WARRNAMBOOL Seahawks recruit Alex Gynes says his focus will be on the team, not individual performances, this Big V season.
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The former NBL and SEABL player said he hoped to do his bit to contribute to a team-first attitude at the Seahawks in 2016.
“What I want to bring into this upcoming year, I want to help the team do well, I’m definitely not focused on myself,” he said.
“Hopefully the team performance generates wins.
“I guess (I’m) not (aiming for) anything special in terms of how I play, but to get the point across that the team comes first.
“It’s never only one person that can win a basketball game.”
Gynes, who spent four years playing basketball in America, lined up for NBL club Sydney Kings in the 2011-12 season, before spending the next two campaigns with SEABL side Canberra Gunners.
He crossed to Geelong Supercats for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Now family – his wife Nicole (nee Hunt) is a former Warrnambool Mermaid, and the couple has a five-month-old son, Ollie – has brought him to Warrnambool.
Gynes hopes to share what he has gained from his experience in the United States and in the higher leagues to help his new teammates work towards another playoffs appearance.
In that regard, the small-power forward said his role was more about what he could contribute to the team as a whole, rather than what position he will fill.
“It’s a holistic view to basketball,” he said.
“I would like to think that I’d be able to help the team as a whole.
“(Last season) the role I played, I guess I wasn’t focused on scoring or any of those types of aspects.
“I think to bring more of the intangibles and do what I can to help the team generate wins and help everyone perform (is important).
“I’m more than happy to fill any role or play across a number of positions, depending on what we need.”
The 27-year-old said he was looking forward to his first foray into the Big V league and the challenge of playing in a new team and new competition, particularly with Matt Alexander coming on board as coach.
Gynes is among a group of big signings at the Seahawks, alongside Adelaide 36ers guard and south-west product Nathan Sobey, and American recruit Xavier Johnson-Blount.
Alexander said Gynes would be a valuable inclusion to the Seahawks’ playing group.
“He brings a lot of experience, first and foremost, and brings the little things in the game, the one-percenters,” Alexander said.
“He’s a very good defender and versatile, because he’s six-foot-five and he can play two guards.”
