Rasheed Hazzard credits mindset shift in CT Tigers opening BAL victory

Hazzard, a former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, who also worked with the late, great Kobe Bryant, says a change of mindset from the players was crucial in turning the game around.

"Man, yeah, the first adjustment was just reminding them of the effort that it takes to win at ball, you don't win on talent here, and I made sure to remind them of that," said Hazzard.

"You have to respect your opponents here. All of these men that come here and suit up, they're coming here to play hard and they don't care where we've been or that I've coached in the NBA – none of that stuff matter once the ball gets tossed up.

"And we didn't respect the game in the first half, and we didn't respect our opponent when we found ourselves in a pretty tough predicament.

"So, the adjustment we made at half-time was first just turning up our energy and playing harder, and adhering to the principles that we've been working on for eight weeks now.

"I was happy to see us get back to the effort level that we know it takes if we want to actually be champions."

The bench also played a major role in the spirited fight back, as Ganapamo and Josh Hall finished with 15 points apiece, while Samkelo Cele added 11 and Zaide Wade contributed a crucial five assists and nine points. 

Cele, who hails from Durban but has been based in the US, talks about the depth in their squad as well as playing for coach Hazzard.

"Him believing in us, it's not hard to go out there and play hard or freely for him because we know that he has our backs, so I think even the other guys who came off the bench can attest to this – we just came out playing hard and whatever happened, happened," he added.

"Our production was a testament to just how hard we were playing and how dedicated we are to just the little things, like rebounding, going down on the open floor, and just the things that contribute to winning – I think that's the most important thing, and why we're here."