Larry Davidson
BASKETBALL
Hawks coach Gordie McLeod is fearless about the prospect of starting the NBL season without key centre Larry Davidson.
Davidson is one of three players facing a race against time to be fit for a showdown with bitter rivals Sydney at WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday week.
If he is sidelined because of a knee injury suffered during the pre-season, it means McLeod will be reliant on Oscar Forman and untested SEABL player Auryn MacMillan to provide much of the height and presence.
Wollongong opted for two guards - Adris Deleon and Lance Hurdle - as their imports, following a fruitless search for another big man to replace unwanted forward Joevan Catron.
"One of the factors in the way we did go with the recruiting was the league is not a big league," McLeod said.
"So with a lot of the teams, there's not the overall size and height in their groups.
"There's a couple of teams that have a few bigs, but the majority of the league there's not.
"So we feel that we've got some other guys who can play multiple positions."
Davidson isn't the only issue for the Hawks, with United States recruit Lance Hurdle nursing a hamstring strain in the build-up to his NBL debut.
But after picking up Hurdle and Deleon - carrying the imposing nickname of '2hard2guard' - the Hawks also have Rhys Martin, who led Wollongong's charge to the grand final series in 2010.
Though the injuries problems could test their depth, they will also be more reliant on the versatility of veteran Glen Saville and Tim Coenraad while Tyson Demos recovers from a knee injury.
Sydney have recruited 210-centimetre former Townsville centre Ian Crosswhite as a replacement for Julian Khazzouh, who Davidson had several intense battles against in recent times.
McLeod said MacMillan was ready to prove himself with the Hawks.
"We were working our way through the young Australian players and looking for a 'big' position," he said.
"Once we decided to go with Adris in the final import spot [after the Gold Coast folded], that put into play looking for the big Australian kid.
"And Auryn, who has been here [trialling] a few times, what he was going to bring was what we were looking for," McLeod said.