NBL25 South East Melbourne Preview: Can The Phoenix Soar?

NBL25 South East Melbourne Preview

The off season of NBL25 is seen as one of the most important to date for one of the NBL's youngest franchises. With the departure of club captain and inaugural Phoenix, Mitch Creek leaving a massive void on and off the court, how do they rise in NBL25 and finally make the NBL Finals for the first time in their history.

South East Melbourne Phoenix had a very disappointing NBL24 campaign due to injuries, off court issues with imports and the team just not gelling on the court at all. Their 10-18 record for the entire NBL24 season saw them finish on the bottom of the ladder at the seasons end. It was truly a tough season for one of the better coaches the NBL has seen in Mike Kelly.

With star players such as Mitch Creek, Alan Williams and Gary Browne, there were high expectations on what this team could achieve in NBL24. Most in the media and around the league believed this was a team that could challenge the top teams and definitely make the NBL finals, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Injuries were a massive reason to that, starting the season without MVP calibre player Alan “Big Sauce” Williams and having patches throughout the season where Creek, Williams and Browne would be out together, the team as a whole never could recover.

Listen to the lads thoughts on the South East Melbourne offseason and their predictions for NBL25.

Creek spreads his wings with his sights on Asia!

Looking ahead to the fresh NBL25 season what have the Phoenix done in the off season? Who have they lost and who have they gain? Let’s start this off with who they have lost because there has been a lot of player turnover for this club.

The most notable and talked about loss is of club captain and inaugural member Mitch Creek. Seen as one of the top local players in the NBL and finishing the NBL 24 season with averages of 20.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 1.8 APG, how do you truly replace what he brings to the table. Some have questioned though that, is this really what is best for the struggling Phoenix, a chance to reset and rebuild under a second years coach of the Phoenix in Mike Kelly. Creek is a great player but some have questioned his leadership over the journey and can you really replace and reset this franchise with Creek there?

Another notable player leaving is MVP calibre centre Alan Williams. Injuries ruined his NBL 24 campaign but when he was on the court he was the most dominant force that the NBL had. Finishing the season with averages of 16.7 PPG and 10.9 RPG, you can really see how damaging and dangerous Big Sauce truly was. All reports is that the decision to not return to the Phoenix were mutual but there are rumours swirling that Big Sauce wanted to return but Phoenix didn’t want that to happen due to his injury history and in particular his knees not being in great condition. Can they replace what Big Sauce did for them on the court and off the court?

The last one to mention is Gary Browne. Exciting playmaker who burst onto the scene in the NBL for the Phoenix in the NBL 23 season before returning to the Phoenix in NBL 24 with his and the teams goal of finally making the NBL finals. Browne would finish the season with averages of 13.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 4.5 APG. Some have seen this as a major loss but is this really a hard player to replace? We don’t think so! There are plenty of playmaking first point guards who can hit a shot when left open in the professional basketball world. He was a solid player in the NBL and had moments of brilliance but you can find what he could do in another player very easy.

Can Sobey and Walton Jr. take this team to the promise land?

Now with a fresh season brings fresh expectations, faces and excitement and the Phoenix have gone out and quickly acquired some very good NBL players. Whilst the players in which will be touched on very soon are great players, the biggest worry and questions each year for any team with high player turnover is, will they work together, are these the right players for the game plan and are they strong leaders to rebuild this culture and franchise going forward?

Probably the biggest signing in most eyes was the signing of Australian guard Nathan Sobey. NBL All Team local players in the NBL are hard to find and with losing Mitch Creek they had to try and find one to help fill the void left behind. Whilst Basketball Expert and host, Josh Higgins isn’t sold on the idea of Sobey being the number 1 guy, he can still understand that it is a great signing to help rebuild this team.

Sobey will have to figure it out very quickly what his role will be within this organisation going forward, will it be a score first player or as a combo guard? Time will tell and that is what is going to be interesting for sure, he can become very selfish at times and is that really the player you want leading your team into the next phase?

The next major signing was Derrick Walton Jr. Former Sydney King and NBL Finals MVP who in his only season in the NBL averaged 16.4 PPG, 6.3 APG and 3.9 RPG. Walton Jr looks to be a very solid signing for the team. He screams of leadership and experience and is a great player to be able to get this franchise back on the right path, the only question is will it be this season or future NBL seasons?

Jordan Hunter, former Sydney King and NBL Champion, has also joined the Phoenix and a couple of old teammates from the Kings NBL24 winning team. Hunter is a player who has been playing outstanding basketball but hasn’t been rewarded with the consistent number one spot as the starting centre.

Playing behind Tim Soares, Xavier Cooks and Jonah Bolden, he has showed what he can do at a consistent level but the opportunity to make this his role and his only has never been made possible. He comes into the NBL25 season ready and poised to be the starting centre for this team in not only this season but seasons to come and is a very underrated and under appreciated signing in which the Phoenix have secured.

Last but not least, Malique Lewis will join the Phoenix as part of the NBL Next Stars program as the Trinadad and Tobago native pushes for entry in the 2025 NBA Draft, hoping to follow in the footsteps of the four first rounders in the 2024 NBA Draft coming out of the program.

Lewis has been playing in the G-League for the New Mexico Capitanes where he has put up 9 PPG with a 51.0 FG%, 5.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.1 STL and 1.2BLK. The 19-year-old can be a great addition to the Phoenix with his ability to not only shoot the ball but play exceptional defence for his age, which is an aspect of SEM rebuild that is lacking.

Players who have left the nest:

Mitch Creek, Gary Browne, Alan Williams, Rhys Vague, Gorjok Gak, Abdul Nader, Reuben Te Rangi, Daniel Johnson and Anzac Rissetto.

Players coming in to spread their wings:

Nathan Sobey, Derrick Walton Jr, Jordan Hunter, Malique Lewis, Angus Glover, Joe Wieskamp and Matthew Hurt.

The Basketball Fix NBL 25 Offseason Grades:

Josh Higgins: B

Jeremy Darke: B+

Ryan Tucker: B

One thing is a certainty, the NBL25 season is one of the most important seasons for one of the youngest franchises in the NBL and has extra pressure with the youngest franchise, the Tasmanian JackJumpers already been crowned NBL Champions. They need to get this ship sailing in the right direction otherwise they could be sunk and we all know how hard it is to recover a sunken ship.