Added South Aussie flavour for NBL25

Adelaide 36ers GM of Basketball Operations Matt Weston says the NBL25 roster build has a distinct South Australian flavour and will play with local values.

With nine roster spots already filled after the signing of Ben Griscti last week on a three-year deal, Weston said to have local talent return is a huge coup for the club.

“This is something Scotty (Ninnis head coach) and I are really big on,” Weston said.

“When I first came in, we knew we wanted to have a big focus on that (SA talent) and it’s not just about getting guys in that are South Australian, they must be able to play.

“There are too many South Australian guys at the moment playing for other teams and contributing well.”

Weston said the addition of Lat Mayen, Jacob Rigoni and Alex Starling along with Griscti gives the roster culture and core values.

“We know the style of play we are going to play is going to represent the state,” Weston said.

“We are going to be mongrels that get after it, and we need to have pride in South Australia.”

With Nick Marshall already on contract, the re-signing of Starling and the addition of Mayen, Rigoni and Griscti gives the 36ers five South Australians on the NBL25 roster.

Weston said the signing of Mayen, who agreed to a one-year deal on the opening day of free agency, has been seen league-wide as a tremendous signature.

“What I love about Lat is his toughness. He is an Adelaide boy, and we love to get the Adelaide boys back,” Weston said.

“For four or five years we haven’t down enough of that, we have been importing local talent when it’s already there.

“Speaking to the other NBL coaches, they all agree that (Lat) signing is a great pick up.

“He is doing great things in New Zealand at the moment, he has great length, and he has the ability to play multiple positions and give us a lot of different looks.”