It’s fitting that Justin Tatum made history with the Hawks in New Zealand

It’s fitting that Justin Tatum made history with the Hawks in New Zealand. It was the scene of his first ever outing as Illawarra head coach, a 69-65 win over the Breakers that now feels a lifetime ago. 

That night in November 2023 saw Tatum - then without a professional game to his name as a coach - handed the keys to a Hawks team riding a 5-31 run. By the end of that season, he was given the keys to the franchise on a three-year deal. 

On Wednesday, it was proven a masterstroke as the Hawks sealed the first regular-season crown in franchise history with a 96-82 win over the Breakers. It sewed up top spot with Friday’s clash with Sydney in Wollongong to spare. 

Tatum’s appreciation for the milestone showed in who he had accompany him to the post-game presser, assistant coach, born and bred former Hawks player, coach and lifelong club devotee Matt Flinn.

“We haven’t achieved what we want to achieve just yet, so we've still got some goals to tick off,” Flinn said. 

“But [being] born and bred and Wollongong and having had a lot of different roles within the club and in the organisation, to be a part of history and finish on top of the ladder is a dream come true.  

“JT’s an extremely humble guy, and he's the one at the top of the tree who just gets the best out of people. It filters right down through the staff and the playing group, and this is probably one of the best locker rooms I've ever been involved in.  

“Ninety per cent of the team was here last year when they went on that incredible run and the role definition within the group is extraordinary. Everyone knows their role and everyone feels a part of it 

“I'm just so proud to represent the community of Wollongong as well, all our fans back home. We've sold out our last five games in a row. I've been there in times where the gym's been nearly empty, so to see that is just awesome and we just can't wait for the journey to continue and to see what the next chapter holds for us.” 

The tight turnaround into Friday’s showdown with the Kings in Wollongong will not allow too much time to bask in the achievement, but Tatum didn’t feel the urge to move on too quickly. 

“We want to get through Friday and win on our home court and then hopefully enjoy all of it that evening or the next day, but we enjoyed the quick stint that we just had in our locker room,” Tatum said. 

“The guys understand what we did. I don't want to just blow past it and say ‘hey, we’ve got to move on to the next one’. We can sit back and think ‘hey, out of 45 years, this club never finished at the top of the ladder, and we were part of history today’.  

“I told the guys that’s something I'll never forget. I’ll always remember how this day went, who I was here with. I want to make sure our team and our city enjoys this moment, but at the end of the day, we’ve still got a job to do on Friday.”  

With rested star point-guard Trey Kell watching on in civvies, Tyler Harvey and Will Hickey combined for a play-making masterclass that saw them log 17 assists as a pair, Harvey combining his eight dimes with 29 points. 

The skipper had six threes in his tally, while Hickey was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine assists. Sam Froling needed just over 22 minutes for his 14 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Todd Blanchfield continued his late season resurgence with 17 points. 

The complete performance in the penultimate outing of the year got the full tick from Tatum.  

“To see other guys step up, DG (Dan Grida), Lee started tonight and did exceptionally well defensively, TB (Todd Blanchfield) came and got some nice shots up, defensive intensity was good, I was very happy,” Tatum said.  

“Tyler was unbelievable at both ends of the floor and it’s just a testament to the depth of this group, and the support they have for each other, that we can have two of our main guys not play and still keep the same type of tempo and pressure on.”  

The win spares them the pressure of needing to beat Sydney on Friday to lock up top spot, but the rare chance to sweep their arch-rivals 4-0 is incentive enough for the Hawks to put their best on the floor. 

Tatum will be doing just that, saying he won’t be tempted to rest any stars given the near three-week break his team will have before opening its post-season campaign at home. 

“Whoever’s healthy is going to play,” Tatum said. 

“I want guys to play, we’re not here to rest. We created the opportunity for us to rest for a couple of weeks, so I want guys who are a hundred per cent healthy to play.”