He’s not an NBL Next Star, nor is he likely to win NBL Rookie Of The Year but Tanner Krebs is a big part of the Brisbane Bullets success this season.
Krebs lockdown defence and basketball IQ was injected into the Bullets starting line-up this month, and the Bullets have been playing better than they have all season as a result.
Since adding Krebs to the starting unit Brisbane have won five of their last eight games, including wins over the reigning NBL champions and the league-leading Melbourne United.
Krebs play was key to the Bullets outstanding first quarter against Melbourne yesterday. With Krebs in the starting line-up, the Bullets outscored the ladder leaders 16-25, a deficit which United could never recover from.
Krebs played a vital role in Bullets run in the opening period, setting the tone by scoring a lay-up in the first couple of minutes, making a nice pass to Matthew Hodgson for an easy basket and then stealing the ball from Shea Ili to round out the quarter.
The Bullets would go on to win 96-88, and Krebs would finish with nine points and the highest plus/minus rating of all the Bullets players.
Although he is only averaging a modest six points and two rebounds for the season, Krebs play in recent weeks has forced the hand of Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis to provide more opportunities for the twenty-five-year-old. In the Bullets third game of the season, Krebs came off the bench to score 11 points in 16 minutes and since then he has replaced Jason Cadee in the starting five and with more production from Krebs the more success, the Bullets have had.
A role in the starting line-up was never something that was offered to Krebs during his recruitment by Lemanis after graduating from Saint Mary’s College of California, in fact, he wasn’t offered any type of role in the team at all.
“I was never guaranteed a role coming into the team, let alone a starting one” Krebs told Aussie Hoopla.
Andrej told me from the start that everyone has to earn the role every year, there are no guarantees and that he planned to play the guys that deserve to play and I loved hearing that. That was exactly what I wanted to hear because I felt that I could work hard and earn a role on this team and fulfill that role to the best of my ability” said Krebs.
Playing for the Saint Mary’s Gaels Krebs also let his effort and play do the talking. In a similar scenario, Krebs constant improvement, hard-working attitude and lockdown defence saw coach Randy Bennett increase his minutes each year during his scholarship and in return Krebs increase his points and productivity in every season.
As a sophomore Krebs and the Gaels made the NCAA tournament for the first time. The team lost to a talented Villanova team by only four points in the first round but the loss only fired up Krebs and the team who delivered their best season in Krebs four years in California before COVID-19 derailed the team’s plans for a Cinderella Tournament run.
“We were a lock for an NCAA tournament berth but the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the pandemic. It was a very disappointing time, we had a lot of guys who were leaving that year and felt we could have made a big push in the tournament but unfortunately never had the chance to. During my time in the states, I had always kept an eye on the NBL and watched it grow NBL significantly so when it was all over I was excited to come back home and play in the NBL. I knew it would be the best path to expand my game and become the best player I could be” said Krebs.
Krebs didn’t show up on the Bullets recruiting roster this off-season because he graduated from St Mary’s or because of COVID-19 limiting player options. A relationship between Krebs and Lemanis had been formed during the young guards two years in Canberra at the Basketball Australia Centre Of Excellence between 2014-2015.
“Andrej would often come and run practices and get to know the young guys coming up while I was at the CoE. We continued communicating during my time at St Mary’s and once my college career was over he was the first to reach out and show interest. I liked the system here at Brisbane and the style Drej coaches, it fits my personality very well and I always knew I could succeed with him as my coach” said Krebs.
The Hobart born Krebs played for Tasmania as a junior and is the son of former Hobart Devils import Dan Krebs who starred in his one season with the Tassie Devils in 1990 as an import, averaging 25.3 points and 12.4 rebounds. After the door closed on his NBL career he went on to coach both the Chargers men’s and women’s side, taking the men to the league championship in 2008. Dan Krebs has been a huge part of Tanner’s basketball development and is also his biggest fan.
“My Dad is super proud of how I’ve gone about the season so far. Dad has been a very supportive figure in my basketball career. My whole family is, and they constantly remind me how proud they are. That’s a nice feeling, and I appreciate all there love and support” said Krebs.
With the Bullets on a role, it seems that Krebs will remain in the starting line up thanks to his hardnose style and positive influence on the court, but the “son of a gun” knows there are still holes in his game he needs to continue to develop to reach his potential in the NBL and perhaps one day earn a spot in the national team.
“I think the most important things are continuing to get physically stronger and just improve my ability to create for myself and others in one on one situations. If I can get better at those two things especially, I think I can be a great player in this league” said Krebs.
No there won’t be any LK documentaries like the one at Hoyts cinemas right now promoting last years NBL rookies and right now there is no one making a case for Krebs to be this year’s rookie of the year, but Tanner Krebs is a proven winner. While those players continue to get the spotlight, newspaper articles and shout outs on NBL overtime, Krebs and the Bullets will continue winning games.
Maybe when fans notice the Bullets near the top of the ladder and hopefully see what he can do in the NBL playoffs, more NBL fans start to notice the good things he brings to the court and the infectious winning attitude he brings wherever he plays.
Take notice of Tanner Krebs… you heard it here first.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
