"A little crazy": New coach demands high standards

Photo: Phoenix Media.

As Josh King begins to settle in as the new head coach of the South East Melbourne Phoenix, he simply can't wait to get the games started.

“I’ve always wanted to have an opportunity to coach in the league,” King told the club's website.

“When I actually got the phone call, I was ecstatic because it’s kind of been in the back of my mind, and a dream to be in this league.”

King is no stranger to the NBL, having kept a close eye on its progress for some time, including coaching and coming up against stars like Ariel Hukporti, Jack McVeigh and Sam Waardenburg.

“It’s an exciting brand of basketball and the league does an unbelievable job of marketing it,” King said.

“If you put Europe in a bottle and the NBA in a bottle and you shook it up ... the NBL would pop out.”

King arrives at the Phoenix with a very strong reputation as a defensive-minded coach who pushes his players to the limit.

“A little crazy,” King said when asked to describe himself as a coach.

“But in a good way. I’m going to hold the players accountable. That’s my job as a coach to get the best out of the guys.

“If I don’t think they’re at the level they need to be, I’ll let them know about it.”

After a 0-5 start to the season, South East Melbourne has won two of its last three and is still very much in the mix for Finals.

While King didn’t coach in Round 6, he got a first-hand look at his new team and is excited about the potential of the roster.

“We want to be different than any other team and that’s be high intensity on defence, but also on the offensive end we want to play with pace and tempo,” he said.

“If you play defence, you’re always going to have a chance to win games.”