Looking himself in the mirror pays off for Batemon

James Batemon had a good look in the mirror after his first three NBL games, was happy to come off the bench and the import point guard came out firing to have a big say in the Brisbane Bullets scoring the win in Melbourne on Saturday night.

Batemon joined the Bullets for NBL25 having already played professionally in Latvia, France, Greece, Germany and Israel, but he would be the first to admit that his first three games at Brisbane didn’t quite go how he hoped.

That meant that following the loss at home to the Sydney Kings, Batemon had a good look in the mirror and did some reflecting that shots are always going fall and miss, but what he could do a better job of was giving 100 per cent effort and commitment 100 per cent of the time.

That's what he committed himself to doing all of last week in practice and then coming into Saturday night's game in Melbourne against the South East Melbourne Phoenix where he was happy to accept the role coming off the bench with captain Mitch Norton into the starting five.

What Batemon did shortly after hitting the floor in the first quarter was hit a three-pointer to break a 14-0 scoring run from the Phoenix and then he would knock down three more triples in the second period.

He finished the game with a season-best 20 points on the back of making 6/9 from three-point land to go with three assists, but seeing his shot fall and putting points on the board was only part of the story.

Batemon knew that eventually his shot would start to fall, but what he wanted to do was take care of all the effort and energy areas better than he had in the first three games, and by doing that it led to him scoring and having a big say in his first NBL victory with the Bullets.

"I just had to be better. I got off to a slow start and I had to look myself in the mirror and tell myself that you have to do the little things right," Batemon said.

"That's like sprinting back on transition, small things like running the floor to open up the spacing for other guys, and when I did that in this game it opened up for me a lot more.

"I just had to look myself in the mirror and just be better all round. I was putting in the work in practice but it had to go up another level because this is a tough league, and it's tough to get wins here.

"When you're getting called out on film for the small mistakes you make because of just effort, then you have to look at yourself in the mirror and I made a change."

At the start of last week, Batemon initiated the conversation with coach Justin Schueller that to ease the pressure after the first three games, it might be better if he came off the bench against the Phoenix to allow captain Norton to set the tone at both ends of the floor.

Batemon didn’t see it as a demotion, but simply saw it as a way to be able to come on and have an instant impact midway through that first quarter, and that's exactly what he was able to do.

He was pleased that everyone was on board with the decision and that it worked out so well, and he was thankful to the support all week of his teammates and coaching staff.

"Honestly it was like a mutual agreement and I came into his (Schueller's) office and told him that I think it's probably the best option moving forward to help me find my rhythm with less pressure," Batemon said.

"I had started off slow the first couple of games, but I wasn’t really panicked or anything. I knew what I was capable of and what helped the most was how my teammates kept the faith in me.

"They had seen what I can do and are with me every day in practice so with them and the staff keeping faith in me, it was nothing.

"It was just a better fit for the team and Mitch Norton is a hell of a player and going against him every day in practice is making me better, and him inserted into the starting line-up was better for the team. It worked out in our favour."

While the win against South East Melbourne was a good one to get the Bullets on the board for NBL25, Batemon knows that the hunger they showed to get the job done now needs to be the benchmark moving forward.

The next challenge is to win at home this Thursday night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre against a New Zealand Breakers team they did lose to at HoopsFest in Perth to open the season.

"We just have to constantly keep putting the good days together. We had great practices this week and it was the best week since I've been here competitive wise," Batemon said.

"The hunger that we had was obvious and we wasn’t desperate at all, we were just hungry to get this win and we knew that the work we had been putting in would eventually pay off.

"As long as we keep putting multiple good days together then we'll be hoping that the rhythm stays."