Bullets look for Prather to be last piece of NBL24 puzzle

Since Justin Schueller got his first head coaching role with the Brisbane Bullets it was all about setting up a new culture, and now the final piece to that puzzle could be the addition of Casey Prather.

Schueller has built an impressive coaching resume throughout the country at underage national levels, in the SEABL and NBL1 South competitions, and as a championship winning assistant coach at Melbourne United in the NBL.

The next step in his journey was to be a head coach in the NBL. Knowing you might only get one chance at the professional level, he's meticulously planned everything the Bullets have done since getting the job for NBL24 and beyond.

With having only Olympians Nathan Sobey and Aron Baynes locked in, it was almost a clean slate for Schueller to build around and the first step was to re-sign emerging power forward DJ Mitchell and big man Tyrell Harrison.

Then the focus turned on the new faces to bring in. Of course, being able to contribute to winning on the court was important but so was being an ability to help to set the culture of the Bullets organisation.

That's where signing two-time championship winning 300-plus game veteran point Mitch Norton and versatile title winning swingman Sam McDaniel were two of the first pieces Schueller settled on.

There was also the now 100-game guard Isaac White before luring Shannon Scott after an impressive season in Cairns and bringing Chris Smith to the NBL for the first time added to the puzzle pieces coming together.

Signing Brisbane product Rocco Zikarsky as a 17-year-old Next Star gave the Bullets that youth and excitement while reconnecting with Josh Bannan for his first professional season too was another significant signing for Schueller and the Bullets.

Now 18 games into his first season as a head coach in the NBL and there is a lot to like with what Schueller has done with the Bullets and you can clearly see what he is building for the future.

However, what is happening in the now matters too. A four-game losing streak is frustrating, but the final piece of puzzle could very well be bringing in that superstar level import who is a proven winning in the NBL.

That's exactly what Casey Prather is. He has won two championships at the Perth Wildcats and another at Melbourne United. He wasn’t just on those teams, he was a massive influence in the title wins and is an unstoppable force when on top of his game.

The added bonus for Schueller to bringing in a player with only 10 games of the season remaining is that he knows Prather.

The pair worked together for a championship at Melbourne so Schueller knows just what Prather brings both in terms of his obvious on-court talents, but also in what he can do to help the Bullets achieve that winning culture they are aiming to build.

"I think it's super important that we've worked together before," Schueller said.

"I've seen this situation work really well in the past and I've seen it not, and I think just having history there and understanding what he's about, and how he fits what we're trying to do as a club is important.

"We've changed the entire culture of this club and he's exactly that sort of person that is now going to take it to another level. Those things are really what mattered as we brought him in and whatever he can give us on the floor is an absolute bonus as well, but we had to make sure that those things were ticked off.

"That's where the history matters and it felt like we haven’t had any time apart straight away, and his basketball IQ is second to none and his competitiveness is something that's going to help us for sure."

Prather will now make his Bullets debut this Saturday night against the South East Melbourne Phoenix at Nissan Arena, but Schueller isn’t expecting miracles or for Prather to come in and take charge.

If he can come in and help out Josh Bannan in the four spot, spend time at the three and overall just make a contribution, that's what he is hoping for.

"Josh will continue to start, this was never about bringing Casey in to take his spot, it was to help us win. Wherever we can fit, that will be but Casey knew the role coming in and he's super excited to help us with this playoff push," Schueller said.

"He will be playing this Saturday. I don’t expect 40 minutes, Banno won't let me do that, but he's there to definitely provide support and just the thing we're missing.

"Even his pre-game workout, I've never seen so many people watch a workout and it was evident that he's still the Casey Prather that everyone remembers. We just have to get him in game shape through these first few games and he's going to help us with that edge that he has.

"He has that winning experience and it's kind of the gap that we've got right now and I look forward to  integrating him, continuing to support Banno at the four and other areas that we can utilise him."

"There's just a good vibe with him coming back and I know he'll be the shot in the arm we need Saturday night for sure."

As for Bannan, he can't wait to welcome Prather into the Bullets team and there will be times where they play together with Prather in the three spot and there'll be moments where one is playing in that four position and the other is taking a seat.

But either way, Bannan saw close up what Prather was like at the peak of his powers back in his United days and can't wait to now call him a teammate.

"I'm definitely excited for some healthy competition at my spot," Bannan said.

"We need someone else who can play that spot and I remember training with Melbourne United as a young guy and being around him, and seeing what he was capable of.

"If we can add that to our team, that' a huge boost this time of year and I think the numbers show offensively that he's been a force in this league. That's probably an area we need a bit of a boost right now so you add that in and we can make a push towards the playoffs is super exciting.

"At the end of the day you want to put great players together, and when you can add another great player into your team that's super exciting and it's just a matter of bringing him in, helping him fit in and I think he's going to be huge in this last 10-game stretch pushing towards the playoffs."