After playing all his junior rep basketball for East Perth and kicking his SBL career off with them in 2018, the move to Redbacks for the 2020 West Coast Classic season was a big change for Kyden Edman. It was partly motivated by the opportunity to be coached by CJ Jackson and partly by the opportunity to play for the same club his father Mark did at around the same age.
Kyden is excited to return in 2021 and see what this team can do to improve on their showing in the 2020 West Coast Classic. For our part, we’re excited to have yet another young up and comer working hard to push the veterans in the team and help the team achieve the success it’s capable of.
Here’s Kyden expanding on what brought him to Redbacks last year:
“I’ve known CJ since I was young and played a lot of my junior basketball with him coaching on the other bench. I wanted the opportunity to finally have him coach me and not against me. I knew a little bit about his playing style, and I thought it suited my game so thought, why not take up the opportunity. Dad also played for Redbacks at about the same age and still speaks very highly of the club and camaraderie nearly 30 years down the track. This is something I wanted to experience.”
Why did he re-sign with Redbacks for 2021?
“Re-signing was a no brainer for me. I felt towards the end of the West Coast Classic I was just starting to find my role. Plus, we had unfinished business just missing out on the playoffs. The team and club feel like family and I feel there’s a lot more for us to achieve together.”
What excites him about the coming season?
“I think as many of the young guys would agree, the exposure and opportunity we have within our team and the competition this year is really exciting. We have a core group of guys who have played in the league for a while like Wags, Tev and Marty. I’m just looking to compliment them out on the court as much as I can and soak up as much knowledge as possible. I’d love to see us back up a good WCC by pushing for a playoff spot again.”
What about his personal goals for the season?
“At the start of the year, I sat down with a teammate and said I wanted to set a personal goal to solidify and become our reliable sixth man this year. I enjoy coming off the bench to bring energy and play whatever position I need to fill on the court. In terms of our team goals, I think that if I said we weren’t aiming to go as deep as we could into the playoffs then I’d be lying. Everyone wants to travel to the NBL1 national competition so this is a huge driver for us.”
NBL1 Head Coach CJ Jackson is looking forward to seeing further development from Kyden in 2021:
“Kyden had a big game against Lakeside to close out the 2020 West Coast Classic for us when Tevin was out. He stepped in and showed that he is very comfortable playing at that level. He is another of our younger players who has that ‘captain in the making’ quality about him. He’s always talking on the court and at training. He’s had a couple of niggling injuries that haven’t allowed him to play as much as he probably could so I’m looking forward to him having an injury-free run in 2021 and seeing what he can deliver.”
NBL1 Director Nathan Barns is similarly excited by what Kyden can bring this season:
“No one pushes himself harder at training than Kyden. He takes all coach comments on board and looks at ways to improve himself. This has paid dividends with Kyden now finding himself on the cusp of the starting five. He doesn’t look out of place there and I look forward to seeing further improvement and progress from Kyden in 2021.”