Coach Yim: 'We are a lot better than our record'
Coach Jonathan Yim admits his mood has at times taken a hit through his first seven games with the Southland Sharks, but he adds he has seen improvement from game to game which has him encouraged.
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Southland Sharks coach Jonathan Yim is urging Sharks fans to keep the faith saying he is confident they will turn around a challenging start to the 2025 NBL season.
The Sharks have a two-win-five-loss record to start the season with the latest a 93-72 loss to the Wellington Saints in Invercargill on Thursday night.
The odds were stacked against Southland given it came up against a slick Wellington outfit that was bolstered by the return of Shea Ili.
At the same time the Sharks were missing its best player with American import Josiah Allick ruled out with a knee injury.
Yim said Allick may have been able to play against Wellington at a pinch, but they took a long-time approach for Allick personally, and the team, to give him time to get his knee right.
Yim is optimistic that Allick will be fit and ready for the upcoming road trip to take on Tauranga Whai and Franklin Bulls next week.
Yim is in his first season as a professional head coach after previous stints in assistant roles in America - both the NBA and G-League.
He admits his mood at times has taken a hit through his first seven games with the Sharks but added he has seen improvement from game to game which has him encouraged.
“I know what our record is, but I’m telling you we are a lot better than our record,” Yim told The Tribune.
Yim acknowledged he wasn’t in a great space following two heavy defeats to the Canterbury Rams and Wellington Saints on the road earlier in the season, but his mood has been boosted on the back of what the coach has seen in recent games.
“Sometimes I’ve been getting a little bit down, especially those games against Canterbury and Wellington where were losing by 40. I was definitely down.
“The great thing about our group is they are really young, and they have great energy about them. They really inspire me to work harder and keep pushing through, because they don’t quit,” Yim said.
“I’m optimistic and I’m always genuinely pretty positive and upbeat. We have such a good group of kids here and they all want to get better.”
Eight wins from 20 outings squeezed Nelson into sixth spot and a playoff berth last year.
With the introduction of the Indian Panthers this year each team plays two more round-robin games.
With that formula in mind, Southland would need to win about seven or eight games, at least, from its remaining 15 to be in playoff contention.
“For me, it is just about continual improvement and growth. When you do the right things the wins and losses take care of themselves.
“Yes, we want to win and make the playoffs, but at the end of the day I really believe if we continue to improve and grow, we will have a fighting chance to be in the top six,” Yim said.
The Sharks are a small team and have at times battled in the size department this season.
That was ramped up further on Thursday night when they had to take on the Saints without the Sharks biggest player, Allick.
Southland was crushed in the rebounding stakes - 57 to 35.
Relief is on its way in that department with Sam Timmins set to join the team mid-season following his commitments in Japan. The Sharks will probably get 11 or 12 games out of Timmins.
“We are a little small. But I think we can sometimes get away with being a little smaller because of our speed and our athleticism. But, yeah, Sam is definitely going to help in that department,” Yim said.