By RUSSELL BENNETT
THERE’S not a lot on the basketball court that Pakenham Warriors Big V men’s captain Paul Phillips hasn’t seen.
After all, by his own admission, some of his team mates are almost half his age.
But the 37-year-old, 200-plus centimetre big man is enjoying a new lease on his second basketballing life under former Latrobe City Energy team mate Jeff Reid.
“I haven’t been involved at Pakenham before this year,” said Phillips, who moved to the town more than 10 years ago.
“I’d been playing domestic ball down here that whole time and I didn’t think I’d get back into it (at the elite level).
“I was happy with having finished up down at La Trobe in (Big V) State Championship.
“I enjoyed my time down there, but then it came to be that Jeff got the head coach’s job down here.
“I was just having an off-the-cuff conversation one night with him and I was asking him about the team for this season, and I pretty much said if he wanted me to play I would.”
Reid’s impact on Phillips over the years has been huge. In fact, Phillips describes him – as well as the opportunity to play in front of his two young children – as one of the main motivators behind his return.
“I was lucky enough to be named captain as well, which is a great honour,” Phillips said.
“I’m rapt with that.”
The Warriors are currently just outside the top five in Big V Division 2 with a 5-7 win-loss record from their first 12 games.
But Phillips, who is averaging 7.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, a steal and a block per game, still has high hopes for the side.
“Seeing what Hayden Davey can do on the court – his rebounding, his shooting and his work ethic – I’ve been very impressed with him.
“Harry (Van Dort) as well… he’s a guy whose work ethic is better than most… he’s his own harshest critic and he reminds me a lot of Jeff, who was the same when he played.
“Simo (Pajdic) is starting to play some more minutes after coming back from his knee injury too and we can really see what he brings to the team.
Phillips believes Pakenham is a playoff team, and one that can cause some real damage at the business end of the season.
“We’ve got the capability – I’ve got no doubt about it,” he said.
“Jeff is the best player I’ve ever played with and I’ve been very impressed with his coaching too.
“His knowledge is second to none and all the guys really respect him.”
With an exciting mixture of youth and experience, and basketball being such a huge participation sport in Melbourne’s south-east – one of Australia’s biggest growth corridors – the future looks bright for the Warriors.
