Jacob will take no chance on recruiting Utd imports

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Melbourne United head coach Jacob Chance has a 2026 Summer League shopping list – two guards and a centre.

But most importantly, Chance told NBL colour commentator Brad Rosen: “Not so much just the player, but the person you bring in – the human being.”

Chance, 32, was appointed head coach of United after Dean Vickerman left the club for Japan after NBL25. He was lured back to Melbourne United after a successful stint at the San Antonio G League affiliate Austin Spurs last season.

“As long as I’ve been in the NBL, imports can really make or break your season,” Chance said.

“I’ve been really lucky to bring in great imports throughout my time in the NBL, so that’s priority number one for us: trying to find people who fit the values of our club and our team.

“There are a lot of those guys around.

“Then it’s about how they fit tactically on the floor. We need two perimeter players and a big – we’re pretty open about that.

“Exactly what those guys look like may change a little bit. We need someone who can score the ball and help us offensively. Maybe the other perimeter guy offsets that. Do we get a scoring shooting guard and then a defending point guard, or vice versa? That’s a good challenge for us.

“Then can we get a big to come in? Whether that’s Jesse (Edwards) coming back or someone else replacing him, we need someone who can really anchor our defence and hold down that five spot.”

United has three roster spots remaining, having secured Australian Boomers and NBA veteran Joe Ingles, as well as rising star Sam Waardenburg in the offseason.

Chris Goulding, Shea Ili, Fabijan Krslovic, Kyle Bowen, Malith Machar round out the roster and Chance knows the gaps he needs to fill.

Melbourne United NBL27 Depth Chart

“Firstly, we’re really happy with our local group,” Chance said.

“There’s a lot of experience and a lot of winning. You mentioned those names, then you throw in Shea Ili, Sam Waardenburg, Kyle Bowen, Fabijan Krslovic and Jack White. They’re huge parts of what we do and have been for a long time.

“I’m excited to continue with that local group. My job is to come here and try to find some names to hopefully support them. They’ve got to complement each other as imports and complement the group that we already have because we’re excited about that team.

“I hope we’re putting together a program and a team that the fans will be happy about and ultimately one that leads to some wins.

“We’ll play a brand of basketball that reflects the people who come and support us every week.”

Speculation is solid that centre Jesse Edwards will return for NBL27.

“The club does a great job staying in contact with everyone who’s played for Melbourne United, whether that’s Australian guys who’ve been here before or American players,” Chance added.

“I’d like to think I’ve got a good relationship with them too.

“I only had a very small, two-week stint with Jesse before I left, but I’m happy for him right now. He’s here trying to see if he can get back into the NBA world.

We’ll stay in touch with him. Things move very quickly in this industry. Contracts, European teams, Australian teams — everyone’s trying to get things done. We’ll certainly stay in discussions with him.

Chance said his experience with the Spurs was his logical next step before United called.

“It was awesome,” Chance said.

“It was the perfect thing for me at that time. I obviously had good support from San Antonio, but also from Dean and Melbourne at the time. It was what I needed in my career.

“The last 12 months have been huge for me for a lot of reasons, but particularly being a head coach and being in the G League.

“I think I was really lucky. Working for someone like Dean, I got a lot of autonomy in my role and got to handle some head coaching-type responsibilities.

“Then coming over here, you get to test it out in games. Are you ready for those moments? I certainly took away a lot of confidence from my last nine months out here. Melbourne was certainly a big part of getting me ready for that too.”

Chance also revealed the decision-making behind his United return.

“I’ll give Travis Knipe, the new owner, a lot of credit,” Chance added.

“He’s come in as a great listener. He’s trying to learn as much about the league and the club as he can.

“That conversation came about when he brought his young son to a Western Conference Finals game. We had a chance to have a coffee and talk about what works in the NBA, in my opinion and from my experiences. That ultimately led to some other conversations.

“I give him a lot of credit. He’s showing a lot of curiosity about how the league should run and how the club should run.”

United finished 20-13 in NBL26 after starting the season 9-0. Melbourne was coming off back-to-back heartbreaking losses in the NBL Grand Final Series. Chance said preparation was his strength and would be his focus as he worked to get six-time NBL champions back to the summit.

“I’m a big believer in what our club is going to look like every day,” Chance said.

“Our environment is a high-performance setting, and I’m really passionate about the process and the day-to-day environment.

“I think anyone you speak to about me would hopefully echo that.

“We do all of our work during the week and just win the day that’s in front of us.

“Then we get to Saturday night at John Cain Arena, and we’re ready to play and ready to compete.

“Hopefully we’ll be more prepared than anyone else in the league. We’ll come out with a great game plan every night and execute it.

“That will hopefully put us in a good position to win a lot of games.”