By Lachlan Mitchell
The Casey Cavaliers men’s team is set for battle as it makes its long-awaited debut in the elite standard NBL-1 season in 2022.
The Cavaliers are set to quick-step their way to a historic season under the guidance of coach David Peters.
Peters has a impressive CV with a gold medal performance in the Australian Junior Championships, as well as the Victorian Championships.
Peters has also been a feature at NBL level as a player development coach and video coordinator.
The new man in charge understands the challenges that come with taking the keys of a completely new team.
“Being a brand new club in NBL 1 has been a challenge, even creating a roster and building a brand new culture as well,” Peters described.
“Building a foundation that will last for a while, as well as building a new coaching staff as well.
“There’s lot we have had to take in the last few months, but so far so good and people are ready to play round one.”
The Cavaliers interrupted pre-season, due to public health protocols, had an early effect on Peters and his side.
“Some of the sharpness you would usually see at this level wasn’t quite there early on in the pre-season,” he said.
“Some of the fitness levels took a little bit longer to get back to the player’s peak; some of my guys haven’t had a full season in the past two years.
“Their ability to jump into full games hasn’t been the same
“We have had seven practice games and have been training since November (2021), so everyone is ready to go.”
The Cavaliers first season in the competition, and the level of talent in the league, provides the side a brand-new challenge.
“The depth of talent in the top and bottom end of every team is really high,” Peters said.
“There is no team which you look at and think that’s going to be an easy win.
“I think every week is going to be really challenging, there will be no easy wins, even the teams who are low on talent will be coached really well.
“It’s going be a really competitive league…at Casey we know how good the competition is and it’s probably the second best league in Australia.”
Peters understands that even though his side is brand-new in the competition that he has the players and coaching staff to reach new heights.
“We want to be in that high range,” he said.
“We are looking at finishing at that top-four range, even as an expansion club it’s going to be a tough task, but there are teams who have been at this level for a long time and have a really good culture.”
The Cavaliers have recruited Jock Perry from the new NBL Tasmanian Jack Jumpers side, as well as overseas import Jordan Bell.
Bell is fresh off the USA college basketball system where he played for the Oregon Ducks.
“Jock is still on the court with the Jack Jumpers and he will join us soon,” Peters said.
“His size, his winning background, and his skill set, will be really tough for the rest of the league to deal with, he’s just over seven foot and shoots the three, really high IQ and passes the ball well.
“Davo (William) Hickey from Melbourne United is a really exciting guard, his ability to score and help other players on the floor will be really exciting.“
The Cavaliers open their campaign on Friday 22 April at 8pm against the Melbourne Tigers, straight after the women’s game.
