Olympian Glen Saville has backed bronze medal-winning Hawks big man Duop Reath to harness the experience in Tokyo to drive Illawarra to a second NBL title.
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Reath was part of the squad which finally broke through for a medal with coach Brian Goorjian in Tokyo, alongside the likes of NBA stars Patty Mills, Dante Exum, Joe Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova.
While he played limited minutes in the Boomers campaign, Reath has emerged a key weapon as the Hawks continue their late-season run, dropping 28 points and 11 rebounds in the demolition of Brisbane.
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Saville played at the Olympics in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008), after being the MVP in the Hawks only NBL title in 2001.
He said the Games environment will offer Reath the confidence to dominate the playoffs.
"There is a level of believe that comes when you represent your country against the best in the world," Saville said. "So Duop has now seen what it takes against the USA and how Australia went and got that medal for the first time. It's truly elite and you can see it building with the Hawks the closer they get to playoffs.
"He has the chance to be there in the big moments and make a difference."
Saville is arguably the Hawks greatest ever in a career which stretched from 1995 to 2013, but controversially also included a season with Thursday night's bitter rivals Sydney.
Illawarra have won 11 of their past 13 games, the only two losses coming against Tasmania, and the streak also includes beating Melbourne United twice on their own floor.
But Sydney have been in even hotter form, which an unblemished run of 11 straight wins, before the blockbuster at WIN Entertainment Centre, which would decide a top-two spot.
"Whatever they've found in the past couple of months, they've proven it works by the way they've won some big games," Saville said.
"And now this is the perfect test, to play Sydney twice and Perth on the run in.
"The thing about Duop is he's the perfect modern day big man when he's playing well.
"He shoots the ball and can stretch the floor, but can also draw the defence for (Tyler) Harvey, (Antonius) Cleveland and (Justinian) Jessup to get shots up, as well as get on the boards."
The Hawks remain third on the ladder with a 17-8 record, behind Sydney at 16-7 and Melbourne United at 18-7. Next week they travel to Perth, a graveyard venue for the Hawks over the years, on Friday night, before returning to play the Kings in Sydney in their final game of the regular season.
After beating the Bullets on Saturday, Reath said he's lifted his workrate which has led to having a bigger on-court impact.
"I felt like I just had to learn some more things about myself," he said. "One thing is just being more active on the court and play with more activity and crashing the glass, playing a little harder. Once I did that, it starting coming a little bit easier for me."
Goorjian offered high praise for Reath's development.
"He really has come on and found his understanding of our team and getting a better understanding of the NBL," he said.
"He's been huge, not only (against Brisbane) but during this whole sequence of success."
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Tim Barrow
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
