MACKAY, QUEENSLAND – The conversation started with a quick question from McDonald’s Mackay Meteors Head Coach Joel Khalu, “Are you in shape?”
“I’m always in shape”.
That was the simple answer that followed from former Meteors 2013 MVP and 2015 QBL championship winner Matthew Adekponya.
Fast forward a few days and Mackay Basketball can now confirm that the 194cm swingman will re-join the club as a short term replacement for the injured Kye Medhurst.
Medhurst suffered a foot injury in a pre-season game against the Queensland Under 20 State Team three-weeks ago, resulting in him missing the NBL1 opening round last weekend. The 19-year-old forward has already been ruled out for round two this Friday and will most likely miss round three the following week as well.
Finding a suitable replacement on such short notice could have proved challenging for Khalu, however enter Adekponya and after one conversation the deal was done.
“When Kye went down, we knew that was going to leave a decent void for us to fill, especially offensively,” Khalu said.
“At the time Kye was training the house down and was projected to play some considerable minutes. We knew that losing Kye would have an impact, but we weren’t sure exactly what that impact would be until last weekend.”
The Meteors went down on Friday night to Townsville 87-84, before winning a nail biter in Cairns 77-75.
“One of the things we took away from our road games against the Heat and Marlins last weekend, was that we lacked that guy coming in off the bench who could provide us with some consistent scoreboard pressure. That’s the role that we originally saw Kye having an impact in.”
“As an interim replacement, we’ve been very fortunate to secure Matty for the next two-games as a minimum and with both of those matchups against Rocky, we’re definitely going to need what he brings.”
“He knows most of the guys in the group really well and I’ve coached him for many years, so he understands our style of play and what we’re trying to accomplish at both ends of the floor. Even though we’ll only have him for one training session before we play, his integration into the team will be seamless,” Khalu added.
Adekponya too was also excited about his return to the sugar city.
“Mackay is a place I really enjoyed living and playing. The club has been great to me and to be honest, hooping in Mackay was probably the steppingstone that helped launched my basketball career overseas,” the 30-year-old said.
“I’m pumped! My favourite moment here was the 2015 grand final, sold out and absolutely rocking. I can’t wait to play here again with the biggest crowd in the league behind us. No place like it!”
“What makes it even more fun is that we’re playing the Rockets too. I was a part of that Mackay and Rocky rivalry for three years and know that those games are always tough going.”
The McDonald’s Mackay Meteors will face the Rockhampton Rockets in the Crater at McDonald’s Mackay Stadium at 8:30pm on Friday night. Tickets are still available from the Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre (MECC) box office.