He's been through the lowest of lows in an Illawarra singlet, but Sam Froling's experience as a Hawk has also taught him that things can turn around fast in the NBL.
Any shift would be dramatic from the foundation club's current station, with a dismal run of five wins from its last 37 outings on NBL hardwood enough to see the axe fall on coach Jacob Jackomas this week.
The second-longest serving current Hawk, skipper Froling could be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu having now endured the club's two worst seasons in franchise history.
The now 23-year-old was a rookie in 2019, a much-hyped campaign with the arrival of future No. 2 NBA Draft pick LaMelo Ball in Wollongong. The season under rookie Matt Flinn ended at a then franchise-low 5-23 and saw the collapse of the club's ownership.
It voided the remaining two years of his playing contract, but Froling was the first player to sign back on under Brian Goorjian, the subsequent two seasons seeing consecutive playoff runs with the Hawks in the thick of title contention.
The dramatic reversal is what gives Froling, still signed for a further two seasons, faith that club fortunes can shift similarly quickly as the search for a new head coach begins.
"You could mirror it to my first year," Froling said.
"We only win five games, and then we come out in the next two years with really good teams, made finals both years, didn't quite get to where we wanted to and win that championship.
"Now we've gone through another bad year, started off this one rough. If we can turn this thing around and get to that championship level, whether it's this year or next year, that would be massive.
"It's not fun losing all the time. I've been through a lot, but it's the fans that have been here the whole time, the members that have gone through it all. They've seen everything, they've seen way more than I have.
"For us, we want to reward them with wins and a successful team that they can come out every weekend and get around. I'd take a lot of pride in turning this thing around and really making it good for them.
"Hopefully, this is the turning point and the changing of the tide that we need."
Jackomas' dismissal brought some extra hurt for Froling, given he and the now former coach were the first - and only - two at practice on day one of the new regime four years ago.
Jackomas also put the 'c' next to his name and Froling said the playing group needs to front up under new interim coach Justin Tatum after seeing a head coach moved on its watch.
"It's tough for a lot of us, we've known Jake for a long time and he's a good friend, I wanted nothing but success for him," Froling said.
"It was hard for all of us last year, and then the start of this year, but we understand it's a results-based business and the results weren't being produced. Unfortunately he was the one to go.
"You can't give him a hundred per cent of the blame, he's not the one out there on the court playing. We do have to take responsibility for how we've been playing.
"[Tatum's] been great since he got here. He's high energy and the guys really support him. It's a learning process for him, it's his first time [coaching] outside of American basketball.
"He's been thrown in the deep end too, so as a group we've just got a rally behind him, pick him up and carry him through this weekend, then see what happens afterwards."
The Hawks front office is considering its options to replace Jackomas, with Trevor Gleeson the first-up target, the five-time championship-winner confirming the club's approach in wake of Jackomas' departure.
It remains to be seen whether the job appeals enough to the former Perth boss, who would virtually have his pick of NBL roles that become available, but Froling said it's not something he's concerning himself with.
"He's a great coach and but I'll leave that up to [the front office]," Froling said when asked about the Gleeson approach.
"I'm not going to be too concerned with who they put in charge. I'm just going to come out and make sure every practice is high effort, give it my all and control what I can control.
"We've got to move forward and focus on this game against New Zealand on the weekend and getting this thing back on track."
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
