Championship Spirit back despite reshaped roster

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When you climb to the top of the mountain and achieve the ultimate success, you want to taste it again and for Kennedy Kereama and the Bendigo Spirit, that is the goal for season 2025-26.

Having taken on all before them last season on their way to the 2024-25 WNBL Championship, the Spirit were a level above much of the competition, and in search of competing at the highest level once again, Kereama had to go about reshaping his roster.

Bendigo have done a tremendous job in pivoting after losinglast season's WNBL MVP Sami Whitcomb and this season's WNBA Most Improved Player Veronica Burton, both of whom were the two vital pieces in their run to the championship. Much of that has to do with the culture Kereama has built in Bendigo since taking over the coaching reigns in 2022.

The culture and community built since has helped the Spirit recruit the best of the best, which last season resulted in Whitcomb and Burton, while this year one of the biggest rising stars in Australian basketball in Olympic bronze medallist Izzy Borlase has joined the team.

Her signature is a massive coup for the Spirit and along with import guard Megan McConnell, the Spirit have reshaped their backcourt and look set to cause issues for opposition teams.

For Kereama, reshaping a squad after last year’s success was all about finding the right balance.

“First and foremost, acknowledging what you had last season and then trying to retool your program is always a difficult proposition,” Kereama told basketball.com.au.

“The reality of the sport is that even if you win, keeping your team as is just isn’t possible - I'm sure if you went through the absolute history of the sport, no team has ever been 100% the same the next season.

“Which is why you should always cherish the group that you get to play with because no team is ever the same.

“The challenge then is having to find and recruit the absolute best; the best people and best players that would fit. It's a really interesting balance trying to find the right people that fit the community, and they come with obviously great references, but also they have to play basketball, right?

“I've got a great team of coaches and I've got a great GM [Daniel Jackson]. We certainly do this thing collaboratively to find the best.”

When talking about finding the best, two returning players from last season’s championship, Kelsey Griffin and Marianna Tolo, are perhaps the ideal players to have leading your team. They each have five WNBL Championships, have done it all in Australia and on the world stage, and simply know what it takes to win.

“It's a really interesting one in an absolutely positive way in that players will aspire to what they can see,” he said.

“This year it's KG and Tolo - I'm going to throw in Kelly Wilson and Sami Whitcomb from last year – the level of dedication, work, extra time, they are living, walking figures of the values that we want to live as an organisation.

“Every member in this program gets to witness that every day, so it's really hard to not want to follow that. Having incredible leaders is, in my opinion, the most critical part of great culture.

“They strike the right chord, and the playing group is completely brought into everything they do, so it's great to have that level of experience and expertise amongst the team.”

While Tolo and Griffin have been around the league for well over a decade, Tolo almost two decades after making her WNBL debut for the AIS in the 2006-07 season, McConnell will be suiting up for her first season in the league and fans around Australia are going to learn about her game very quickly.

At the Townsville Tip Off, McConnell made an immediate impact with her stifling defence and energy on both ends of the court. As Bendigo looks to remain in the upper echelon of defensive teams, the former Phoenix Mercury guard will have a massive role to play in that.

“I absolutely love her energy,” he said.

“She's a typical blue-collar hardworking guard and I think that’s so important to what we're trying to build here at this club.

“Last year, it was us and Townsville wrestling between the number one and number two defensive teams in the league and I think so much of what you're able to do on the floor is determined by the person at the very front leading the way in that situation.

“Megan does such a great job of pressuring the ball. She might be relatively small in stature as far as height goes, but she has really good length in her arms and she’s incredibly disruptive.”

The McConnell and Borlase pairing is going to be fruitful for the Spirit, and both guards clearly have WNBA aspirations. Kereama wants to help them get there.

“Signing Izzy was obviously a massive, massive get for us,” he said.

“When asked how I measure success as a coach, the number one thing for me is having players play their best basketball, whatever their aspirations may be.

“Izzy obviously wants to get to the WNBA, go to a training camp and get a final roster spot, have an impact and stay in that league. For me, it’s critically important that we're putting her in situations and giving her all the tools and development that she needs to be able to get to that point.

“It's no secret that she's incredibly strong, she's got inhuman strength and she’s able to get on the rim and finish around the basket. She has been a woman playing basketball since under-16s. When I was coaching the Victorian Metro team (in 2019), she was a woman playing amongst girls back then.”

With all hands-on deck as they look to defend their crown, Kereama and the Spirit will get their season underway at home in a grand final rematch against the Townsville Fire on Sunday from 12.30pm (AEDT).

About the Author

Hayley Wildes is passionate about all things Australian women’s basketball and loves to highlight the stories of players from all levels and competitions across the globe. From our own backyard in the WNBL, to the WNBA and the Opals, and everything in between, Hayley has you covered.