THERE’S a long way to go this season but I’ll be surprised if we see a better game-winning play than Jordair Jett’s drive to the basket against Adelaide last week.
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I said it in the aftermath, he’s the most underrated import in the league.
That last play was his bread and butter, putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim. In that regard, he’s as good as any player in the league.
It was a great moment, but there was a bigger story behind it than people realised at the time, and it says a lot about Jordair’s character.
What people wouldn’t have seen on TV was the relentless heckle he copped throughout the game, and I’m not talking about the boos from the crowd while he was on the floor.
There were a lot of things that created that atmosphere on Sunday.
We have a fantastic rivalry with Adelaide that’s developed in recent years.
They hammered us over there a month ago and Jordair had the push and shove with Harry Froling there.
We got them back on our floor and he had that altercation Jacob Wiley getting ejected.
That’s all part of the game, but we knew going back over to Adelaide that he was going to be the villain and he was going to be booed on every touch.
Fans pay their money and they’ve got every right to make their feelings known. He accepted that, relished it in fact, and it showed in his performance.
However, where do you draw the line is the question that needs to be answered?
As a coach I love ‘hostile’ crowds and the atmosphere they create. Whether you’re on the road or at home, you’ve just got to try and use it to your advantage.
There are some players who thrive on the hostility from opposition crowds. That’s great.
However, some fans can cross the line and that happened in Adelaide last week and it has happened on our court as well!
There were fans courtside who at times were out of control and they pushed the boundaries in this game.
I won’t go specifically into what was said but it was well and truly out of line at times.
It wasn’t a single remark or comment, it was the relentless heckling that was there for the whole game.
Jordair did very well not to respond. It says a lot about the guy that he was able to shrug that off and make that play on the court.
Jordair got the last laugh. That’s what that wave was about afterwards. It wasn’t to the whole crowd it was to one guy in particular who’d carried on the whole game.
As players and coaches we face fines and sanctions if we respond. That even extends to social media, but where are the ramifications when a fan crosses the line?
Should fans be suspended or banned from future games for crossing the line?