IN the wake of the Mount Gambier Pioneers’ success in the Basketball SA Premier League this year, the South East basketball fraternity now turns its attention to the upcoming Country Basketball League season.
And now with the reintroduction of a women’s Lakers side after a few seasons in the wilderness, the excitement around basketball in the region continues to rise.
Matt Berkefeld has taken on the responsibility of men’s coach this year from Kane deWit and will hope to lead his team to back-to-back championships.
In charge of the women’s side will be Adelaide import Scott O’Connor, who moved to the Blue Lake city at the start of the year.
While deWit and Lachie Hunter have moved to Adelaide since the 2018/19 season, Berkefeld said they have both committed to playing, but are unlikely to appear on the court every week.
They will join a relatively unchanged roster from last year’s premiership team, in what is shaping up to be another strong Lakers’ men roster.
“We have kept together most of our premiership side from last season,” Berkefeld said.
“Dellon Brown has had to move away for work reasons – he was out injured all of last season and was our assistant coach.
“We have lost him, but then we have a few new faces coming in as well.”
O’Connor is one such inclusion for the men’s team, with his commitments shared between playing and coaching the women’s side.
“He is a good inclusion down from Adelaide,” Berkefeld said.
“Then Jak Ryan comes back – he has played for us for several years in the past and is back in the mix this season.
“We also have a couple of juniors coming out of the Under 18’s, in Duncan Reid and Toby deWit who will come up to the side as well.
“Numbers are really good at the moment.”
While Berkefeld has confidence in the strength of his team, he said it can be difficult to gauge the opposition before the season tips off.
“It is a little bit hard in our league because we do not really know how strong the other teams are,” he said.
“There are going to be some pretty strong teams we will have to come up against.”
Regardless, Berkefeld believes his team will be up for the challenge and looks forward to his first senior coaching role.
“I have coached at junior level before, but this is my first time coaching the senior Lakers side,” he said.
“I am really excited to coach a team at this level.
“Kane deWit was our coach last season and he did a really good job and we won the premiership.
“I am not here to change anything – we have had a style over the last few years which has been proven to work and I’m keen to just keep the ball rolling this season.”
Looking across to the women’s team there will be an unsurprisingly young lineup take to the court each week.
However, with a pool of Pioneers talent in the ranks, the youth of the side should not be underestimated.
After moving to Mount Gambier from Adelaide in January this year, O’Connor is raring to go and excited by the opportunity the women’s Lakers team provides.
“The group has a pretty good foundation, with lots of them playing with the Pioneers women for its first season,” he said.
“I think it is quite an exciting time really for women’s basketball in “the Mount.”
“Matt (Sutton) did a really good job with the Pioneers women and I am going to try and continue that with the CBL women.”
Olivia Wormald will be a focal point for the side, after a breakout season with the Pioneers in the Premier League this year.
“She started with the Pioneers women and will be a big piece for us, as well as somebody like Keryl Ousey, who will be quite important for us as well,” O’Connor said.
“Then we have some really good young talent who have played state representative basketball like Sarah Nulty – she is a really talented basketballer.”
O’Connor might be new to the Mount Gambier basketball program, but he is no stranger to the sport, with a wealth of coaching and playing experience behind him.
“I have coached a lot in Adelaide, but I have never coached women before, so this will be a first,” he said.
“I have coached a lot of junior men’s teams through South Australia state basketball, I coached Sacred Heart (College) for probably six years and coached down at Southern for quite a long time doing Under 14’s and 16’s juniors.
“I also did a lot of individual work with some of the Premier League guys while I was playing that as well.”
In the past, women’s basketball opportunities in the South East were limited to the junior levels, but the introduction of the Pioneers women and now the reestablishment of a Lakers’ side provides something to aspire towards.
“I think it is a really exciting time for women’s basketball in the South East and I am just really excited to get out there and see what this really young group of girls can do,” O’Connor said.
“I am excited to watch it develop throughout the year.
“I think there is a heap of growth potential within the group, both as a team and individually.”
The CBL season tips off on October 12, but with a bye in the first round the Lakers will open 2019/20 the following week on October 19 at the Icehouse
