It has been a season of ups and downs for yourself, getting plenty of minutes throughout November and December and then not so many in January, though you earned a lot of praise from head coach Josh King for your late game efforts in the win over the 36ers. How has NBL25 been for you so far?
"It was difficult getting pulled out of the starting lineup. After our first coach (Mike Kelly) left, we won a couple of games and I think that was the spark we needed to get our season going and start moving up the table. Getting back into the starting lineup was big for me to get my confidence back especially to play a part in a winning team. January was tough, coming out of the starting lineup and trying to find a way to be useful to the team."
Is this the first time in your career you’ve had a change of management mid-season?
"I had three coaches in one season back in Spain. I don’t want to say it’s something I get used to, but it’s not the first time."
If we may go right back to the start, growing up in T&T where basketball is not one of the major sports played in the country, at what age was basketball introduced into your life and how?
"I think I was 11 or 12 when I started playing and I left when I was 14. Cricket and track (athletics) are the big sports in T&T. I started playing when I went to live with my grandparents. They had a court just outside their house where the people in the neighbourhood would play. I started playing with my school and then went to under-15 national team tryouts where I met another coach, Mario Davis. He brought me to practice in the north of Trinidad and then introduced me to another coach, Jonathan Weekes, who then introduced me to Jaime Alonso. That was more or less how I got to Spain."
Leaving not just school but your home country as a teenager must have been a very daunting decision to make. How did that come about and what role did your family play in coming to that decision to go to Spain?
"My family was open to it. My mum said “if this is what you want to do, I respect it. Just know what you’re going out there for. Don’t go out there and lose track of yourself or your goals.” (The first two months in Spain) was tough because it was my first time in a cold environment. I think it snowed the first time I went there too, so to see snow for the first time was amazing! The language barrier was also big - to walk around and hear people talking Spanish and seeing all the signs around in Spanish made me think “oh, shoot, I’m actually in Europe”. It took a minute for it to sink in that I was no longer in Trinidad and this was now more or less my job."
How was your time at Fuenlabrada and what did you think of the ACB league during your two seasons there? Do you still keep in touch with how Fuenlabrada are doing?
"It was my second season when they switched coaches three times and that was tough. It was a real tough environment when the coaches weren’t having good relationships with the players and players not agreeing with some of the things the coaches were saying. Seeing that at such a young age was sometimes crazy. But when I started regularly it was great. The coach was trusting me with the ball and trusting me with plays and I think that was a big reason for me being noticed."
Any particular moments that stand out to you from your time playing in Spain?
"Definitely my last game. That’s the game where the coach really backed me to go out and score 20 and I think I had about 24 points or something like that. I still speak to Lasan Kromah and Jaycee Carroll every now and then."
Can you remember who was the toughest player you guarded and the most difficult defender that guarded you?
"The person that I think was toughest was Markus Howard. He torched us. For me, he was the toughest to guard in the league. I used to have to guard Lasan (Kromah) every day in practice too and that was hard. He was a handful."
Spanish players are considered by many to have high basketball IQ due to their training from an early age. Is that something you noticed and how did you find the transition from the ACB to a more physical league such as the NBL?
"For the most part they (the ACB) play the same as the NBL. They run a lot more plays, but it’s fairly similar. There’s no three-second (rule), a lot of ball movement, and it’s not heavily one-on-one based. The whole team has to chip in to win each game, it’s not just one person who wins the game."
What do you think it is about the NBL that is so attractive to young prospects such as yourself? Is it the Next Stars program? The standard of competition and development opportunities? The Australian lifestyle?
"For young players, I think it’s the Next Stars program. They push you a lot and really want to see you win. They do what it takes to get you out there. Everybody is behind you and everybody has your back for everything. They just want to see you succeed."
Alex Sarr was picked up at number two in the last NBA draft having graduated through the Next Stars program. Do you think Australia might be becoming just as good a pathway to the NBA than the NCAA or the European leagues?
Yeah, definitely. I think all of the Next Stars from last year got drafted. Purely from the Next Stars point of view, I think the number of graduates getting NBA contracts will increase in the next couple of years. It’s a pretty big influence.
You earn a lot of widespread praise for your defensive work. Is there a particular part of your game that you want to spend a bit more time on in the off-season?
"Yeah… I gotta get some more free throws in. I think I’m at 60-something percent which is crazy. I also want to be more aggressive in going to the rim. Definitely just working on my offensive game. I keep an eye on the stats when it comes to free throws because that’s where your percentage really matters. Free throws are all mental. You’re there by yourself, the crowd’s screaming out for Hungry Jack’s, you’ve just got to lock in and score."
How is the mood at the club after that dramatic come-from-behind win against the 36ers now that you’ve all had a couple of days to refresh?
"Everybody is positive. I think Derrick Walton is coming back, so we may possibly have our full team out there. The coaches are being positive and we’ll be going out there to make history and make our way to the Championship series and see what happens there."
You had two toughly fought wins against the Hawks late in the season. Does that come into consideration for you?
"Yeah, absolutely. They’re a tough team to beat. That’s why they’re first. They come out every game and play hard and play their style of basketball which contributes to them winning games. But it’s the same thing for us, too. We started 0-5 and came from behind (by playing our way). I think (the comeback against Adelaide) did a lot for our confidence. But that’s not necessarily a place where you want to be, down 20 at half-time. Just because you did that one time it doesn’t mean you can do that every game."
What has head coach Josh King done lately to try to address the inconsistency the team has been suffering even despite charging into the postseason?
"He has always spoken to us about playing 40 minutes of basketball, not 36, not 30, just going out and playing all four quarters. I think that’s the big thing for us. We’ve had those little lapses that sometimes prove to be a big problem."
South East Melbourne's first semi-finals match against Illawarra Hawks will take place on Friday evening.