Ask the coach! Scott Roth answers your questions

We went straight to the top and asked Head Coach Scott Roth your questions! 

@curtis_miller what’s the most important key to winning a game?

Really good players! [laughs] I would say that solves a lot of problems. Having smart players makes you a smarter coach. Sometimes that’s not always the key but most of the time it is. I guarantee you Trevor Gleeson was a smarter coach with Bryce Cotton, than when he didn’t have Bryce Cotton!

@jshep098 Which player is best at keeping the team motivated and uplifting their spirits in a tough game?

I think our two captains, Clint and Weeksy have been great, very solid in that regard. Weeksy is always up and about and then you’ve got ‘Mr. Happy’, Jack McVeigh who has never had a bad day since I’ve known him. The guys are pretty good in general, the guys that have been around the League the longest definitely get the ebbs and flows of the season.

@eaglesheed Do you have a particular activity you like to do in Tasmania when you’re not coaching?

My favourite things to do is go down to Retro café in Salamanca for my morning coffee or breakfast, and I love to people-watch as everyone is getting up and about and starting their day. And the second thing is anytime I’m able to steal a cigar somewhere and go somewhere peaceful and relax, it’s always a good day for me.

@just.-.jay0 What’s the hardest decision you’ve has to make as a coach?

The hardest decision is playing players. That’s the one thing you have a lot of control over is who is on the floor. Sometimes you’re making good decisions and sometimes they’re not such great decisions but playing players and trying to balance players that maybe expect more [court time] or want to play more, it’s trying to manage those players everyday, through practice and games is always difficult. You always reflect and think should I have played this guys more or maybe less. I’m always a player first and a coach second so I’m always concerned about the players wellbeing and mentality. But the other things is, you can’t keep everyone happy, you’ve got players that are all capable of playing but you can’t play them all and you have to stand by something and have some beliefs. The players are very clear on what I believe in.

@pegleghenriks When are we going to see Nikita shoot some 3’s?  

You know, unfortunately he's got into a situation where a couple things are transpired and one is the that I didn’t promise anyone anything when they got he. I’ve definitely promised him nothing other than a chance to come and play. So for Nikita, the players that are ahead of him are ahead of him and they’re practising that way. I’ve told everyone that you don't have to earn your way from practice onto the floor and there's been some moments where I thought he might have to play on this road trip when we went off to Perth and Sydney and then unexpectedly he gets sick and then he's behind seven more days.

And then when we were depleted a little with COVID, he would’ve played by the game got postponed. And now unfortunately he’s out due to the COVID protocols.

So it’s been tough for him. His English is improving but it’s something that is very concerning on the floor when the game is moving fast. The reality is he's just behind compared to some other guys.

I do want to try to get him out there to play. I always get a kick out of people, whether it’s Nikita or somebody else, when they say ‘Why isn’t so and so playing?’ and my question back is who don’t you want to play? You don’t want Sam McDaniel or Clint Steindl to play? Josh Adams to play? Who don’t you want to play? It’s very hard to play 11, 12, 13 guys and try to keep everyone happy. That’s the thing I have tried to build with the culture of this team. I didn’t promise anyone anything and started everyone equal, you have to earn your way through.

@AaronWocik Why does Clint Steindl start on the bench?

Being with him in Perth and his role coming off the bench, it was hugely important to the success of Perth. I thought coming here and talking with Clint, he prefers coming off the bench. He’s very comfortable in that role and I’m expecting more from he, giving him longer minutes and giving him a longer rope to go play. He gives us some firepower coming off the bench and that leadership we need. He’s content whatever needs to be done.

@CraigJohnson What’s the reasoning behind not starting McIntosh?

I think it's is the same as similar in some ways that you know if you throw all three of imports and you're trying to have your bench have some impact, you weigh those things up. Also Jack McVeigh outplayed MiKyle for most of the preseason and early on, but MiKyle is comfortable with coming off the bench now and his game is really improving. His energy and ability to stay out of foul trouble and continually getting better.

The combination of who’s starting is important but for me it’s about who is finishing, that’s really what it comes down to.

@hamo_dawks09 What do you do in your spare time?

