Gleeson preparing for Blitz “test drive”

Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Trevor Gleeson says he’ll experiment with his side during this week’s Code Sports NBL Blitz, but wants it to develop “championship habits”.

The 36ers will take on Illawarra on Thursday night and then Cairns on Saturday night at the Blitz in Bendigo, in the club's first competitive hit-outs under Gleeson.

The five-time NBL Championship winning coach has been putting his players through a physical and intense pre-season in preparation for the season proper but says he is excited to put the group to the test against quality opposition.

“The guys have been working hard on the floor, and we're putting a lot of work in pre-season on our fitness, and how we've connected with each other.

“(The Blitz) is really a test drive in and a brand-new car.

“We want to create winning championship habits, and that's the focus of mine right now - let's get a great foundation to build on.

“Obviously, we want to experiment a little bit, put people in unfamiliar positions so we get their roles identified nice and early. But yeah, a little bit of experimentation.”

While Gleeson has a number of offensive weapons at his disposal, including six-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton, the experienced mentor has put a focus on being strong defensively, after watching last season’s performances closely.

“I thought they probably gave up too many easy points,” he explained.

“And then it was always putting pressure on their offence to outscore the opponent so we want to make sure that we're really rock solid defensively, got a good backbone through the team.

“We want to be more aggressive defensively, which we're going to get out and about, and trap, and rotate, and full court pickup so a little bit different that way.”

Gleeson spoke glowingly about reuniting with Cotton after five years apart, saying the star guard had become a strong leader both vocally at training and with his own performance.

The former Perth coach was also asked about Flynn Cameron’s individual growth and likened him to one of his former stars at the Wildcats.

“Now it's up to him,” he said of whether Cameron had what it takes to elevate himself into one of the NBL’s top stars.

“He had a great (NBA) Summer League and you really want to cash into that. You know, he’s just come back with us from the New Zealand FIBA break so he's been working really hard.

“He reminds me a lot like Damo, Damien Martin in Perth. He just wants to win every drill.

“He's hard at it, and he raises the bar at practice, and all good players need to have that edge on them, and he certainly has that.

“Now we're after consistent performance with him.”

While the Hawks and Taipans will be the opposition this week, Gleeson says the competition as a whole has improved.

But, he explained, it wouldn’t serve his side to look at other teams.

“We really kind of worry about ourselves,” he said.

“Melbourne probably recruited the best, Cairns recruited great too. But you can get caught up in the mixture of what other teams are doing.

“From my experience of being here, 14-15 years, worry about yourself, get your backyard in order, and things will turn out okay.”

The Sixers take on Illawarra from 7:30pm ACST on Thursday before facing Cairns at the same time on Saturday night.

Both games will be broadcast on ESPN through Kayo or Disney+ or can be streamed via 9Now.