All smiles as Sixers visit hospital

There were plenty of smiles when DJ Vasiljevic, Zylan Cheatham and Nick Rakocevic visited the Women’s and Children’s Hospital on Wednesday.

The players gave out posters and some other 36ers merchandise while posing for photos and giving out autographs.

While the visit brought cheer to some kids doing it tough, Vasiljevic said it also put things into perspective for the players.

“Myself, Zylan and Nick have decided to kind of come in and surprise a few kids, put a smile on their faces, but also have them tell us their stories and hopefully we can brighten up their day,” the Sixers’ co-captain told Adelaide 36ers Media.

“It definitely puts (life into) perspective of, I know we're very fortunate enough to be playing basketball and, you know, people look up to us but there's other people who struggle and hopefully we can kind of put a smile on their face to kind of motivate them a little bit more.

“It gives us the perspective that basketball isn’t everything in this life and we're very fortunate enough to play it.”

Vasiljevic and his teammates are coming off just their second loss in 14 games but still sit top of the Hungry Jack’s NBL ladder with a 19-5 record.

He explained that since going down to Tasmania last Friday, the group has come together to review the performance and it’s been a good few days on the practice court.

“Obviously we didn't play our best against Tasmania,” Vasiljevic said. “They came hammering through their best punch and obviously got the job done but we only lost by six points and we played not the best.

“We reviewed what we could do better defensively. I think that's what we struggled the most and then offensively how do we move the ball and get Bryce (Cotton) and others more open looks, so we'll be ready to go this week and I look forward to the game in Perth against South East,

“Anything you do in life - a loss or, you know, something going on - can kind of help your group move in a positive way.

“And I think the last couple days of practice, we've done that. We're popping the ball a lot more. We're interacting. We're trying to figure it out as players what to do.

“Obviously, Mike's our coach but Mike (Wells) can't coach all the time because we as players have to figure it out with different counters and whatnot, so it's been a good week of practice for figuring things out.”

On the court, the Sixers will be without Troy Brown junior who departed this week after expressing a desire to return home to the United States.

Vasiljevic said his loss would be felt.

“He was a great guy,” he said.

“Out of all things, you're a human first, and he was probably one of the best humans I've been around - he attended every event, he wanted to be around the guys, went to team dinners and he came in and was a professional and obviously we wish him all the best.

“He left a big impact on us and hopefully we can continue to what we do.”

But on Wednesday morning the signing of fellow American John Jenkins was finalised, and it’s expected the NBA-experienced scoring guard will suit up with the side in Perth to face South East Melbourne on Sunday.

“I don't know too much about him, I just know he's a bit older, he's played at the top level so he's going to come in, he can shoot the ball, he can defend,” Vasiljevic said of Jenkins.

“I look forward to having another player like that, and he can make threes and hopefully we can space the floor a bit more for Bryce.

“I look forward to having him and welcoming him into the group.”

As for the second-placed Phoenix, Vasiljevic described them as one of the “hottest teams in the league”.

“I think they're up there as well with Sydney,” he said.

“And obviously the last two games they've scored 124 points.

“They're on a roll and they're coming off a loss so I know their coach is going to be amped up, getting ready to roll and yeah, they're just playing some real tough basketball.

“They pick up full court, Sobey's in MVP form so we've got to slow him down and then let all the pieces come together and it's going to be one hell of a basketball game.”

Sunday’s game is part of HoopsFest in Perth. It’ll be live on ESPN via Kayo or Disney+ or on free-to-air television on Channel 10 from 2pm ACDT.