Until about two weeks ago I did nothing because after practice at 4 o'clock and I have a little routine of just basically find somewhere to get something to eat and then I watch International House Hunters and then I watch NCIS because that’s the only things on my TV and then once I watch some basketball and then I go to bed and start the day over again so it's pretty boring now.

Now my wife’s here, I take her around and do some different things and be out about but when you're by yourself as long as I was getting are you know that kind of routine when we get to the office around six in the morning until four in the afternoon and by the time I get home, I don't really want to leave the house. I like how International House Hunters to see what’s going on around the world, see if I need to find a place in Tahiti or Thailand or Singapore!

@Denealexis What’s your all-time favourite a motivational quote you lean on when times are tough?

Well the one in my office is the one I stand by, it’s one my daughter gave me from Brene Brown’s book, from Theodore Roosevelt about being in the arena and going through the process.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

I think that one sums up myself and my coaching career, you know you get beat up and knocked down and dragged through it but being in the arena, in the coaching position, as opposed to being on the outside, I’m grateful to be in the position… my daughter is pretty smart.

I have a bunch of other ones that I write down, the one that is on my email signature is ”I will not allow dirty feet to walk through my mind” from Ghandi.

@Denealexis What’s the best restaurant you’ve taken your wife to in Hobart?

We just got out of quarantine so I'm trying to make up for lost time but I like D'Angelo's so that's probably one of my favourites and Ange over there has treated me extremely well shall, but I definitely go down there for the pasta or the pizza but I need to get out and about more now that my wife is in town.

@williesmithsappleshed where is the best Apple pie in the world?

No question, Willie Smith’s Apple Shed. The crew down there have knocked it our of the park. The first day I went down there, I didn’t say Hello to Andrew, I just said I hope you have apple pie here, and next think I walked out with a whole pie. It’s the real deal down there, it’s really good. You got to have the ice cream with it!

@henry.ains What’s your favourite NBA team?

I was extremely lucky play for the Utah Jazz and the franchise and to live with Karl Malone for two years, while I was at Utah and to play with Karl and John Stockton – two hall of famers. To be at the beginning of Jazz’s monumental success, at that point when it was just starting to becoimne well-known throughout the NBA and those guys were just on the cusp of becoming as great as they were.

I get my other favourite one or two coaching-wise was over there in Toronto and being part of an organisation with one of the greatest owners in sport, to be a part of the Raptors with Larry Tanenbaum was incredible. And then one of my last years in the NBA was with Don Nelson, who is a mentor of mine, and I got to live with at Golden State, in his final year and season there, the winningest coach in NBA history. That was the year we drafted Steph Curry so to be with Golden State that year to get Nelly the record and see Steph start his career was pretty special.

@eaglesheed What’s on your playlist at the moment?

You’d be shocked, Most of my stuff is not for the ears of most. There’s a lot of cussing and swearing.. with Drake and a lot of rap stuff, old school R&B, I love country too, a mixture of things but most things have a lot of bad words on it so you won’t be getting my playlist at games.

@duel_oftha_ironmike Who is your biggest rival?

My biggest rival is myself. I'm very to tough on myself and it’s been said multiple times recently I don't need to give myself a break but I am extremely tough on myself in a lot of areas.

When you're playing at the professional level you’re playing everyone all the time and so unless you have some sort of back-and-forth or history with someone that's pissed you off or really gotten into some kind of fisticuffs with, I don’t think you have rivals.

@jamie_f91 Who is your favourite player?

Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash… I know they probably want to know about our team though. I'm always very sentimental to guys are just underdogs or have overlooked and are getting a second chance and I won't say that he’s my favourite player but probably my favourite story I think is Matt Kenyon. Just the struggles he’s had, he’s only 23, but the struggles he’s had in the last 2-3 years to try get back into this League and to give him an opportunity to come here and play and really earn his way and earn respect from his teammates has been really good story that isn’t widely known.

I picked all these guys and they’re all like my kids in some way and I try to make sure I have a relationship with all of them. The ones that are married and have kids, trying to make sure their wives and families are content. You know we’re trying to make a family so they’re all really important to me.