There's no shortage of excuses on offer, but Illawarra coach Jacob Jackomas has vowed to leave them at the door when he runs a rigorous eye over a horror season that finished with a whimper against Tasmania on Saturday.
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In what was retiring stalwart Tim Coenraad's final game for the the club, the Hawks went down 87-63 to the JackJumpers, drawing the curtain on a franchise-low 3-25 win-loss ledger.
It's come on the back of an unprecedented injury toll to imports, with Justin Robinson, George King, Peyton Siva and Michael Frazier II all falling to season-ending injuries.
Read more: Forgettable end to Hawks' horror campaign
It was major factor in 12 losses by single digits, but Jackomas said he can't use it as an out in reviewing his first season as a head coach.
"I'm really proud of the guys, I say it after every game, but in this situation right now I have to take it as a learning moment because we did do a lot of losing," Jackomas said.
"I need to look at myself first, and then look at everything we did in that period of time when we were in games.
"When Mike went down there was a decision made to go with the young guys. I do feel [from] that stage we've done a really good job in regard to building for the next year.
"As to before that, what I need to do as a coach is go back and look at myself, look at my staff and then look at the players and really be critical that way."
Incoming CEO Stu Taggart will be charged with overseeing an off-season rebuild but Jackomas - one year into a three-year deal - feels the piece are in place for a quick bounce back.
"In regard to free agency, we've done a lot of learning," Jackomas said.
"There was a lot of change last year that set us back a little bit but there's a great stability in the club right now with Stu coming in, with the ownership, there's been some massive things off the floor that are going to make us more successful that way.
"We've got a lot of guys contracted already that are committing to staying in Illawarra [over the off-season] and working out.
"That's a massive plus, especially some of these younger guys that could go off and play NBL1. They're going to stay Illawarra-based.
"We've signed some of these young kids to long-term contracts. Sam [Froling] is here for another two, [Dan] Grida's here, Wani [Swaka Lo Buluk] is here.
"Tyler [Harvey] is here as well and obviously Justin Robinson [has re-signed]. We're building that culture where Illawarra teams have always done well in."
With Harvey heading into the final year of a three-year deal, and Robinson re-signing, the club will be looking for just one import come free agency, with GM of basketball Mat Campbell up front about the club's desire to secure a marquee Aussie.
The club's hopeful of luring former Hawk Duop Reath back to Wollongong and Jackomas feels the Hawks will still be a desirable location despite the current standing.
"We'll go to Summer League and look for the right American [import]," Jackomas said.
"When free agency opens with the Australians, we are in a situation where we do have a few minutes [available] in positions where we can entice someone.
"Hopefully we can get someone in that can play a massive role for us and there has been a bit of interest in us because of the way we're playing.
"Justin re-signing was a big one in that [regard]. We're in games where these talented guys can come in and maybe tip us over the edge.
"As bad as it is, we're only a little bit away from being in contention for a championship."
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