Feature image: Geelong United
Heading into his ninth season with the club, Geelong United superstar Demarcus Gatlin says an import’s role off the court is far more important than on the court.
The 2019 MVP and 2024 Defensive Player of the Year is considered one of the all-time greats within the NBL1’s history – named to the Pick and Roll’s all-time Starting Five this past October.
Related: What's the NBL1 All-Time All-Star Five?
However, no matter how good your on-court production is, Gatlin explained what you do off the court has more of an impact on a club and potentially being offered another contract.
“The biggest thing is, and what I try to tell other imports that come to the team or the league, what you do in the community is huge,” he told NBL1 Media.
“What we do on the basketball court can easily be replaced, imports come and go. But what you do in the community, how you treat people, how you network, those relationships last forever and go a long way.”
It’s rare to see an import talent stay at the same club, or even within the country for this many consecutive seasons. As the 32-year-old reflected on his time at Geelong, he explained how grateful he was to call it home.
“It means a lot, there’s a lot of great players who have come and gone. Geelong keep wanting me back, I guess I must be doing something right,” he joked.
“The biggest recipe for me is to go out there and play hard and compete. As long as I can compete, then I know I can play against the best of them.”
In his four seasons within the NBL1, Gatlin has made the finals three times taking Geelong to the Preliminary Finals in 2019 and the Elimination Finals twice (2022, 2024). With a fresh start this season, Gatlin is hungry to reward United fans with a longer finals push this season.
“(We need to) do the little things, locking in on scouting reports, staying together and dropping your egos. I think that’s really huge,” he said.
“If guys can come together and drop their egos, and play for the team, we’ll have some success.”
The NBL1 South starts March 29th. Stay up-to-date with all the latest signings via the Roster Tracker here.
