Boucher missed last week’s stunning thumping of the Wellington Saints as he was in Melbourne collecting his ANBL Best Defence Man award, something he was both torn and yet incredibly proud of.

“To be honest I would rather have been with my team and doing my best for the Heat but I wasn’t given too much of a choice, now of course I know why. I was very proud to collect the award and be a part of the Breakers representation on the night but now it is back to business with the Heat. The guys obviously played superbly last week, I must make sure I maintain those high standards and don’t let anyone down.”

While the game is at home, it is not at the North Shore Events Centre with another booking moving the Heat game to nearby AUT on the North Shore. Head Coach Judd Flavell doesn’t think this will be a factor.

“The guys are professional enough in their attitude not to let that worry them. We will practice there this week to get a feel for the gym and the hoops but I’m sure it will be fine. I am more concerned about maintaining and indeed improving on the standards we set last week. The guys showed what they can do in the absence of a player like Dillon, I expect that effort and commitment every week regardless of the opposition.”

Heat will once again threaten with an all court game built around the presence of Rick Rickert in the paint and the outside threat posed by the likes of Corey Webster and Kavossy Franklin. It is that ability to play an up or down tempo game that Flavell hopes will see his team compete with anyone this season.

“We are certainly not a one trick pony and consequently will be hard to defend. They key for us is consistency though, we must be able to turn in performances of a high standard each and every week and find our range, be it from outside or on the boards. Last week was an indication we are on the right track but last week is gone, we must show further improvement on Friday against the Jets, anything less and we will be in trouble, last week’s results proved that to all teams.”

Corey Webster is leading the Heat scoring at an impressive 25.3 per game and he will have fond memories of a 43 point haul against the Jets on the North Shore last year. But what is impressing Flavell most about Webster is his developing all court game.

“We know Corey is a scorer, he has a natural ability to shoot the ball. Corey is growing all the time as a player, knowing when to take the right options and working hard on defence when he hasn’t got the ball. He showed some of that last week with some great steals and constant hustle from one end of the court to the other. As Corey adds a strong defensive game to his repertoire he will become a very good player but he is still growing as a basketballer, sometimes people forget how young he is given he has been involved with the Breakers for some time.”

Next home game:

Bartercard National Basketball League

Harbour Heat v Manawatu Jets

AUT

Akoranga Drive

Northcote

Friday 26^th March

7pm tip off