How the Tasmania JackJumpers built an NBL championship-contender from scratch

They might not have known it at the time, but missing out on the signature of Perth Wildcats guard Mitch Norton last year may have been the best thing to happen to the Tasmania JackJumpers.

Keen to recruit an experienced floor general to lead the new franchise, the JackJumpers thought they had their man before the Wildcats swooped in late to secure Norton on a lucrative, three-year deal.

«No doubt it was a sliding doors moment,» said JackJumpers chief Simon Brookhouse.

With Norton off the table, the JackJumpers adjusted their focus and looked abroad for an import point guard.

Tasmania coach Scott Roth already knew the name Josh Magette — the Alabama native who had spent time with the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic in the NBA.

«His name came up early. We knew he was an on-court leader with success all around the world but what we knew most about him was about his character,» Brookhouse said.

«He was a good family man and a good human being.»

Soon, he was signed and relocated his young family to Tasmania.

Those inside the JackJumpers describe Magette, who tucks in his jersey and sports a short back and sides, as an «accountant», and he looks like he might not be out of place serving ice-cream sundaes at a 1950s' diner.

But Magette's wizardry isn't with numbers or working a milkshake machine — it's with a basketball.

So much so, Roth described the point guard as being able to do things on a basketball court that he hadn't seen during his decades in the NBA. 

«Not Steve Nash, not Steph Curry,» he told reporters at a pre-season practice session in November.

Magette is a conjurer with ball in hand, ranking second in the league for assists per game, but his real asset according to the team, is his mentality.

Always too small, not athletic