Edman looking to bring energy off the bench in NBL1 2021

After playing all his junior representative basketball for East Perth and kicking his SBL career off with the Eagles in 2018, the move to Redbacks for the 2020 West Coast Classic season was a big change for Kyden Edman.

It was partly motivated by the opportunity to be coached by CJ Jackson and also to play for the same club his father Mark did at around the same age.

Edman is excited to return in 2021 and see what this team can do to improve on their showing in the 2020 West Coast Classic.

"I’ve known CJ since I was young and played a lot of my junior basketball with him coaching on the other bench," he said.

"I wanted the opportunity to finally have him coach me and not against me.

"I knew a little bit about his playing style, and I thought it suited my game so thought, why not take up the opportunity.

"Dad also played for Redbacks at about the same age and still speaks very highly of the club and camaraderie nearly 30 years down the track.

"This is something I wanted to experience."

Edman said re-signing with the Redbacks was a "no-brainer".

"I felt towards the end of the West Coast Classic, I was just starting to find my role," he said.

"Plus, we had unfinished business, just missing out on the playoffs.

"The team and club feel like family and I feel there’s a lot more for us to achieve together."

Edman said he is excited to compete against the impressive calibre of NBL1 West players this season.

"I think as many of the young guys would agree, the exposure and opportunity we have within our team and the competition this year is really exciting," he said.

"We have a core group of guys who have played in the league for a while like Wags (Joel Wagner) and Tev (Tevin Jackson).

"I’m just looking to complement them out on the court as much as I can and soak up as much knowledge as possible.

"I’d love to see us back up a good WCC (West Coast Classic) by pushing for a playoff spot again."

In terms of his personal goals for the year, Edman is hoping to be the best team player he can be by playing his role off the bench.

"At the start of the year, I sat down with a teammate and said I wanted to set a personal goal to solidify and become our reliable sixth man this year," he said.

"I enjoy coming off the bench to bring energy and play whatever position I need to fill on the court.

"In terms of our team goals, I think that if I said we weren’t aiming to go as deep as we could into the playoffs then I’d be lying."

Perth NBL1 Head Coach CJ Jackson is looking forward to seeing further development from Edman in 2021.

"Kyden had a big game against Lakeside to close out the 2020 West Coast Classic for us when Tevin (Jackson) was out," Jackson said.

"He stepped in and showed that he is very comfortable playing at that level.

"He is another of our younger players who has that ‘captain in the making’ quality about him.

"He’s always talking on the court and at training.

"He’s had a couple of niggling injuries that haven’t allowed him to play as much as he probably could so I’m looking forward to him having an injury-free run in 2021 and seeing what he can deliver."

Redbacks NBL1 Director Nathan Barns is similarly excited by what Edman can bring this season.

"No one pushes himself harder at training than Kyden," Barns said.

"He takes all coach comments on board and looks at ways to improve himself.

"This has paid dividends with Kyden now finding himself on the cusp of the starting five.

"He doesn’t look out of place there and I look forward to seeing further improvement and progress from Kyden in 2021."