NBA player Jayson Tatum recently extended his deal with the Boston Celtics for a whopping $195 million, but he keeps his modesty to himself, speaking highly of his father’s achievements in the Australian NBL. An hour south of Sydney lies a small city called Wollongong, home to around 300,000 people. It’s a far way from the bright lights of the NBA.

It is home to Justin Tatum, who is building his own basketball legacy in an area devoid of the NBA’s large salary structures in a modest facility known as the “Sandpit,” which can accommodate only approximately 4000 devoted Illawarra Hawks supporters on game days. As his son pursues an NBA championship ring and earns staggering sums of money, assistant coach Justin began the season for a team that was having financial difficulties.

Four months ago, the Hawks were losing badly and without a coach, Jacob Jackomas, was fired without cause. Since then, Tatum has significantly improved the Hawks’ situation, leading them to the NBL playoffs, fourth place in the standings, and a genuine shot at a championship while earning a nomination for Coach of the Year.In his first head coaching position as a professional, Tatum took over a squad that had only won two of its previous nine games but ended fourth in the standings at the end of the season.

Under Tatum, the Hawks have amassed a 12-7 record. On Wednesday, they will play the Tasmania JackJumpers in a classic finals match.Four months ago, the Hawks were losing badly and without a coach, Jacob Jackomas, was fired without cause.When asked about his father’s season at Wollongong, Jayson seemed truly humbled, even if his son’s accomplishments at Boston much exceed his own hard work at the regional Australian club.”You know the time difference is a little crazy, but I got to talk to him right before the [NBA All-Star] game started,” Jayson remarked.He began the season as an assistant coach and, as you may recall, the head coach was fired midway through the season. He is a finalist for Coach of the Year.They were ranked as the tenth or eleventh seed when he kind of flipped it around. They enter the playoffs as the fourth seed.’Very, clearly, delighted for him. I’m glad he was able to make some progress there and somewhat transform the organization.Furthermore, Jayson stated that his father had no plans to move back home to the United States in the near future. “He loves it, he loves being in Australia, he loves it over there,” he uttered.”I hope they can continue and go all the way,” he says, adding that the games are very competitive and the atmosphere is wild.”Observing him turn that thing around and achieve great success over there has been wonderful.”The Hawks have an advantage now that head coach Justin Tatum has committed to a three-year contract extension.He expressed his gratitude to the Illawarra Hawks’ management group, assistant coaches, and players for their faith in him since his takeover in November.Tatum will keep using Illawarra’s disadvantage to motivate his team as they prepare for the championship.He told AAP, “People just don’t give us the respect that we worked for. I’m not going to say that we don’t deserve the respect; we worked hard for this.””We were at the bottom and we worked together to find a way for the guys, who didn’t know each other well, to work together and finish in the top four.”We continue to feel betrayed. However, we value ourselves enough that we can live with that in the end.