THIS time last year, Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge was working hard to build an 11-man roster from the ground up.
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With only four spots to fill this year, Beveridge is taking his time before finalising his roster and he’s afforded club stalwarts Oscar Forman and Tim Coenraad the same courtesy.
The veteran duo are the only two members of the club’s Australian contingent un-signed for next season.
Coenraad has played more games for the Hawks than any player on the current roster while Forman would chalk up 500 NBL games should he play on.
Both would enter a season for the first time with young families and burgeoning interests away from basketball and, while he’d like to keep both, Beveridge has left the ball in their court.
“We love Timmy and we love Oscar,” Beveridge said.
“We want them to be part of our group but we’ve given them time to work out what they really want to do.
“They have their own personal circumstances they have to evaluate around additions to their families, business interests and things like that.
“They are towards the end of their careers and like all my players they need to start thinking about what’s the best thing for them and their partners and families.
“We’re not recruiting over the top of either of them. They’re our choices and we’re hoping we can get something sorted with them sooner rather than later.”
It’s one of few headaches for Beveridge this time around who – should Coenraad and Forman re-sign – could have nine of the 11 players who reached the grand final at his disposal.
“We know the Australian contingent and we know that they’re going to get better just through maturation,” Beveridge said.
“I know Mitch [Norton] and Nick [Kay] are only going to get better because they’re only 24 years of age.
“AJ [Ogilvy] has been around a while now but he’s still a young guy and I know he’s going to be better and you know what you’re going to get from guys like Whitey [Kevin White].
“I know from experience and looking at successful clubs that you need to keep your core group together for a period of time.”
Former MVP Rotnei Clarke, Cody Ellis and Rhys Martin are other returning Hawks this season.
It’s meant Beveridge has enjoyed a more relaxed off-season before heading to the US in a month’s time.
“We’ve only got a couple coming off-contract so there’s not a lot to do and we’ve been in no rush to do anything just yet,” Beveridge said.
“Last year we were completely back at scratch recruiting players and it was a lot of hard work.
“This year it’s been slightly different. I’ve been able to have some time off but Flinny [Matt Flinn] and Cooky [Eric Cooks] have been scouring through hundreds of different players from scouts and agents.
“They’ve done their due diligence and we’ve gone from hundreds of names and I’m really excited about our shortlist.”