As noted when we announced Lachie Bertram’s signing, there’s nothing our club loves more than seeing players move from our WABL ranks into our NBL1 squad. Matt Giorgi is another player who has made that transition and he’s appreciated for both his playing skills and also for being a great club guy.
It the people here at the club that keep Matt coming back:
“I first came to the Redbacks to play WABL in 2015 so I’ve been around a fair while now. I’ve formed some great friendships and built some strong relationships not only with the playing group, but also with coaches, parents, WABL kids, Board members – the whole lot. In the NBL1 squad, we’ve built something great over the last few years. A lot of us younger guys are starting to contribute strongly to the culture now. Remaining part of that was a key reason as to why I wanted to come back.”
NBL1 Head Coach CJ Jackson sees a bit of Joel Wagner in Matt:
“That’s the biggest compliment I can give a young point guard. Matt’s offensive playbook and IQ is already pretty strong, and he knows the positions. We just have to figure out how we can get him into the mix because he is a Wagner in the making. Our hope is Matt continues to take the opportunity to learn and soak up what he can from one of the best point guards this league has ever had while he can.”
For his part, Matt is happy to continue to develop as a point guard alongside Wags:
“I definitely have been trying to learn as much as I can from guys like Joel and Marty and trying to implement things they do well into my game. They have been great mentors for me and great to learn off over the last few years. I just enjoy going up against them every week at practice as I know it’s making me a better player.
I know that Joel’s not going to be around forever. There will be opportunities once he eventually does move on from playing so I’ve always got that as motivation. I’m just trying to do all the little things like working on my body, getting extra reps up during the week and just studying the game to become as smart as I can.”
The style of basketball CJ advocates is right in Matt’s wheelhouse:
“It’s an up-tempo style and obviously, I like to run a fair bit so to get out and push the ball in transition, make quick reads and get quick looks offensively is fun. It’s good to play up and down like that. It leads into our defence where we try to be active, and really pressure teams and make it difficult for them.”
NBL1 Director Nathan Barns neatly sums up why we’re stoked to have Matt back for 2021:
“We’re excited that Matt has signed with the Redbacks again for 2021. Matt is a great team player. On the court he is quick and brings a defensive edge. Off the court he is our most vocal player. He has a great basketball IQ which is of great benefit to the playing group.”