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THE departures for 2019 might be a concern on paper but for Perth Redbacks coach Nik Lackovic he is backing his group when at full strength to have the potential to be even better than the championship winning team of 2017.

The Redbacks won the title in 2017 and then brought back the majority of that group including the recruitment of Jackson Hussey and Mo Barrow, but things didn’t quite go to plan and they were eliminated by the Warwick Senators in the quarter finals.

It’s now been a big list of departures heading into 2019 including Barrow and Hussey who have joined the Willetton Tigers while Michael Vigor has joined the Lakeside Lightning, Shawn Redhage remains undecided about his future and Ben Smith is taking at least 2019 off.

That’s the bad news. And certainly it wasn’t the start to the season the Redbacks were hoping with Lackovic suffering the biggest of his career with the club, going down to the Senators by 35 points at Belmont Oasis last Saturday night.

But considering Kyle Bowen was in Melbourne preparing to win an NBL championship with the Perth Wildcats and with Marshall Nelson, Lee Roberts and Jourdan DeMuynck yet to arrive, Lackovic wasn’t sure what to expect from his young group.

When those four are all part of the squad to combine with Joel Wagner, Zac Gattorna, Jayden Coburn, Majier Garang and a good blend of young and emerging talent, he is expecting big things though.

“Benny Smith retiring is a huge hole to fill. He’s just a quality human being who was dedicated to the team and the club, but Marshall returning is a huge pick up for us in that regard. The same with Jourdan DeMuynck,” Lackovic said.

“Then with Lee Roberts coming back and with KB coming into this group, I’ll back that group of guys against any team, and even against our 2017 team. These are guys who are committed to our club and they will enhance the young guys.

“The young guys can then play a role and come in without being under pressure to be finishers and playmakers. They can step in and do what’s required from them. They will grow as the season goes on and this is a great experience for us.”

The off-season signing of Nelson bringing him back to the Redbacks is potentially what has Lackovic most excited about his group in 2019.

Nelson is coming off an NBL season where he was a fully contracted player with the Illawarra Hawks. Lackovic is expecting big things from his 2017 championship winning guard and for him to ready to take over as one of the SBL’s premier two men.

“I think he’s going to turn the league on its head with what his capabilities are with his talent and athleticism,” Lackovic said.

“I can’t see another Aussie who has the skill set that he does and when you have a guy like Wagner who can push the ball and create, and you have another playmaker in Nelson and another one in DeMuynck we’ll be a completely different team.

“Marshall has abilities to score the ball in so many ways, he can create and is unselfish. The thing that we’re working on with him is that we want him to mature and understand that he’s no longer a guy coming off the bench with a DP mentality.

“We’ll put him in a leadership role with the ball in his hands and we’re going to back him out there on the floor.

“He is a guy who can put up big numbers in this league, he’s a very good rebounding guard and he has grown to become a really good defender with what he can do in the full court. He changes the way we can play the game defensively and offensively.”

Lackovic is also glad to be able to bring back the versatile DeMuynck for his second season with the Redbacks. He did play in 2016 where he averaged 26.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting at 47.7 per cent from the field and 36.3 per cent from three-point range.

Lackovic always thought highly of DeMuynck and is more than happy to now bring him back in 2019.

“I wanted to bring him back in 2017 but he partially tore his Achilles and it was obviously the year we won the championship. He took a year to rehab it and played a season in Iran where he won a championship,” Lackovic said.

“I stayed in contact with him like I do with all my guys and he has a unique skill set. He is a guy who is a gifted shooter, he’s a creator, he rebounds well for his size and we know the numbers he can put up. But I’m excited about the role and the leadership that he’s going to give this team as well.”

While the Redbacks of 2019 are going to be dramatically different from their championship team of only 18 months ago, Lackovic knows cycles can come around quickly in this game.

What he is proud about is the culture helped being set by the likes of Shawn Redhage and Alex Loughton to show to the young players now called upon to take on greater roles know what to live up to.

“This league and when you coach for as long as I have, you go through cycles and I’ve always been big on giving guys opportunities and helping them progress and having legitimate pathways to fulfil their dreams,” he said.

“A lot of the times when you bring in guys that we have in the past like Redhage and Loughton, they are two of the best guys I’ve ever had the privilege of coaching who That allowed us to progress and fast track the development of some of our young guys.

