Basketball: Adelaide 36ers CEO noticed four Hawks reduced to spectators on court

Adelaide 36ers CEO Guy Hedderwick was in Napier scouting talent on Anzac Day.

Guy Hedderwick, the chief executive of the Adelaide 36ers, just happened to be a fan in Napier when the Hawks played the Canterbury Rams but he was sad to find out coach Kirstin Daly-Taylor had resigned yesterday.

"Look, I don't know her from a bar of soap and I've seen just one game but if the administration felt she was the right person, then it should have backed her," said the 52-year-old. "If it's the wrong coach, then it's the administration's fault but, if it's the right coach, then you back that coach."

Hedderwick said if the players deviated from the game plan then the finger had to be pointed at the leadership in the team.

"If she's the right person to coach the team, then it's not her fault that the players aren't responding - it's their fault.

"That's really sad because she was a very passionate lady and I'm sorry to hear that she has done that," he said soon after returning to Christchurch for a wedding this weekend.

While Hedderwick had seen the Hawks play only one game, he said there were some things coaches could not do in a team.

"They can't instil passion, they can't create energy or be the person who creates the team environment - that's the players' job."

He felt the Hawks showed a lot of energy in the first quarter, before it dissipated.

"I would honestly ask the senior players, 'What are you doing?'

"That's what you can't teach people and that's attitude. Either you're going to be effective or you're not."

Hedderwick had noticed while one Hawk was defending against the Rams in their 106-89 loss, the other four were reduced to spectators.

"You have to ask who left [Marcel] Jones to shoot [39] points. The four guys did that. Why did [Jeremy] Kendle shoot only [27]? It's because Jarrod Kenny put as much pressure on him as he could but he can't do it alone."

Hedderwick was at the PG Arena, Taradale, to scout some talent for his ANBL franchise. "I really liked Jarrod Kenny but, unfortunately, he already plays for Perth," said the Adelaide official, sat a few rows behind the Hawks bench on Tuesday night.

Rams swingman Jones caught his eye and so did his teammate, guard Kendle, but he also was there to see what Hawks professional rookie Grant Fiorentinos could do.

"He's a big body. I was [impressed] from an attacking point of view," he said.

The South African-born import power forward came for just four rounds until US import centre Amir Williams was supposed to arrive but then Lamar Roberson, who appeared to be struggling to adjust to the demands of the NBL, suddenly caught a flight back home so the franchise signed him up for the season.

Hedderwick felt most players in the NBL here had a way to go to be at the level of fitness required in the ANBL.

He will attend a wedding in Christchurch on Saturday, before heading south to Dunedin for a day before heading back home via Auckland.

Hedderwick enjoyed his stay in Napier and the hospitality accorded to him from the "wonderful people" here.

"If anyone requires help, I'm only a phone call away," he said, adding the 36ers were willing to help with coaches and administration if the need arose.