PRIOR National Basketball League (NBL) champion Ian Clark will make his South East Melbourne Phoenix club debut tonight when the second placed side takes on Tasmania JackJumpers at MyState Bank Arena.
Clark won the NBL title with Sydney Kings in the 2021/22 season after joining for the last three months of that campaign, having previously been part of the Gold State Warriors title-winning run in 2016/17 and spent time in China as well. After leaving Melbourne United at the end of last season to play in Puerto Rico, the American has returned to Victoria where he will add serious star power to a strong Phoenix outfit.
Adelaide 36ers loom as the team to beat at this point, and while the Kings are running hot in recent times, the Phoenix as well as cross-state rivals Melbourne United, loom as other serious contenders in the race.
The Clark signing for the rest of the season was announced on Boxing Day, where Phoenix General Manager of Basketball Operations Simon Mitchell described the signing as a “great coup for the club” via the South East Melbourne website.
“Ian brings great Championship experience as well as plenty of scoring punch and creativity when we play in the half court. As a club, we have lofty ambitions which are shared by Ian, and we think his addition can assist us in realising them,” Mitchell said.
“To have Ian join us is a great thing for the Heartland, and his experience not only in the FIBA system in Australia but in the world’s premier league is a bonus for the team as we head into the new year.”
Fellow American and current Brisbane Bullets guard Casey Prather said the signing was a massive one for the Phoenix.
“That is a major signing. I saw that and I instantly was just like, now they have the chance,” Prather said on a recent episode of NBL Now.
“It’s going to be a game-changer and I think the league is little shook up by that, because no one expected that news to come out, especially at the time that it did.
“That’s one of the biggest signings of the season so far.”
It was an daunting task for Prather who watched on as the Phoenix smashed the Bullets by 29 points on December 20. South East Melbourne heads into tonight’s game against the JackJumpers off the back of three straight wins. Its last loss funnily enough came against the JackJumpers on December 10 in Traralgon.
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