Taking the helm mid-season may have been a leap for some, but Illawarra Hawks coach, Justin Tatum – and father of USA NBA superstar, Jayson Tatum – is taking it all in his stride.

As a professional basketball coach and former player, Justin Tatum is used to life’s curveballs. But when he received the unexpected call-up as Head Coach for the Illawarra Hawks, Justin found himself running with a new kind of challenge. We sat down with the Illawarra’s own American super coach to chat transitions, tactics, and teamwork.

It’s a big change from St. Louis to Wollongong! How did you find yourself here?
I graduated from the same high school and college as Hawks team owner, Jared Novelly. After a decade of coaching our high school team, I agreed to come and do some consulting for three weeks. It’s a beautiful country, and a couple of months later, Jared enticed me back as Assistant Coach. I’d been adamant I wasn’t coming to live, but this felt like a sign to try something out. Now I’m the Head Coach of the Hawks, which was an unexpected transition, but I quickly understood that I’m here for a reason, I have a purpose.

With your background in high school coaching Stateside, how have you had to adapt your coaching style to the NBA?
It’s a big difference. With the younger guys, communication can be trickier, you’re also dealing with parents, checking their grades, etc. Now I can tell someone once, they understand it’s what they’re paid to do. But on the flip side is the pressure of winning, because that’s also what we’re here to do.

You’ve had a lot of success since taking over as Head Coach. How would you describe your coaching style?
The players may have a lot of adjectives to describe it, but my style is to encourage them to do what they’re really good at doing. Don’t try to prove yourself to somebody else. If someone is good at dunking the ball or making layups, but you’re great at defense, stick within your box, don’t try to prove something. That’s not to say that you can’t step outside your comfort zone every once in a while. But it’s about giving players trust and reassurance that they can be themselves and still enjoy this game while being successful.

“When we’re on the road, it’s like we’re a family, so I make sure we do a lot of activities that help us build togetherness.”

How do you maintain consistency, camaraderie, and team spirit? I’ve worked a lot on communication. When we improve our conversation, everything improves on and off the court. So, I’ve just been real upfront with the team, and I also genuinely enjoy being around them. When we’re on the road, it’s like we’re a family, so I make sure we do a lot of activities that help us build togetherness. For example, during team dinners on the road, we don’t have our phones out. We also stopped taking rental cars and instead, I try and get us all on the same bus. It’s just small things, but it helps with continuity and communication.

It seems to be translating to the community – the crowds at the games are loving it!
Yeh, that happens when you’re winning games, it’s fun to watch! But also things like the unselfish ways the team is moving the ball on the court makes a big difference. For example, back in the day you’d see Tyler Harvey take a lot of tough shots because he felt he had to; now you see him pass the ball, and other guys will be getting shots too. This is the trust factor I’m always preaching, and it makes for a better game. I’m glad the crowd is showing up and supporting us, because they help us out, and the players love it.

With the community in mind what do you think we could do to grow basketball locally and inspire younger people in the Illawarra?
I’d love to see more community involvement with the Hawks, maybe with basketball camps where local kids are face-to-face with players. Also doing more promotion before and during game days to get people in the area excited to come down and get involved.

At the time of writing, the Hawks are fourth in the league, with sights set on the finals. What’s the key focus for the remainder of this season, and beyond?
Keep playing the basketball that we played against Brisbane in early February. The team was so locked in and played together. I watched that game a couple of times and thought, if we play like this during our good spurts, and minimize our bad spurts when we go on the road, we’re fearless. I really feel that.

Finally, what are you enjoying most about being in the Illawarra?
I try to challenge myself every day if I can. I’m always thinking, “How can I impress myself or do better?”. But Wollongong is a very relaxing city, so it helps me remember to enjoy myself a little bit, too.