“The championships are just cream on the top and I love what I’m doing because I thoroughly enjoy the process of trying to help these young guys get to the level they want to get to whether it’s college, NBL or further. This is the vehicle we use and we have some extremely great people who are loyal and have great leadership like Joel Wagner.”

Of the departures in the off-seaosn, Lackovic understands why 284-game veteran Ben Smith needed a break from the SBL in 2019. But he hopes that he is back as early as 2020 with how much he still has left to give to the game.

“Ben and I are super close and I love the bloke. He has given so much to the club and when I took over as coach of the program, he was the first guy that I wanted to bring back. I coached him as a junior when he was playing with my younger in under-14s and 16s at the club,” Lackovic said.

“He is going to take some time out for things that he wants to do with his family but he’s nowhere near anyone who should retire because of his physical ability to play the game at a high level. The door is always open for him and we love him here at the club. He’s contributed so much.”

While Lackovic was disappointed another championship winner in Vigor decided to join Lakeside for the 2019 season, he is quick to move on and look at the opportunities that might open up with Zac Gattorna one player in particular he has high hopes for.

“Michael is entitled to make his own decisions and he has opted to go a different route. We invested a lot of time and resources into him as a club to help him progress to an international level, and that’s part of what our responsibility is,” he said.

“Mike is entitled to make the decisions he wants for his own personal wellbeing and what he wants to get out of where he wants to get to. But we’ll invest in guys who I think will excel because of the opportunity.

“Zac Gattorna I think is a real NBL prospect with a bit of maturity and time invested in him. He has the ability to progress and we’ll invested in people like him who are committed to our club and appreciate things that are being invested in them. We’ll stick behind those people the whole time.”

Lackovic has also become a father of two over summer and that helps provide some perspective on life and how much he wants to help the young players at the Redbacks reach their potential whatever their goals may be.

“It’s super special and everything is about balance in life. I have two kids now two years of age and under, and nothing beats the feeling of walking through the door no matter if you win or lose a game by 30 with the way they embrace you and the smile on their faces,” Lackovic said.

“It gives meaning to why we do what we do and hence the reason I love trying to help these young guys progress and why we invest as much time into them as we can. We’re not the biggest club and we don’t have the most money or biggest stadium so we invest in people and loyalty is what we’re all about.

“We are super proud of what guys like Kyle Bowen, Jayden Stone and Marshall Nelson are achieving, and to be a part of that with their journey is what our club hangs our hat on.

“That’s why I love waking up and driving to the stadium. Even Joel Wagner, he loves the club and as long as he’s around and I’m around, we feel we have a really good chance of putting a good product on the floor.”

THE departures for 2019 might be a concern on paper but for Perth Redbacks coach Nik Lackovic he is backing his group when at full strength to have the potential to be even better than the championship winning team of 2017.

The Redbacks won the title in 2017 and then brought back the majority of that group including the recruitment of Jackson Hussey and Mo Barrow, but things didn’t quite go to plan and they were eliminated by the Warwick Senators in the quarter finals.

It’s now been a big list of departures heading into 2019 including Barrow and Hussey who have joined the Willetton Tigers while Michael Vigor has joined the Lakeside Lightning, Shawn Redhage remains undecided about his future and Ben Smith is taking at least 2019 off.

That’s the bad news. And certainly it wasn’t the start to the season the Redbacks were hoping with Lackovic suffering the biggest of his career with the club, going down to the Senators by 35 points at Belmont Oasis last Saturday night.

But considering Kyle Bowen was in Melbourne preparing to win an NBL championship with the Perth Wildcats and with Marshall Nelson, Lee Roberts and Jourdan DeMuynck yet to arrive, Lackovic wasn’t sure what to expect from his young group.

When those four are all part of the squad to combine with Joel Wagner, Zac Gattorna, Jayden Coburn, Majier Garang and a good blend of young and emerging talent.

“Benny Smith retiring is a huge hole to fill. He’s just a quality human being who was dedicated to the team and the club, but Marshall returning is a huge pick up for us in that regard. The same with Jourdan DeMuynck,” Lackovic said.

“Then with Lee Roberts coming back and with KB coming into this group, I’ll back that group of guys against any team, and even against our 2017 team. These are guys who are committed to our club and they will enhance the young guys.

“The young guys can then play a role and come in without being under pressure to be finishers and playmakers. They can step in and do what’s required from them. They will grow as the season goes on and this is a great experience for us.”