Coenraad Will Fit In “Perfectly” With Stateside Says Kendle

Jeremy Kendle says Tim Coenraad will fit in “perfectly” with West Melbourne Stateside at this weekend’s FIBA 3×3 Penang Challenger event.

Kendle, Coenraad, Lucas Walker and Peter Crawford will represent West Melbourne – known as Stateside Sports during the 2019 NBL 3×3 Pro Hustle – at the Penang Challenger. Two teams from the Challenger will earn a spot in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Mexico City Masters (July 6-July 7), which will be Stateside’s second World Tour Masters event.

They have already qualified for the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Chengdu Masters (June 1-June 2), after winning the Darwin 3×3 Pro Hustle.

Coenraad played for TSV Reading Cinemas during the 3×3 Pro Hustle, one of Stateside’s biggest rivals during the tour.

Kendle, Walker and Crawford have already built a strong cohesion, especially after the trio won it all in Darwin without a fourth player. After an impressive performance at the FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifiers last weekend, Kendle believes Coenraad will inject himself into the squad with no dramas.   

“I think he is going to fit in perfectly,” Kendle said.

“His value skill wise and what he brings to the table, being able to shoot the ball, being physical and guarding multiple positions mixed with his character of being willing to sacrifice for the team – I believe he is the perfect type of player that we need to take it up another notch.

“He can space the floor, is a physical, smart player, he probably hasn’t gotten the credit he deserves at the five on five level.

“His ability to create his own shot…the most valuable asset in basketball is being able to shoot the ball well and he certainly does that.

“He is a floor spacer, he opens up driving lanes for players like myself and Waxy. He is very physical, strong, he plays hard and he competes. That’s another thing that adds to his overall value.

“It was a no brainer getting Tim. He has been a tough guard during this whole 3×3 tour and to have him on our side now is a huge added bonus to our team.”

Stateside Sports stamped their authority throughout the 3×3 Pro Hustle tour, winning the Geelong and Darwin events, while finishing second in Melbourne.

Kendle says the team can draw confidence from those results, which will carry into the Penang Challenger.

“Confidence comes through preparing and I think these tournaments have prepared us in a tremendous way for what’s to come,” Kendle said.

“Being able to win with just three showed we are in pretty good shape and we got a bit of a rhythm going.

“We were so fortunate to do what we did with just three and now adding Timmy to the mix gives us even more confidence.

“The pace is going to go up another level at this tournament, the speed of the game, how hard players play.

“We are the new team, so we probably won’t have the respect coming into it that maybe after a few tournaments we are going to earn. Maybe we won’t get the calls from referees, there’s just a bunch of elements that come into play.

“Adding Timmy is a big confidence booster for us. Just riding that momentum from the last couple tournaments that we won is a big boost.”

West Melbourne Stateside plays Liman at 2:00pm AEST on Saturday and face Korolev at 2:40pm AEST. If they advance past the qualifying stage, they will play more games on Saturday and potentially Sunday, if they reach the finals.