NBL: Jackomas unfazed by Hawks relocation speculation

Reports the NBL was again considering the foundation franchise's long-term viability in Wollongong surfaced over the weekend, with the club promptly rubbishing the claims in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The NBL declined to comment when contacted by The Mercury, pointing instead to the club's statement labeling the suggestions as "baseless rumours" and "factually untrue."

Jackomas echoed the call when asked about the reports on Thursday.

"I've been involved in this league for a long time and every once in a while there's a rumour about the Hawks relocating," Jackomas said.

"They've been here since the beginning of time. They haven't relocated, there's no truth to it as the club's said. I just think it's a great way to spread hot air.

"Within the team environment I don't think we know about [media reports] as much as everyone would think. At this time, these guys are turning a lot of the news down.

"I didn't really hear it either, I'm shutting it down a little bit too. I just think it's someone speaking just to get a bit of relevance about us. There's nothing to it, there's been nothing to it the million other times it's happened here.

"As the the club's said, the ownership has a commitment to [Wollongong]. I've got a pretty good rental agreement up now so I'm not prepared to move either."

Jackomas did concede that such reporting is bound to resurface when the Hawks are struggling, which they unquestionably are at 1-9 on the season.

They went desperately close to snapping a seven-game losing streak against the Kings last week only to be undone by a final-second buzzer beater from Shaun Bruce.

Arguably their best performance of the season came with just one import, skipper Tyler Harvey, on deck, with Peyton Siva injured and George King en route back to the US.

Read more: Hawks management pours cold water on relocation murmurs

With Siva set to return, and having acquired former Wildcat Michael Frazier II as a replacmement for King, Jackomas will hit the floor against the Phoenix on Sunday with a full complement of imports for just the fourth time.

They'll be desperate for a win but Jackomas said it's simply important his side back up a strong performance with another having failed on that score on multiple ocassions this season.

"We thought we did enough to win [last week]," he said.

"There's no real going back on it and saying what went wrong, this and that or whatever. We did eveything we could to win, it's just really unfortunate we didn't get over the line.

"They're number one on the table right now, we did it with one [import]. Idon't think anyone expected us to win, or even to be in it. Everyone was expecting a belting.

"The challenge for me as a coach, and the challenge we're talking about as a team, is trying to play two good games in a row. When we've played like that [previously] we've come in and been pretty disappointing.

"I'm just hoping we can get one for the players and the fans and go on a bit of a roll now that we've got a bit of talent on the floor."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say.

Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Illawarra Mercury website.

Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.