added to the mix," Fearne said.

"Jahii is so dynamic. He's such an X-factor with his quickness and athleticism, and obviously Luke's size is something different. It's certainly a new set of challenges for us on Sunday."

Fearne expects Sunday's duel to be typically close.

"The last three or four years with Wollongong, almost every game comes down to a single bucket, so why is it going to be any different?" he said.