By Kasey Cornwell
Ballarat local Ash Constable returns to the Minerdome this season, after a stint as a development player in the NBL at the Cairns Taipans.
Ash made the move to Ballarat from Horsham in his mid teens to facilitate his basketball development, and he paid testament to the Ballarat system assisting him to take his junior basketball to a high level.
Constable has always wanted to play under Miners Head Coach Eric Hayes, Ash loves the way Hayes’ coaches, and thinks the game style will suit his. He knows that he has a bit more of a role to play this year, because of his experience at a higher level and he will be working hard to show his improvement to the team on the court.
Constable has a strong mindset on defence this year and he believes defence wins games. He isn’t as concerned about his offence, because he knows that if he can bring a high intensity on the defensive end it will hugely benefit the team. Ash has been working on his shot over the last few years and he thinks he will be able to a beneficial player to the Miners at both ends of the court. He wants to be aggressive on the court, and be able to get open to knock down the wide open shots.
From Constable’s NBL experience, he will bring an added intensity to training, high standards on and off the court and the ability to put trust in the coaching staff. He was grateful to be able to play within a high level of basketball and experience the strenuous side of professional basketball, and he is constantly thinking about basketball on and off the court. He pays testament to the Cairns Taipans coaching staff for helping him develop his game to the next level and he is proud of where his game has come to.
Constable is looking forward to playing in front of the Ballarat crowd again, he is happy to have friends and family surrounding him again. Having the home crowd was definitely a motivator to make the move back to the Miners for the SEABL season.
Come support local favourite Ash Constable and the Miners in action against Bendigo season opener Friday 1 April at 8:00pm at the Mars Minerdome.