Basketball: Opposition coaches are leaving Vukona alone at their peril

He can still leap buildings in a single bound (well, almost), slap away shots, grab rebounds and hustle with the best of them, but there is something different about Mika Vukona these days - he can shoot.

The player who left the Breakers two seasons ago to grow his game has returned having done precisely that.

Able to provide a serious spark from the bench, the Fiji-born Tall Black was always a valuable member of a roster. But his inability to knock down open shots meant he seemed destined to be a bit-part player.

Having added a sweet shot to his arsenal, Vukona now promises to be a leading member of the Breakers' cast as the club looks to atone for last season's blown title chance.

Breakers fans got a glimpse of Vukona 2.0 in the final match of last season when he poured in 24 points to top score for the Gold Coast in a 109-94 defeat at the North Shore Events Centre.

The sound of jaws hitting the ground was audible, but it was no fluke, as he showed at the world championships in Turkey, where he was the Tall Blacks' third-highest scorer behind Kirk Penney and Thomas Abercrombie. In the vital final pool match against France he chalked up 15 points, including 2/3 three pointers to go with six rebounds and five assists.

In Darwin for the pre-season Top End Challenge this week, he converted 5/7 field goal attempts including a clutch three-pointer in the Breakers' opening victory over the Crocodiles.

There's no doubt about it, Vukona is now a scorer.

"Coaches had always told me that I had good form and that I should shoot more," Vukona said.

"It just came down to confidence.

"It is something I have always wanted to get better at, I guess to evolve my game and become a more three-dimensional player rather than just playing defence."

Playing under supercoach Brian Goorjian at Souths Dragons in 2008/09 was a major factor in Vukona acquiring that confidence.

With the Dragons taking out the title in his first season, Vukona's decision to quit the Breakers paid immediate dividends. Things couldn't get much better. But they could get worse. Quickly.

Shortly after winning the title the Dragons folded, leaving Vukona and his teammates out of work.

"When the rug was pulled out from underneath us we were pretty much in shock," he said. "The league was in disarray. At that point everyone was just trying to find a job."

Vukona had been an important figure for the Dragons but, with his shooting still a work in progress, his numbers were pretty stinky. Too stinky to attract a job overseas, so he contemplated returning to New Zealand to finish a social work degree, before being picked up by Gold Coast. He may have blossomed at the Blaze but when the chance to return to the Breakers came up he jumped at it, signing a two-year deal with an option for a third season.

At 28 and having worked out his game, it seems the Breakers will get the prime years out of a player they signed as an academy prospect.

"I feel like I'm just getting my career started really. With the shooting I feel I have added more to my game and that is helping out other areas.

"I believe I'm coming into the peak of it so I'll try to make the most of it while it lasts, I guess."

Not everyone has cottoned on the fact Vukona is a new player. Opposition coaches frequently still leave him open on the perimeter, thinking he'll either baulk at taking the shot or clatter the ball off the rim. But the days of Vukona not being able to hurt teams are gone.

"I am still getting left open so I have still got to command that respect, but if they are going to leave me open I might as well make them pay for it," he said.

"I guess eventually they might click on but I am pretty happy with them just leaving me alone."