"Immensely talented": Gleeson wary of Melbourne United's threats ahead of Thursday clash

Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Trevor Gleeson has praised the work of his opposite number Jacob Chance from Melbourne United ahead of their sides’ meeting on Thursday night.

Chance worked under Gleeson for six seasons at the Perth Wildcats so the pair are very familiar with each other, as they prepare to go head-to-head at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

United is up to third on the NBL ladder after four straight wins, while the Sixers are coming off one of their better wins of the season against Illawarra on Saturday night.

After calling for a four-quarter performance and more consistency in-game and from game-to-game, Gleeson was pleased to see his group deliver in front of a big home crowd.

But he says that’s just the start of what the group is capable of.

“I was really happy with our intensity for the four quarters,” Gleeson said.

“That's probably the first game all year that we've played that, but also just our ball movement - sharing the basketball, having each other's back.

“You know, that's 36ers basketball that we want to keep on building and that's got to be a staple of how we play.”

But it won’t be easy against a Melbourne United outfit that has won its last four games and holds no fears of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, having won there most recently last month.

A key contributor in recent weeks is former NBA talent Cole Anthony who is averaging 24.3 points and 4.3 assists per game in his first season in the NBL.

Gleeson says the Sixers will have a plan for him.

“An explosive scorer, very quick. I thought we did a good job for parts of the game (last time)

“We want to give him different looks. you know, build a bigger body on him, put a quick guard on him.

“We'll certainly give him different looks out there.”

The Sixers will also be mindful that Anthony isn’t the only threat that United has.

“(They’re) immensely talented,” Gleeson explained.

“You know, anytime you bring three guys back to from the NBA last year to play this year, they’re a handful.

“Ingles is smart. Extremely high IQ. Cole can score. Luke Travers is playing great, and then they've got the Oduro, who gets a double-double all the time.

“Then their role players are doing well so Jacob (Chance)'s doing a good job with them. “

After a stirring effort against Illawarra, the Sixers are into fifth on the NBL table and have the chance to push into the top four with a win.

While he was complimentary of Thursday night’s opposition, Gleeson said his own side is building towards what he knows it could be.

“Without a question,” Gleeson said.

“Hopefully we'll get some bodies back and keep on trying to win.

“We're kind of scratching the surface of how good we want to be, and it's just getting that consistency now and playing that high intensity no matter who's on the court.”

One of those bodies is Flynn Cameron who last featured back in the season opener against Melbourne United – coincidentally the team where he got his NBL start.

Cameron has been on the outer with an ankle injury and Gleeson is optimistic that if he isn’t back tomorrow night, he’ll return next week.

“He's got to tick off a few things,” the coach said.

“Medical staff and rehab, they’ve got to tick that off.

“I'm hopeful. He'll either play this week or next week.”

Thursday night’s tip off is at 7pm with the last remaining tickets on offer through Ticketek.